Guyanese-Style Zucchini with Shrimps

This recipe is a traditional vegetable dish from Guyana. Many of the vegetables can be cooked in the same way, like spinach, eggplant, bitter melon (karela), and string beans, with addition of any meat as well potatoes. This is just one of the Guyanese recipes for zucchini; it can also be curried or deep-fried in a split pea batter. The shrimp I used were the tiny white belly shrimp from Guyana, which are eaten with the shell as they are thin and soft. However, any kind of shrimp or meat can be substituted in this recipe, or it can be made without or with tofu as a vegetarian dish.

Ingredients:
     3 zucchinis, peeled, seeds removed, and cubed
     1/2 cup of white belly shrimp
     1/2 white onion, finely chopped
     3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
     1/2 tablespoon of tomato paste
     2 fresh wiri wiri peppers, seeds removed and chopped (optional)
     1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil
     Salt to taste

Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and pepper and fry for about a minute, and then add the shrimp. Stir fry for a few minutes until cooked, and then add the tomato paste. Add the cubed zucchini, stir and cover. The zucchini should slowly begin to release water and steam. Stir once in a while and add the salt. Cook, covered, for about 20-25 minutes, or until the zucchini is cooked through. Serve with rice or roti, and enjoy!

Peeling and cubing the zucchini

Frying the shrimp with onion and garlic

After adding the zucchini

Mini Fruit Pies

This idea came to me as I was brainstorming for baked goods to bring to a pathology lab meeting. There had already been brownies and cookies brought at previous meetings, so I thought a pie would be a good change...only thing was that it would be difficult to slice and serve a pie during lab. Instead, I decided to make a variety of mini pies so that everyone would be able to have one of their own without all the mess. I made caramel apple, pineapple, and cherry pies, so I've included the instructions for making each of those fillings as well.

Ingredients:
     2 batches of pie crust dough (or 2 store-bought pie crust dough sets)
     Fruit filling (see below)
     1 egg
     1 tablespoon of milk
     2 tablespoons of white sugar for sprinkling
     Caramel sauce (I used store-bought), optional

Preheat the oven to 350F. Roll out each piece of the pie dough to about 1/8 inch on a counter top (I use a sheet of wax paper for easy cleanup and a non-stick surface). Drop tablespoonfuls of fruit filling around one of the dough sets and spread around with the back of the spoon. Place the rolled out top dough over the bottom one with the filling. Use a cookie cutter (I used the top of a mug) to cut out circles around each set of filling. Cut slits on the top of each circle to allow steam to release from the pies as they bake.

Bring the scraps of dough together into a ball and roll out to about 1/8 of an inch again. Continue to make the pies as directed above until there is not enough dough left to make any more. In a small bowl beat the egg and the milk together. Place the pies on a cookie sheet and brush the top of each one with the egg wash. Sprinkle each with sugar and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops of the pies are golden brown. Cool before removing from the cookie sheet.

Alternatively, cut one set of the rolled out dough into thin strips. Weave into a lattice and place over the bottom dough with the filling. Continue by cutting as directed above, brushing with egg wash, and sprinkling with sugar.

Strips to weave into a lattice

Mini lattice pies

FRUIT FILLINGS:
Apple filling:
     2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped into small chunks
     2 tablespoons of light brown sugar
     1 tablespoon of cornstarch
     1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice
     pinch of cinnamon
     1/4 cup of water
Add everything into a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir and cook until the apples are tender and the filling has thickened, about 5-6 minutes. Cool before filling the pies. (For the apple pies, I add a little bit of caramel sauce onto the dough first and then the apple filling on top of it.)

Pineapple filling:
     1 can of crushed pineapple with juice
     1/2 cup of white sugar
     3 teaspoons of cornstarch
     1 teaspoon of lemon juice
Add everything to a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook for about a minute, until thickened. Cool before filling the pies.

Cherry filling:
     1 cup of tart red cherries, pitted and chopped
     1/4 cup of sugar
     1 tablespoon of cornstarch
Add the cherries to a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Once the cherries have released some of their juices, add the sugar and cornstarch. Continue to cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Cool before filling the pies.

Note: There are instructions for making pie dough from scratch in my Dutch Apple Pie recipe post. Enjoy!

Aloo Tikki Chaat

This dish is a recreation of one that I tasted in Newcastle while studying in England. England has a good population of Indian people, so it is very easy to find great Indian restaurants there that serve some amazing food. Aloo tikki chaat is popular street food in India (Delhi), and its components aloo tikki and channa chaat are said to have originated right around there in northern India, Uttar Pradesh. It is a hearty and flavorful vegetarian dish that is sure to satisfy any hungry tummy.

