Today's All About Nitish Kumar and His Pizza

16 year-old World Cup cricketer Nitish Kumar of Canada

It is all about Nitish Kumar today, but there are a few things I need to get off my chest first.  I suppose it's a good day if you're a Zimbabwe or West Indies cricket fan!  Zimbabwe just obliterated Canada yesterday, and the Windies punished the Dutch with their batting and bowling prowess.  It certainly was not a good day for the minnows!

Zimbabwe are lookin' good with Ray Price leading the bowling attack, and with a bit of work, Chris Mpofu's going to have one killer quick seamer.  Taibu, the fabulously chatty wicket-keeper (my fave wk now), scored a great big 98 runs before being caught out by Davison.  I can't wait to see these guys back in test cricket!  They will definetly add a new dimension to international cricketdom.

And before I get to Nitish Kumar and his pizza, let's talk about how the Windies made orange squash out of the Dutch. 

The Netherlands Cricket Team, after Roach's hat-trick.

Kemar Roach got this World Cup's first hat-trick, and ended up getting an almost obscene 6 wickets for 27.  Gayle scored 80 runs, Smith scored 53 and Pollard scored 60.  Nice work, lads!  So while the Dutch played relatively well in their earlier warm-up matches, they were not up to task yesterday.  But good on the Windies!

And now let's get the the big point of today's post.  Canada batsman Nitish Kumar is the youngest player ever in a World Cup.  He is only 16.  He needed special permission from his school to leave his classes for a month to play in the World Cup.  He opened Canada's innings with John Davison (who batted #1) who also happens to the oldest player in the World Cup at 40 years of age.  Strangely, it was Nitish who showed more maturity with his batting; Davison tried to belt one out and got clean bowled by Price.

Kumar only scored one run, but let's remember something:  Would you have been able to play any sport knowing that MILLIONS of people would be watching your every move when you were just 16?  Probably not...you probably would have been in bathroom being sick to your stomach!  Let's get real here, people!  I used to almost get sick before singing at a school concert!  So a great big huge "Good on ya" goes out to Nitish...I hope you keep on doing well in cricket and become a massive international cricket star!  You deserve it, kiddo!!

Today's cooking is for the young'uns who might not have any kitchen experience.  Home-made pizza dough is easy to make, and there is no need to buy any canned sauces or tomato paste.  We'll make our own fresh tomato sauce; and after this you'll never want a take-away pizza again!

Nitish Kumar's Pizza

Ingredients for Dough
about 3 cups white all-purpose flour, or use a mix of white and whole wheat flour
about 1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon of instant yeast (the kind you don't need soak in water first)
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Ingredients for Sauce
2 or three tomatoes
a handful of basil leaves
oregano
salt
a bit of olive oil
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
salt
red chili powder

Toppings ( you can really use anything you like.  Experiment; these are just some suggestions)
strong cheddar cheese, shredded
any kind of cooked meat
sliced tomatoes
mushrooms
olives
anchovies
feta cheese
mozzarella cheese
hunter beef
sliced garlic
sliced onions
spinach
sliced capsicums (bell peppers)
chopped green chilies

First of all, make the dough.  The entire process is going to take about an hour or so.  Put half of the flour in a bowl, and add the salt, sugar, and yeast, and give it a stir.
Add the warm water (not hot) and the olive oil,  and stir until everything is well mixed and there are no bumps.
Gradually add the rest of the flour until you have a dough you can knead with your hands.  The dough should be slightly sticky...it's too dry if it doesn't stick to your hands at all.
Knead the dough by pressing down on it with the heels of both hands, folding the dough, turning it 90 degrees and pressing down on it again.  Keep on repeating this for about 10 minutes, and you'll have a smooth, satiny ball.

Now place the dough in a large oiled bowl, make sure the dough gets a little oil all over it.  This will prevent it from sticking to the side while rising.  Put a damp cloth over the bowl, and let the dough rise about 30 minutes in a warm place.

While you're waiting for the dough to rise, make your sauce.

Put all of the ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth.  Adjust the salt according to your taste.

Now check your dough.  It should be double in size.  Give it a punch, and knead it again for a couple of minutes, then roll it out and place on an oiled pizza pan or a baking sheet.  Use your fingers to stretch the dough out to the corners.  Cover with a damp towel, and let rise for at least 15 minutes.    You may find you have too much dough, especially if you like a thin crust.  No worries, just wrap up the left-over dough and freeze it for later use.

While the dough is rising for the second time, get your topping ingredients ready.  Keep in mind that if you're using raw vegetables as toppings, water will leak out during cooking and might make the dough soggy.  Do not use too many raw veggies.

After about 15 minutes, preheat your oven to 400 F or 200 C. 
Poke some holes in the dough with a fork.
Spread a little olive oil on the dough.
Evenly spread the tomato sauce you've just made over the dough.
Add your toppings, and cover with your choice of cheeses.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until the edges of the dough are golden brown and the toppings are cooked, and the cheese has melted.

Serve immediately and watch the World Cup cricket.

And there you go, a great home-made pizza which requires a little bit of work, but totally worth it and totally delicious.  Give this a try, and let me know how it goes!

Have a good one, and let's all wish Nitish a long and happy career in cricket.

Happy cricket, happy cooking!

My Other Job at SportPulse

And a good day to you!  England and India tied in an incredible match yesterday; that game was the stuff of legend.  Andrew Strauss had a magnificent 158-run knock and Bresnan got an incredible 5 wickets...gorgeous stuff!

And India played very well, too!  Sachin Tendulkar got a big fat 120 runs...man, I like that little guy!  So classy!

