Stuffed bell peppers

Today was a cold rainy Monday..again.. It's funny how this post sounds a lot like my previous one. I guess, I tend to turn to comfort food when it's cold and rainy :) Anyway, I bought these beautiful bell peppers on Sunday and was trying to figure out what to do with them since I have never really used them integrally in a dish.

Usually, in Mauritian cuisine, we tend to use bell peppers in stir-fry and that's about it. So, for a change I thought about making an all-time American favorite - stuffed bell peppers. For this recipe, I used ground turkey but feel free to use ground lamb or chicken cut into tiny pieces.
I used a basic rougaille for the fillings; easy but delicious.

Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers

(2-4 servings)

You will need:

• 4 big peppers (any color you want)
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 medium Onion, chopped
• 2 Tsp Ginger and Garlic paste
• 1 chili
• 3 sprigs of Thyme
• 1/2 can (medium) Crushed Tomato
• 5-6 white mushrooms (or 1/2 can), chopped
• 2 Tsp Sundaram Garam masala
• 2 Tbsp Oil
• Breadcrumbs (Optional)
• Grated Cheese (Optional)

Steps:

• Cut off the heads of the peppers and remove the seeds carefully. Wash the peppers and steam them, cut side up, for 10 minutes. An alternative to steaming the peppers is to put them in the microwave on high for 3-4 mins or until they are tender.
  
• Wash the pepper heads, remove the twigs and chop them into tiny dices.
  
• In a pot, heat up the oil and prepare the rougaille; add the chopped onion, thyme, chili, ginger and garlic paste and tomato sauce. Simmer for 5 mins then add in the ground turkey.
• Season with salt and pepper and cook for 15 mins. Add the mushroom and pepper, mix and cook on medium heat till all the water evaporates.
• In the meantime, start pre-heating the oven at 350F (180 C) for 10 minutes.
• As the rougaille takes up a thick consistency, adjust seasoning and sprinkle with garam masala. Mix and take off heat.
• Stuff the peppers generously with the fillings and top with breadcrumbs.
• Bake at 350 F (180 C) for 20 minutes then add the grated cheese ( I used mozzarella but Cheddar/Kraft will work just fine) and let it melt for a few minutes. Serve immediately.

Stuffed peppers can be eaten with anything; bread, salad, pasta, mashed potatoes, rice... I paired mine with a plain red cabbage salad for a light dinner.

Believe me, it was as yummy as it looks.

From a rainy Monday to another Happy Monday!!

Kalia Poulet (Chicken Kalia)

Mondays are supposed to be good days.

Today is the start of a new week and we're back an hour again (daylight savings time kicked in!). What was supposed to be a beautiful sunny spring Monday turned out to be a gloomy, cloudy, I-don't-feel-like-doing-anything day. Yet, I still dragged myself out of bed and spent all day feeling cold and dreary. Days like these remind me of the times, Yoginee and I would come back late from after-school tuitions (lecons) and were hungry as hell. We would smell the rich aroma of Mom's cooking and rush up the stairs screaming how hungry we were. Yes! Days like these bring back good memories so I decided to indulge into some comfort food myself. Now mind you, cooking a Kalia Poulet on a weekday is a treat but hey, I had a crappy Monday, I deserve it!

Chicken Kalia

(2-3 servings)

You will need:

• 5 Chicken thighs (or 3/4 kg Chicken, cut into reasonably large pieces)
• 3 Medium potatoes (peeled and quartered)
• 2 big Onions, sliced in discs
• 1 big Onion, grounded into a paste
• 2 tsps Ginger and Garlic paste
• 1/2 bunch Mint leaves, chopped
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro (coriander), chopped
• 3-4 Tbsp Sundaram Epices pour Briani
• 1 cup Plain Yoghurt
• Green Peas, frozen or canned
• 1 cup Oil for frying
• 2 tsp melted Ghee
• 2 Green Chillies (optional)
• 3-4 Saffron strands
• 2 cups Water

Steps:

• Infuse the saffron strands in 3 Tbsp of hot water and keep.
  
• Season the potato quarters with salt and half the saffron infusion (for coloring) and deep-fry in hot oil for 5-10 mins (They have to be half-cooked). In the same oil, fry the sliced onions till golden brown and reserve.
• In a large stockpot, mix all the following ingredients together: the chicken pieces, Sundaram Epices pour Briani, fried potato quarters, yoghurt, mint and coriander, ginger & garlic paste, ground onion paste, ghee, saffron, 2 cups of water and the chillies (optional). Mix carefully and season. Cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
• Cook on high heat until you begin to see bubbles break through the surface.
• Turn heat down to medium low and simmer for 30 mins until you obtain a rich gravy. The potatoes should be soft and squishy.
• Serve hot with plain basmati rice and tomato salad (Chatini pomme d'amour).

Kalia is a variation of the traditional briani. It asks for the same ingredients except that you add the half-cooked rice before starting the cooking process. The good thing about cooking a kalia or a briani is the heavenly smell that takes over the house. My neighbor (whom I barely know, let alone talk) came over and asked what I was cooking. I was stunned.

I think she is just a wee bit nosy.

