Russian Honey Cake -- Medovik (with Eggless Custard Filling)

For this month's International Cooking Challenge, Saras @ Saras Yummy Bites is taking us to the world's largest country in the world, Russia. Russia's cuisine is very diverse just like the country and she gave us 3 traditional recipes to choose from. I picked this irresistible Russian Honey Cake from the list.

I made it as a part of my Russian meal I did earlier this month. This honey cake is very different from any cake I've ever made. The cake part is not a cake after all, it is basically rolled out dough that is baked in the oven to make somewhat like thin pancakes. These thin cakes are then layered with creamy custard filling and then chilled to make a delicious cake.

Zimbabwe -- Dobi (Spinach & Tomato with Peanut Butter sauce)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: Z for Zimbabwe

Dish: Dobi (Spinach & Tomato with Peanut Butter sauce)

We are moving on to the last and final letter Z and we are going to Zimbabwe today. Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in southern Africa, between Zambezi & Limpopo rivers.
Zimbabwean cuisine is much like the other African countries. They rely on a few staple foods. Cornmeal is used to make porridge called sadza or isitshwala and is usually served with meat and vegetables. Rice, pasta and potato based foods also make up part of Zimbabwean cuisine. A local favorite is rice cooked with peanut butter that is served with thick gravy, mixed vegetables and meat.

Yemen -- Carrot Rice

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: Y for Yemen

Dish: Yemeni Carrot Rice

Today we are going to Yemen, an Arab country in Southwest Asia. We are only a day way from our final destination tomorrow and I can't believe how fast the month passed.
The first dish I made for Yemen was a colossal failure -- the first and last failure in my entire A-Z International series. I was quite upset since I planned to make it at the very end and didn't have enough time to remake it. So I picked a very quick and simple (no-fail) recipe for Yemeni Carrot rice from the blog Queen of Sheba. This is an awesome Yemeni food blog that has a ton of authentic Yemeni recipes.

Spicy Mexican Home Fries

I'm not sure how authentic these home fries are, but I believe Bobby Flay knows what he's doing. So I went with it and made these for the Mexican brunch. These fried potatoes are crispy, spicy and delicious.

Recipe adapted from here.
Spicy Home Fries:

Ingredients: Serves 2~3

Potatoes - 2 medium, boiled and chopped
Onion -1 medium, chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
Jalapeno pepper - 1 small, chopped
Ancho chile powder - 1tsp (adjust as per spice preference)
Lime zest - 1tsp
Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method:

• Heat 1tbsp oil in a cast iron skillet or a heavy bottom nonstick pan on medium flame. Add onions and jalapeno, cook till the onions are translucent.
• Add garlic and chili powder and salt. Cook for 1 minute.
• Next add the boiled and chopped potatoes. Lightly mash the potatoes with the back of the spoon and cook undisturbed until the potatoes get nice and crusty.
• Mix and cook till all the potatoes form a crust. Add salt, pepper and lime zest. Mix well and serve immediately.

Check the complete Mexican brunch here. 

Virgin Sangrita

Bobby Flay's Sangrita had tequila in it, but I made a virgin version of it. It has just about all the tastes in it -- it's spicy, tangy, salty and sweet. I made just 2 servings, both for me. I was hoping to drink the second glass later, but my 2 year old really liked it and drank more than half from the second glass.

The recipe calls for tomato juice, but I didn't want to buy a whole bottle just for ½cup in this recipe. So I made my own tomato juice using tomato paste. This juice tastes much better than the bottled tomato juice because it doesn't have any added salt or sugar.

