Easy meat chops- Cutless, Kutlesi za nyama

This is another of my quick recipes. The old fashion way is to boil
potatos and later mash them. I usually prepare beforehandthe meat filling
and store it in the fridge or freezer. The filling is the same as meat
for sambusa, so if you make in excess you can use it in this recipe.

this recipe makes 18-24 meat chops
Ingredients
Meat filling:
1.5 pound of ground beef /chicken
spices: cumin whole/powdered, blackpepper, cayenne pepper, and any
other spice you like
ginger,garlic, cilantro, bellpepper paste - 2 spoonfuls (I usually
blend them and store in the fridge).
1 medium onion - diced.
salt
1 teaspoon of oil/ cooking spray just to coat the pan
1-2 spoons of lemon juice
1/2 cup of water if necessary

Shell
8 cups of Idaho mashed potatoes flakes/ granules
2 eggs,beaten
vege oil for frying
Optional :breadcrumbs for coating

Directions:
The filling
In a saucepan heat the oil and add the spices just want them to
create an aroma add the meat and ginger paste and let it brown. Add a little
water to make sure that the meat gets cooked. Add the lemon juice and
once the meat is cooked add the onions in and let cook for 5 minutes
only. Put your meat aside and let it cool.

For the shell
As I said its a quick fix - 8 cups of Idaho mashed potatos. Prepare it without adding butter but hold on the water - I usually let it be in a dough like consistency easy to mold and add 1 teaspoon of the cilantro paste mixture and salt .
Now make 18-24 small balls from this potato dough.
Take one ball divide in half and put one half in the palm of your hand and
shape it like a circle/oval being more thinner in in the center. Take
1 ½ teaspoonful of the meat filling and put it in the center. Then
carefully shape the other half of the potato dough on top of it and
close it. The goal you want to acheive is have a filling of ground
meat in between a layer of mashed potatoes which is in a
circular/oval shape.(Inshallah next time I cook will attach a photo
to this page)
Continue the same till your done with all of the potato balls.

The final step
Beat 2 eggs thoroughly, dip each meatchop in the egg wash and fry or cover it in breadcrumbs then fry.Fry till are evenly brown. Drain on a paper towel. Best eaten as a snack or with a dip.


Another alternative: The Egg chop- Kutlesi za Mayai
You put a whole boiled egg in the center and then have it covered
with mash potatoes made into a perfect ball shape.dip into the egg
mixture and fry.
Bon apetite.

Banana Bread.

This is one of my favorite recipes.I came across the recipe online cant remember which website. And have since been using it.
I like the recipe because the bread is very moist. I usually cook it in a bundt pan.To cook it in a bread pan divide the ingredients by half except for the bananas.

Dry ingredients
1 cup of oats/bran
1 cup of all purpose flour (I like using wholewheat)
1/2 cup brown sugar
nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon,as well as cinnamon
baking powder 2 teaspoons
1/2 cup chopped dates(could use apricots), 1 cup pecans(I like adding walnuts & slivered almonds plus flaxseed).

wet ingredients
1/2 cup of vege oil
1/2 cup of milk
3 ripe bananas
2 egg whites (you can use whole eggs if you like)

Preheat the oven to 350 Farenheit

Mix the dry ingredients(excluding the nuts) in a big bowl. In a
separate bowl blend the wet ingredients until frothy. Slowly add the
wet mixture to bowl with dry ingrdients, try not to stir alot and
lastly add the dry nuts.

Pour the mixture in a greased bread pan and let it bake for 40 - 60
minutes. The bread is usually very moist tends to crack on the top,
to. Please test the center to see if its ready.
Once it cools down its ready to eat.

You can try to experiment with desiccated coconut and other nuts.
Mashallah it always comes out nice. Only thing which you should look
out for is the sugar levels-increase or decrease to your preference.
Enjoy with a cup of tea or as a snack. Like making it when I go on road trips.

Shurba

I love shurba, its origins from arabia especially Yemen but also consumed in
East Africa and is a very healthy dish but it really takes time to cook the traditional way. So, I have improvised it using Quakers old fashioned oats( Original - wheat) and use ground beef or chicken instead of meat with bones. Takes approximately 30 minutes depends on how much you cook. And has carbs, protein as well as vitamins in it. It is usually consumed in Ramadhan when we break the fast or as a starter. I often have it as a main course or when I'm down with the flu. And I prefer it thick.

Ingredients:
1.5- 2 pound ground beef/chicken
Quaker oats old fashioned 2 cups
1 carrot grated
1 bell pepper
jalapeno( if you like your soup- chili)
ginger/garlic/cilantro paste(as desired)
other spices: cumin powder, whole cumin, curry powder, black pepper,
crushed red pepper,oregano, mint (your own preference)
3 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice and salt for seasoning.
5 cups of water (or more)

directions:
1.defrost the meat put it in a heavy pot, add
ginger/garlic/cilantro paste and let it brown together. Then add
other spices to season the meat with 1/2 cup of water. Let the meat
cook.
2.Separately, cook the quaker oats as directed. I use the microwave option
as its quicker.
3.Blend the carrot, bell pepper, jalapeno with the cooked quaker oats
and 2/3 of the cooked meat and 1 cup of water. (Depends on preference I like having
1/3 pieces of meat to munch).
4.Transfer the blended mixture to the pot, add water to the consistency you like (2 cups will be enough).Let it simmer then add the vinegar/lemon. It shouldn't be very thick and its ready to serve.

Bon apetite/ afiyet olsun

Variations:
1.Some people like it with onions - so slice the onions thinly and
fry them separately and later mix it into the cooked shurba.
2. You can add 1-2 more cups of oats, it will balance out the meat. Can add an extra carrot and bell pepper too. I like my version because is has more meat.
3. You can blend the whole cooked soup and it would look like this.

Baklava with a twist.

I love baklava but the reason which holds me back eating them is the sweetness. Baklava is just too sweet. There are different types of baklava and they are commonly eaten in Greece, Turkey, Libya and the rest of the Middle east. When I saw the episode on Everyday Italian with the recipe of Simple Baklava on the food network channel. I just had to cook it.
The changes I made- I only used 2 tablespoons of butter for the filling as in the original recipe but used Butter flavored cooking spray to cover the sheets.

Thank you Giada de Laurentiis for this heavenly treat!!!

Kadinbudu - Lady's thigh kofte

This is my favorite turkish kofte. I used the recipe from Binnur's turkish cookbook but made some slight changes. I always use ground chicken instead of beef & as I love spices when I saute the meat I add some curry powder, whole cumins, chilly powder & sumac. I usually like eating it as a snack with salad. And its great to pack for lunch at work. Afiyet olsun!!!