Home-made Chicken stock

Chicken stock

(Yields around 5 cups)

You will need:

• 1-2 lbs chicken carcass
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into half
• 1 rib celery, cut into half
• 1 small leek, white part only, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme (2 brins)
• 4 sprigs fresh parsley with stems
• 2 bay leaves (optional)
• 1/2 Clove garlic, peeled.
• 1 litre cold water

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in a stockpot.
• Cook on high heat until you begin to see bubbles break through the surface of the liquid.
• Turn heat down to medium low so that stock maintains low, gentle simmer.
• Skim the scum from the stock with a spoon from time to time.
• Simmer uncovered for around 2 hours or more if possible (no longer than 6 hours though). The vegetables and chicken should be submerged at all times. Add hot water if necessary.
• Strain stock and discard all the ingredients.

The stock can be stored for up to 3 months in the freezer. You can use it as a base for soups and sauces. It can even be used as an alternative for water when cooking rice for a different, smokier flavor.

Bouillon Crabe recipe

The recipe is super simple.

Bouillon crabe

For 2-4 people (depending on your hangover!)

You will need:

• 4 crabs (I used King crabs)
• 4 tomatoes
• 2 Tsp oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 Tbsp chopped thyme
• Green chilies, finely chopped (according to taste)
• 1 Tsp Ginger and Garlic paste
• 2 Cups Chicken stock
• 1 Cup water
• Salt and Pepper
• A bunch of fresh Coriander, chopped (Cilantro)

Steps:

• Clean up the crabs and separate into pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat the oil in a big pot and make a rougaille – Put in the onions, chopped thyme,ginger and garlic paste and chilies. Mix well then add the tomatoes and season with salt.
• Simmer for 5-10 minutes then add half of the chopped coriander, the water and the chicken stock.
• Bring to a boil then dump the crab pieces into the bouillon and let it cook for 5 mins. Check the seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Cover and boil for 10 more minutes.
• The crabs are cooked when they get a reddish orange hue. Take off the heat.
• Garnish with coriander and the bouillon is ready à être déguster.

A couple of quick tips about this recipe:

First, the crabs cook quicker than you would think so monitor them as soon as they turn red else the crab meat will be overcooked and will float. Since the “meat” is pretty sparse in the crab, you would not want that.

Secondly, this soup can be made rather quickly. The ingredients are very basic but the key to a successful bouillon is a good chicken stock. If you can’t get it ready-made, you can make some of your own. See recipe in the next post. And the best thing about it is that you can always re-use the stock to make other goodies such as bouillon boulettes or a “Mauritian” risotto.

A little bit of sunshine

We drove to Belle-Mare beach yesterday. The weather was glorious, inspite of the impending cyclone on Rodrigues. The beach was really quiet, too quiet for a sunny sunday afternoon..We just had time to take in the magnificent scenery...and a few drinks..and there were already a few more cars coming in..In any case, we went into the warm blue lagoon...exquisite..I had forgotten how relaxing that was..There were some nice quirky waves who teased us as we showed off our best swimming moves!lol..The weather darkened and we were sprinkled with a light shower...It was enough to make most of the others head back..It just lasted about five minutes..and the sun was back again...We stayed through..breathing in the fresh air and crunching on nice pineapple chunks with tamarind sauce and ground red chillies..yummy!!!It was a great afternoon...For all of you guys out there, here's a little bit of sun, sea and sand to warm you in the cold and to comfort your nostalgic souls.

Bouillon Crab / Crab soup

Okay, so a couple of days back, I posted this beautiful picture of the yummy typical Mauritian crab soup that I made and received tons of comments about it. I know there are a lot of you guys out there who are far from home and who would love to just get a taste of a good “bouillon crabe.” So, I will be sharing the secret of my delicious “bouillon crabe” fait maison with you soon. I hope you will appreciate it.

A bientot!

Salad Ourite / Mauritian Octopus Salad

Salade Ourite / Mauritian Octopus Salad

For 4-6 people (Appetizer portions)

You will need:

• 3 baby octopuses (approx. 2 lbs each)
• Juice from 1/2 lemon and the zest
• 2 Tsp olive oil
• 1 medium tomato, cut into thin wedges
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 Green chilies, finely chopped
• Salt and Pepper
• Fresh Coriander for garnish

Steps:

• Rinse octopus in cold water, drain completely and place in a large pot.
• Add 1 Tsp of salt and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil.
• Lower heat and simmer for about 25-30 mins until the octopus become pinkish in color and slightly tender.
• Remove from the heat and set aside. Cut the flesh, along with the head, into bite-size chunks.
• Place them in a large salad bowl. Toss in the sliced onion, olive oil, tomato wedges, and chopped green chilies.
• Season the salad with salt and pepper and finally add in the finely chopped lemon zest and the lemon juice.
• Mix well and leave to rest for at least half an hour before serving.
• Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve.

Bon appetit!!

In Mauritius, Octopus is a seasonal find so sometimes you get a lot of them on the market and at other times less. This recipe is mostly generic. You can adjust the ingredients listed to your quantity of octopus. The most important thing is to boil it and season it properly so that it can be stripped of any unpleasant odor. The rest is to make the salad, have a drink and enjoy!!