Suafa'i -- Samaon Banana Tapioca pudding (with Chocolate) for #Food of the World

This month we are going to Samoa the beautiful island country in the South Pacific ocean for #Food of the World event. I have tried these delicious fluffy and coconut milk soaked Pani popos and this super simple banana pudding, Poi from Samoa.
Today's recipe is a Samoan banana-tapioca soup called Suafa'i. Overripe bananas are cooked down along with coconut milk and tapioca. It is supposed to be a soup but I cooked it down to a pudding consistency. This dish is not really photogenic, so I added some chocolate chips to make it a little appetizing in the photos :-) Skip the chocolate if you want a more traditional Samoan dessert.

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Zimbabwe -- Dobi (Spinach & Tomato with Peanut Butter sauce)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: Z for Zimbabwe

Dish: Dobi (Spinach & Tomato with Peanut Butter sauce)

We are moving on to the last and final letter Z and we are going to Zimbabwe today. Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in southern Africa, between Zambezi & Limpopo rivers.
Zimbabwean cuisine is much like the other African countries. They rely on a few staple foods. Cornmeal is used to make porridge called sadza or isitshwala and is usually served with meat and vegetables. Rice, pasta and potato based foods also make up part of Zimbabwean cuisine. A local favorite is rice cooked with peanut butter that is served with thick gravy, mixed vegetables and meat.

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Yemen -- Carrot Rice

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: Y for Yemen

Dish: Yemeni Carrot Rice

Today we are going to Yemen, an Arab country in Southwest Asia. We are only a day way from our final destination tomorrow and I can't believe how fast the month passed.
The first dish I made for Yemen was a colossal failure -- the first and last failure in my entire A-Z International series. I was quite upset since I planned to make it at the very end and didn't have enough time to remake it. So I picked a very quick and simple (no-fail) recipe for Yemeni Carrot rice from the blog Queen of Sheba. This is an awesome Yemeni food blog that has a ton of authentic Yemeni recipes.

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Spicy Mexican Home Fries

I'm not sure how authentic these home fries are, but I believe Bobby Flay knows what he's doing. So I went with it and made these for the Mexican brunch. These fried potatoes are crispy, spicy and delicious.

Recipe adapted from here.
Spicy Home Fries:

Ingredients: Serves 2~3

Potatoes - 2 medium, boiled and chopped
Onion -1 medium, chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
Jalapeno pepper - 1 small, chopped
Ancho chile powder - 1tsp (adjust as per spice preference)
Lime zest - 1tsp
Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method:

• Heat 1tbsp oil in a cast iron skillet or a heavy bottom nonstick pan on medium flame. Add onions and jalapeno, cook till the onions are translucent.
• Add garlic and chili powder and salt. Cook for 1 minute.
• Next add the boiled and chopped potatoes. Lightly mash the potatoes with the back of the spoon and cook undisturbed until the potatoes get nice and crusty.
• Mix and cook till all the potatoes form a crust. Add salt, pepper and lime zest. Mix well and serve immediately.

Check the complete Mexican brunch here. 

Virgin Sangrita

Bobby Flay's Sangrita had tequila in it, but I made a virgin version of it. It has just about all the tastes in it -- it's spicy, tangy, salty and sweet. I made just 2 servings, both for me. I was hoping to drink the second glass later, but my 2 year old really liked it and drank more than half from the second glass.

The recipe calls for tomato juice, but I didn't want to buy a whole bottle just for ½cup in this recipe. So I made my own tomato juice using tomato paste. This juice tastes much better than the bottled tomato juice because it doesn't have any added salt or sugar.

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Xalapa (Mexico) -- Vegetarian Mexican Brunch (Huevos Rancheros with Black beans)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: X for Xalapa -- Mexico

Dish: Vegetarian Mexican Brunch -- Black bean Huevos Rancheros, Spicy Home Fries & Sangrita

Today we are going to Xalapa, Mexico. Technically ther are no countries starting with X, so as a group it was decided that we pick a place that starts with X and then make a dish from that place or the country it belongs to. 'X' is the only alphabet that I didn't have a country or dish planned. First I decided to a place in Spain, but then I didn't want to miss the opportunity to cook from my favorite Mexican cuisine, so ended up with Xalapa, Mexico.
Another factor that made me want to do Mexican is Bobby Flay's Mexican brunch that he made on Cooking Channel. Every he made looked so good that I wanted to recreate the whole meal at home. Huevos Rancheros has been on my to-make list forever, so this gave me an opportunity to try it.