I'm really busy watching the Canada/ Zimbabwe match right now, so I'll get back to the cooking tomorrow.  However, I did a quick little write-up about the England and India match and I threw in a recipe for Fish and Chips in SportPulse.  Here's the link:
http://sportpulse.net/content/england-and-india-tied-fish-and-chips-deep-fried-487

And while you're at it, there's a great match review by Faisal Caesar:
http://www.sportpulse.net/content/its-tie-488

And here's another fabulous article about the electrifying Pakistan/ Sri Lanka match by Aziz ul Qadir:
http://www.sportpulse.net/content/sri-lanka-doomed-boom-boom-483

There are also lots of good stories by Kristopher Hinz, Karam Khan, Rory More O'Ferrall and Matt Hodgetts, just to name a few!  Go to http://sportpulse.net/ and have a nice long visit, and get your fill of sports!

Right, I'm off to watch John Davison and Rizwan Cheema and the rest of the lovely Canadian lads.  Have a good one!

Happy Cricket, Happy SportPulse!

The Anchor, The Captain, The Rawalpindi Express, and Mo Ha

It's a cold dark day in Melbourne this morning, but there's some sweet sunshine all around because Pakistan showed those Sri Lankans how cricket should be played and scored a fantastic victory!

Pakistan, Victorious and Glorious Today

It's YES all around the world for Pakistan fans!  YES!  First of all I really want to talk about gorgeous Misbah ul-Haq's batting!  What an awesome anchor, not only for the innings, not only for the match, not only for the World Cup, not only for the Team, but for ALL OF PAKISTAN and ALL OF CRICKETDOM!  His calm and cool demeanor gives strength to all the lads on the team.  What a role model, what a batsman, what a cricketer.  He is now my absolute all-time favourite!  Well Done Misbah, Good on Ya!!!

Next, I have to tell you about Shahid Afridi; not only does he know when it's time to be aggressive in the batting line-up, he knows when it's time to open that can of whoop-ass when he bowls!  The captain's bowling is getting more and more spectacular every day, batmsen now need psychological therapy after facing his wrong'un!  Just check this out:  in the match against Kenya, Afridi got 5 wickets for 16 and just a few hours ago he got 4 Sri Lanka scalps for 34. 

And that isn't all!  Shoaib Akhtar got two screamin' wickets, clean bowling both Jayarwardene and Perera and breaking some furniture in the process!   Way to show us you've still got it, Rawalpindi Express!  Still bowling at over 150 kph!!! Vicious and beautiful!!

Now to be fair, I will mention that Ricky "Pouting" of Australia also broke some furniture, but he broke a television in a fit of pique after getting run out by Chris Mpofu of Zimbabwe a few days back.  Ricky, a run out happens to the best of them.  You didn't see Mohammed Hafeez breaking TV's or throwing pianos out of his hotel room because he got run out!  No! Mohammed Hafeez is awesome and is always a gentleman.  Love ya Moha for keepin' your cool!

No cooking for today...I'm still buzzing from that victory!

Happy Cricket, Happy Pakistan!

Haunted Blogger

Hi everyone.  My last post is a hot mess; something strange is going on with blogger.  There's stuff in that post that I didn't even write!  It looks like I'm the victim of the blogger poltergeist.

My apologies, I'll do my best to get the mess sorted in the morning!

Enjoy the Saffies vs Windies tonight!

Kiki

ps.  Oh awesome!  It looks like the entire post got deleted.   Phooey!

Me, Shahid Afridi and Brother-in-Law's Bhunna Gosht

The sun is out, the birds are singing and everybody's happy.  Except for poor Kenya.  They certainly got a thrashing at the hands of Pakistan in yesterday's World Cup match!  However, at the start it looked like my lovely lads were doomed when they began their innings with a dismal 12/2.  I was on the verge of tears, I tell you!  TEARS!!!  But Younis Khan came to the rescue with a handy half-ton and Kamran Akmal scored a big fat number of runs, too.  Right on Kamran!  (Now that's something you don't hear me saying often!)

Then Misbah ul Haq scored a great 65 and Man of the Match Umar Akmal scored a massive 71 in 52 balls.  How flipping awesome is that? 
And then there's even more!  I could only stay awake to watch Pakistan's innings last night (I need my beauty sleep or else I look like Dame Edna, see pic of a tired me out on a date with ShaneWarne recently),　

Warnie doesn't mind so much when I look tired, but I'd rather look "fresh" with a good night's sleep.

but my jaw dropped this morning when I saw Shahid Afridi's bowling stats!!!  5 Kenya scalps for 16!  Whoa pilgrim!  I wish I'd been able to stay awake for that and I can't believe I missed it!  Shahid Afridi is The Man....The Good Man!  Pakistan Zindabaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!


And now for the cooking part of my post.  After a victory like that, Pakistan is going to need their strength and a little spice to secure a win against their next opponent, the sweet Sri Lanka team.  Hence, today I'm going to show you my Brother -in-Law's Bhunna Gosht, complete with pictures and instructions from the Boss of Bhunna, the Sultan of Salans, my Brother-in-Law.


Bhunna


My brother-in-law is a fiercely private person, so I'm not going to name him.  He was incredibly nice enough to write this bhunna gosht instruction manual for my blog today, so a big shout out goes to him.  Thanks!  And now, go get ready my kitchen commandoes, we've got a job to do.


BHUNNA GHOOSHT RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
1) 1 pound –Beef/Lamb or Goat Meat
  


2)½ Onion –Thinly Sliced
3)3 to 4 Roma Tomatoes –Blended or Thinly Sliced
4)1 Tablespoon –Garlic (paste)
5)1 Tablespoon –Ginger (paste)
6)Green Chili as many as desired
7)1 Teaspoon –Red Chili Powder
8)1 Teaspoon –Salt (or suit to taste)9)½ Teaspoon –Turmeric Powder

10)Oil –Enough to cover bottom of pan
USE MEDIUM HEAT UNLESS OTHERWISE SUGGESTED


Notes:  If The Onion Is On The Large Side,Use 1/3 Of The Onion Instead Of Half.  Lamb Or Goat Meat  With Some Bones Is Preferred. Beef Without Any Bones Will Not Taste As Good.  In The Picture Above, Use The Tablespoon As A Reference Of Onion And Tomato Portions.


