Turkish Menemen

Menemen is fast and easy to prepare and very nutritious. It’s a favourite for breakfasts in Turkey. But it can be a tasty lunch or a quick supper. 

Ingredients
Eggs: 4
Chopped tomatoes: 1 cup
Chopped capsicum: 1/2 cup
Chopped onion: 1/2 cup
Chopped green chili: 1 tsp
Diced olives: 2-3 tsp
Olive oil: 2 tsp
Salt: To taste

Method
Heat olive oil in a pan and add green chili, onion, capsicum and tomatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes on a low flame. Add eggs and scramble them well and add salt to taste. Cook the eggs till they are fairly firm. Serve warm.

Kashta Kachori

Ingredients

All-purpose flour: 2 cups

Salt: To taste

Oil: For frying

For stuffing

Split green gram dal (Moong dal): 1 cup

Ghee: 2-3 tsp

Ginger paste: 1 tsp

Green chili paste: ½ tsp

Asafoetida: A pinch

Turmeric powder: ¼ tsp

Coriander powder: 1 tsp

Cumin powder: ¼ tsp

Red chili powder: 1 tsp

Fennel seeds powder: ½ tsp

Lemon juice: 1 tsp

Salt: To taste

Add caption

Method

Soak split green gram dal for 3-4 hours.

Sift flour and salt in a bowl. Add 2 tsp of ghee and mix well. Knead into soft dough using sufficient water. Cover with a moist cloth and set aside.

Coarsely grind soaked green dal. Heat ghee in a pan and add ground dal, ginger, green chilli, asafoetida, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder and fennel powder. Cook till all the moisture dries. Add salt and lemon juice, mix well and remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Divide the dal mixture into 20 equal portions. Divide the flour dough also into 20 equal sized balls. 

Roll them into small puris and place a portion of stuffing in the centre and bring the edges together to form a ball. Lightly press them with your palms to make thick puris.

Heat oil in pan. Deep fry kachoris on a low flame till golden brown.

Serve with tamarind chutney or tomato ketchup.

Roasted Broccoli

Ingredients
Broccoli florets: 2 cups
Pepper powder: ½ tsp
Toasted sesame seeds: 2-3 tsp
Olive oil: 2-3 tsp
Salt: To taste

Method
Heat olive oil in a pan and fry broccoli till crisp. Add pepper powder and salt and toss well. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
If you want to bake it, preheat the oven to 400⁰ F. In a bowl, toss one tablespoon of olive oil, salt, pepper and broccoli and place on a large baking sheet. Roast till the broccoli is tender and blackened on the bottom. It will take about 10 minutes. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve warm.

Shakshouka

Shakshouka in Hebrew means “all mixed up.” It is a staple of Tunisian, Egyptian, Libyan, Algerian and Moroccan cuisines and is very popular in Isreal and the dish has been said to challenge hummus and falafel as a national favourite, especially in the winter.

Ingredients
Eggs: 4
Finely chopped onion: 1 cup
Finely chopped capsicum: 1 cup
Peeled and crushed tomatoes: 4
Olive oil: 2-3 tsp
Salt: To taste
Pepper powder: To taste

Method
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and add onion and capsicum. Saute them till lightly brown.Peel and grate tomatoes on largest holes of a grater. Add the grated tomatoes to the frying pan and close the lid. Cook over low flame for 15-20 minutes.Remove the lid and add the the eggs. Stir gently to break yolks. Cover the lid again and cook on a medium flame for about 5 minutes or till the eggs are firm. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve warm.

Note: If you want, you can use minced garlic. If you love it to be spicy, you can add crushed chili powder and for taste variation, you can add oregano.

Panko Lamb Chops

Ingredients
Thick bone-in lamb chops: 2
Panko breadcrumbs: ½ cup
All-purpose flour: ¼ cup
Grated Parmesan cheese: 2 tsp
Minced Italian Parsley: 1 tsp
Eggs: 2
Salt: To taste
Black pepper: To taste
Oil: 5-6 tsp

Method
Preheat the oven to 400⁰ F.

Season lamb chops with salt and black pepper and set aside.

Mix Panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan, parsley and salt. Keep flour in one bowl, beaten eggs in another and the Panko mixture in another bowl.

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat 3 tablespoons of oil over medium high flame. Roll the lamb chops first in the flour, then in the egg and lastly in the Panko mixture. Make sure to coat the chops evenly. Add the chops to the pan and cook till golden brown and crispy on each side.

Remove the chops from the pan to a baking sheet. Cook the chops in the oven, uncovered, for about 12-15 minutes. Serve the crisp and juicy lamb chops with slices of onion.