1. food and drink
2. desserts and baking

ARAB TIMES, FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015
31
Cook It Light
Caraway coleslaw delightfully different
Carrot cake cupcakes tastier, full of fruits and nuts
By Jeanne Jones
Dear Jeanne,
This is one of my favorite recipes,
but I don’t know if it’s possible to make
it healthier and still have it taste good.
What do you think? Can it be done? —
Cheryl, Lansing, Mich.
Carrot cake cupcakes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped nuts
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Icing:
1 stick butter
8 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound powdered sugar
Combine the dry ingredients in a
large bowl. Stir in the carrots, raisins
and nuts. In a separate bowl, beat
together the eggs, oil, pineapple and
vanilla. Add to the flour mixture, and
stir until combined. Spoon into paperlined cups. Bake at 350 F for 15 to18
minutes.
For the icing, beat the butter and
cream cheese together until well combined. Beat in the vanilla and powdered
sugar until smooth and fluffy. Ice the
cooled cupcakes.
Makes 24 cupcakes.
Dear Cheryl,
Sometimes sweets just can’t be lightened and still taste as good, and in that
case I say, just eat a smaller piece, less
often. However, this is one recipe that
was possible to lighten and still maintain the quality. I think that the cake is
so good and full of fruits and nuts that
you don’t even have to ice it — and if
you don’t, you can save 70 calories, 1
gram of fat and 16 grams of carbohydrates.
Light carrot cake cupcakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup egg substitute, or 3 egg
whites
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup crushed pineapple in juice,
drained
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped nuts, toasted
Icing:
3 cups powdered sugar
4 ounces Greek-yogurt cream
cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray
24 muffin cups with nonstick cooking
spray, or use paper liners. Set aside.
2. Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
Stir to mix; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, lightly beat the
egg substitute or egg whites with a
fork. Add the oil, buttermilk, sugar and
vanilla, and beat to combine. Add the
carrots, pineapple, raisins and nuts. Stir
to thoroughly combine.
4. Add the flour mixture to the carrot
mixture and stir just until moistened.
Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for
15 to 18 minutes, or until the top of a
cupcake springs back when you touch it
lightly. Let cool.
5. Make the icing by beating the
powdered sugar into the softened cream
cheese and vanilla until fluffy. Ice the
cooled cupcakes.
Makes 24 cupcakes.
Each muffin contains approximately:
Original Recipe: 356 calories; 19 gm
fat; 47 mg cholesterol; 274 mg sodium;
46 gm carbohydrates; 3 gm protein; 1
gm fiber. Revised Recipe: 195 calories;
4 gm fat; 2 mg cholesterol; 155 mg
sodium; 38 gm carbohydrates; 3 gm
protein; 2 gm fiber.
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Every time I serve this delightfully
different coleslaw for a lunch or dinner
party, I get rave reviews from my
guests. In fact, I have had many people
tell me that it is the first time they have
ever really enjoyed coleslaw; they find
most others to be too heavy and too
sweet. I particularly like this coleslaw
with roast chicken and baked ham.
Also, it is a great recipe to make in
large quantities, so it is wonderful for
picnics, backyard barbecues and tailgate parties. Another positive feature of
this coleslaw is that it can be made a
day ahead of the time you want to serve
it. For really quick and easy preparation
of this salad, buy the cabbage already
shredded.
Caraway coleslaw
1/2 cup peeled and grated carrots
1 small, tart green apple, cored,
peeled and grated (3/4 cup)
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1. In a large bowl, combine all of
the dressing ingredients and mix
well.
2. Add the salad ingredients to
the bowl, and again mix well. Chill
for several hours before serving.
Makes 4 servings.
Each 1-cup serving contains approximately: 108 calories; 5 gm fat; 5 mg
cholesterol; 202 mg sodium; 16 gm carbohydrates; 1 gm protein; 2 gm fiber.
Dressing:
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1-1/2 tablespoons white vinegar
1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/8 teaspoon salt
Dash white pepper
Salad:
6 ounces green cabbage, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
3 ounces red cabbage, shredded
(3/4 cup)
Jeanne Jones is the author of 33
cookbooks, most recently “Cooking
From the Cupboard” (Rodale Press).