COOKING


1.Place the garlic and ginger paste in a glass or container.
2.Add a little water to just cover the tops of the garlic and ginger paste, see picture below.
3.Slice the onions thinly.  Adding more onions may result in poor results.
4.Blend the tomatoes to a puree or thinly slice them
5.Add oil to the pan along with the onions, no need to heat the oil first. It is highly recommended that enough oil is added so that the onions can sufficiently fry.  Excess oil can be drained easily once the dish is done.  Adding a little oil will cause the oil to be absorbed into the curry and proper formation of the curry (known as bhunna) will not happen.


6.Fry the onions in medium heat till golden brown.


7.Once the onions are golden brown:
     A.Tilt the pan to pool the oil on one side
     B.Separate the fried onions from the oil.
     C.Carefully squeeze or push the onions along the wall of the pan to remove any   excess oil.
8.Removethe onions from the pan and place them with the tomatoes in a blender.
     A.This step can be skipped of no blender is available, however for a more consistent sauce this step is crucial.

9.Place the cooking pan away from the burner or turn off the fire meanwhile.
　
10.Blend the tomato and fried onion mixture until smooth.

11.Place the cooking panback on the burner and let the oil reheat, 1 minute or so.
12.Add all the powdered spices (chili, salt and turmeric) into the oil and fry for 1 minute or so, or till you slightly see smoke rising.

13.Next add the garlic and ginger paste from step 1 into the cookingpan.

14.Fry the garlic and ginger paste till all the moisture is gone. You can tell this when you no longer see steam rising from the mixture. At this point you will clearly see the oil separating from the garlic, ginger and spice mix, which is a good sign.

　
15.When all the moisture has gone from step 12, add the blended tomato and fried onions into the cooking pan.

16.As with previous step, cook the mix till most of the water in the cooking pan has disappeared. Approximate time for this is around 10 minutes or so.



17.As the watercontent in the cooking pan reduces, the separation of oil from the sauce will once again become apparent (assuming sufficient oil is used).See pictures below.

 18.  Add the meat into the cooking pan and cook for 5 minutes or so.

19.After frying, the separation of oil will be apparent.

20.Add 1 ½ cups of water to the mixture.
21.Add the wholegreen chilies.
　
REGULAR COOKING PAN –SEE FOLLOWING STEPS


22.After adding 1 ½ cups of water, cover and bring the mixture to a full boil.
23.Once boiling, reduce the heat and cook till the meat is tender. Depending on the type of meat it may take from 1 to 1.5 hours to be fully tender.
24.DONE



PRESSURE COOKER –SEE FOLLOWING STEPS


22.After adding 1 ½ cups of water, cover and bring the mixture to pressure
23.Once brought to pressure, reduce the heat to low and cook for approximately 30 minutes.
24.DONE


A Beautiful Bhunna is Now Yours!

NOTE:
Consistency of the sauce can be adjusted by adding more water if too thick or cooking uncovered till enough moisture has evaporated.


So there you have it, a lovely Bhunna Gosht to help our lovely lads beat the cr*pnitz out of the Sri Lankans!  Have a good one, and good luck, let me know how it goes!  Thanks again to my bro-in-law!


Happy Cricket, and Happy Cooking!

The Throw! The Dutch! Kroketten!

Zimbabwe lost their match against Australia yesterday, but who cares?  My jaw is still on the floor after  Chris Mpofu's 50 m throw hit the bails and resulted in Ricky Ponting being run out.  Talk about a classic cricket moment!  And I must say that Ray Prices crazy "hesitation spin" bowling made me cheer with delight.  What an enjoyable match!  I am now a confirmed Zimbabwe fan and I cannot wait to watch all of their crazy spin and pace bowlers again!  Totally worth staying up for!

Since the minnows have had such a hard go of it in this World Cup, all eyes are going to be on the Netherlands when they play England this afternoon.  Should be interesting.  However, if the Dutch are as good at cricket as they are at making Kroketten, they should give England a good run for their money!

KROKETTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!!!!!!

With these delicious croquettes and a side of that famous strong dutch mustard, everyone's a winner.  Go Holland!  Go Kroketten!

Dutch Kroketten for Krikett

I got this recipe from http://food.com/.  The recipe looks reasonable, and it looks like the method is the same one my dutch friends use:  a double coating of bread crumbs.  Right, let's get started!

600 g fresh veal or 600 g beef or 1 pound of cooked chicken

salt and pepper

75 g butter (2 1/2 oz)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup white wine ( the alcohol evaporates from the wine while cooking; but if you're concerned about the alcohol, simply omit the white wine)

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 clove

2 bay leaves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg or 1/4 teaspoon mace

2 sprigs parsley, finely chopped

3/4 teaspoon thyme

2 teaspoons lemon zest (or a squeeze of lemon juice)

2 cups water (or chicken stock if you're using chicken instead of veal or beef) 

40 g all-purpose flour (1.5 oz)

cornstarch

3 eggs, separated into yolks and whites

4 cups fine breadcrumbs  or 4 cups crushed dutch rusks

vegetable oil, to deep-fry

If using left-over chicken or turkey, chop it finely and set aside. Continue with the recipe from Step 3, using stock to make the sauce rather than water, and add the chicken or turkey to the sauce at Step 6.  If using veal or beef, season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

1.  Place a large pan over medium-high heat and melt 2 tablespoons of butter.

2.  Add the veal or beef, wine, onion, clove, bay leaves, nutmeg or mace, parsley, thyme, lemon zest or juice and water. (Use chicken stock if you have chosen to use chicken or turkey.)

