Communication Issues, Health Issues, and Paneer Issues

Good morning!  2 big test matches coming up today, oh boy!  India and South Africa which promises to be a real Clash of the Titans, and there is also the 3rd Ashes test in Perth.   There's going to be some Hashim Amla action on the SA side, and Steve Smith is joining the Australians which shoud help them out a bit.  My preview?  India -SA will be a draw, and England might win.  But never take my predictions seriously; anything can happen in Test Cricket.

And now we come up to the Communication Issues of this post.  First of all, apparently Liz Hurley, the model/actress who was married to Arun Nayar (sp?) is having an affair with the famous Aussie spin bowler Shane Warne!!!!  Holy smokes!  People were up in arms about it for a while because Liz Hurley's public relations people failed to communicate to the media that she is no longer with her husband.  So, if he's single and she's single, that's fine.  They're both adults.

And another communications issue:  The PCB has banned pakistani players from using Facebook and Twitter.  While under contract, they are no longer allowed to use social networking sites.  The PCB claims that this will curb corruption because bookies will find it more difficult to contact the players.

 Hogwash.  A ban is silly.  If you don't want bookies contacting your players, then ban the players from publishing their personal contact info on these social network sites.  I have noticed a very disturbing trend on facebook where regular people post their phone numbers, home addresses and birth date on the public forums.  This is dangerous...please do NOT post your personal contact info!  A criminal could do you some serious damage.

And that's not all, the PCB wants to sue people who put up fake player profiles on Facebook and charge them with fraud.  Yes, it sounds silly, but keep in mind that the King of Morocco jailed a student for putting up a fake profile of the King's brother.    So lots of communications issues today.  Be careful in the cyber-world, kids.

And health issues.  Sohail Tanvir of the Pakistan team has a knee injury and won't be playing in the NZ T20's.  Zaheer Khan (yet another Khan in the Khanosphere) the India pace bowler, won't be playing in the first test against South Africa because he hurt his arm or something, and finally; Daniel Vettori, NZ captain, has a sore back.  No wonder, he bowled more than 200 overs against India.   Everyone is breaking down!  As I always say, get some rest and eat some good pakistani food, and you'll all be right as rain in no time.

So all of my jabbering brings me to this:  I have Paneer Issues.  Paneer is a lovely fresh pressed cheese which goes well in Karahi dishes or in spinach salans.  My issue with paneer is that it's VERY expensive in the shops, and you only get a tiny slab of the cheese.  No value for the money!  Aararg!  So today, in order to "stick it to the man", I'm going to show you how to make your own paneer.  This isn't just about cooking delicious food, this is about making a political statement!

For those of you who like mexican food, paneer is the same thing as queso fresco.  So first off, today we'll learn how to make the cheese, and tomorrow we'll learn how to make a spinach paneer salan.  Go get some cheesecloth and let's get started!

Ingredients
1 litre full-fat milk
3 or 4 tablespoons of lime/lemon juice or vinegar
a little bit of salt

In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the milk and salt but don't let it boil, about 80 C or 176F.
Add the lemon juice or vinegar one tablespoon at a time while stirring the milk, until the milk separates into curds and greenish coloured whey.   You may need to use more than 3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar for this to happen.
Allow everything to cool down to a temperature you can handle, and strain the whey from the curds through a cheesecloth.
Save the whey and use it instead of lemon juice the next time you make paneer.
Rinse the curds, and wrap the cheesecloth on itself in order to squeeze out as much moisture as possible from the curds.  The more you squeeze, the firmer the paneer will be.
Shape the paneer, still in the cloth, into a block shape, and wrap it up very tightly.  Then place something flat and heavy on top of it.  This will squeeze out even more moisture and give the paneer a good shape.  The longer it's pressed, the firmer it will be.
Finally, if you want, you can soak the paneer in cold water for a few hours to improve it's appearance.  But that's up to you.

Right.  Now you have paneer or queso fresco.  Have a good one today sticking it to the man, and I'll see you at the test matches. 