Aloo Tiki:
Ingredients:
     2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
     1/4 onion, finely chopped
     1 clove of garlic, chopped and masked into a paste
     1/2 teaspoon of fresh ginger, grated
     1-2 green chillies, seeds removed and finely chopped
     1/4 red bell pepper, finely chopped
     handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
     1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
     1 teaspoon of garam masala
     1/4 teaspoon of turmeric
     1/2 teaspoon of fresh lime juice
     salt to taste
     oil for shallow frying

Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with room temperature water. Bring to a boil, add salt, and cook the potatoes until fork tender. Drain, mash, and place in a mixing bowl.

Boiled potatoes

Mashed

In a frying pan or wok, place 1 tablespoon of oil and heat over medium flame. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies, and bell pepper. Fry for about two minutes and then add the cumin, masala, and turmeric. Fry for another minute or so and then turn off the flame. Add the fried seasoning to the bowl with the mashed potato Add the cilantro and lime juice. Mix well and taste to see if more salt is needed.

Seasoning

Potatoes mixed with sauteed seasoning

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add some oil just to coat the bottom of the pan. Take handfuls of the potato mixture, form into a ball, and then press down to create a round patty. Place on the hot pan. Fry on both sides until golden brown.

Frying the aloo tikkis

Channa Chaat:
Ingredients:
     3 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
or  1 1/2 cups of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and boiled or pressure cooked until almost done
     1 onion
     1 clove of garlic
     1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
     1 tomato
     1-2 fresh green chillies, seeds removed
     handful of cilantro
     1/2 tablespoon of tomato paste
     pinch of sugar
     1/2 teaspoon of chaat masala
     1 teaspoon of channa masala
     1 teaspoon of ground cumin
     2 teaspoons of tamarind chutney (or 1 teaspoon of tamarind paste)
     1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
     2 tablespoons of olive oil
     Boiling water

In a blender or food processor, puree the onion, garlic, ginger, tomato, chillies, and cilantro. Heat the oil in a wok over medium flame and add the blended seasoning mixture. Fry for 2 minutes, then add the tomato paste, sugar, chaat masala, channa masala, and cumin. Fry for another 2 minutes or so, and then add the chickpeas. If using the tamarind paste, add now. Stir and add some boiling water to the pot (about 1/2 cup if the beans are soft or 2 cups if they need to boil a while longer). Stir, bring to a simmer, and cover. Cook for a few minutes until the peas are tender and the gravy has thickened. If you are using the tamarind chutney, add that now. If the peas are still hard you can always add more water and boil longer. Once it is finished, turn off the flame, add the lime juice and stir. The dish is now ready to serve.

Boiled chickpeas

To put together the aloo tikki chaat:
Dish some of the channa chaat into a bowl. Place one or two aloo tikkis on top (depending on the size of the serving). Sprinkle some chopped onion and red bell pepper over the top and drizzle with tamarind chutney, if desired. Finish with some chopped cilantro.

Crab Stuffed Tilapia

Crab is my number one favorite food of all, so if there is any way I can incorporate it into a meal, I will. This is a healthy and light, yet gourmet-quality dish that is sure to impress any of your dinner guests. The key to making this dish wonderful is the quality of ingredients, especially the crab meat. It is expensive, but I promise it will be worth it. You can find crab meat in a plastic tub in the refrigerated section; this type usually tastes fresher and sweeter. If that is not available, there is canned crab meat, which would also work in this recipe. I had to use the canned crab meat for this batch as it was difficult to find any other kind in Grenada right now. Regardless of that, the dish came out delicious, so here it is!

Ingredients:

     4 tilapia fillets (wild-caught is healthier)

     1 cup (8oz) crab meat, drained

     1/4 of a red bell pepper, finely chopped
     1/2 celery stalk, finely chopped

     2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs

     2 tablespoons of mayonnaise (I used low fat)

     1 teaspoon mustard

     1 egg

     1 + 1/2 teaspoon of paprika

     1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

     1 teaspoon of chopped parsley

     1 lime or lemon 

     salt and pepper to taste

     Cooking oil for greasing the pan

     

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, breadcrumbs, egg, 1/2 tsp paprika, garlic powder, parsley, bell pepper, and celery. Once well combined, gently fold in the crab meat and squeeze about 1 tsp of lime or lemon juice into the stuffing mixture. Set aside.