3.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. By this time the meat should be tender (or if using poultry, the stock will be bursting with flavor).

4 Strain the stock and reserve, along with the meat. Finely chop or cut the meat into into small pieces.

5 Melt the remaining butter in the pan, stir in the flour and keep stirring for a few minutes on low heat. Don't let it brown. Slowly and gradually add the stock and cook over moderate heat, stirring until the sauce is smooth and thick. Add more flour, or corn starch to thicken the sauce if necessary. Cool slightly and add the 3 egg yolks and mix well (reserve the whites for later).

6 Add the veal, beef, chicken or turkey, mix well and season to taste. The mixture should be thick and stiff by this time.

7 Set the mixture aside to cool thoroughly. When ready, cut or separate the stiff, thick mixture into rolls about 1.5" thick and about 3" long.

8 Spread the crumbs on a clean, dry chopping board. Slightly beat the eggwhites in a deep plate until just incorporated. Roll the croquettes through the breadcrumbs, then through the egg whites and again through the crumbs. (Make sure that the second coating of crumbs is even and thick and no meat mix sticks out, otherwise the croquettes may burst when being deep fried).

9 Deep fry the croquettes in batches of four or five for about 4 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.

And that is that!  So even if the Netherlands cricket team loses today, keep in mind that with food as flavourful, crunchy and delicious as these croquettes, the Dutch are always winners, no matter what!  Good luck today Holland! 

Happy Cricket, Happy Holland!

Minnows, Competing with Dignity, and Hot Chocolate for Grumpiness

And it's cold in Melbourne today and it's cold in my heart.  'Twas indeed a bad day for the minnow or minor teams.Sri Lanka showed the Canadians who's boss on the cricket pitch yesterday and New Zealand just pounded the Kenyans into submission. 

So, yes, Canada lost, but what a good show they put on in the first 25 overs, containing the Sri Lanka run rate.  However, Sri Lanka is a phenomenally good team; Jayawardene's ton brought the SL total up to 332.  Good on Sri Lanka!  Even though I was cheering for Canada, I really like the Sri Lankan chaps. 

New Zealand blew the minnow Kenya right out of the water.  Kenya batted first and scored a skimpy 69 runs all out in less than 25 overs; NZ chased those runs and won the match in what seemed like 15 minutes.  It was the shortest ODI I've ever seen. 

Which brings me to my next point.  I have some concerns about the smaller teams, the minnows.  Are these teams properly funded?  Kenya doesn't have standardized helmets with national logos, and some of those helmets are definetly second-hand.  For crying out loud, I know these associate teams may not be that good, but for the love of all that's good, let them compete with dignity!  Give them standardized helmets!  Is the ICC trying to humiliate the minnows as much as possible?  Who is responsible for team kits?  If national governments can't afford equipment, does the ICC step in?  I'll investigate this because no team should have to use old equipment for a World Cup.  Kenya, good on ya for getting to the World Cup.  Even though you lost, we're all still proud of you for making it this far.  GOOD ON YA!

  I want all of the World Cup teams to be competitive, because the more good teams there are, the happier we, the viewers and fans are.  The ICC wants to cut the number of teams participating in the world cup to 10 from the current 16.  That will probably mean even less funding for these smaller teams as governments will think "why bother funding cricket?  It's not like they'll ever have a chance at the World Cup"!  C'mon.  Fund the minnows properly so more of their players can be full-time cricketers, and let's see cricket grow in other parts of the world.  Go Cricket!

Now because I'm so grumpy today, I'm going to have a hot chocolate.  Not one of those silly powdered packet hot chocolates, no no.  I'm having a proper one, made of old-fashioned mexican spiced chocolate and hot milk.  Yes, the thing to get me back to my regular, happy-go-lucky self.  You should try it too.  Stick it to grumpiness!

Hot chocolate

1 litre whole milk
1 round of mexican chocolate (Ibarra or Abuelita, available at Superstore in Canada or at Fruiticana stores)

In a large pot, melt the round of chocolate in the milk over medium-low heat and stir constantly.  If you want a richer hot chocolate, add another 1/2 round.
With a hand blender, whip the hot chocolate until frothy.  You can use a regular blender, but be careful as hot liquids tend to "explode" when in  a regular blender.

Serve hot in a nice big mug and accompany with cake, scones, or cookies.

Hope this puts the kibosh on grumpiness!

Happy Cricket, Happy Hot Chocolate!

The 2011 World Cup!!! Vegetarian Food!!!

And it is certainly going to be a great day because it's sunny for the moment and in a few short hours time the first match of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup will start!  It's going to be one heckuva match.  Bangladesh's bangla-bashing Tigers take on Incredible India and what a show it's going to be!  Bangladesh has been terrific on the International Scene lately, and even though I kinda like India, I'm really looking forward to watching the Tigers in action.  Go Bangladesh!

Tomorrow's all chock-full of the good stuff.  New Zealand plays Kenya, and sweeeeeeeeet Sri Lanka plays my lovely Canadian lads.   This SL / Canada match should be particularily juicy; I have a sports crush on the SL team, but I'm going to throw my support behind the Canuck chaps.  Furthermore, it's going to be good because SL middle-order batsman Thilan Samaraweera stated to the media that Canada is a threat in this World Cup!  Right on my Cricketing Canucks!  You rock and let's hope you stay souped-up for the entire tournament!

