Ingredients
2 tbsp ghee
2 bay leaves
2 cloves
1 piece cassia bark/cinnamon
2 cardamom pods
2 cups basmati rice, washed
¼ tsp saffron strands
2 tbsp warm water
3 cups water
2 tbsp ghee
½ cup raw cashews
1 onion, sliced finely
1 small capsicum, cut into strips
1 carrot, julienned
1 tbsp garam masala
salt to taste
fresh coriander strands
Method
Heat the ghee and add the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. Almost immediately, add the washed rice. Saute the rice until all the moisture evaporates.
Dissolve the saffron strands in the 2 tablespoons of warm water.
Add this to the rice, along with 3 cups of water. Cover and cook on low till all the water is absorbed (around 7 minutes).
Heat another 2 tablespoons of ghee and roast the cashews till golden brown.
Add the vegetables and stir-fry until cooked yet still crisp. Stir in the garam masala and salt. Stir this through the rice.
So this dish has been said to be fit for a king, so how about it? Maybe it is somethings to try this weekend.
Another dish which you cannot possibly leave out when you are talking about Thai food is Pad Thai. Pad Thai (Thai: ผัดไทย, IPA: [pʰàt tʰāj], "fried Thai style") is a dish of stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, fish sauce (Thai: น้ำปลา), tamarind juice, red chilli pepper, plus any combination of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts, coriander and lime, the juice of which can be added along with Thai condiments. Pad Thai is one of Thailand's national dishes.
There have been changes to the dish by the western worlds and have made the dish more oily and heavy compared to the light and dry version found in Thailand itself. Although I have never actually myself been to Thailand to try their original version and I can see how it differs to the altered version. The recipe is as follows:
Ingredients
1/2 lime
1 egg
4 teaspoons fish sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground dried chili pepper
ground pepper
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon tamarind
1/2 package Thai rice noodles
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2-1/4 lb shrimp [Optional]
1/2 banana flower [Optional]
1/3 cup tofu - extra firm [Optional]
1-1/2 cup Chinese chives - green [Optional]
2 tablespoons peanuts [Optional]
1-1/3 cup bean sprouts [Optional]
1 tablespoon preserved turnip [Optional]
Method
Soak the dry noodles in lukewarm water while preparing the other ingredients, for 5-10 minutes. Julienne tofu and cut into 1 inch long matchsticks. When cut, the extra firm tofu should have a mozzarella cheese consistency. Cut up Chinese chives into 1 inch long pieces. Set aside a few fresh chives for a garnish. Rinse the bean sprouts and save half for serving fresh. Mince shallot and garlic together.
Use a wok. If you do not have a wok, any big pot will do. Heat it up on high heat and pour oil in the wok. Fry the peanuts until toasted and remove them from the wok. Add shallot, garlic and tofu and stir them until they start to brown. The noodles should be flexible but not expanded at this point. Drain the noodles and add to the wok. Stir quickly to keep things from sticking. Add tamarind, sugar, fish sauce, chili pepper and preserved turnip. Stir. The heat should remain high. If your wok is not hot enough, you will see a lot of juice in the wok at this point. Turn up the heat, if it is the case. Make room for the egg by pushing all noodles to the side of the wok. Crack the egg onto the wok and scramble it until it is almost all cooked. Fold the egg into the noodles. Add shrimp and stir. Add bean sprouts, chives. Stir a few more times. The noodles should be soft and very tangled.
Pour onto the serving plate and sprinkle with peanuts. Serve hot with the banana flower slice and a wedge of lime on the side and raw Chinese chives and raw bean sprouts on top.
This looks fit to be national dish of Thailand doesn't it? YUMMM
I'll come back with another recipe in a couple of days, I hope that these keep you busy for now.
BYEE
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