Xalapa (Mexico) -- Vegetarian Mexican Brunch (Huevos Rancheros with Black beans)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: X for Xalapa -- Mexico

Dish: Vegetarian Mexican Brunch -- Black bean Huevos Rancheros, Spicy Home Fries & Sangrita

Today we are going to Xalapa, Mexico. Technically ther are no countries starting with X, so as a group it was decided that we pick a place that starts with X and then make a dish from that place or the country it belongs to. 'X' is the only alphabet that I didn't have a country or dish planned. First I decided to a place in Spain, but then I didn't want to miss the opportunity to cook from my favorite Mexican cuisine, so ended up with Xalapa, Mexico.
Another factor that made me want to do Mexican is Bobby Flay's Mexican brunch that he made on Cooking Channel. Every he made looked so good that I wanted to recreate the whole meal at home. Huevos Rancheros has been on my to-make list forever, so this gave me an opportunity to try it.

Huevos Rancheros or 'rancher's eggs' is a popular breakfast dish that has eggs and is traditionally served on rural Mexican farms. This dish consists of fried eggs served over fried corn tortillas and topped with tomato-chili sauce.

Coconut Rice with Fresh Pigeon Peas

I wanted to make coconut rice for the third day of navrathri, but I wanted it to be simple and be a complete meal because I was lazy to make a side dish. The coconut rice recipe I already had on the blog has some prior preparations needed which I was in no mood to do. I asked my mom for a quick recipe and she gave me this easy recipe to make.

I added some protein to the rice itself in the form of fresh pigeon peas and peanuts. It turned out to be a simple, filling and healthy meal. I love dishes that are simple and with not too many conflicting flavors. This coconut rice fits the bill because it is packed with coconut flavor in the form of coconut milk, grated coconut and coconut oil (use coconut oil, only if you like strong coconut flavor). 

Western Samoa -- Poi (Banana Puddling)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: W for Western Samoa

Dish: Poi (Banana Pudding)
We are moving on to Western Samoa today. There are not too many countries starting with W and so I picked one from this list and cooked from it, not realizing until I started typing the post that is the former name for Samoa. Oh well, it is what it is now and I'm going with it!!!!!!
Western Samoa/ Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. To be honest, I had no clue where these islands where till today and WIKI has given me lot of geographic knowledge about the country. It is fascinating to read about a new country, that too about a country that I just made a dish from. So if you want to know where and what Samoan islands are, please refer to this link.

Vietnam -- Crispy Rice & Mung bean Pancakes (Bánh Xèo)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: V for Vietnam

Dish: Crispy Rice & Mung bean Pancakes (Bánh Xèo)
We are visiting Vietnam today. Vietnam is located in Southeast Asia and is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest and Cambodia to southwest.
Vietnamese cuisine features a combination of 5 fundamental taste elements/ senses: spicy, sour, bitter, salty and sweet which sounds much like Indian tastes as well. Traditional Vietnamese cooking uses lot of fresh ingredients, minimum use of oil and relies on herbs and vegetables. Vietnamese food is considered as one of the healthiest cuisines worldwide.

Last month's Vegetarian times magazine had a whole spread of Vietnamese dishes and I knew right away that it is going to be Vietnam for V. These rice and mung bean pancakes sounded very similar to Andhra Pesarattu and the stuffing with mushrooms and bean sprouts sounded really interesting to me.

Pumpkin Smoothie & My 5 Fall/ Autumn Favorites

It's officially Fall here (September 22) and the weather is slowly getting chilly and crisp. I see the trees changing color and perhaps that is the best part of fall that I love -- all the beautiful colors. Fall also means kids going back to school, days getting shorter and days getting busier. Busy means less time to go shopping even for ingredients and favorite foods and I find myself doing a lot of online shopping these days. I didn't realize until recently that I can buy gift cards for just about any store like Walmart or Target or Whole Foods at a discounted price on Raise.com.
Raise is the first online marketplace to buy and sell gift cards, where you can buy discount gift cards to your favorite stores or sell your unwanted gift cards for cash. Their marketplace has a wide variety of brands; from Starbucks to Target and many many more. Buying a gift card to a specific store is a great idea, so the recipient can buy what they want instead of getting gifts that they don't really want/ need.
I wanted to share my 5 Fall/ Autumn food favorites and I'm sure I'll be using Raise to buy some gift cards to get my ingredients for the recipes.