Okay!  So it is my goal during this World Cup to present a healthy, tasty dish from each participating cricketing nation.  I've already written a nice article about Bangladesh and a Bangladish in SportPulse, and here's the link if you'd like to have a peek:

http://sportpulse.net/content/bangladesh-bangla-dish-world-cup-bangla-bash-454

And today's special is going to be a nice vegetarian dish from India.  I love meat; however, vegetarian dishes from the Subcontinent are so good that this confirmed carnivore always screams for a second helping.  True story!

Godzilla and Carnivorous friends, fighting over the last of the Mixed Daal

Now, vegetarianism has existed in the Subcontinent for sever milennia.  Unlike some versions of Western vegetarianism which may have alarming nutritional deficiencies, Subcontinental vegetarianism is completely balanced in vitamins, minerals, proteins and carbohydrates.  It is also delicious.  This style of vegetarianism is absolutely appropriate for people who want to give up meat and have a healthy, active lifestyle.  So here's a nice simple recipe to get you started; a nutritional powerhouse of a vegetarian dish...here is...

Mixed Daal

There are 4 different kinds of daal in this recipe which will give you a true nutritional punch.  Some vegetarians in India don't use garlic and onions because these are considered "hot" foods and are not entirely appropriate for the brutally hot weather present in the Subcontinent.  Instead, they use asafoetida, a pungent dried and powdered resin to give that flavourful kick to their food.  Right-o.  It's time to cook.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup split moong daal

1/2 cup urad daal (the black daal)

1/2 cup toor daal (split yellow peas) 

1/2 cup chana daal  (chickpeas)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

a pinch asafoetida (also called hing)

salt to taste
1 tsp red chili powder (lal mirch)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp garam masala (optional - commercial garam masala tastes bitter to me )
1 tsp corianderseed powder (coriander seeds ground to a powder)

2 tbsp clarified butter (ghee)

chopped coriander

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Mix the lentils together, rinse, and soak for about a half hour.
Boil the lentils in about 5 cups of water with salt, turmeric and optional garam masala, until the lentils are cooked to a mush.
Turn heat to very low.
Make the tarka (topping) as follows:
Heat the ghee in a separate pan.
Add the cuminseeds and asafoetida powder, fry until the cuminseeds crackle.
Add the lal mirch and coriander powder, fry a few seconds.
Add the ghee and spice mix to the lentils.
Add the chopped coriander and squeezed lemon juice as a garnish.

Serve with plain basmati rice or freshly made roti.  If you've forgotten how to make roti, here's the link:

http://kikiscookinforcricket.blogspot.com/2010/11/zulqarnain-empire-of-akmal-and-roti.html

So there you go, a delicious, nutritious powerhouse of a meal, totally appropriate for an athlete and totally appropriate for anyone who enjoys good flavourful food, including confirmed carnivores like myself.  Make this and you'll be wanting MORE!

Enjoy the cricket today...Good Luck Bangladesh, and Good Luck India! 

Happy Cricket, Happy Cooking, and Happy Vegetarianism!

Awesome Soup for Scaring English Cricketers

Look out England....Ragin' Rizwan Cheema of Canada is comin' to getcha.

And what a great day it is today...A few hours ago the Canadian cricket team managed to frighten the pants off the English cricket team during their warm-up match for the 2011 World Cup.  England managed to eke out a win by only 16 runs. 

Let's have a quick look at the match: here are the bowling stats:


Davison! Davison! Davison!


"Handsome Devil" Davison:  1 for 32
Osinde:  2 scalps for 42
Chohan: 3 scalps for 34
Baidwan : 3 for 50
Rao: 1 for 38

And not only that...Strauss only scored 1 run before being caught, Pieterson got clean-bowled, and Wright was out for a duck!  In the end, the English scored only 243 runs!  Well done, Canadian Chaps!

When it was the Canadians turn to bat, things looked ominous indeed, until Ragin' Rizwan Cheema beat the beejeebus out of the English bowlers with his enormous, fat 93 runs, and Khurram Chohan scored a very pretty 44, which must have given the big bad English a heart attack!  Canada came so close to giving England the beating of its life, losing only by a mere 16 runs!  Beauty! 

Now we Canadians do have a reputation for being polite, considerate, and somewhat meek.  However, we have a secret weapon when we need to be aggressive and put a little fear into our opponents.  That's right...we have SOUP!

Ragin' Rizwan after eating soup.  If I were English, I would be very afraid.

 Not stuff that comes from a can, no no no!  We make soup from scratch that's full of goodness, vitamins and flavour and it will absolutely put some metaphorical  hair on your chest!  YES!  YES! YES!  Want to frighten an Englishman with your sports ability?  Want to make a Sri Lankan shiver in fright? A West Indian wither in fear?  A New Zealander nervous?  A South African suffer?  Well, then, this soup is for you.  Go grab your apron, macho man, and lets make some old-fashioned soup, like your memere used to make. I said GO!

Soup

Make broth first.  Get two soup chickens (ie chicken soup bones) , a bay leaf, a carrot, 2 celery stalks, an onion, 5 black peppercorns and two cloves.  Put them all in a big pot with lots of water, bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat for at least an hour.  Skim any foam that comes off the top.  Cool the broth, then strain it. 

Soup Proper
Ingredients
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
about 2 cups of raw chopped chicken
1 bay leaf
chopped green chilies to taste
chopped green and red bell pepper (capsicum)
chopped green or red cabbage
chopped zucchini or courgette
chopped spinach
chopped coriander
juice of 2 or 3 limes
salt
black pepper
home-made chicken broth
oil for cooking

In a big pot, heat some oil and fry the chopped onion, carrot and celery until it's a little bit brown.
Add the chicken, and brown it.  Don't worry if it sticks to the bottom; the broth you add later will remove it.
Add the broth and the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, then simmer for about an hour on low heat.
If you want a heartier soup, add some uncooked rice and a handful of brown lentils, and cook for about 45 minutes or until the rice and lentils are cooked through.  It's up to you.  Also add any other vegetables that you might like.  Cauliflower will give it a very rich, deep flavour.

