Weiner Schnitzel

After dining at The Black Forest last week-end, I can't get their schnitzel off my mind; and I'm going to whip up my rendition of the German Classic this week-end.
I haven't made this in awhile, but it's a very easy to prepare and is delish.  This will be great for Sunday Dunch with a bit of Fettuccine Alfredo.

The real "secret" to this dish is finding great veal cutlets for use in the recipe.

Standard Ingredients:

• 4 half-inch thick Veal or Pork Cutlets
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1 large Egg
• 1 cup of Dry Breadcrumbs
• 4 Tbsp of Vegetable Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 whole Lemons

Instructions:

• Trim and clean cutlets
• Pound cutlets to 1/4 t0 1/8 inch thickness
• Salt and Pepper cutlets lightly and set aside
• Spread Flour on a dry plate or cutting board
• Beat Egg in large shallow container
• Spread Breadcrumbs on another dry plate or cutting board
• Heat 6-8 Tbsp of oil in a large pan on med-high heat
• Flour one cutlet on both sides
• Flip floured cutlet in Egg
• Cover Egged cutlet heavily in Breadcrumbs
• Fry cutlet until browned (2-3 minutes per side)
• Salt lightly while frying
• Place cooked cutlets on paper towels to drain oil
• Repeat process for each cutlet
• Serve each cutlet with freshly cut lemon halves or quarters

Note: Though I will be using the traditional veal in this week end's dish, it can be produced with either pork tenderloin or chicken breast.  

Lamb Saagwala – An Indian Restaurant Favourite

This is my favorite Indian Dish!

In L.A. we order "Saagwala", but most American Indian Restaurants list this on their menus as a "Saag".  I've searched for a palatable recipe for the stuff and observed it being made by my Indian Friend's mother; but have had no satisfaction in my Recipe Quest.
I finally ran across this one (complete with all additional prep recipes) on The Curry Guy site.  At publishing, I have not produced it; will post a comment once I have.
In this recipe, use fresh baby spinach leaves.  The spinach is added raw just before serving and stirred into the sauce resulting in a saagwala dish that… well let’s just say you couldn’t ask for better!  The dish is both pleasing to look at and eat.

This is a British Indian Restaurant (BIR) style recipe so you will want to make your curry sauce and cook the meat ahead of time. Once this is done, you can cook and serve it in under ten minutes. 
(Though this dish is easy, it requires some preparation to make it so; top reading now if you want an Easy-Prep Recipe.)

Serves 4 (or me, with a bit left over for Midnight Munchies)

Ingredients:

900g (2 pounds) cooked lamb meat (recipe follows)
3 tablespoons ghee/vegetable oil
750ml (3 cups) homemade curry sauce (dividing recipe okay)
5 cloves garlic – smashed and finely chopped
1 inch ginger – grated and smashed into a paste
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon red chili powder
250g – about two large handfuls of baby spinach leaves
3 – 6 fresh green chillies (I use a lot)
1 bunch fresh coriander leaves
Juice of two limes
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon garam masala

Preparation:

Place all of the spinach, chillies, coriander and lime juice in a food processor and blend to a paste. You may need to add just a bit of water to do this. Set aside.
Now heat the ghee/oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium heat.
When hot, add the ginger and garlic pastes and allow to sizzle for about 30 seconds.
Pour in the cumin, coriander powder and red chilli powder and stir to combine.
After about 30 seconds, the room will fill with the amazing aroma of the ghee, garlic and spices. When this happens, add the curry gravy and meat.
Cook for about five minutes until the meat and sauce are both nice and hot.
Add the spinach puree and stir it into the red curry sauce. I love watching the green and red ingredients blend. It makes me hungry!
Cook for a further two minutes.
Check for seasoning and add the salt and pepper to taste.
Just before serving, add the yogurt one tablespoon at a time stirring it into the sauce.
Sprinkle with the garam masala and enjoy.****************************************************

Pre-Cooking Meat for Adding to Restaurant Style Curries

If you wish to cook your favourite curry house restaurant style curries, find yourself a good butcher and purchase the best quality you can find. Use leg of lamb as it is both tender and has loads of flavour.

Regardless of the cut you use, you will need to cook your lamb for about 45 minutes for leg and 70 to 90 minutes for shoulder. In restaurants this is almost always done ahead of time so that they can whip up great curries with tender lamb in minutes rather than hours.

INGREDIENTS:

Lamb meat cut into bite sized pieces
4 Tablespoons ghee
Restaurant style curry sauce (250ml or 1 cup for every 500g lamb meat)
turmeric (1 teaspoon for every 500g lamb meat)

Method:

In a large pan, melt the ghee. Add the turmeric. The turmeric will begin to get darker as it cooks.
Now brown the meat chunks. This can be done in batches if necessary.
Pour in a little curry sauce and coat the meat. Lower the heat and cover to cook slowly for about 45 minutes.
You may need to add a little water so the meat doesn’t burn.
When the meat is very tender, remove it from the pan and either use immediately with your favourite restaurant style curries or refrigerate for later.
*******

"In for a penny, in for a pound".  As long as you're taking the time to produce an International Recipe, here's a helpful link for you to use.  I must always use is on the Knorr Site:  Conversion Chart

Ground Lamb Gyro

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded

2 pounds ground lamb

1 tablespoon finely minced garlic

1 tablespoon dried marjoram

1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Tzatziki Sauce

 

Directions

Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds and turn out into the center of a tea towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed. Discard juice.

Return the onion to the food processor and add the lamb, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, salt, and pepper and process until it is a fine paste, approximately 1 minute. Stop the processor as needed to scrape down sides of bowl.

To cook in the oven as a meatloaf, proceed as follows:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the mixture into a loaf pan, making sure to press into the sides of the pan. Place the loaf pan into a water bath and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F. Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and place a brick wrapped in aluminum foil directly on the surface of the meat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes and feta cheese.

To cook on a rotisserie, proceed as follows:
Form the meat mixture into a loaf shape and place on top of 2 overlapping pieces of plastic wrap that are at least 18 inches long. Roll the mixture in the plastic wrap tightly, making sure to remove any air pockets. Once the meat is completely rolled in the wrap, twist the ends of the plastic wrap until the surface of the wrap is tight. Store in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight, to allow the mixture to firm up.

Preheat the grill to high.

Place the meat onto the rotisserie skewer. Place a double-thick piece of aluminum foil folded into a tray directly under the meat to catch any drippings. Cook on high for 15 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium and continue to cook for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 degrees F. Turn off the heat and allow to continue to spin for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes, and feta cheese.