Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Shakib Al Hasan's Pico De Gallo Salsa for Quesadillas

Yes, and a good evening/afternoon/morning to you wherever you find yourself today.  Yesterday I posted a quesadilla recipe, dedicated to the fabulous Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.  I didn't have the chance to post the recipe for the salsa that goes on top, so here it is now.

How DARE you forget the salsa, you even named it after me, you chowderhead!
Shakib Al Hasan's Pico De Gallo Salsa

Never use a store-bought salsa again.  Pico de gallo salsa, pronounced Pee-ko day ga-yo NOT gay-o, is a freshly cut, tart, spicy and salty sauce which can be put on top of meat, rice, chicken, roti or naan or can be used as a dip with tortilla or roti chips.  Furthermore, pico de gallo is fantastic on scrambled, fried or poached eggs. This is, like Shakib al Hasan, the perfect all-rounder.  Now go sharpen your knife because we're going to deliciousville.

Ingredients:
Some nice ripe red tomatoes, finely chopped
an onion,very finely chopped
a big bunch of coriander (cilantro), very finely chopped
green or red chilies according to taste, very finely chopped
juice of 3 or 4 limes
salt

Mix everything together, and let it sit for a few minutes to that all the flavours meld.  Pico de gallo can keep well in the refrigerator for about 5 days.

Right.  So that's Shakib Al-Hasan's Pico De Gallo Salsa; now go out there and impress your friends with your all-round cheffin' skills and blow their minds.  If Wisden's have a Cheffer of the year, with this recipe and the Quesadillas, you'd probably get nominated.

Happy Cricket, and Happy Cooking!

Monday, June 4, 2012

Spicy Shakib Al Hasan's International T20 Quesadilla


And a good day to you.  I know it's been simply ages, but I've had business to take care of.  Anyways,  lately I've made some very nice friends from Bangladesh, and I was asked to be local cricket team's photographer at a recent tournament.  My goodness, it was fun all round, as one can see from the photos...

Anyhoo, these nice gents have a bone to pick with me: in fact, they're cross that I hardly ever talk about Bangladesh cricket or Bangladeshi food.  So today, in order to remedy some of this blog's Bangla-deficiency, we're going to have a look at that hot hunk of burnin' sports love known as all-rounder Shakib Al-Hasan.  Furthermore, in keeping with the international spirit of T20 cricket, we're going to make a Mexican-based classic light meal with some Bangladeshi ingredients that will please even the most fickle of palates.

Spicy Shakib Al Hasan's International T20 Quesadilla

Shakib Al Hasan is the #1 ranked all-rounder in Test Cricket and ODI's.  This package of awesome talent is only 25 years old and has already been Wisden's Cricketer of the year for 2009.   Hopefully we'll be seeing him break records and remain at his peak condition for years to come.  Well done!  Mr. Al Hasan, you deserve to have a dish named after you!
QUESADILLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!!!

A quesadilla (pronounced kay sa dee ya) is basically a cheese filled flour or corn tortilla, which is like a very very thin roti.  In its most simple form, cheese is placed on the tortilla, it's folded in half, and then it is heated up in a little bit of oil in a pan.  Many Mexicans will top their quesadilla with some thick cream and salsa (which I will describe in tomorrow's post.)  

Quesadillas, along with cheese, can also have a variety of fillings; pumpkin flowers, huitlacoche mushrooms, chicken, ham, whatever one wants.   Today's quesadilla will be a mushroom and cheese quesadilla, because apparently Bangladesh is an exporter of mushrooms.

Also, our quesadilla will be topped with a mexican pico de gallo salsa which is very similar to a Bangladesh topping of tomatoes, onions, lime juice and salt.  However due to time restrictions, the salsa recipe will be posted tomorrow.  But have no fear:  quesadillas are also delicious by themselves with no topping if one desires.  

But enough talk from me!  Put on an apron and sharpen your knives and stop wasting time!

Ingredients (to make 1 )
2 or 3 button mushrooms, sliced
about a handful of grated cheese, cheddar usually working the best
some sliced onion
some mustard seeds
some mustard oil
dried red chilies, roasted
a bit of salt
one flour tortilla or one very thin roti

some thick cream for topping (optional)
some pico de gallo salsa (optional and to be posted tomorrow)

Heat some mustard oil in a pan.  
Fry the mustard seeds and onions until golden.
Add the mushrooms, fry until the onions are very crispy and the mushrooms are thoroughly cooked
Remove the mushrooms and onions from the pan.
Quickly dry-roast the dried red chili directly on the burner
Replace pan on the burner, and place the roti in it, on medium heat.
Place the cooked mushrooms, onions and cheese on one half of the roti
Crush the roasted red chili on top of cheese and mushrooms
Fold the roti in half, and fry for a couple of minutes, then flip over
Fry until all the cheese inside has melted.