Uganda -- G-Nut Sauce (Ugandan Peanut Sauce with Chickpeas)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days

Country: U for Uganda

Dish: G-Nut Sauce
We are going to Uganda today. It is a landlocked country in East Africa. Ugandan cuisine is influenced by English, Arab, Asian and especially Indian cuisines. Main dishes are usually centered on a sauce or stew of groundnuts/ peanuts, beans or meat.The starch traditionally comes from Ugali (maize meal) in the North and East or Matoke (boiled and mashed green banana) in Central, or a Millet Ugali in the west.
Many tribes in Uganda have their own specialty dish or delicacy. Many dishes include starchy vegetables like Cassava, yam and African sweet potato. Various leafy greens are grown in Uganda.Fruits such as pineapple and bananas are plentiful.

Turkish Kanefe/ Knafeh

Couple of my friends took me to a Turkish restaurant for my birthday this year. They ordered this crispy, flaky and sweet pastry and we were served a bubbling hot dessert that I used as a cake to blow the candle. The candle almost melted in the hot dessert. I was sold the minute I had my first bite -- it was sweet, crunchy, creamy and absolutely delicious. I heard the name of the dish but it hardly registered in my brain because I was busy eating it.

Then I saw Usha's post for Knafeh and then I realized that it can be made at home. So it had to become part of my Turkish meal. This dessert is very easy to put together, if you have all the ingredients ready.

Turkish Sarma -- Stuffed Grape Leaves (Vegetarian recipe)

I had these stuffed grape leaves at my Turkish friend's house for the first time. Her mom had brought grape leaves from Turkey and made these for us. I have never tasted anything like these before and really liked them. So when I was planning my Turkish menu, I wanted to give these a try too.

I am lucky to have Turkish grocery stores very close to my house. So after a quick trip to the store, I was equipped with a big can of grape leaves. The stuffing/ filling is like tomato rice and is very flavorful and tasty by itself. Once the grape leaves are stuffed, they need to be boiled for about 30 minutes and you have a very tasty appetizer ready. These are traditionally served with yogurt sauce, but I skipped it and ate them as is.

Mücver -- Turkish Zucchini Fritters

This is another dish that my friend suggested. I don't remember eating this before, but she said it is a good dish that even my kids might like. She wasn't wrong, even my picky son loved these fritters. Original recipe uses eggs to make the fritters, but I used egg replacer powder instead. The firtters turned out great even without the eggs, they turned out crispy and delicious. 

Turkish Bulgur Pilaf with Veggies

I thought bulgur was used to make Tabbouleh only until I ate this pilaf. I should have known, bulgur to Turkish is like rice to South Indians -- the many variations of rice we enjoy is incredible. So bulgur
is used in both savory and sweet preparations. Bulgur is made from groats of several different wheat species. It looks like our wheat rawa and it probably is Turkish wheat rawa -- I'm not sure (if any of you do, please add your comment below).

Turkey -- Turkish Vegetarian Meal (Recipes)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days

Country: T for Turkey

Dishes: Bulgur Pilaf, Stuffed Grape Leaves, Zucchini Fritters & Knafeh
We are going to Turkey today. One of my girl friend is from Turkey and after tasting their food many times, I knew I have to try those recipes for the BM. I even bothered her on vacation and asked her to suggest some Turkish dishes that I could try. Sweet heart that she is, she sent me links to recipes that I could try. So thanks to my dear friend, I have a yummy and filling Turkish meal today.
The first time I ever had Turkish meal was at a Turkish restaurant where one of my ex-colleagues had her daughter's first birthday party. I don't really remember what we ate that day, but I clearly remember enjoying everything that was served to us.
Here's a glimpse of Turkish brunch that we had at a Turkish restaurant for my birthday this year. We had Simit (famous Turkish bread) sandwich with French fries and in the second picture is the typical breakfast dishes like cheese, jelly, egg, olives etc that are eaten in Turkey.

