Culinary Tour of the World: Episode 8: Armenia - Lahmajoun and Tan

Welcome to our eighth episode of the Culinary Tour of the World. This post takes us to Europe, to the country of Armenia.  It took me a while to decide on what I would cook from Armenia. I had originally settled on lavash as it is a bread that I really like and definitely want to start making at home. However, as I started researching and exploring the foods, I found this Armenian "pie" or "pizza" which is really popular called Lahmajoun.  Traditionally it is a meat pie/pizza which has a very thin crust and a paste like meat filling which is spread across the crust. To convert it to a vegan version, I substituted chickpeas for the meat. You can also use kidney beans or soy granules. During my research across blogs and Youtube, I found versions where the crust was described as crispy and also where the crust was soft such that this could be folded or rolled. Also, I noted that for a quick version, store bought tortillas can be used. So, I tried out all the variations and my conclusion is that the version with the home made dough tasted the best. From a texture perspective, the softer version which could be rolled up was one that I liked because the topping was soft and moist whereas my husband enjoyed the crisper version which where the dough was stretched out really thin. 

In one of the recipe videos, I stumbled across this yogurt drink called "Tan" which is very similar to the Indian lassi. It was the perfect accompaniment to the Lahmajoun. The two together made a delicious and complete meal!

I really enjoyed making this because I also learnt how to make "red pepper paste" which is a key ingredient for the Lahmajoun and used in Armenian cooking and recipes in this region. In addition this was a great recipe because I learnt how to make another kind of a dough which can be rolled out really thin and can be used to make a quick thin crust pizza. I am sure that I will be making this dish often, especially the dough to make other pizzas/pies with different toppings. 

Note: This recipe makes a large amount of filling/topping. To use the entire filling, double the dough ingredients.  Alternately halve the ingredients for the filling. I added boiled potatoes and bread crumbs to the leftover filling and made delicious patties the next day. 

Here is the video of how to make Lahmajoun and Tan.

Ingredients

For the red pepper paste

2 red bell peppers, coarsely ground into small pieces in a food processor or blender

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

For the dough

3 cups of all purpose flour

1/4 tsp yeast (optional)

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1.5 cups water

olive oil to grease the bowl

extra flour to flour work surface

For the filling/topping

1.5 yellow onion, finely diced

3 tomatoes, deseeded and finely diced

1 red bell pepper, finely diced

6 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely minced

3 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (15 oz/439 gm each)

2 tbsp red pepper paste (if you are making the paste as I did, use all the paste)

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp of black pepper powder (I used 1 tbsp and it was very spicy for me, so start with 1 tsp and adjust as needed)

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

salt to taste

olive oil

For the tan (yogurt drink)

1 cup yogurt

1/2 cup water

salt to taste

mint, to garnish

Method

For the red pepper paste

Finely mince the bell pepper or grind it coarsely. Boil it in a pan with cayenne pepper and salt. Cook it till the water evaporates and the texture becomes paste like. 

For the dough

If you want to make the pies immediately add the yeast, else if you have a couple of hours for the dough to rest, then you don't need the yeast. The dough should not rise and it should be soft and supple so that it can be rolled or stretched really thin.  I was going to cook it immediately, so I used the yeast. 

Add the flour, dough, salt and sugar to a bowl and mix well. Then add the water a little at a time. I did end up using all of the 1.5 cups of water and kneaded the dough in the stand mixer for 5 mins. The resultant dough was very sticky and soft. Remove it from the mixer onto a floured surface and knead by hand for a couple of minutes.  Grease the bowl with some oil and place the dough back in. It will still be very sticky. Once I let it rest for 10-15 mins it became soft and supple.  

It is easier to make this in a stand mixer, but if you are making it with hand, I would recommend skipping the yeast and allowing enough time for the dough to rest so that you don't have to knead a very sticky dough. To make this by hand, use a wooden spoon to mix all the ingredients so that the flour is completely incorporated into the dough. Then cover and let it rest for at least an hour and the gluten will build up and one you knead the rested dough, it will become supple. Then rest the dough again to let the gluten strands relax so that you can roll it out easily.

For the filling/topping

I used the food processor to finely mince all the vegetables, the onions, tomatoes, garlic, bell pepper and parsley. Then drain the chickpeas, rinse them well, drain well and then grind coarsely in the food processor. The filling texture is like a thick coarse paste. It holds together but  it is not smooth like hummus. 

The vegetables do release a lot of water when cut with a food processor, so I made sure to drain the chickpeas really well before grinding them coarsely in the food processor. So the resultant mixture was not watery.  

Add the red pepper paste, tomato paste, black pepper powder. chilli powder, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt. Mix all the ingredients well. The topping is ready.

Assembly and cooking

Preheat the oven to 500F and place the rack in the lower third of the oven. 