Serve with a nice thick slice of bread and a side of attitude. 

There you go.  Soup for turning mild-mannered Canadians into raging machines of cricket destruction, striking fear into the oppositions batsmen and bowlers alike.  Now let's see our lovely Canadian lads eat more soup and make all the other teams in the World Cup wish they'd never been born!  Go Canada!

Happy Cricket!  Happy Soup and Happy Fear-making!   GRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

EFFFFF!!

hi everyone, there was a malfunction with blogger today and I have lost my entire post.

in summary,
Canada's awesome and scared the beejeebs out of England in cricket yesterday.  England won by only 16 runs.

I had an entire page dedicated to soup today, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow.  PHOOEY!  I hate malfunctions!

have a good one, cuz i sure ain't today!

An Involuntary Cricket Lull and The Promised Frijoles de Olla and Refried Beans

Good mornin' all, I guess.  There was a very disappointing lull in cricket yesterday because none of the warm-up matches were telecast!

My house was a no-cricket zone last night, through no fault of my own.  Ugh!

 And I was really looking forward to seeing the lesser-known cricketing nations.  Boooooooooooooooooooo! No fair!  It almost feels like the broadcasters were personally out to get my goat!  Phooey!

Anyways, here are the results, thanks to cricinfo:

1.  South Africa gave a smack-down to Australia, winning by 7 wickets and 34 balls remaining (ouch on Australia).

2.  Sri Lanka showed some sugar by beating the Windies by 4 wickets...sweeeeeet!

3.  My lovely lads of Pakistan beat the pants off Bangladesh by 89 runs, with my fave Misbah ul-Haq scoring a whopping century and Ahmed Shehzad scoring even more!

4.  Ireland beat Zimbabwe by 4 wickets and 3 balls remaining.

5.  The Dutch beat Kenya by 2 wickets and 5 balls remaining.  ( The Dutch play cricket?  awesome!)

Dutch World Cup Kit. 

So, all of these great warm-up matches and I didn't get to watch.  Phooey!  Oh, so guess what we watched instead of great cricket:  we saw the next best thing.  Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations.  What a shame he's not a cricket player.

Right.  About a week ago, I promised some Frijoles de Olla and Frijoles Refritos (stewed beans and refried beans) to accompany Manly Mohammed Hafeez' Chilaquiles.  I keep my promises, and I apologize for the delay.    Here's the link for chilaquiles:

http://kikiscookinforcricket.blogspot.com/2011/01/manly-mohammed-hafeez-chilaquiles.html

Ok.  Now I'm going to lecture you.  Stewed beans or refried beans are served as a side to many Mexican dishes.  The proteins from the frijoles, combined with the proteins from corn tortillas provide all of the necessary proteins for a healthy diet; they also give you a heckuva lot of energy.  Traditionally, the beans are made with lard; however, you will still get great-tasting beans without it.  The trick is to use milk at the end and add a teaspoonful of ghee or butter.  Delicious!  Right, it's time to make some Frijoles.

Ingredients:

2 cups of dried beans, either black, kidney or pinto beans
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 or 2 morita chilies if you want it a bit spicy
2.5 - 3 litres of water
salt to taste
milk
a bit of butter or ghee

Bring all  except salt, milk and butter to a boil on high heat.
Lower heat to medium.
Cook 2.5 to 3 hours.
Add more water if necessary
Add salt after beans have cooked
Add a bit of milk and a bit of butter to add some creaminess.

Serve with any Mexican dish and rice.

To make Frijoles Refritos (refried beans), use the left-over frijoles de olla. 

In a frying pan, on medium heat, mash the cooked beans with a potato masher or pastry cutter.
Add a bit of butter
Add milk to desired consistency, and bring to a boil.  Serve immediately. 

The refried beans also make a very good snack with home-made totopos (deep fried corn tortillas cut into triangles) or roti chips.

And there you go!  Have a good one, and try to keep your cool until the World Cup!

Happy Cricket, Happy Cooking!

Warm-ups, Islanders, and Team Green's Snackin' Salsa Verde

And a g'day to ya!  The ICC Cricket World Cup will start in just a few days time, and some of the warm-up matches are already under way.  Australia was looking good in their dry run against India, but ultimately India won the practice game by 34 runs.  Some of the aussie chaps got smashing haircuts, but in the end they failed to smash out enough runs for a victory.  No worries though, lads; it was just a mock game and it doesn't count! 

Ireland has their mock game with Zimbabwe today.  I haven't seen either team play before, so this should be interesting.  Come to think of it, I've never tried Irish or Zimbabwean cuisine, either.  Hmmm.  Let me do some research and some kitchen experimentation, and I'll give ya a couple of recipes to round-out your cooking repertoire if everything turns out.  Anyhoo, the cricket between the two nations should be entertaining!

And some other news:  Canada lost their warm-up match to Bangladesh.  Yes, you read that right; Canada has a cricket team in the World Cup, and their heavy-hitter batsman is John Davison, a native of Cambell River on Vancouver Island, BC.  Mr. Davison is also the oldest cricketer in the World Cup at 40 years of age.  Right on, John Davison...way to show people that we Islanders are made of tougher stuff! 

The Canadian Afridi, John Davison, in Fighting Form at 40.  YES!

So even though Pakistan is first in my cricketing heart, I must admit that I will be cheering on the Canadian lads in every match.  Let's go Canada, entertain the world and let's show them that there's more to our country than snow, bacon, maple syrup and hosers!

 No offense to the iconic hosers Bob and Doug McKenzie, you're the bestest hosers ever!