Crab stuffing

Wash the tilapia fillets with lime or lemon juice and set on a cutting board. Slice each fillet down the middle, but only halfway, so that the two halves stay together. Turn the knife to the side and carefully slice each side horizontally to create a pocket on each half. Repeat with the other fillets. Sprinkle salt and black pepper on each side of the fillets.

Slicing the tilapia fillets

Spray a baking pan with cooking oil and place the tilapia fillets cut side up on the pan. Spoon some stuffing in the center of each fillet, stuffing each pocket and filling the center. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tsp of paprika over the fish and place in the oven. Cook for about 20 minutes, and then raise the temperature to 450F. Let the fish cook for another 5 minutes, and then remove from the oven. Be careful not to overcook, or the fish will become dry. Plate and garnish with lime or lemon slices.

Grilled Honey Glazed Ham with Pineapple

Ham steaks are a quick and easy meat to cook, whether it is by baking or grilling. I decided to grill mine today along with some sweet pineapple I picked up at the market.

Ingredients:
     1 ham steak
     1/2 pineapple washed, peeled, and cut into pieces
Glaze:
     1/4 cup of honey
     1 tablespoon of melted butter
     1 tablespoon of lemon, lime, orange, or pineapple juice

Preheat the grill pan over the stove. Brush some of the glaze on the pineapple pieces and grill them on each side until they are caramelized and have nice grill marks. Next, do the same with the ham steak, cooking it for about 5 minutes per side (if you are working with a pre-cooked ham steak). Serve and enjoy!

Roasted Red Potatoes with Garlic and Herbs

Garlic and rosemary go great with potatoes, so I decided to roast some small red bliss potatoes using just that. This is a quick and easy way to cook potatoes that are full of flavor. The trick to getting them crispy is by preheating the pan with a little bit of oil and then adding the potatoes to the hot pan.

Ingredients:

     12 small red bliss potatoes

     2 tablespoons of olive oil

     2 cloves of garlic

     1/2 teaspoon of dried rosemary

     1 teaspoon of parsley flakes

     Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400F. Chop the garlic into fine pieces and add the garlic, the oil, the herbs, the salt, and the pepper into a small bowl. Spray a baking pan with some cooking oil and place in the oven (juts to let it preheat for a minute or two). Wash and cut the potatoes into pieces of about equal size, and then pour the oil, garlic, and herb mixture over them. Open the oven and add the seasoned potatoes to the preheated pan. Roast for about 15 minutes, and then turn the potatoes over and roast for another 15-20 minutes. When the potatoes are golden and crispy on the outside and soft inside, they are ready!

Ingredients for the garlic herb oil

Seasoned potatoes ready for the oven

Honey Glazed Carrots

I love carrots and usually enjoy them raw or quickly stir-fried and crunchy. I decided to mix it up a little today and roast them in the oven, with just a touch of honey to bring out the natural sweetness of the carrots. This is a simple and easy side dish to go with any dinner.

Ingredients:
     1 bag or bunch of carrots
     2 tablespoons of olive oil
     1 tablespoon of butter
     1 tablespoon of honey
     1/2 tablespoon of parsley flakes
     salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425F. Wash, peel and cut the carrots into pieces (may not be necessary if you are using baby carrots), trying to keep them as equal size as possible so that they can cook evenly. Place the carrots on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over them, and place in the oven. Melt the tablespoon of butter and mix with the honey and parsley flakes. After the carrots have been roasting for about 10 minutes, drizzle the honey glaze over them and then continue to roast for another 5-10 minutes. Watch for the carrots to be slightly brown at the edges, and then take them out. Enjoy!

Slicing the carrots

Carrots drizzled with oil ready for the oven

Bird's Nest Cupcakes

Had a rough exam week, and finally got a chance to relax. How do I relax? By baking! Easter was last weekend, but I never got a chance to make an Easter dessert since I was spending the weekend studying. Here is a description of how I decorated these vanilla cupcakes to make them perfect for a springtime celebration.

Ingredients:
     12 baked and cooled cupcakes (I used vanilla cupcakes)
     2 cups frosting (I used chocolate frosting)
     1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
     Bag of mini egg candies

To toast the coconut flakes, spread the coconut in a frying pan and place on the stove over medium heat. Stir constantly until the coconut flakes are lightly toasted, and then remove the pan from the heat. Set aside. Spoon the frosting into a piping bag (or ziploc bag with one corner cut off) and pipe a circle of frosting on the top of each cupcake. Sprinkle the toasted coconut over each cupcake and shake the excess coconut off of each one. Place three candy eggs at the center of each circle, and you're done!

Toasted coconut flakes

Cupcakes