Tag Archives: sauce

Indian Mint Raita Sauce

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Mint Raita Ingredients. Garlic is opional.

Mint Raita Ingredients. Garlic is opional.

My eldest son is starting to cook like crazy. Yeah!  One of his favorite restaurants is a Pakistani restaurant nearby. They serve all of their meats with a delicious, spicy mint “raita” sauce. He recently found this recipe on his own and shared it with me via email. It is one of my favorite sauces – hands down. And, it’s as simple as blending the ingredients together in a blender or food processor. I serve it with my Middle Eastern Turkey Meatballs. Or, even just simple grilled chicken breasts that are sprinkled with oregano, and salt and pepper before grilling.  

 

 

Clean seeds out of peppers with a teaspoon. Or just reduce the number of peppers in the recipe.

Clean seeds out of peppers with a teaspoon. Or just reduce the number of peppers in the recipe.

  • 6-8 Jalapeno or Serrano Peppers, stems removed (seeds removed if you don’t want it spicy)
  • Fresh Mint, small handful
  • Fresh Cilantro, small handful
  • 1 cup Yogurt
  • Salt and Pepper (to taste)
  • 1 clove garlic (optional)

 

If you do not want this sauce spicy, you can scrape out the seeds using a grapefruit spoon or teaspoon. Alternatively, you could just reduce the number of peppers in the recipe.

 

 

Delicious Spicy Mint Raita Sauce.

Delicious Spicy Mint Raita Sauce.

Blend in a food processor or blender (add a little water if you need to). Done!

Hollandaise Sauce : Recipe

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Hollandaise is a great sophisticated sauce that can be surprisingly easy to make. If you have a blender or even just a whisk it is incredibly easy! Even Julia Child made this recipe with a blender. Rich, tangy and luscious hollandaise can be poured over simple steamed vegetables like asparagus or broccoli or a simple poached fish like salmon. This basic recipe can be expanded easily by substituting white wine vinegar for the lemon juice and adding tarragon (which then turns the sauce into a “bearnaise” sauce recipe).

 

Simple Blender Hollandaise Ingredients

Egg Yolks, Melted Butter, Lemon Juice and spices. So easy!

  • 3-4 Egg Yolks (best if eggs are at room temperature)
  • Dash Hot Sauce
  • 1 stick (which is 4 ounces or 1/2 Cup) Melted Butter
  • 1-2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice 
  • Salt and Pepper (most chefs use White Pepper)

 

Break egg yolks in a bowl first, just in case some of the whites or some shell accidentally fall in. Melt the butter in a microwave proof dish (like a glass Pyrex) in 10 second increments until melted. 

 

Put all except the butter in the blender. 

 

The Eye of the Hollandaise Storm in the blender.

The Eye of the Hollandaise Storm in the blender.

Slowly add the melted butter through the hole at the top of the blender until fully blended and thickened. Done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hollandaise over Eggs for brunch.

Hollandaise over Eggs for brunch.

Pour over poached eggs on ham and toasted english muffins or Udi’s GF bagels (as we made for our son last week) for a great Eggs Benedict breakfast. Or, even just fried eggs on toast with this sauce, upgrades any simple breakfast easily.

 

 

Authentic Mexican Red Enchilada Sauce

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My son has Celiac and cannot eat flour so I was really disappointed when I saw that my favorite “go to” canned red enchilada sauce was not gluten free because it contains wheat flour as well as some other ingredients with names I could not pronounce properly. But my problem was easily remedied when I asked Maria (someone I work with) for her enchilada sauce recipe and of course, what a bonus that it was so easy to make! She only adds garlic and water, I added onions and spices. Now I make enchiladas from scratch at home all the time and they are far less expensive than buying them  “to go ” from any of the local neighborgood Mexican restaurants! While the sauce recipe calls for dried Guajillos which Maria said are the best to use, I love Ancho Chilis and you can combine the two. Or, you can experiment with other types of chilis, all of which are really inexpensive – another bonus!

 

Dried Guajillo or Ancho Chilis are the main ingredient in Red Enchilada Sauce.

Dried Guajillo or Ancho Chilis are the main ingredient in Red Enchilada Sauce.

To make the sauce:

 

  • 10 (or so, what is in one small package) Dried Guajillo Chilies (I purchase them at a Mexican market or my local Fresh n Easy market carries them which is so convenient).
  • 1/2 Yellow Onion sliced or chopped
  • Small pot of water or broth
  • 1-2 Cloves Garlic
  • Pinch of Oregano 
  • Pinch of Cumin 
  • Cayenne if you want it spicier (optional)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Remove the stems and some of the seeds from the Guajillos (or remove all the seeds if you do not want it spicy).

 

Simmer chilis until soft. Then add spices.

Simmer chilis until soft. Then add spices.

Add the chilis, onions and the garlic to the pot and add enough water to cover the chilis well.

 

Bring to a simmer and simmer the until the chilis are soft and bend easily. 

 

Drain first. Then blend. Add fresh water back in as needed.

Drain first. Then blend. Add fresh water back in as needed.

Drain about half the water out from the pot and then place the chilis with the garlic, onion and spices in a blender. Blend. Add fresh water back in to thin the sauce as you prefer. 

 

 

 

Scrape Sauce through Strainer with a spoon.

Scrape Sauce through Strainer with a spoon.

Strain through a strainer over a larger, clean container. (Scrape the sauce back and forth with a spoon until the sauce drips through.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finished Enchilada Sauce.

Finished Enchilada Sauce.

The enchilada sauce will now be very smooth and ready to pour over chicken or to use in any traditional red enchilada recipe.