And now to Team Green, my favourites of all time, Pakistan.  My lovely lads have been training hard and working so beautifully together.  Hats off to Shahid Afridi and Misbah ul-Haq for bringing this squad together and improving morale.  After a year of total chaos on the team, these two have brought stability, pride and discipline.  Our lads can go into this World Cup with their heads held high!  LOVE you guys!!

In honour of the BEST TEAM OF ALL TIME, I'd like to present them with one of my BEST SNACKS OF ALL TIME...of ALL TIME!  Team Green, have some Salsa Verde, a green mexican chutney which goes very well with samosas or plain, deep fried roti chips or tortilla chips.  Green and Green!  A match made in heaven...Green Power!  Go Greens!

Salsa Verde for Team Verde

1 cup of chopped coriander (cilantro)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped green onion
2 dark green lettuce leaves
1 red tomato or several tomatillos (a small green tomato)
several chopped green chilies (adjust to taste)
3 cloves of garlic
juice of several limes
salt

Puree everything together until smooth.  Let sit for at least a half an hour so the flavours meld together.  Serve with home-made roti chips, or deep-fried corn tortillas which have been cut into triangles.

Great!  Nice and easy recipe, yet absolutely delicious and absolutely appropriate to show our Green Team spirit!   I'll show you some other things you can do with the salsa verde in the next couple of days.  I also promised you I'd show you how to make frijoles, ie refried beans.  Remember; even though I might be late, I keep my promises.
Stay Green!

Happy Cricket, Happy Cooking, and Happy Green!

And A Good Mornin' To Ya!

Good morning all!  I'm going to be taking a break for a few days in order to get ready for the ICC World Cup!  I've got lots of historical cricket gossip to learn and I've got lots of new dishes to learn too!  Keep your eyes open, I'll be back next week!

Pakistan Zindabad! 

Happy Cricket, and happy cooking!

Pakistan, Homesick French-Canadians, and Toor Daal

And thankfully, a big, dry g'day to ya!  The weather's gone beserkers in Australia; cyclones, floods, rain rain and more rain and some cold.  When's it going to stop?  I sincerely hope everyone up in the North is OK, and those of us who are in a position to help, should.  Floods totally bite the big one.  Let's hope we get some sun here down under and that we all get to dry out a bit.

Right.  Cricket.  My loveliest lad of all time, young pace bowler Mohammed Aamer, has been found guilty of spot-fixing and will be banned from cricket for 5 years.  Salman Butt has been banned for 10 years, and Mohammed Asif has been banned for 7, also for spot fixing.  It is a sad day not just for Pakistan fans, it's a sad day for cricketdom.

But moving on, Pakistan lost their final ODI in New Zealand on Saturday because they were experimenting with their line-up before the upcoming World Cup.  However, my lovely lads did win the series, and I am totally looking forward to their WC matches.  That's right, I'm looking forward to it...let's all support our wonderful chaps because
they've been playing so well even without their superstar bowlers Aamer and Asif.  You know what?  I think all of the chaps on the World Cup squad are superstars.  I love my lovely lads!  Let's go DOMINATE THE WORLD!!!

And the second part of my post.  I'm so freakin' homesick.  I love Melbourne, but I miss Vancouver Island, I miss speaking french at home,

Cathedral Grove, close to Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island

I miss the woods, I miss the beach.


The last access, Judges' Row, Qualicum Beach

Thank goodness I've got the Pakistan Cricket Team to keep my mind off of my homesickness!  And thank goodness that I have an old-fashioned pakistani recipe which is a spiced-up, even more delicious version of that french-canadian classic, pea soup.  So if you're a homesick french-canadian like me, and really want a bit of home while you're in a different country, but can't find the necessary salted pork to make pea soup, try this instead.  It's slightly different, but has the same soul-soothing effect of split peas and you'll find you're ready to face the day no matter where you find yourself in the world.  C'est bien!  C'est l'heure du biznez culinaire!

Toor Daal (Pakistani-style French Canadian Soupe aux Pois)

3/4 cup Toor daal (yellow split peas)
3 cm piece of ginger, crushed
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
1 onion, very finely chopped
2 roma tomatoes or 1 gourmet tomato
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander seed powder
green chilies, chopped
5 or 6 curry leaves
chopped coriander for garnish
salt
about 5 cups of water
oil for cooking

Boil the daal, ginger and tumeric on high heat, the turn the heat to low and cover.  Make sure it doesn't boil over.
Simmer for approximately 30 minutes.

While the daal is simmering, in a separate frying pan heat some oil.
Add the mustard seeds to the hot oil.
When the mustard seeds start to pop, add the curry leaves and the onions.
Fry the onions till golden.
Add the tomatoes, cumin powder and coriander seed powder and salt.
Fry until the mix is reduced to a paste, add water if necessary to prevent the mix from burning.

Add this tomato gravy to the simmered daal, adjust the amount of salt if necessary, and bring to a boil for a few minutes.

If you're going to serve this with rice, make it a little watery, if you're going to serve this with naan or chappatis, let it reduce so it becomes thicker.

If you're a really homesick "pea souper" ( a slightly derogatory name for french-canadians) like me, you can eat this like a nice thick soupe aux pois with a good thick slice of toasted white bread.   You'll be transported back home in a jiffy AND you'll also have a little taste of Pakistan while you're at it.  The best of both worlds!

Right!  I'm off to learn about classic World Cup cricket matches at sportpulse.net.  Why don't you do the same?  Visit the other lovely lads, the authors at SportPulse!

Happy Cricket, Happy Toor Daal!