Huevos Rancheros or 'rancher's eggs' is a popular breakfast dish that has eggs and is traditionally served on rural Mexican farms. This dish consists of fried eggs served over fried corn tortillas and topped with tomato-chili sauce.

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Western Samoa -- Poi (Banana Puddling)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: W for Western Samoa

Dish: Poi (Banana Pudding)
We are moving on to Western Samoa today. There are not too many countries starting with W and so I picked one from this list and cooked from it, not realizing until I started typing the post that is the former name for Samoa. Oh well, it is what it is now and I'm going with it!!!!!!
Western Samoa/ Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. To be honest, I had no clue where these islands where till today and WIKI has given me lot of geographic knowledge about the country. It is fascinating to read about a new country, that too about a country that I just made a dish from. So if you want to know where and what Samoan islands are, please refer to this link.

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Uganda -- G-Nut Sauce (Ugandan Peanut Sauce with Chickpeas)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days

Country: U for Uganda

Dish: G-Nut Sauce
We are going to Uganda today. It is a landlocked country in East Africa. Ugandan cuisine is influenced by English, Arab, Asian and especially Indian cuisines. Main dishes are usually centered on a sauce or stew of groundnuts/ peanuts, beans or meat.The starch traditionally comes from Ugali (maize meal) in the North and East or Matoke (boiled and mashed green banana) in Central, or a Millet Ugali in the west.
Many tribes in Uganda have their own specialty dish or delicacy. Many dishes include starchy vegetables like Cassava, yam and African sweet potato. Various leafy greens are grown in Uganda.Fruits such as pineapple and bananas are plentiful.

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Turkish Kanefe/ Knafeh

Couple of my friends took me to a Turkish restaurant for my birthday this year. They ordered this crispy, flaky and sweet pastry and we were served a bubbling hot dessert that I used as a cake to blow the candle. The candle almost melted in the hot dessert. I was sold the minute I had my first bite -- it was sweet, crunchy, creamy and absolutely delicious. I heard the name of the dish but it hardly registered in my brain because I was busy eating it.

Then I saw Usha's post for Knafeh and then I realized that it can be made at home. So it had to become part of my Turkish meal. This dessert is very easy to put together, if you have all the ingredients ready.

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Turkish Sarma -- Stuffed Grape Leaves (Vegetarian recipe)

I had these stuffed grape leaves at my Turkish friend's house for the first time. Her mom had brought grape leaves from Turkey and made these for us. I have never tasted anything like these before and really liked them. So when I was planning my Turkish menu, I wanted to give these a try too.

I am lucky to have Turkish grocery stores very close to my house. So after a quick trip to the store, I was equipped with a big can of grape leaves. The stuffing/ filling is like tomato rice and is very flavorful and tasty by itself. Once the grape leaves are stuffed, they need to be boiled for about 30 minutes and you have a very tasty appetizer ready. These are traditionally served with yogurt sauce, but I skipped it and ate them as is.

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Mücver -- Turkish Zucchini Fritters

This is another dish that my friend suggested. I don't remember eating this before, but she said it is a good dish that even my kids might like. She wasn't wrong, even my picky son loved these fritters. Original recipe uses eggs to make the fritters, but I used egg replacer powder instead. The firtters turned out great even without the eggs, they turned out crispy and delicious. 

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Turkish Bulgur Pilaf with Veggies

I thought bulgur was used to make Tabbouleh only until I ate this pilaf. I should have known, bulgur to Turkish is like rice to South Indians -- the many variations of rice we enjoy is incredible. So bulgur
is used in both savory and sweet preparations. Bulgur is made from groats of several different wheat species. It looks like our wheat rawa and it probably is Turkish wheat rawa -- I'm not sure (if any of you do, please add your comment below).