For more information, you can go to
her website, jeannejones.com.
Send your recipe for revision to:
Cook It Light
(Name of Newspaper)
P.O. Box 1212
La Jolla, CA 92038
Please include a stamped (61 cents),
self-addressed envelope.
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Last Meal
‘Taste is supreme’
Chef Yousuf thrives
in busy environment
By Cinatra Fernandes
Arab Times Staff
L
This Jan 19, 2015 photo shows chicken with tangy artichoke and mushroom sauce in Concord, NH. (AP)
Perfect dish for great date night
Tangy, creamy chicken with artichoke
By Melissa D’Arabian
F
ifteen years ago, I made the first of
what would become thousands of
meals for my husband, Philippe. Back
then, it was our fifth date, and he was
visiting my tiny Parisian apartment for
the first time, where we planned an
evening of binging on episodes of
Friends on the VCR.
For our date, I wanted to make
something special, but also simple. I
didn’t want to be stuck in the kitchen,
worried about executing a complicated, unforgiving dish. I needed something that oozed effortless culinary
prowess, but that didn’t look like I
was trying too hard to impress quite
yet. In the words of that show’s
Monica Geller, I wanted a meal that
said, “I’m breezy.”
I made a tried-and-true dish I knew
I could do with my eyes closed —
my 4-step chicken. Four-step chicken
is a versatile recipe that can be made
with whatever you have in the pantry.
First, you dredge and saute the chicken. Next, you saute some veggies.
Then you deglaze the pan with some
liquid. Finally, you finish up the
sauce. Done.
The chicken I made that night was
a lemony piccata-style dish, with
click
Latest
Continued from Page 30
pop songs with the band Silk Route,
which released two albums, Boondein
(1998) and Pehchan. The song “Dooba
Dooba” became a rave in the Indi pop
music scene. Chauhan is recipient of several Film fare as well as several other
awards as Best playback singer & Best
male singer awards for songs( Masakali),
(Jo Bhi Main), ( Ye Dooriyan), (Pee
Loon), (Phir Se udd Chala), (Sadda Haq),
(Naadan Parinde) etc.
He has series of hit songs as playback
singer in films like: Dhoom3 Karish 3,
Marycom, The Xpose,Jannat 2, Jab Tak
Hai Jaan, Matru Ki Bijli Ka Man Dola,
RockStar, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara,Tum
Mile, New York, Kismat Connection, Jab
some added items like mushrooms
and artichoke hearts. It was the perfect balance of something a little special, but super easy to manage after a
long day of work. This also happens
to be a great date night dish because
it packs lots of flavour without using
onions or garlic.
The version I’m sharing today has
an extra ingredient: tangy, creamy
low-fat Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is
a staple in the healthy kitchen
because it is full of protein, yet is relatively low in calories. It’s a great
stand-in for sour cream and heavy
cream, and even just a spoonful of it
added to dressings, sauces and soups
adds a luscious creaminess that
makes me forget I’m eating healthy.
And this chicken dish will do just
that, for you and your date.
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons butter, divided
8 ounces mixed or button mushrooms, sliced
14-ounce can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup low-fat plain Greek
yogurt
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Season both sides of the chicken
cutlets with salt and pepper. Place the
flour in a bowl, then dredge each cutlet through to lightly coat.
In a heavy saute pan over mediumhigh, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and
1 tablespoon of the butter. When the
butter has melted, add the chicken
cutlets and cook until golden and
crusty on both sides and just cooked
Chicken with tangy artichoke
and mushroom sauce
Canned or frozen artichoke hearts
are fine in this recipe. Just avoid the
marinated variety.
Start to finish: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
1 pound thinly-sliced chicken
cutlets
Salt and ground black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
We Met, Rang De Basanti, & Road etc.
Diwakar Nayal, Sonia Mathur & Ankita
are famous acrobats from bollywood &
reality shows like “India’s Got Talent,
Jhalak Dikhla Ja with Madhuri Dixit,
Entertainment Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi
Karega, and Sharukh Khan Live Show for
New Year. Diwakar & team have performed worldwide with new concept of
Tri act. They will do workshop for new
talents in Kuwait on the 2nd day.