Happy Cricket, Happy Cheese, and Happy Sticking it to the Man!

ps thanks to Wikihow...their article on how to make paneer is the best one I've seen and I've liberally copied from it as they explain it much better than I can!  Thanks wikihow :)

Finally, Some Cricket! Finally, Some Cookies!

All right!  Tomorrow's a big day for me because there's finally some international cricket going on.  There's the third Ashes test, and South Africa is playing India, 1st test.  Very interesting cricket indeed!  I'm so happy!

And here's a bit of Ashes news...Steve Smith, the all-rounder, is back on the Australia side!  Now here's a kid that I like a lot.  I've seen him bat against the Pakistani side,and he kept his composure against Mohammed Amir, the wonderkid swing bowler and had lots of really good knocks.  Which is rare against Mohammed Amir.  So Steve Smith is a good addition to the team and maybe now Australia might have a fighting chance.  I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow!  Yeah! YEAH!!

And a bit of bad news for Pakistan fans;but don't get your knickers in a knot, it's not that bad:  according to the Pakistan Cricket facebook page, test captain Misbah ul-Huq has twisted his ankle and will be out of commission for a few days.

Misbah ul-Haq, teaching his opponents a lesson

According to the source, he should be all right to play by the time the test match happens.  I wish you a speedy recovery, Misbah ul-Haq.  You're just awesome and I'd like to see you crush the New Zealanders like a grape!

I am so excited!  And you should be too, because today I'm finally going to show you how to make my famous Scottish Oatmeal Cookies.  I say famous because my Scottish grandmother was famous in her highland village for this recipe, and I used this generations-old recipe to start my own business when I lived in Mexico.  That's right, Mexicans became mad for scottish cookies and I made a bundle of cash, enough to pay my university tuition and the bills!

What makes these cookies so good are the great raw ingredients.  If you're in Pakistan, these cookies will turn out particularily well because of the fabulous punjabi butter and oats which are available there.  If you're in Mexico, take advantage of the beautiful Veracruz vanilla, and if you're in Canada, you should use Roger's Golden Yellow sugar (the light brown sugar) and not the darker brown sugar.  Golden Yellow sugar gives the best flavour!  But if that's not available , brown sugar still works very well.  Right on!  Let's make some cookies and have some FUN!

Scottish Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
1.5 cups of oats, regular or quick cooking
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup raisins (kish-mish)
1/3 cup chocolate chips or a small chocolate bar chopped into small bits (optional)

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (use mexican vanilla if possible, it's the best)
1 tablespoon water

Preheat your oven to 375 F or 190 C. 
Stir together the oats, flour, salt and baking soda, and add the kishmish and optional chocolate chips.
In another bowl, cream the butter , and add the sugars gradually, using either an electric beater or a wooden spoon. 
Lightly beat the egg in a separate container with the tablespoon of water.
Add the beaten egg and water to the butter/sugar mix, and add the vanilla; stir with the electric beater or wooden spoon for a couple of minutes.
Add the oats mix, and stir in with the wooden spoon.

Drop the cookie dough by the big tablespoon-ful on a greased cookie sheet. This recipe should give you about 12 big cookies.  Bake at 190 for about 15 minutes, until they're nice and brown.  Eat with a nice cup of dhudhpatti on a cold day.

One last note: you'll notice that there's only 1/2 cup of butter in this recipe.  Most modern recipes call for 1 full cup, but there's no reason to use that much.  Stick with the old-fashioned 1/2 cup.  It's better for you.  You'll also notice there's water in this recipe; that's so the oats absorb the moisture and you'll get a nice, soft cookie.

So give these a try, make them today and enjoy them tomorrow during all the fabulous cricket that's going on.  Have a good one!

Happy Cricket, and Happy Cookie!

Salman Butt, Wahab Riaz, and MS Dhoni

And there's no cricket going on today.  Phooey!  There'll be no cooking for today either, I've got a heck of a lot of work to do.  Phooey!

BTW, Salman Butt said in an interview that he's not guilty of spot-fixing; the marked money found in his room was given to him by the PCB for legitimate tour expenses. 

