Vermicelli Balls (Siwayyo ke Laddu)

 Vermicelli Balls

 (Siwayyon ke Laddu)

  (18.2.2018)

Introduction to Vermicelli:

Vermicelli means  little worms in Italian,  It is a traditional type of pasta, similar to spaghetti. In English-speaking regions, it is usually thinner than spaghetti, while in Italy it is typically thicker.

The term vermicelli is also used to describe various types of thin noodles from Asia. In Vietnam, vermicelli is the same as angel hair pasta or capellini.

it is learned that In 14th-century Italy, long pasta shapes had varying local names. Barnabas de Reatinis of Reggio notes in his Compendium de naturis et proprietatibus alimentorum (1338) that the Tuscan vermicelli are called orati in Bologna, minutelli in Venice, fermentini in Reggio, and pancardelle in Mantua.

The first mention of a vermicelli recipe is in the book De Arte Coquinaria per vermicelli e macaroni siciliani (The Art of Cooking Sicilian Macaroni and Vermicelli), compiled by the famous Maestro Martino da Como, unequaled in his field at the time and perhaps the first "celebrity chef," who was the chef at the Roman palazzo of the papal chamberlain ("camerlengo"), the Patriarch of Aquileia. In Martino's Libro de Arte coquinaria, there are several recipes for vermicelli, which can last two or three years (doi o tre anni) when dried in the sun.

Spanning across many regions of the world, the thin noodles have so many variations, and In fact, there are no clear answers even to where the story of the worm-like strands began. In Italy, as the Tuscan name suggests? Or, in China, as countless Marco Polo stories would suggest. Vermicelli is, of course, pervasive today all over southeast Asia, in western Asia, and in the Indian subcontinent too apart from its two big outposts, Italy and China. Tracing these various versions of the noodle across the world is not just a fun exercise but also quite instructive. We can only conjecture that the vermicelli made its way into the sub-continent through trade with the Arab world that connected the west with the east for so many hundred years; as a result, imbibing within its fold so many culinary treasures.

In Egypt, the Arab technique of frying vermicelli (called she’reya) in butter or oil—before adding water to it and cooking it with rice comes fairly close to how we cook the strands in India and Pakistan, both for sweets and savories. Sewayyan, the popular Id, common to the Subcontinent and parts of West Asia, can of course be made as a Kheer, cooked in milk. But the dry version of this vermicelli sweet, called Sewayyon ka Zarda is made by frying the noodles in ghee, adding syrup or sugar, and nuts are some of the most delicious desserts that you can come across anywhere. 

Sewayyan is still made by hand by old matriarchs in their homes in Pakistan and India. Then, we have the Falooda the glutinous strands that come with Kulfi, or just as a cold dessert dunked in syrup. A take on the vermicelli, Falooda can be traced back to the faloodeh of Persian cuisine, a frozen dessert of thin vermicelli made from frozen cornstarch, rose water, lime juice, and pistachios. In southeast Asia, of course, the rice vermicelli is quite well known too: From the Cantonese Mai fun to the Vietnamese bun. And local substitutes for rice in the noodles include not just wheat but also Moong Beans. Finally, if you still haven’t stopped looking for the strands, you could find them in Latin America too as the fideo. The worm noodles are all-pervasive—even if we can’t quite define how thick vermicelli should really be and how is it different from other similar Pasta shapes even in Italy (every region has its own vermicelli).
   

Equation:

1.  Cooking Vermecilli                    10 minutes
2.  Mixing & making Balls               10 minutes
3.  Expenses:                                  Rupees Three Hundred ( about 1-1/2 Dollars)

Ingredients:

1.   1 Cup Vermicelli (Thinly Crushed)
2.   2 Tablespoons Butter
3.   1/2 Teaspoon Cardamom Powder
4.   1/2 cup Desiccated Coconut
5.   125 ml Sweetened Condensed Milk or as desired.
6.    Chopped Dry Fruit (Optional) as required.
7.   Sprinkles as for Coating
8.   Granulated sugar (Optional), also for Coating.

How to make:

• Crush a whole bunch of Vermicelli and put it in a large bowl.
• Fry them in butter till Golden.
• Mix in the Cardamom Powder and mix well, let it cool.
• Mix in Desiccated Coconut and.
• Now gradually add Condensed Milk and check if you can make the perfect rounded Balls easily. Stop adding more condensed Milk if some of its quantity is unused. Let that use it some other dessert.
• Place some Sprinkles on a wide plate, and on another plate, put some Desiccated Coconut for coating the Balls in them. (Optionally you can use Granulated sugar or Brown sugar as well for coating purposes, every one of these 4 items will give it a beautiful look as well as the taste)
• Now take one ball and start coating it in Sprinkles or any other coating item.
• Put them on a platter and serve.

You'd have noticed that preparing the above Vermicelli Balls is very simple and kids play, so kick out the FEAR OF FAILURE from your mind and let the kids and neighbors enjoy these novel balls. Make them more colorful with innovative and decorative food materials of your choice with the help of your kids. These balls can be dipped in melted chocolate, both white or original brown, and Glaze of different colors if kids insist.

You only keep the mixing of Condensed milk in check, as it must be in the right proportion to the other ingredients, and for some reason, if it exceeds, the balls will be soggy and difficult to take shape. If it happens, increase the amount of desiccated Coconut. It will take care of everything.