ICS has invited some of the most iconic
Indian musicians and stars including
Himesh Reshammiya, Daler Mehndi,
Javed Akhtar, Alka Yagnik, Kumar Sanu,
Shreya Ghoshal, Bappi Lahiri, Shabana
Azmi, Raveena Tandon, Abhijeet
Bhattacharya, Talat Aziz, Vinod Rathod,
Udit Narayan, Bali, Munawwar Rana,
Tom Alter, Javed Ali, Shibani,
A.Sivamani, Raju Srivastav, Jaswinder
Singh, Bhagyashree, Haricharan, Suchitra,
Bharti Singh, Akshay Anand, Anjaan
Srivastav, Kader Khan, Ramesh Talwar,
Himani Shivpuri, Mika Singh etc.
through, about 2 to 3 minutes per
side. Transfer the cutlets to a platter
and cover with foil.
Return the saute pan to the heat
and add the remaining oil and butter.
When the butter has melted, add the
mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Cook
until the mushrooms start to soften,
about 3 minutes, then add the artichoke hearts. Continue cooking until
the mushrooms are tender, another 5
to 6 minutes.
Add the broth and lemon juice and
stir to deglaze the pan, scraping up
any brown bits stuck to the pan. Let
the sauce bubble, stirring, for 1 to 2
minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat,
then adjust seasoning. Place the
yogurt in a small bowl and whisk in
about 1/3 cup of the mushroom
sauce.
Whisk the yogurt back into the
sauce in the pan. Pour the sauce over
the chicken, sprinkle with parsley and
serve.
Nutrition information per serving:
370 calories; 150 calories from fat
(41 per cent of total calories); 16 g fat
(6 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 100 mg
cholesterol; 18 g carbohydrate; 2 g
fiber; 4 g sugar; 33 g protein; 630 mg
sodium. (AP)
email: ics.kuwait@gmail.com or arundev.gec@gmail.com
Feb 25
TMCA’s blood donation camp:
This Jan 19, 2015 photo shows chicken with tangy artichoke and mus-h
room sauce in Concord, NH. (AP)
So join ICS for a memorable & mesmerizing evening “Mohit Chauhan The
Rockstar” on Friday 20th February 2015
at 6.30 pm at
Fahad Al Hamad Handball Indoor
Stadium, Kuwait Fencing Association,
2nd Ring Road, Block 2, Daiya Kuwait.
Contacts: 97262993 - 66263986 69603970 - 97428028 - 94913930.
Whats App: 99709495, 66615050,
97984603
Donating blood is an active way of helping others and the whole of society. One
can almost say that blood is that magic
potion which gives life to another person.
Our body has 5.5 ltr of blood of which
only 350 ml — 450 ml of blood is taken
depending upon weight of donor. Majority
of healthy adults can tolerate withdrawal
of one unit of blood. The withdrawn
blood volume is restored within 24 hours
and the hemoglobin and cell components
are restored in 2 months. Therefore it is
safe to donate blood every three months.
After donating, you should have a snack
and something to drink in the refreshments area. You can leave the site after
10-15 minutes and continue with your
normal daily activities.
Continued on Page 32
ebanese food is often described
as the meeting point of Arab
and Mediterranean cuisines, synonymous with the words fresh,
healthy and most of all, scrumptious. Chef Yousuf Al Saleh, from
Syria, Sous Chef at the Sheraton
Hotel in Kuwait heads up Le
Tarbouche, at the Avenues mall, that
provides a fine dining experience
accentuated by its farm fresh meats,
garden seasonings and spices flown
directly from Lebanon.
Chef Yousuf has worked at the
Sheraton Hotel for 5 years. But his
journey began when he was much
younger. “I decided to become a
chef because I developed a passion
for it from a young age. I used to
watch my mother cooking in the
kitchen, and I was fascinated with
the process. I used to always ask her
about recipes, how to make dish or
another. So when I finished school,
I decided to study Hotel
Management,” he shared.
Since then, Chef Yousuf has been
living his dream. He is the most passionate proponent of the Lebanese
cuisine, who sings paeans of its
beloved Sayadieh samak and mezza
offerings.
While the visual quality of food
becomes increasingly important in
the instagramming world of today,
Chef Yousuf holds that taste is
supreme. “I think presentation is
very important but when I cook I am
looking for the taste. Presentation
always comes second to taste”, he
stated.
