Digital Photography Tips, Recipes, Technology and Photographs from The Mansurovs
I always put up the best recipes on my blog (at least best recipes from my kitchen :)), but this Beefstroganoff is going to top all of them. Taste-wise, I would say, this is one of the closest recipes to the original recipe, created by one of the Count Stroganoff’s chefs. In case you are curious about this recipe and a brief history of beefstroganoff, follow along!
One word: DELICIOUS!!! I’ve been wanting to post the recipe for a Grape Leaf Dolma for a while, but it gets a little hard to find nicely preserved grape leaves here in the U.S. Often times, I end up buying easily torn, tough older leaves that were picked too late. When the leaves are pickled, they are impossible to eat!
The best way to make Dolma is from fresh grape leaves. It is absolutely a must to start gathering grape leaves while they are new, smaller in size and very fresh. My dad is an amazing gardener and in season we always had young grape leaves in our possession. Now I live in an apartment building and do not have a luxury of having freshly picked leaves. For that reason, my quest for properly preserved grape leaves has been going on for good 5+ years.
Mongolian Triple is one of our favorite Chinese/Mongolian recipes :) We eat it pretty often at our local Chinese restaurant called “Hoong’s Palace”. The food and the service at that restaurant is just superb, so if you happen to come to Denver or if you already live near Denver, you have to check the place out!
Why Mongolian Triple?
Chicken and Mushroom Julienne is where the French cuisine meets the Russian cuisine. Despite the name, Julienne is an Eastern European dish, which is made by sautéing a small amount of flour in a hot, dry skillet until it is golden brown and adding clarified butter. The latter method reminds me of French ‘roux’ – the traditional thickening agent for classical French sauces and gravies. Not only flour slightly thickens the sauce, it also gives the dish such a rich taste that you will definitely want to grab some more of that deliciousness. There are ways to substitute the sauce with a simple Russian smetana or heavy whipping cream. But if you ever want to try this recipe, PLEASE do not look for a substitute. You will not regret that you went along with what this julienne has to offer you :)
Meatballs and cutlets are always a hit in our family. This is one of my favorite recipes since I was a little kid. It is very soft and doesn’t require much chewing :P The combination of herbs, vegetables and all the other ingredients involved in this dish makes it a perfect dinner, lunch but not breakfast! :)
You can serve it to your guests and I am sure they will love it as much as you do!
Come summer it gets too hot to eat hot food. So, we tend to deviate towards more refreshing, cooler entrees. Okroshka is one of those refreshing soups served cold and is mostly made of raw vegetables. Most people may not know what Okroshka is and may not like the fact that it is made with Kefir or butter milk. If it makes any difference, original Okroshka is made with Kvas as a soup base. Kvas is a beer-like non-alcoholic drink. It is slightly sweet and has a very rich taste. Well, we chose a leaner and healthier version of Okroshka :)
My mother-in-law is a great cook and while she is visiting us, I am planning to learn as much as possible from her. Okroshka was the first thing she taught me and I just love this recipe! I decided to share it with you guys. Maybe some of you will brave it to make this fantastic and refreshing dish.
By the way, another thing about my mother-in-law is, she remembers every single recipe by heart! How cool is that? :)
During the first months of pregnancy with my first son Omar, the only dish I could eat and keep in my stomach, was Curry Chicken. From there on, the Indian cuisine became one of our favorite cuisines. Not to mention my oldest son’s passion for Curry. I have already posted my favorite recipe of Curry Chicken. Chicken Tikka Masala uses a slightly different technique and tastes a little different from Curry Chicken. Don’t get scared of the ingredient list – it might look slightly complicated, but you will get everything in a heartbeat :) Plus isn’t it all worth it when you enjoy your Chicken Tikka Masala with some nice home-made Naan?
Anyone up for dumplings? :) I know we are up for them a lot. Well, maybe once in a couple of weeks for sure. Manti (a.k.a. dumplings) are very native to Uzbek people. Although a lot of people associate dumplings with Oriental kitchen, the roots of this dish go to Central Asia and nomadic tribes of Timurids and Chingizids. It is believed that the latter spread the idea to other regions of the world while traveling.
I got this super-duper meat pie recipe from my sister-in-law(my brother’s wife), who inherited it from her mother. Ultimately, it was brought to my attention by my sister Kamola. We love this meat pie so much that it finds its way to our stomachs quite often. The crust is just to die for. With a perfect crispness, it melts in your mouth, leaving you craving for more! I have been planning to document it for a while now. In fact, I thought that I had already posted it a while ago and I was surprised to find out that I never did… Well, anyway, here it is ladies and gentlemen!
Do you like eggplant? Do you like tomatoes? Than this Eggplant Casserole is for you! OK, that sounded like a cheap soap commercial. Please do not think that way :) This a perfectly delicious recipe for those who enjoy the combo of vegetables with meat. How did I find this recipe? Well, it happened like in a tale that starts with “once upon a time”…