The Thunderbirds of Pakistan, Victorious after the Chaos

And it is rainin' cats and dogs in Melbourne this fine morning, and I say fine morning because last night my lovely lads on the Pakistan Cricket Team played one cracker of a match against New Zealand.  Not only did they win the match, Pakistan won the series!  It is the first series they've won in New Zealand in ages, and I am still buzzing from the victory.  When the squad started chanting Pakistan Zindabad, I started chanting it too!

Right on Chaps!  Way to show the world you can bounce back from anything! It's so good to see you emerging victorious from the chaos of 2010 like the Thunderbird (phoenix) rising from the flames.  Good on ya, and I can't wait for tomorrow's match.

Artist Bill Reid's Thunderbird, like Pakistan, emerging victoriously from the Flames of Chaos

What a great game; Shehzad got his maiden century, the bowling was tidy, the teamwork was splendid and there were lots of great camera shots of Wahab Riaz!  YES!   The lads looked like they were having a grand old time out there, working as a unit and making all of us proud.  Shabash!

No cooking for today because I'm experimenting.  That's right, the World Cup is coming up and I'm learning some more dishes to celebrate this international event.  But have no fear, tomorrow I'll post another traditional daal dish which is just the thing for homesick french-canadians.  Intrigued?  You should be!

Have a good one, I'm going to be smiling all day long today.  You should too!  Congrats lads, you certainly put in the hard work for your victory.  Hope you're all swimming in happiness!

Happy Cricket!  Happy Pakistan!

Rain, Cricket, Culture and Moong Daal

Right on, people!  We have got two ODI matches coming up today:  Sri Lanka / West Indies at Columbo and New Zealand/Pakistan at Hamilton.  Bonus!  Both of these matches are going to be interesting.  First of all, will the Rain continue its winning streak in the SL/Windies series?

Rain in its heyday, circa 1984.  Not cool for cricket.

Hopefully they'll have clear skies for this one.  I personally like Sri Lanka, but today I'm going to be cheering for the sun! Let's go sunshine!  Show that rain who's boss and let the game go on!

Second of all, Pakistan is on a winning streak too, and we, the fans, could not be happier.  Actually, we could be happier ... Pakistan could win again today!  Woo hoo!  Let's go Gulzilla!  Eat up those wickets!  Let's go Misbah ul-Haq! 

Now, New Zealand is dealing with a couple of injuries; Dan the Man and Big Fella Jesse Ryder may both be out with an injuries.  Hopefully both of these guys will be feeling better by the time the match starts today, they are excellent cricketers and are enjoyable to watch.

And lastly, haven't my lovely lads on the Pakistan squad been playing beautifully lately?  Good on them, showing us their resilience, patience and maturity.  I am very proud to be a Pakistan supporter! 

Now here's the culture part I've promised you:  If you're not from Pakistan, this is something you need to learn.  Since yesterday and for the next few days I'm showing you how to make some different daal (lentil) dishes; but neglected to tell you something very important.  In Pakistan, daal dishes are for eating at home with immediate family only.  If you have guests, you do not serve them daal; you serve them meat dishes.  The reason behind this is that lentils are very cheap, and by serving them to guests you are showing your guests that they aren't worth the cost of meat!  So no matter how good your lentils are, don't serve them at a party unless you are entertaining vegetarians!
The good side of this is that lentils are therefore the perfect comfort food to be enjoyed with your closest family or your best friend.  Right!  Let's get on with the cooking.

Moong Daal for Physical and Emotional Healing

Moong Daal is a split yellow lentil which has had its dark outer skin removed, which makes the lentil very easy to digest.  This is an appropriate dish for people who are recovering from an illness, convalescing, or recovering emotionally from some sort of heartbreak.  If you've been ill or sad, this is just the perfect dish to get you back on your feet and feeling all happy. 

(You may remember that I posted this recipe previously at http://sportpulse.net/ ; remember Marcos Maidana?  Yeah, the guy that Amir Khan punched the beejeebus out of.  Well, I hope he got this recipe and I hope his guts are feeling much better!)

Ingredients

2 cups of split moong daal, rinsed

4  cloves of garlic, very finely chopped or crushed

3.5 cm piece of ginger, very finely chopped or crushed

2 roma tomatoes or small tomatoes, finely chopped

Juice of 1 lemon or lime

½ teaspoon turmeric

Salt

Tarka ingredients

1 teaspoon mustard seeds (use less if desired)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds (again use less if desired)

4 or 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

5 or 6 nice fresh curry leaves

Chopped green chilies

Oil for cooking

A handful of chopped coriander

Daal:

Boil the moong daal in about 4 cups of water, add the crushed garlic, ginger, turmeric and tomatoes. 

Reduce the heat and let the daal simmer about 10 minutes, then add the lemon juice and salt, and let it cook until it’s almost all mushy.

Tarka:

Heat some oil in a separate pan on medium high heat and add the mustard seeds, fry for about a minute, then add the cumin seeds.

Add the green chilies and the curry leaves, fry about 1 minute.

Add the finely sliced garlic, and continue frying until golden.  Don’t burn it or it will taste bad!

Add this tarka to the cooked moong dal, and stir it in evenly.  

Garnish with the chopped coriander.

Serve with basmati rice or with roti.  Just be careful with the whole wheat when making the roti; whole wheat can sometimes irritate the stomach, especially when recovering from an injury or illness!  A mix of half whole wheat flour and white flour works well for roti.  If you've forgotten how to make it, here's the link:

http://kikiscookinforcricket.blogspot.com/2010/11/zulqarnain-empire-of-akmal-and-roti.html

Ok.  Hopefully all that rain that's pestered the Sri Lanka/Windies series will go away for a while and the guys can actually play some cricket!  Right, I'm off to get my chores done; my lovely lads are playing in a few hours and I want no distractions!  Pakistan Zindabad!

Happy Cricket, Happy Culture, and Happy Cooking!