After that I was lucky enough to enjoy home cooked dishes made by my lovely Turkish friend and her mom. Their dishes are simple but they are exotically flavored with rose water or orange blossom water like in this Baklava. Mint and parsley are used extensively making the dishes taste fresh and delicious.

Swedish Broccoli Soup

This is probably the most simplest broccoli soup ever. As I was making the Swedish meal, I wasn't sure if my daughter would like any of the dishes that was making and since she likes broccoli, I searched for 'Swedish Broccoli' and this broccoli soup came up. Traditionally Swedish broccoli soup is served with local cheese and chili tuiles (fancy name for melted cheese crackers), but I didn't have the time to make them, so this is Swedish broccoli soup without the Swedish element in it.

Swedish Christmas porridge

This is a hearty and delicious oatmeal porridge that you would love to wake up to on Christmas morning. The oats are soaked overnight making them soft and quick & easy to cook in the morning. Adding grated apple was my favorite in this dish.

Raggmunk -- Swedish Potato Pancakes

Swedish version of potato pancakes are very easy to make. All you need is pancake batter and grated potatoes and voila, you have delicious potato pancakes in no time. Traditionally they are served with lingonberry jam, but I totally went savory way and served with topped with some green onions and dunked them in the broccoli soup.

Smörgåstårta - Swedish sandwich cake

When I saw Rajani's Smörgåstårta, I changed my original plan of making Swedish Cinnamon rolls and made this beautiful sandwich cake instead. It is exactly what it sounds like, but nothing like it looks -- funny isn't it. It is a savory cake made with all of the sandwich fixings and they frosted like a cake.

Sweden -- Swedish Vegetarian Meal (Recipes)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: S for Sweden

Dishes: Swedish Sandwich Cake (Smörgåstårta), Raggmunk (Potato Pancakes), Broccoli Soup & Christmas Porridge
We are going to Sweden today.It is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. Two of my brothers-in-law live there now. We went to Sweden 5 years ago and had a chance to visit Stockholm (Capital of Sweden) and Gothenburg. It is a beautiful country and we had a great time there. Good thing about visiting a new country, not as a tourist but as a guest is that we got a chance to see the country more up close. We went to couple of grocery stores with my BIL's family that I'm sure we would have skipped if we were tourists.

Russian Tomato & Cucumber Salad

This is a very simple Russian tomato and cucumber salad that doesn't need a separate post, but I'm doing it anyway. The dressing is very very simple with just vinegar, oil, salt & pepper. Very refreshing and healthy salad. 

Salad Olivier -- Russian Potato Salad

I found this Russian Potato Salad called Salad Olivier on Smitten Kitchen. It is a very simple potato salad but the addition of dill pickles, carrots and peas makes it a little different. I never bought dill pickles before and I didn't realize there were 20 different kinds of pickles in the store. It took me good 10 minutes to figure out what to buy. Carrots and peas make the salad look more colorful. 

Borscht -- Russian Beet & Vegetable Soup (Vegetarian Recipe)

When I think of Russian food, first thing that comes to mind is Borscht --  beet & vegetable soup. To be honest I'm not a bog beets fan, so this was soup was something that I was not too excited about and kept looking for other dishes. But finally I realized I had no time and then ended up making the soup anyway. I was surprised that I liked the soup, it is very hearty and technically I didn't taste the beets as much as I feared I would. The color sure makes the beet presence apparent and I really loved how photogenic this soup was.