Serve immediately with a dollop of thick cream and a spoonful of pico de gallo salsa if you wish, and eat immediately.

EAT MY QUESADILLAS AND YOU'LL BE BIG AND STRONG LIKE ME
And that's Shakib Al Hasan's International T20 Quesadilla, a great all-round light meal or filling snack, great any time of day and tasty for everyone, whether vegetarian or carnivore.  Enjoy the cooking, enjoy the cricket, and enjoy life in general!

As they say in the old bayou, laterz gaterz!

PS Thanks gents for the lovely day at the cricket!  Let me know when the next tournament is :D


Sunday, February 5, 2012

I Love My Pakistan Cricket Team, and You Will Love My Gazpacho

And a fan-flipping-tastic day to you!  Yes, I'm back after a long absence and I can assure it's not going to happen again!  Nothing can keep me away from my lovely lads of Pakistan, and look at all the gorgeousness they have achieved in the past year with that luscious lump of loveliness Misbah ul-Haq at the helm!
The Haq shows them who's boss when he sweeps spinners for big fat sixes!

 The saucy silent skipper has brought this squad of macho men up through the ranks and now they are giving the #1 rated team, England, the beating of their lives in the test series that is taking place in  UAE.
I took this pic of Anderson in 2010.  I don't think he's smiling right now.

We are all so proud of the handsome gents we call the Pakistan Cricket Team; through determination, honesty, hard work, practice and ridiculous good looks, they have come so far in the past 18 months.  From scandal and a near collapse, the lads, with their sheer strength of character, have made it through and are an inspiration for Pakistan, an inspiration for cricket, and an inspiration for EVERYBODY who has seen hard times. Well Done!
Awesome Ajmal, spin those English silly!!!
So, at the moment, Pakistan has won a three-test series, but the third test is still on and England need a staggering 300+ runs to secure their only victory.  That's right...Pakistan is close to white-washing England.  Will the English be able to cope with Saeed Ajmal or Abdur Rehman's spin?  With a crumbly pitch that's offering a bit of a bite,  Strauss and his gents had better put on their big-girl panties and hope they won't be totally spun to oblivion!
Strauss' first choice for spinners, Graham Swan, pretending to be happy to face  Ajmal's Doosra of Doom.
Anyways, because I've been hooked to my TV the past few days watching the drama unfold, I don't have time to cook a hot meal (and it's summer here in Melbourne anyways), so I'm going to make some Gazpacho for dinner tonight.  Maybe you should do the same, because you won't want to lose a minute while you're watching today's play.


Gazpacho is a traditional Spanish dish which is a great meal for hot weather, and a nice flavourful victory dish if you're watching your girlish figure.   If  you're living in the Northern Hemisphere, I know it's very cold there now with that crazy arctic front, but maybe all of the vitamin C and other nutritional stuff from this deliciousness will do you some good and help you face those -57 C days.  Right, go get your cutting board, an apron, and turn on your TV and we'll make this while we watch all the handsome guys on the Pakistan team crush the English the same way we're going to crush our tomatoes.  Watch and learn!


Gazpacho


About 5 tomatoes, roughly chopped
a cucumber, roughly chopped
an onion, roughly chopped
a red or green capsicum (bell pepper), roughly chopped
some extra virgin olive oil (you decide how much you want, more makes the gazpacho heavier)
about three tablespoons of white vinegar
a clove of garlic, chopped
salt to taste
crushed black pepper to taste
red chili powder (optional)
green chilies (optional)


Put everything in a blender, and blend until everything is smooth.  That's right, everything is raw and served cold, perfect for a hot summer night, or a cold winter evening when you're missing the tastes of summer!
Pour into bowls and serve immediately so you don't miss a minute of the action.


So while it's a few hours too early to declare a whitewash victory for Pakistan, I will say this...Good on ya, you beauties!  I love you, Pakistan Cricket Team, and keep it up!


Happy Cricket, Happy Cooking, and Happy Pakistan!