He shares that Lebanese cuisine
invites the gaze of foreign chefs. “In
my kitchen, I have a lot of non-Arab
chefs who are working in the
Lebanese kitchen because they tasted it one time and decided to learn
something new.” He shares chefs
learn new nuances and techniques
such as that preparation is more
time consuming and difficult than
the actual cooking.
Personally, Chef Yousef has a
fondness for Indian cuisine being a
fan of flavour and spices. I love
spicy food and rice so Indian food is
my favourite. Fittingly, for his pick
of a last meal, he would go for a
grilled fish with a spicy tandoori
sauce.
He reveals that the most challenging part of the job for him is not the
busyness but rather the moments of
lull. “I thrive in busy environments.
It is very difficult for me to just stay
in the kitchen, doing nothing. I like
to move, when there are too many
people I’m happy. This is why I’ve
been here at the Avenues extension
since its opning in 2012. In peak
season, we serve more than 300
guests a day. When we are busy, you
will see me from one end to the
other. I like chipping in where I can”
In the future, Chef Yousuf hope to
open his own little restaurant, “I’d
like to open my restaurant somewhere in Asia, maybe Malaysia,
Thailand or India. In India, a lot of
people like vegetarian food, so since
Lebanese food has such a variety of
vegetarian options, it’ll be a good
fit.” He shares a recipe of Sayadieh
Samak.
Ingredients:2 1/2 kg whole white
fish fillets; 3 onions, thinly sliced;
250 ml oil; 1/2 lemon, juice of, a; 1
lemon, sliced.
For seasoning: 3 teaspoons
baharat mixed spice, Baharat Spice
Blend; 1-1/2 teaspoons ground
cumin; salt (to season); white pepper (to season).
For the rice and stock: 8 cups
Chef Yousuf Al Saleh
water; 3 cups rice; 1 tablespoon salt;
For baking the fish; 1/2 cup water.
For garnish: 50 g pine nuts, roasted; crispy caramelized onion.
Directions:
Preheat the oven to gas mark
3/325F/170∞C.
Gut, scale and cut off the fish
head (but keep it aside) then wash,
clean and dry the fish.
To caramelize the onions, heat
half the oil in a pot and add the
sliced onions.
Let them cook on a gentle
heat until darkish-brown in color
but not burned.
Remove the onions from heat
and place on kitchen paper.
Reserve the oil in the pan for
frying the fish head.
To make the fish stock, add
the fish head to the oil in the pan
in which the onions were
cooked.
Add 1 tsp baharat spice, 1/2
tsp ground cumin, salt and pepper and fry till browned (but careful not to burn the spices).
When brown, add 8 cups water
and let it boil for 45 minutes.
Strain and use the stock to cook
the rice.
To prepare the rice, wash the rice
3 times and soak it for half an hour.
Add half of the remaining oil to a
large pot and when hot, add the rice,
1 tsp baharat spice mix and 1/2 tsp
ground cumin.
Stir-fry to seal the rice for 2-3
minutes but careful not to break the
rice in the process.
Keeping 1 cup of stock reserved
aside, pour in the rest of the stock
(should be 6 cups) over the rice.
Bring the stock to boil, and once
boiled reduce the heat and let it
cook gently for about 20 minutes or
until all the stock has been absorbed
and the rice is cooked.
Meanwhile, to bake the fish,
using the remaining oil, grease a
roasting tin and fish and about a
tablespoon reserved for the spice
mixture for the fish.
Season the fish inside and outside
with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl add the remaining
barahat spice mix and ground cumin
and add in the reserved tablespoon
of oil to blend it into a paste.
Rub this spice mixture all over
and inside the fish.
Place the lemon slices inside the
fish and put the fish in the roasting
tin, pouring in half cup of water.
Bake in the preheated oven for 1
hour.
To make the sauce, heat the
reserved cup of fish stock and add
the juice of 1/2 a lemon, the let it
boil to reduce and thicken.
Remove from heat and strain.
To serve, pile the cooked rice on
a platter and top it with the whole
fish (or you may cut the fish in
pieces).
Garnish with crispy caramelized
fried onions and pine nuts and serve
with the sauce on the side.