Oman dining: Stuffed with a twist

A wholesome breakfast to kick start your day with. Healthy, nutritious, and delicious that is easy to make. 

Ingredients 1 cup cooked oats (quaker)

2 eggs 1 onion, finely chopped

1 tomato, finely chopped

1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped

1 green chilli, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon pepper powder

3-4 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoon oil

Salt to taste

Preparation To begin making oats omelette, take a big bowl and whisk together all the ingredients to a normal omelette consistency using milk. Heat a pan, brush a little oil and pour half of the omelette mix onto the pan and let it cook for a few minutes until the base is cooked. Flip the omelette and let it cook for another few minutes and keep aside.

STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS

Fresh cabbage leaves are wrapped around a vegetable and rice mixture and served with a tangy tomato gravy, to make these hearty stuffed cabbage rolls.

Ingredients

For the cabbage rolls:

5-6 fresh, large cabbage leaves

1 tablespoon oil

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1 small onion, finely chopped

3-4 tablespoons carrots, grated

5-6 mushrooms, finely chopped

1/2 – 3/4 cup cooked rice

Salt to taste

1/2 teaspoon crushed blacked pepper

Handful of fresh herbs like thyme, parsley, coriander

For the tomato sauce:

2 teaspoons oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small onion, finely chopped

2-3 tomatoes, blanched, peeled and crushed

Salt to taste

Pinch of sugar

1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper or 1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder

Herbs of choice for garnish

Preparation

To make the sauce: Heat oil in a saucepan. Add garlic and onion and sauté till the onion becomes translucent. Add crushed tomatoes, salt, sugar, pepper or chilli powder and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add little water if required. Take it off the heat and keep aside till required.

To make the cabbage rolls: Blanch the cabbage leaves in boiling salted water for 6-7 minutes, till they are just soft and easy to roll. Do not cook them through. Drain water and place leaves on a kitchen towel to soak off the excess moisture. In a pan, heat oil. Add garlic and onion and sauté till the onion becomes translucent. Add the carrots and mushrooms. Sauté for a minute. Add rice, salt, pepper, herbs, and stir. Take it off the heat.

Place one cabbage leaf on the work surface. With a sharp knife cut out the thick part of the vein. Add about a tablespoon and half of the rice stuffing in the centre of the bottom part of the leaf. Starting with the stem end, roll the leaf up tightly, tucking in the sides as you roll. Repeat and stuff all the other leaves in a similar way. Prepare a steamer. Place the cabbage rolls in a steamer seam side down. Steam for about 12-15 minutes or till the leaves are cooked through.

To serve: Spread some tomato sauce on a serving dish with the stuffed cabbage rolls in the centre.

EASY CHICKEN CORDON BLEU

Chicken breast stuffed with cheese and turkey ham, topped with pastry, baked until golden. This is a seriously easy chicken cordon bleu recipe with all the crunch and all the flavours.

Ingredients

8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons butter

1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed

8 slices cheese

8 slices fully cooked turkey ham

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

Preparation

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, brown chicken in butter for 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove to paper towels to drain. On a lightly floured surface, roll each pastry sheet into a 12-in. square. Cut into four 6-in. squares. Place a chicken breast in the centre of each square; top with cheese and turkey ham. Whisk egg and water; lightly brush over pastry edges. Bring two sides of pastry over chicken, overlapping one over the other; press seams to seal. Pinch together ends and fold under. Transfer to a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan; brush tops with egg mixture. Bake at 200°C for 30-35 minutes or until a thermometer reads 165°C. Yield: 8 servings.

VEGGIE STUFFED BUNS

Hot stuffed buns. Hot stuffed buns. One a penny, two a penny, hot stuffed buns. Warm and soft buns with a twist. Yes, a twist as they are stuffed with veggies.

Ingredients

For the buns

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon sugar

3/4 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups All purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Upto 1/3 cup water

1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)

For the stuffing

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/8 cup diced onion

1/8 cup tomatoes

1/8 cup green peas

1/2 cup diced cottage cheese (small cubes)

1/8 cup tomatoes

1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder

1/4 teaspoon garam masala

Salt to season

Cilantro to garnish

Preparation Warm up the milk, add sugar and mix well. Ensure that the milk is now, only lukewarm. If it is hot, the yeast added in the next step could be rendered useless. Add the yeast to it and mix well. Set aside for about 5 mins. The yeast dissolves into a smooth mixture and foams up. This is the indication of live and kicking yeast. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the salt and mix well. Now, add 2 tablespoons of oil and the yeast-milk mixture. Add water in small quantities while kneading simultaneously. Make a soft dough but not too sticky. Take a teaspoon of oil and use it to smoothen the dough before you cover it and set it aside to rest for an hour. It is now time to make the filling. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds and allow them to crackle. Add the diced onions and once they turn translucent, add the tomatoes and peas and diced paneer and cook for about 3-4 minutes. Now, add the turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala, and salt and mix well. Continue cooking for another 3 minutes 
or until the spices have blended well. Garnish with cilantro. Set aside to cool.

Getting back to the dough. It almost doubles in size at the end of an hour. Beat the dough and knead again with a gentle hand. Make approximately equal sized balls out of the dough (about 6) and keep covered. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and grease it with a tablespoon of oil. Use a smooth surface or your hands to make a cup cut of the dough to hold the filling. Make sure that the centre is thicker than the sides to avoid tearing of the dough while stuffing it. Add a spoon or two of the filling. Do not over fill but make sure that there is enough filling to enjoy the bun. Bring the edges of the dough together and seal it off by pinching the dough shut. Use your hands to smoothen the surface of the dough. Place the sealed side down onto the baking tray. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls and place on baking tray with ample distance between one another.

Cover and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes to help raise the buns again. Preheat the oven to 165°C. After 10 min, brush the surface of the buns with milk, sprinkle sesame seeds (if using), on top. Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until the surface of the buns turn golden brown. Once done, take them out of the oven and let them cool before serving. 

Source: Times of Oman