Russia -- A Simple Vegetarian Russian Meal

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: R for Russia

Dishes: Borscht (Russian Beet & Veggie Soup), Tomato & Cucumber Salad, Salad Olivier
We are going to Russia today. Russia is a country in northern Eurasia. Russia has over 160 different ethnic groups and indigenous people in Russia. Ethnic Russians with their Slavic traditions, Tatars and Bashkirs with their Turkic Muslim culture and so on. My knowledge of Russia was from the Russian folktale books that we used to read as kids. My dad used to buy these books at book exhibitions and we also had a subscription to a kids magazione called 'Mischa'. My mom still has those books and my son loved reading them while we were in India.
Russian cuisine widely uses fish, poultry, mushrooms, berries and honey. I wanted to bake the famous Russian Black bread, but I wasn't sure if there will be any takers for it at home. Pirozhki and Blini were also on my to-make list but never materialized.

This meal was not actually on my initial plan, but the amazing meals that Varada & Pradnya have been making for the BM inspired me to make a meal too. So here I am with a few Russian dishes that can be served for a meal.

I decided on trying simple, easy-to-make dishes form Russia and here is what I made:

• Borscht -- Russian Beet & Veggie Soup
• Salad Olivier -- Russian Potato Salad
• Tomato & Cucumber Salad
• Russian Honey Cake 

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 44.

An InLinkz Link-up

Vegetable Rice for Festivals (Saakannam/ Shakannam)

Saakannam is one of the dishes that is made on the 7th of Navratri/ Dasara. Saakam (shaak) means vegetables and Annam means rice, so it is nothing but mixed vegetable rice. When making any dish on a festival day, we usually refrain from using onion, garlic, garam masala etc. Also using premade or store bought masalas is not preferred.

I tried looking for an authentic rice recipe that is made for festivals, but I couldn't find anything. I asked one of my cousins and she said she makes a simple mixed vegetable rice with ginger. I went with my instincts and made this dish with what I had in the fridge.

Recipes for Dasara/ Navrathri (Dussehra Specials)

Navrathri/ Dasara:

Make these festival special dishes to offer on the 9 days of Navrathri.

Qatar -- Motabel (Smokey Eggplant & Tahini dip)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: Q for Qatar

Dish: Motabel (Smokey Eggplant & Tahini dip)

We are going to Qatar today because from the little I know there are no more countries that start with Q :-) Qatar is a sorerign Arab country located in Western Asia. It is world's richest country per capita due to the presence of large natural gas reserves and oil reserves.
Qatari cuisine is very similar to other Middle eastern countries. I picked a eggplant dip recipe from Qatar. It seems like some version of eggplant dip is present in all of the Mediterranean cuisines. Motabel/ Moutabel is almost like Baba ghanoush with smokey roasted eggplant as the main ingredient.

Philippines -- Guinisang Mongo (Mung Beans & Tomato)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: P for Philippines

Dish: Guinisang Mongo (Mung Beans & Tomato)
We are going to Philippines today. One of my very dear friend is from Philippines and she was really kind enough to send me today's recipe that I followed to the 'T'.
Philippines is an island country in Southeast Asia. It is 64th largest country in the world, but is the 12th most populated country, making it quite densely populated country. I didn't know until recently that Filipino American community is the second largest Asian American group in the United States (after Chinese). I thought Indian community was much larger, but I guess I was wrong.
I have had Filipino colleagues in all of my jobs and from what I learnt from them is that they DO NOT like spicy food and they go bonkers when they eat Indian food -- it is way too spicy for them. Their cuisine has Hispanic, Chinese, American and other Asian influences. Popular dishes include adobo, sinangang, lumpia and halo-halo. Common ingredients include coconuts, mangoes, milkfish and fish sauce.

Oman -- Khabeesa (Cream of Wheat Pudding)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days

Country: O for Oman

Dish: Khabeesa (Cream of Wheat Pudding)
We are moving on to Oman today. This is the only country that I know of that starts with an O, so I'm pretty sure what most of my fellow BMers have picked today :-)
Oman is an Arab state in Southwest Asia. Oman is an absolute monarchy in which the Sultan of Oman exercises ultimate authority, but its parliament has some legislative and oversight powers.
Omani cuisine is very similar to most of the Middle eastern cuisines. Dishes are based around chicken, fish, lamb as well as the staple of rice. Most Omani dishes contain a rich mixture of spices, herbs and marinades.

