Simple Tasty Spanish Rice

For the longest time I did not like rice, this could be attributed to the fact that most of my early years was spent eating plain white boring rice. This has now changed largely due to the internet, recipe books and magazines which I discovered have a wealth of flavourful easy rice recipes. Once this discovery was made I made a declaration in my household that all rice cooked in my house be colourful, flavorful and full of zest. I stumbled upon this particular recipe in a magazine, with time I have adapted it to suit the Kenyan lifestyle (for lack of a better term). Initially the rice was to be baked but it just makes sense to cook it over a fire. The chicken was also to be pre-baked but in this instance tossing it in hot oil until it is browned all over will do.

This recipe is a surefire hit and it’s a nice change to the Pilau and Biryani that people are often used to. This is a great recipe when entertaining as it is very simple to make and tasty as well. Enjoy

Serves 5

Ingredients

2 cups rice
2 large onions finely chopped
2 red bell peppers (red pili pili hohos)
2 teaspoons Paprika
1 Chicken chopped in pieces
3 cloves of garlic crushed
Salt to taste
4 tablespoons of cooking oil
3 chicken cubes/ chicken stock

Method

- In a saucepan with shallow oil put the chicken and fry all over until the outside is browned. It shouldn't be cooked all through it shall finish cooking with the rice.
-In a large saucepan put in the oil, and add the onions, chopped bell pepper and remaining garlic and fry until onions are tender.
-Add the paprika and chicken and toss for 1 minute.
-Lastly add the rice and toss and fry for 2-3 minutes until the rice is well coated
-Add 4 cups of hot water (For every 1 cup of rice cook with 2 cups of water) or chicken stock.
-If you used water, crumble in the Chicken Cubes and mix it well (beef cubes can also be used as an alternative).
-Add salt to taste.
-Bring the rice to a boil under high heat and then lower the flame and let it simmer until ready.
-Serve with a hearty vegetable stew or a fresh salad.

How to make the Perfect Pancake

I used to think Pancakes were so hard to make until my home-science teacher shared with me this recipe when I was 16 years old. Along the way I have jazzed it up with spices and different flavours. And the versatility of this recipe is one of the things I love about it. My personal favourite are orange flavoured pancakes. Yes I like that citrus burst on my tongue. I also like pancakes with a hint of cinnamon. if you have extra bananas you can add mashed banana to the mix. If you opting for a savory option you can also reduce the sugar and add a pinch or two of salt and the pancakes go well with Mince Meat. Follow this simple recipe for a hearty delicious pancake breakfast.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of milk
3 tablespoons margarine/butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of baking powder
2 eggs
1 orange
1 lemon
Oil for cooking.

Method

-Sift the flour into a large bowl
-Rub in the margarine with your fingertips add sugar (if you like your pancakes sweeter you can add more sugar), baking powder and salt. Mix all the dry ingredients
- Make a well in the center and add the milk and eggs. Mix until it is a smooth consistency. Depending on how you want your batter to be you may add more milk or add some more sifted flour to make it thicker.
-Squeeze the juice from the orange and add it into the batter,
-Grate the lemon rind and add it to the batter.
-On a hot pan place 1 – ½ tablespoons of oil and twirl it around.
-Pour in the batter onto the center of the pan and twirl it around to evenly distribute the batter.
-Once the pancake looks “dry” at the top flip it to the other side. Let it cook for 1 minute, or until when flipped over it is dry.
-Serve with hot with your favourite syrup or jam with tea.

Easy Bake Orange Cake

My memories of cake from my childhood were slabs of vanilla cake and chocolate cake made out of Cadbury’s Drinking Chocolate. We would have cake at least twice a week in the school I went for 12 years. So for me school spoilt cake for me and for the longest time “I wasn’t a cake person.”

Fast forward to my twenties when I can afford to buy cake for myself and I discovered the sweet pleasure of a moist well frosted cake. The texture just tingles and delights my taste buds. Ever since then I’ve been on the quest to bake for myself the perfect moist cake and I found it in this perfect orange cake.

The recipe is super easy and if you have a surplus of oranges this would be the perfect way to put them into use. I made this cake for my friend…the frosting needs a bit of work but it was super tasty. A great treat for the family.

The tasty cake, excuse the novice frosting :-)

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1½ cups superfine sugar
½ cup milk
½ cup orange juice
½ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs beaten
3 teaspoons grated orange zest
6 tablespoons margarine softened
2 cups caster sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

-Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. grease and flour baking pan/sufuria.
-In a bowl combine milk, orange juice, eggs, 2 teaspoons orange zest and put aside
-Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. Mix in the sugar. Lastly add the milk mixture and stir thoroughly until fully combined,
-Put the batter into your preferred baking tin and bake in the pre-heated oven for 35 minutes or until when a knife is inserted into the cake it comes out clean

-To make the frosting – Cream the margarine until smooth. Gradually beat in caster sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 tablespoons of orange spoon until slightly stiff. Then stir in vanilla and the remaining teaspoon of orange zest.

