Ailurophile

Simply wonderful!

Ten Years Later: A Tribute 9/11
My favorite 9/11 tribute in New York City can be found in Bryant Park. 2,819 empty chairs on the lawn facing the site where the World Trade Center once stood, one chair for every life lost. The number of empty chairs captures the enormity of the lives lost and the stark emptiness of it just drives home the point that I hope is never forgotten. 2,819 people were here one moment and gone the next. 2,819 went to work or boarded a plane one morning ten years ago thinking it would be another ordinary day and they never came home.

(via jyceetotsy)

Chole - Chickpea Curry

In continuation of our indian theme, my sister made this vegetarian dish..it smells so gooood!!..time to eat!..ya’ll better be jealous..<3..as my sister just said..homemade cookingg is wayyy better then the stuff u get at restaurants!..

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of chickpeas (400 gm each)
• 2 tbsps vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 5-6 cloves
• 3-4 green cardamoms
• 5-6 peppercorns
• 3 large onions sliced
• 2 large tomatoes chopped
• 2 tbsps garlic paste
• 1 tbsps ginger paste
• 2 tsps coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsps garam masala
• 1”piece of ginger julliened
• 2 tbsps fresh coriander leaves chopped fine

Preparation:

1. Grind 2 onions, the tomatoes, ginger, garlic together into a smooth paste.
2. Heat the oil in a deep, thick-bottomed pan on a medium flame.
3. Add the bay leaves, cloves, cardamom and peppercorns and fry for 1/2 a minute.
4. Add the remaining sliced onion and fry till light golden. Add the onion-tomato paste and fry till the oil begins to separate from the paste.
5. Add the dry spices - cumin, coriander, red chilli, tumeric and garam masala powders. Fry for 5 minutes.
6. Drain the water in the can from the chickpeas and rinse them well under running water. Add the chickpeas to the masala. Mix well.
7. Add salt to taste and water to make gravy (about 1 1/2 cups).
8. Simmer and cook covered for 10 minutes.
9. Use a flat spoon to mash some of the chickpeas coarsely. Mix well.
10. Garnish with juliennes of ginger and finely chopped fresh coriander leaves.
11. Serve piping hot with Poori/ Bhatura.

Spicy Chicken Curry:

Today is Indian Cooking day at our house, in a way celebrating what a great mid sem break we have had, and mourning the fact school starts again tomorrow.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole skinless chicken or equivalent size chicken breasts
• 1 cup low fat yogurt
• 4 tbsp minced ginger
• 4 minced garlic cloves
• 2 medium onions(1 large) chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes diced
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp of garam masala (mixture of spices)
• 2 tsp of ground coriander
• 1 tsp of ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• a little black pepper (optional)
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp of cooking oil
• a little water to mix the spices

Directions:

1. Chop up onions in a chopper.
2. Once you are done with the onions, put your ginger and garlic in the chopper, add just a little bit of water to make it easier on the chopper while super chopping ingredients and do it until the mixture becomes a little pasty.
3. You can either pre-cut chicken in small cubes like I do, or you can just cut up the whole chicken into smaller pieces. Once you have the chicken ready, add 1 cup of yogurt, just a dash of salt, 2 Tbsp of ready garlic+ginger paste and mix everything well with your hands. Put the marinade aside until the sauce is ready.
4. Dice tomatoes and put aside for later use.
5. Put oil into a well heated skillet, add onions and stir fry until onions are transparently yellowish. Add the remainder of the garlic+ginger paste (approx. 2 Tbsp) and keep on stirring for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
6. Meanwhile, you will need to prepare a mixture of spices. For that, you will need a small cup with 4-5 Tbsp of water. Add turmeric, garam masala, cumin, coriander, chili peppers and salt. Mix everything well and pour the mixture over the sauteed onions.
7. From here, you will need to work your spatula over the skillet. Keep stirring everything until you see oil separating from the onions+spices. Once it is done, add tomatoes and saute some more (until tomatoes soften and oil starts to separate from vegetables).
8. Take out the chicken marinade and slowly place it over the sauce. Mix everything carefully and close the lid. Once the sauce boils up, turn down the heat to medium low.
9. Keep the lid closed and let the chicken cook well. In about 30-45 minutes you will have a delicious Curry Chicken. Once the chicken is cooked to perfection, add a dash more of the garam masala to give a much richer aroma to the dish. You can serve it with vegetables, naan (bread), rise, spinach saag and many other Indian side dishes.

Biko (Filipino Sweet Sticky Rice)

Sister made a yummy filipino sweet sticky rice desert today!!.with only 4 ingredients!..

.today is sweet day at our house..i wonder what tomorrow is going to be..

RECIPE:

• 3 cans (14 Oz. Can) Coconut Milk
• 4 cups Sweet Rice
• 2 cups Brown Sugar, Lightly Packed, Divided
• 1 cup Coconut Cream

PREPARATION:

1. This recipe can easily be halved and made in an 8×8 pan. If you like crunchy rice edges, cook the biko in muffin pans or brownie bar pans.
2. Pour coconut milk and about a cup of water into a pot and let it come to a simmer over medium heat. When simmering, add in the rice and stir constantly to prevent burning. Lower the heat if necessary. Preheat oven to 350F.
3. When rice is sticky and almost dry (it will look like risotto), about 10-15 minutes, add 1 cup brown sugar. Stir well and take off heat. Pour into a lightly buttered 9×13 pan and smooth the top. Mix the remaining 1 cup brown sugar and coconut cream until smooth and pour it over the rice
4. Bake for about 1 hour or until topping is dark brown and has thickened. Cool slightly before serving.

Chocolate Chip Cookies without Butter:

YAY!!!..first successful attempt at cookies!!…and i did it without butter but it was super yummyyy….=3..am seriously proud of myself its wierd!..

RECIPE:

• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups best-quality chocolate chips, the smaller the better 

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the oil and vanilla and mix in thoroughly. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix at low speed. Fold in the chips by hand.
3. Drop the dough by heaping teaspoonfuls 1 inch apart onto cookie sheets lined with foil. Bake only one tray at a time. If your cookie sheets are the professional heavy-gauge type, bake the cookies for 10 minutes. If they are lighter, bake for 8 minutes. The cookies will firm up as they cool, so do not be tempted to bake them longer or they will harden.
4. Store the cookies in tin boxes, separating each layer with foil or wax paper so they don’t stick.