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Turkey -- Turkish Vegetarian Meal (Recipes)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days

Country: T for Turkey

Dishes: Bulgur Pilaf, Stuffed Grape Leaves, Zucchini Fritters & Knafeh
We are going to Turkey today. One of my girl friend is from Turkey and after tasting their food many times, I knew I have to try those recipes for the BM. I even bothered her on vacation and asked her to suggest some Turkish dishes that I could try. Sweet heart that she is, she sent me links to recipes that I could try. So thanks to my dear friend, I have a yummy and filling Turkish meal today.
The first time I ever had Turkish meal was at a Turkish restaurant where one of my ex-colleagues had her daughter's first birthday party. I don't really remember what we ate that day, but I clearly remember enjoying everything that was served to us.
Here's a glimpse of Turkish brunch that we had at a Turkish restaurant for my birthday this year. We had Simit (famous Turkish bread) sandwich with French fries and in the second picture is the typical breakfast dishes like cheese, jelly, egg, olives etc that are eaten in Turkey.

After that I was lucky enough to enjoy home cooked dishes made by my lovely Turkish friend and her mom. Their dishes are simple but they are exotically flavored with rose water or orange blossom water like in this Baklava. Mint and parsley are used extensively making the dishes taste fresh and delicious.

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Swedish Broccoli Soup

This is probably the most simplest broccoli soup ever. As I was making the Swedish meal, I wasn't sure if my daughter would like any of the dishes that was making and since she likes broccoli, I searched for 'Swedish Broccoli' and this broccoli soup came up. Traditionally Swedish broccoli soup is served with local cheese and chili tuiles (fancy name for melted cheese crackers), but I didn't have the time to make them, so this is Swedish broccoli soup without the Swedish element in it.

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Swedish Christmas porridge

This is a hearty and delicious oatmeal porridge that you would love to wake up to on Christmas morning. The oats are soaked overnight making them soft and quick & easy to cook in the morning. Adding grated apple was my favorite in this dish.

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Raggmunk -- Swedish Potato Pancakes

Swedish version of potato pancakes are very easy to make. All you need is pancake batter and grated potatoes and voila, you have delicious potato pancakes in no time. Traditionally they are served with lingonberry jam, but I totally went savory way and served with topped with some green onions and dunked them in the broccoli soup.

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Smörgåstårta - Swedish sandwich cake

When I saw Rajani's Smörgåstårta, I changed my original plan of making Swedish Cinnamon rolls and made this beautiful sandwich cake instead. It is exactly what it sounds like, but nothing like it looks -- funny isn't it. It is a savory cake made with all of the sandwich fixings and they frosted like a cake.

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Sweden -- Swedish Vegetarian Meal (Recipes)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: S for Sweden

Dishes: Swedish Sandwich Cake (Smörgåstårta), Raggmunk (Potato Pancakes), Broccoli Soup & Christmas Porridge
We are going to Sweden today.It is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. Two of my brothers-in-law live there now. We went to Sweden 5 years ago and had a chance to visit Stockholm (Capital of Sweden) and Gothenburg. It is a beautiful country and we had a great time there. Good thing about visiting a new country, not as a tourist but as a guest is that we got a chance to see the country more up close. We went to couple of grocery stores with my BIL's family that I'm sure we would have skipped if we were tourists.

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Russian Tomato & Cucumber Salad

This is a very simple Russian tomato and cucumber salad that doesn't need a separate post, but I'm doing it anyway. The dressing is very very simple with just vinegar, oil, salt & pepper. Very refreshing and healthy salad. 

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Salad Olivier -- Russian Potato Salad

I found this Russian Potato Salad called Salad Olivier on Smitten Kitchen. It is a very simple potato salad but the addition of dill pickles, carrots and peas makes it a little different. I never bought dill pickles before and I didn't realize there were 20 different kinds of pickles in the store. It took me good 10 minutes to figure out what to buy. Carrots and peas make the salad look more colorful. 

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