-When the cake has cooled frost your cake and serve.

Shepherd’s Pie Kenya Style

Hello All,

Felicitations for the New Year.  You must have all been wondering why B’s Tamu Delights was quiet but I had gone to the drawing board to plan for an exciting year of culinary bliss. This year we shall not only focus on classic Kenyan dishes but also on well-known international delights with a Kenyan Twist.

To kick off the first recipe of the year is Shepherd’s Pie. To be honest I first heard of Shepherd's Pie on TV. And it looked so yummy. So off the top of my head I knew it was made of Lamb Mince, Mashed Potatoes and Worcestershire Sauce. Lamb Mince is a rarity in Nairobi and Worcestershire Sauce is almost impossible to get. I tried several supermarkets and I was unable to get this sauce which is essentially a combination of barley, malt vinegar, spirit vinegar, molasses, sugar, salt, anchovies, tamarind extract, onions and garlic. It really does sound heavenly but most of those ingredients were out of my reach. So that is why I decided to remix this recipe and make it Kenyan Style. 

Instead of lamb mince I used beef mince and I used spices and other ingredients to make a tasty mince that would be the base of my pie. A key point to note is, to make a Shepherd’s Pie an oven is necessary so that you can brown the top. Though mine didn't come out brown at the top, I should have lowered the heat to 150 degrees C, instead of 200 degrees C, I guess I was excited.

Enjoy!

Serves 5

Ingredients

12 medium sized potatoes
1 cup milk 
8 cloves garlic  pounded
3 table spoons Margarine/Butter 
750g minced beef 
1 cup mushrooms sliced (optional) 
4 tomatoes pureed
1 large onion finely chopped 
1 small bunch coriander (dhania) finely chopped 
1 medium yellow pepper 
1 medium red pepper
½ a cup yellow corn (optional)
3 carrots finely chopped or grated
1 cup peas
1½ teaspoons mixed spices/ food masala 
2 beef cubes 
A dash of black pepper 
Salt to taste 2 tablespoons oil

Method
-Peel and Chop the potatoes into medium sized chunks. Put in a sauce pan with water, add salt to taste, half of the pounded garlic and boil until soft.
-When soft, drain the remaining water. Start mashing the potatoes and fold in the milk and margarine/butter. Mash until soft and set aside.
-In a saucepan put the oil in and add the onions, remaining garlic, coriander, peppers, carrots, mushrooms and food masala. Fry until the onions are translucent.
-Add the tomatoes and let it stew for 3-4 minutes.
-Add the peas and sweetcorn and toss in the mixture.
-Add the mincemeat, crumble in the beef cubes add salt to taste and black pepper.
-Let it stew until the meat is cooked all through.
-Get an oven proof dish and put in the mincemeat mix until level
-Spread the mashed potatoes on the top starting with the edges.
-Once spread. Swirl with a fork or use a fork to make a design.
-Put into a preheated oven at 150 degrees C
-Remove when the mincemeat starts to bubble out of the potatoes or when the potatoes turn brown. (Whichever happens first)
-Before serving let the pie rest for 5-10 minutes or else it shall crumble.

-Serve hot!

"Chapo Madondo" Reloaded (Chapati and Beans in Coconut Cream)

Like most Kenyan households in my house we regularly eat legumes as a protein alternative. I was not a big fan of beans when growing up but I ultimately concluded it was due to the way they were cooked. Ever since I started using this recipe, "Chapo Madondo" has become a firm favourite in my household. I will credit this to my secret ingredient COCONUT CREAM. A can of Coconut Cream can easily be found in any Supermarket. Another option to the canned Coconut Cream is Coconut Milk Powder. However I prefer the cream instead. It adds a rich flavour and a hearty stew. Enjoy this simple and quick fix recipe especially for days when you are not in the mood of cooking. In the picture I used Lentils/Kamande but I always use the same recipe for any legume my favourite being CowPeas.

Serves 4

 In the picture I used Lentils/Kamande but I always use the same Coconut Cream recipe for any legume my favourite being CowPeas.

Ingredients
2 and a half cups of beans/ cowpeas/ lentils previously boiled
1 onion finely chopped
1 can coconut cream/milk
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons oil
1 small tomato (optional) (Grated or finely chopped)
3 small beef cubes or 1 large beef cube

Method
-Fry the onions in the oil until they soft.
-If you opt for tomatoes add them and fry for 3 minutes or until when cooked
-Add in the beans, cowpeas or lentils and mix and fry for 3-5 minutes
-Pour in the coconut milk
-Crumble in the beef cubes and add salt to taste
-Let the coconut milk simmer under a low flame for around 10 minutes.
-When ready serve with Chapati or Rice.