Liberally flour the rolling surface. Then take a fistful of dough and shape it into a ball. Roll out the dough, dusting the dough and surface with flour as you roll it. It should be a thin disc such that it is almost translucent. Then place it on a baking sheet.  Spread a thin layer of the topping onto the dough. Place this in the hot oven for about 10-15 minutes till the bottom of the dough is  golden brown. You can also cook it on a hot skillet on the stovetop, covering it while cooking. 

You can serve it as is or add some vegetables on the top and fold it over or roll it into a wrap. 

To make the Tan

Blend the yogurt, water and salt. Pour it into a glass and add some mint as a garnish.  

Tips

The tomato and red bell pepper pastes have a concentrated flavor and hence add to the flavor of the filling. However if you don't have it, I think you can get away with not using it. Make sure to let the dough rest between kneading and rolling out. It will be easier to roll. The oven or skillet should be really hot. 

 

Culinary Tour of the World: Episode 7: Argentina - Tarta De Acelga Cremosa

Welcome to our seventh episode of the Culinary Tour of the World. This post takes us to the South American continent and we are making a delicious dish from Argentina. Argentina is known for its meat dishes, however as I started researching the foods, I realized that there were several vegetarian options to choose from too. So, I turned to my garden for inspiration. It was late spring when I made this and we had an abundance of eggplants and chard. So, I decided to focus my search on dishes which could be made with these two vegetables. I came across a simple recipe of grilled eggplant sliced, which were cooked with some salt, oil and cumin. I cooked up a large batch of eggplants in this manner and we ate them as is and it was delicious. I also used them in tacos and also froze a couple of batches. This seemed too simple for the video series though, so I decided to make another dish. I finally decided to make a chard pie called Tarta De Acelga Cremosa. This hearty, delicious pie is filled with a creamy chard filling and boiled eggs. The pie is a complete meal given that it has a hearty crust, eggs and a delicious sauce and green vegetables too! I skipped the boiled eggs and it still made a hearty meal.

This was a recipe, where I did not find a video, and so all I had were instructions from a reading a few Spanish language blogs. I read them all using google translate and I did have a couple of missteps with the recipe, which you can see in the video. One was that I added to much milk when I made the sauce, because of which I had to cook the filling for a much longer time. Another was cutting the pie when it was piping hot. This made the filling spill out.  So the instructions I am providing below include these adjustments  and additional notes to ensure that the end result will be great. With that said, here is the recipe.

Link to the video recipe

Ingredients

For the pastry dough
300 gm all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup or 1 stick unsalted butter
1/3 - 2/3 cup water,  ice cold
1 egg + 1 tsp of water for the egg wash 

For the filling

4 tsp oil 
15 chard leaves and stems, diced
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
black pepper powder, to taste
1 tsp ground mustard, adjust to taste
1 tbsp cream cheese
1/4 cup mixed soft cheeses (cheddar, monterey jack). I have used Mexican cheese blend
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
pinch of nutmeg powder
salt to taste
 

Method

If you have a food processor, use it to make the dough. Add flour, salt and cold butter pieces to the food processor and pulse till the butter is cut into the flour and it gets a sandlike texture. Then add a little water at a time and pulse till the dough comes together into a soft dough. Do not over mix the dough. 

If you don't have a food processor, rub the cold butter into the flour till you get a sand like texture and then add the water to make a soft dough. 

Divide the dough into two and then flatten it into discs. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Heat oil and add onions and garlic. After you fry them for a few mins and the onion softens, add the chard stems. Saute it for a few mins till the stems start to soften. Then, add a tablespoon of all purpose flour. Mix it in and let it cook for couple of minutes but don't let it brown. Cook the flour and mix it in well, so that when the milk is added, there are minimal lumps. Next, add the milk and stir while you add the milk, making sure there are no lumps. Then add the chard leaves.  Now, this is where I was tempted to add more milk to the sauce to increase the quantity of the sauce, because I felt that there was a lot of chard. However, remember that the chard leaves are going to wilt and add moisture to the sauce and they will shrink. So, resist the temptation and let the leaves cook, till they are nicely mixed into the sauce and have been cooked. Now, add the cheeses and stir them in till they melt. Finally, taste this and then add salt, if needed. Chard has a salty flavor profile and the cheeses also have salt, so you want to be careful and add salt only after tasting it. Let the mixture cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 450F or 200 C. Now roll out one disc of dough into a round pastry which is about 1/8th inch in thickness and about 11-12 inches in diameter. Place this into a deep baking tin. If the tin has a removable bottom, it will be easier to remove the pastry, but that is not necessary. Press the pastry to align to the edges of the tin. Then pour the cooled filling into the pastry. 

Roll out the second disc of dough in the same manner as the first and then place it on top of the filling. Adjust the dough to cover the filling completed. Press the edges of the bottom and the top dough sheets by pinching them and then crimp it to decorate it. Crimping will also ensure that the pie will not leak due to the pie crust splitting where the two sheets meet. Make a couple of slits in the pie top to allow for the steam to escape. 

Then place the baking tin onto a baking sheet and place it in the hot oven on the middle rack. Bake for an hour till the pastry has a golden brown color. Remove the tin and place it on a rack to cool for 10 mins. Remove it from the baking tin if it is easy to remove and let it cool down on the rack. Else you can cool it down completely in the pan and serve it straight from the pan. 