Wahab Riaz may not be fit for the upcoming NZ tour, but J. Khan, the young seam bowler, will be travelling with the team to take his place if needed.

MS Dhoni, captain of the India team, still has a goofy looking beard/mustache combo.  He's so much more handsome clean-shaven!

Happy Cricket, and Happy Work!
 

Khan, Khan, Khan, KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!! And Murghi Ka Salan (Soupy Chicken Salan)

Today's an amazing day!  Another KHAN in the Pakistani Sports Empire!  How fabulous is that?  Here's a quick description of each Khan in this Triple Alliance of Awesomeness:

Amir Khan, Anglo-Pakistani boxer, retained his WBA Light Welterweight title yesterday in a match which is certain to become a classic in the boxing world!  Thrilling!  Good on ya, Amir!  This is your day today!  We're all proud of you, and I believe that I must now become a boxing fan!  Hooray!


With his physique, he makes masala powder with his BARE HANDS!!!!

Imran Khan, Pakistani all-rounder cricketer, best in the world in the 80's and 90's right up to his retirement, and still considered THE authority on the sport!  And Handsome Fellow to boot!  Good on ya, Imran!


Jahangir Khan, Pakistani and World squash champion, from a Khan squash dynasty which dominated the sport for ages!  Good on ya, Jahanghir!

And now, since we're talking about Khans, we must also include the fictional character from the Star Trek series:  Captain Kirk's arch-enemy, the genetically gifted, ultra intelligent, strong super-man athlete gone bad, KHAN.  Originally Kirk's ally, Khan blamed Kirk for his beloved wife's death, and swore to get revenge!  The best enemy in the Star Trek series because you wanted him to win!

Better than Kirk...KHAN!!!

Right!  So for all of this Khan Sports domination, you really do need a meal fit for a King.  Therefore, I'm going to post a dish that I've already posted in Sport Pulse.  Murghi Ka Salan is a soupy version of a rich chicken salan which is ideal for athletes yet flavourful and more than satisfying for the gourmet.  So go get your Khan on and let's make some Murghi Ka Salan (Chicken Salan) Shorba soup style!

Ingredients

1 chicken, cut in about 12 pieces, no skin

1 onion, finely diced

7 cloves of garlic, crushed to a paste

4 cm piece of ginger, crushed to a paste

1 big tomato, finely diced, 2 big tomatoes can be used if you like a more tomato-ey flavour

¼ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon lal mirch (red chili powder)

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon cuminseeds

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

5 black peppercorns

5 green cardamom pods

5 cloves

2 black cardamom pods

1 big handful kasoori methi (fenugreek leaves)

Salt

Chopped green chilies

Chopped coriander

Water

Oil for cooking (two or three tablespoons)

In a big pot,heat the oil and  fry the onion until it’s golden and a bit crispy, over medium heat so nothing burns.

While the onion is frying, add the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cuminseeds, star anise, peppercorns, green cardamom pods, cloves, and black cardamom pods.

When the onion is golden and crispy, add the ginger and garlic, fry for a minute or two,but don’t burn the garlic!

Add the lal mirch and turmeric

Add the tomatoes and use the “bhunna” method:  reduce the tomatoes until they stick to the bottom of the pan, add a bit of water to lift what’s stuck on the bottom, stir, and reduce the mixture again.  Repeat this procedure several times until the oil separates from the mixture or until the mixture resembles a very thick, almost uniform paste.

When the mixture looks like a paste with the oil “leaking” out, add 4 or 5 cups of water.

Add salt

Bring to a boil, and add the chicken.

Add the chopped green chilies and kasoori methi

Cook on high heat for a few minutes, then reduce to medium low, and allow to simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.  Let the liquid reduce a little bit to concentrate the flavours.

Taste the liquid and balance the salt if necessary.

If you find that the tomatoes you used didn’t  have a good flavour, simply add a pinch of amchoor (green mango powder) to the salan.  Do not add more than a pinch; a pinch will give the dish the tang of the best tomatoes, but more will make the dish sour.