Thank you and love you all,

thine eternally,

NOVICE

SPICY CHICKEN ROAST

SPICY CHICKEN ROAST

(9.8.2017)

INTRODUCTION:

Roasting is a dry-heat method of cooking whereby meat or poultry is cooked on a spit over a fire or in a pan in an oven. Roasting began in prehistoric times when the first human stuck a piece of meat on a stick and held it over a fire. Spit-roasting fowl and games were common in ancient societies. In the Middle Ages, hunting was a prime occupation of the noble classes, and the game was usually roasted on a spit. Suckling pigs were also candidates for the spit. Beef, however, was not; it was considered "vulgar" because cattle did not have to be hunted. Not until the seventeenth century did roast beef became widely accepted in Europe.

Roasting, perhaps because it requires prodigious amounts of fuel and large pieces of meat, has always been considered the most prestigious form of cooking. The world's largest and oldest gastronomic society, the Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs (The Brotherhood of the Chain of the Roasters), was founded in Paris in 1248 by masters in the art of roasting geese (called "rotisseries"). The object of the Guild was to perpetuate the standards of quality befitting the royal table under Louis IX, King of France. The king loved his roast for the same reason people still love roasted meat: roasting develops and improves the flavor, color, and aroma of food. Properly roasted meat is tender, delicious, appetizing, and easier to digest than meat cooked by other methods.

The roasting method is one of the simplest ways to cook fine cuts of prime beef, lamb, pork, and veal, but, as any culinary student can tell you, simplicity in the field of culinary arts can be tricky. In cooking, as in all of the arts, simplicity is a sign of perfection. 

A roast begins as a piece of meat either on the bone or with the bone removed. A roast can range in size. Beef chunks are usually cooked by the roasting or rotisserie method. As a verb, "to roast" means to oven-cook food in an uncovered pan, over indirect heat. A "rotisserie," the noun, cooks food by slowly rotating it over direct heat.

A rotisserie contains a spit fitted with a pair of prongs that slides along its length. Food (usually meat) is impaled on the spit and the prongs are screwed tightly into place to hold the food securely. Roasting and rotisserie cooking produces the best results with reasonably tender pieces of meat or poultry. Tougher pieces of meat usually require moist cooking methods such as braising or pot-roasting. When time allows, less tender but larger.

Oven roasting and roasting on fire or stove are a little different but not much. day by day new recipes for marinating the meat are introduced and the job of roasting, once termed and thought of as a job for experts is now being carried out at homes by housewives themselves.  In Pakistan spicy roast is more popular than the plain one, which is used in the West. 

Balochistan and Sindh provinces have their own style of roasting, called Sajji. This Sajji is prepared by making a bone fire of wood in the middle and long and heavy skewers with meat are fixed around the fire, the skewers are then turned around 2-3 times to let them cook on every side.  Sajji meat is not marinated in many spices, instead only butter, salt, and black pepper are applied to the meat and similar dry powder is also sprinkled over the meat while eating.  The taste is out of this world. 

Nowadays Chicken and Mutton roasts are more in vogue in Pakistan and roast beef is on the decline, maybe due to beef prices or people having become more averse to red meat.

Today I am preparing Chicken roast on the stove and in a cooking pan with very simple spices, and am sure that you'll definitely like its taste and would try cooking it yourself.

Come on, let us start roasting our chicken with the name of ALLAH.

Equation:

• Time for two marinations               4 hours
• Time for cooking                            40-50 minutes
• Yield                                               2 servings
• Expenses                                       Rupees 500/- (3 US Dollars)

What we need:

1.  1/2 Kg Chicken
2.  1 cup Vinegar
3.  1 cup Yogurt
4.  1 Teaspoon each of Ginger Garlic Paste
5.  1/4 cup Cooking Oil
6.  2 Tablespoons  Chat Masala
7.  1 Tablespoon Red Chili Powder
8.  Salt n Pepper to taste
9.  Finely chopped Green Chilies, Coriander Leaves, Julien cut Ginger and  Lemon Juice. Tomato Slices and Cucumber Slices for garnishing.

How we prepare:

• In a large bowl, put in Vinegar and a teaspoon of salt, mix them and then add chicken pieces, let them rest for 2-3 hours in the Refrigerator. this will clear the blood from the chicken pieces which normally remain intact.
• Whisk Yoghurt in a large bowl and add Ginger Garlic paste, Chili Powder, Salt, Chat Masalla, 2 Tablespoons of Vinegar, and Oil, whisk all together.
• take out the chicken pieces from the Fridge and put them in the spice mix just prepared.
• Put these pieces in the Fridge again for a minimum of 2 hours so that the chicken may soak the spices as much as possible.
• After 2 hours take out the bowl and put chicken pieces along with all the mixture of marination in a saucepan and put it on medium heat.
• Cover and let it cook till all the mixture of marination is nearly dried and the chicken has become tender. stir occasionally and let it simmer till the oil separates.
• Our Spicy Chicken Roast is now ready to be served.
• Take it out on a platter, garnish with Julien cut Ginger, fresh coriander leaves chopped, finely chopped green chilies, and Chat masala along with crushed black pepper.
• Enjoy this roast with Nan Raita or my own Recipe of Mayonnaise Green Chili Dip.

Today we made a very simple dish of Chicken Roast, a bit spicy though, but delicious. The only thing which sometimes irritates or bothers is its marination time, which is a bit longer but to get its true taste, one has to endure the long wait of testing the nerves and patience of one's taste buds. How was it? We made it together and there was no fear of failing to achieve a positive result because we made it by laughing and enjoying our own small follies and slips. there was no hint of FEAR OF FAILURE because this time you vowed, not to panic and not to think of failure.

Thank you viewers for assisting me in preparing our simple Roast Chicken without a hint of FEAR OFF FAILURE.

Love you All.

thine eternally,

NOVICE

Karachi, August the 14th, 2017