Nepali Tomato Chutney (Tomato Achar)

This is a very tasty and spicy chutney. Tastes great with rice or roti or as a sandwich spread.

Recipe adapted from here:

Ingredients:

Tomatoes - 2 medium

Red Chilies - 3 (fresh ones, not dried)

Ginger - 1" piece, finely grated

Garlic - 4 cloves, thinly sliced

Ground Coriander - ½tsp

Ground Cumin - ½tsp
Mustard seeds - ½tsp
Fenugreek Seeds - ½tsp

Turmeric - ½tsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

• Dry roast the tomatoes in a skillet until nicely roasted on all sides. Remove the tomatoes and add the red chilies to the skillet. Dry roast the chilies until charred.
• Let the tomatoes and chilies cool. Peel the tomatoes; chop both the tomatoes and chilies. Reserve all the tomato juice.
• Heat 1tbsp oil in a sauce pan, add the mustard and fenugreek seeds. Once the seeds start to splutter, add the grated ginger and sliced garlic. Cook till the garlic is lightly browned all over. Add the chopped tomatoes, chilies, reserved tomato juice, ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric and salt.
• Cook on medium flame until all the water is evaporated and the chutney gets a nice thick consistency.

Check out the complete Nepali Thali here.

Nepali Curried Spinach (Saag)

This is probably the simplest recipe. Sauteed spinach with garlic cloves and curry powder.

Nepali Mixed Vegetable Curry (Tarkari)

I love curries with mixed vegetables. My mom used to make them often when we were growing up and I was used to that concept of mixing different veggies to make a curry. I was surprised when one of my friend said she was not used to dishes were random veggies were mixed together to make a curry. I thought it was common in every household.
This curry is right up my alley and I really liked it when served with rice. But it will taste good even with roti. This curry is usually served with dal-bhat.

Nepali Dal Bhat (National Dish of Nepal)

Nepali dal is slightly different from the regular dals I make at home because of the addition of the ground masala powder. The addition of warm spices like cardamom, cloves and cinnamon adds a lot of flavor to the dal and makes it taste spicy and comforting.
Dal Bhat is Nepal's National dish and is often served with tarkari (mixed vegetable curry) for a complete wholesome meal.

Nepal -- Simple Vegetarian Thali (Recipes)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: N for Nepal

Dish: Vegetarian Thali (Recipes)

We are exactly half way through the marathon, 13 done -- 13 more to go. Our next stop is Nepal and this was the very first country that I cooked for. I knew it was going to be Nepal for N from the very beginning. Ever since I saw Sandhya's Nepali dishes for one of the previous BMs, I wanted to try them and this was the best opportunity I got. Also when I was planning the dishes, we were freshly done with the Indian states mega BM and all the thalis that were posted really inspired me to plan a thali for Nepal too.
The Nepalese are mostly immigrants from India, Tibet, North Burma and the Chinese province of Yunnan via Assam. So the culture and the cuisine is mostly influenced by all these countries. Much of Nepalese dishes are made in India too, especially in the North eastern Indian states.

Malaysia -- Vegetarian Curry with Coconut Milk

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: M for Malaysia

Dish: Vegetarian Malaysian Curry with Coconut Milk
We are going to the Malaysia today. It is located in Southeast Asia. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural. The population can be broadly divided into 3 ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese & Indian. Most of the Malaysian dishes have strong influences of all these countries.
One of my very good friends is from Malaysia and I asked her help in picking a recipe. She suggested couple of dishes that required procuring ingredients typical to Malaysia. Then I asked her Malaysian curry recipe and she sent me the recipe and then even made it for us. I planned on clicking her curry, but it was all gone so quickly that I didn't get a chance to take pics.

Then I found another Malaysian curry recipe that was slightly different from my friend's version. I double checked with my friend and after getting her nod of approval, I made this curry with freshly made curry paste and coconut milk.