At this point, add some chopped coriander, or you can use it as a garnish.

Serve on freshly cooked plain basmati rice.

Even if you're not a Khan by blood or marriage, it's still something to celebrate by having a great meal and enjoying some great sports.  Have a great one today, and...

Happy Cricket, Happy Eating, and Happy Khan!

Little Update, and What's Needed to Fix the Ashes Muddle

Hi everyone.  No cooking for today because we're going on a little road trip along the Great Ocean Road.  Here are some quick updates:  Bangladesh is playing Zimbabwe, 5th ODI today, and lots of people are furious with the Australia selectors.  The Ashes, my friends, are a hot mess.  There is such a ridiculously simple solution to Australia's cricket woes.  No need to play musical chairs with the players, no need to axe Marcus North, and no need to axe Dougie Bollinger.  You know and I know that the lads from Down Under just need to be fed properly.  No more plain sandwiches and soda!  No more re-heated frozen pizza and no more plain boiled fish!  For the love of all that's decent, feed them home-made qormas, queemas, pilaos, cuchumbers, salans and salade marocaine!

Have a good one today, and if you want more sports updates, why don't you visit the lovely writing lads at sportpulse?  Here's the link:

http://www.sportpulse.net/

Happy eating, and Happy Cricket!  

ps.  Go Bangladesh!  Go Zimbabwe!  I love watching a good competition.

Juicy Pakistan Gossip, Ashes Drama and Moroccan Tea

Waking up to some nice gossip is always a good thing.  Cricket gossip and a good cup of coffee are beautiful together.  So here's the deal:  a friend of mine from Multan informed me that Shahid Afridi is apparently going to be the T20 opening batsman for Pakistan when they tour New Zealand!  His opening partner might be Mohammed Hafeez or Umar Akmal.  Well, good on Shahid Afridi.  Let's hope he's in his best form and scores a ridiculous amount of runs!  Furthermore, I want Umar Akmal to unleash his famous Green Lipstick Power!  YEAAAH!  Rock on, and let's have a spectacular T20 series!

And other quick gossips:  Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik wanted to play league cricket in Bangladesh but the PCB won't allow them to leave the country, saying they should stay in Pakistan and play domestic cricket "just in case" they get called back to the national team.  I got this info from the Pakistan Cricket facebook page.  I don't know what their source is, so this is truly just gossip at this point.  As you may know, I'm not a fan of Kamran Akmal or Shoaib Malik, but come on.  These two guys need to make a living and have families to support.  They're not playing on the international side, so just let them make the most of the situation and earn some money!

And here's the Ashes drama:  Australia has axed Dougie Bollinger, Marcus North, and Xavier Doherty, and has replaced them with  Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson and Micheal Beer.  Ok, this musical chairs business is a bit silly to say the least, but who in the heck is Michael Beer?  Is he even a test guy?  Where's Hauritz, who's been positively smashing his way back into form in domestic cricket?  Where's Tim Paine, the wicket-keeper?  Where's Steven Smith, the all-rounder?  Are the Australia selectors trying to save the series by simply confusing the opposition?  I am baffled.  

"Turning and turning in the widening gyre
    The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
    Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
    Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world," TS Elliot, The Second Coming

 

 

 

With all this bafflement, I need to restore my sanity.  A good cup of Moroccan tea should do the trick, and I'm going to show you how to make it today.  In fact, we'll learn two varieties of "atay" (darija for tea); one for hot weather, and one for cold weather.  Go get your kettle, a cast-iron tea pot if you have it, or just a plain pot. 
Hot weather version :  Moroccan Mint Tea: Atay bil Na'a Na'a ( pronounced : a TIE bill NAna)
Ingredients
Gunpowder tea
1 bunch fresh mint (use lots)
sugar
water

Put 1 spoonfull of the gunpowder tea and one bunch of mint in your cast-iron teapot.  You can use a cooking  pot if you don't have one.
Pour boiling water on top of the tea and mint, enough to barely cover, and swish it around for 2 or 3 seconds, then pour out the water.  Do this another 2 times.  This is called "washing the tea" and removes the dusty flavour of the gunpowder tea-leaves.  Do not ignore this step as it makes a huge difference to the final result.
After washing the tea, pour several cups of boiling water over the tea and mint. 
Put the cast iron teapot directly on the stove (or your pot ), on the heating element, and boil the tea for about ten minutes.
While the tea is boiling, add sugar; about 2 teaspoons for every cup.  Moroccan tea is supposed to be sweet.
Reduce the tea a bit, making sure that all the sugar is melted.  You should have a beautiful amber coloured liquid at this point.
At this point, the tea is ready to serve.  Pour directly from the cast-iron teapot into a small glass cup or small teacup.  You want to hold the teapot up high, at least one meter from the cup, when you're pouring it.  This will cool the tea down slightly and oxygenate it, adding another level of flavour.  The tea should slightly foam up in the glass or cup.  This is a sign you've made the atay expertly! 

Cold Weather Version:  Moroccan Saffron Tea : Atay bil Zafran
Ingredients
Gunpowder tea
1 pinch of saffron threads
sugar

Prepare the same way as above:  but do not add the saffron until after you've washed the tea.
Add the sugar and the saffron at the same time, and slightly reduce the amount of liquid.  Pour the exact same way as described above.

Mint tea is served in the hot weather in Morocco because it's believed that mint cools down your body temperature.  Saffron tea is a winter drink because saffron increased your body temperature, making you feel all warm.  Just don't go crazy with saffron, fewer than 10 strands will do the trick.  Saffron tastes like bleach if you over-do it.  And on a medicinal note, according to Moroccans, saffron is good if you suffer from back pain, and it's good for women when we get cramps!  And it tastes great!

So there you go; you've learned how to make English style tea, Pakistani style milk tea and chai, and 2 varieties of Moroccan Atay. Along with restoring your sanity after such bafflement at the Ashes, you are now a Tea Expert!  Ain't life grand?

Happy Tea-Time, and Happy Bafflement at the Ashes!

A Day for Dhudhpatti (Milk Tea)

It's a slow one today.  No Ashes drama for another few days, no Pakistan for another 2+ weeks, and I don't have access to the TV today, so I can't watch the Bangladesh/Zimbabwe or India NZ ODI's.  Phooey!   There's not even any gossip.  Oh and it's too wet to go and play some gulli cricket.  Double phooey!

I'm going to continue with the tea theme I started yesterday.  We'll learn how to make a basic milk tea and how to serve it.   First of all, to make a proper milk tea, you need strong black tea.  You can use teabags, but leaf tea is better.  Assam leaves are the strongest and hold up to the milk well. 

You can use skim milk, but if you want the real, traditional rich and thick tea, you must use full-fat or homogenized milk. 

Okay.  In a large pan, pour about 4 cups of milk, and bring to a light boil or you can simply scald the milk.  Add 1 teaspoon of tea leaves for every cup ( use less if you like weaker tea) , and cook the tea in the milk for a few minutes, until you get a nice rich colour.  Strain the tea through a strainer while pouring into a teapot.  You don't want to leave the tea leaves in the teapot because it will make the liquid very very bitter.  Strain them out first!

Add sugar to individual taste.  On a cultural side note:  in Pakistan, the person who makes the tea also serves it.  This same person adds the sugar to the cup, pours the tea, stirs it and serves it to the guest.  A guest is not expected to pour their own tea! 

Furthermore, a pure milk tea is called Dhudhpatti, which translates to "milk and leaves".  It can also be called "Dhudhwalli chai".  If you go to a restaurant or a tea-bar in that part of the world, if you ask for "chai" you'll get a water tea with some hot milk on the side or a half/half mix. 

Right!  So while we're waiting for some exciting stuff to happen, I'll continue tomorrow with the tea theme, when we'll look at the different methodology of Moroccan teas.

Happy Cricket, and happy tea-time!