Cut into slices and serve. 

Tips

Do not make the filling too watery. As I detailed in the method, it is important to not add extra milk than what the recipe calls for.  Make sure that the filling is completely cool before filling into the pastry shell. Make sure you cool the pie before cutting otherwise the filling will flow out. 

Barbados Cherry Popsicles

We have two Barbados Cherry bushes, which are about 4 years now and are producing a lot of cherries. We've been picking about a hundred cherries a day over the last 2-3 weeks. Finally the stage has come where our consumption cannot keep up with the number we are harvesting daily.  So, naturally the next step was to figure out how to use these to make something tasty out of them. Various options went through my mind. Since these cherries are slightly tart even when ripe, I thought of many options like chutney, jam,  jelly or lemonade. All of these will definitely taste good. I started with the intent of making a jelly so that I could preserve it for the year. However, as I was cooking the cherries, we started talking about ice creams and I decided to use the entire cherry pulp to make popsicles. 

Now, pitting these cherries like a normal cherry is impossible because they have 3 seeds which have a leaf like structure around them and a lot of the pulp gets stuck to these seeds. So, I decided to cook them and then separate the seeds from the pulp. So, let's get into the details of how I made these popsicles. 

                    

Here is the Video Link

https://youtu.be/k5bwUPtUOWs

Ingredients

4 cups Barbados cherries

water

1 to 1.5 cups sugar, adjust to taste

1/8 tsp salt, adjust to taste

1 tbsp lemon juice, adjust to taste (optional)

Method

Place the cherries in a saucepan and add enough water to cover the cherries and bring it to a boil. Boil the cherries for a few minutes till the cherries soften. Then using a spatula, mash the cherries (see video) gently by pressing them to the side of the saucepan. If it is not easy to squeeze out the pulp by doing so, let the cherries cook further and get tender. Then, the seeds will start separating easily as you mash the cherries with the spatula. Then turn off the heat and let it cool down till it is easy to handle.  Next strain the pulp mixture through a large sieve. Again using a spatula or your fingers press the pulp down through the sieve till the seeds remain. Discard the seeds.

Now, add the sugar to the pulp and salt. I recommend adding about 1/2-1 cup of sugar to begin with and increase the amount to taste.  If needed, add some lemon juice to balance out the taste. I added about a tbsp of lemon juice to balance out the sweetness from the sugar.  

Stir this mixture well to dissolve the sugar and salt. Taste the mixture before pouring into molds and make adjustments before freezing. Then pour this into molds and freeze.  I was able to make 10 popsicles and froze the remaining mixture in a large glass bowl. I will cut it into slices and serve it as a sorbet. 

Tips

If the seeds still have a lot of pulp stuck to them, pour some hot water on the seeds and then using your fingers (a spoon can be used but fingers work best), separate the pulp from the seeds. Strain this pulp through the sieve.  

Restaurant Style Butter Chicken

This is the best home cooked butter chicken I have ever tasted!! Butter chicken was one of the first chicken dishes that I ever ate and it is one of my favorite chicken preparations!! It is one of the most popular chicken dishes available at Indian restaurants. I always wanted to make it at home and have it be just like the authentic restaurant version which I remember eating in India. I tried out many recipes and finally, found this one. My brother had shared this recipe with me and he was so appreciative of the taste that I just had to give it a try. Oh! It was so delicious and relatively simple, so it has now become my go to butter chicken recipe. I also use the same gravy to make paneer makhani (butter paneer). I hope you love this version as much as I do. This recipe makes a large quantity of gravy and you can increase the amount of chicken to add to the gravy. You can also halve or make a smaller portion by using 1/3rd of the ingredients. 

Here is the link to the video recipe where you can see the detailed method of making it. 

Ingredients

For the chicken
2 lbs chicken thigh meat (can also use chicken breast)

1.5 tbsp garlic paste

1.5 tbsp ginger paste

2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp oil +2 tsp

For the gravy

1 tbsp 

6 tbsp butter

3 lb tomatoes  (1.5 kg, about 13 mid sized), roughly chopped into eigths

10 oz onion ( 300 gm, 3/4 of a large onion), roughly diced into inch sized pieces

3 tbsp garlic paste

5 oz cashew nuts or pumpkin seeds1(50 gm)

3 tbsp white vinegar

1.5 tsp garam masala

4 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder

salt to taste

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp fenugreek leaves/kasuri methi

Method

Cut the chicken into inch long strips.  In a bowl, mix together the ginger, garlic pastes, oil, chilli powder and salt. Then add all the chicken strips into the bowl and toss around to coat the chicken properly.  Cover the bowl and place in the fridge as it marinates. Marinate for at least 20 mins and upto overnight. 

In a deep saucepan, heat 1 tbsp oil and 4 tbsp butter.  Once the butter melts add the onions. And then add the garlic paste. Cook this till onions are cooked and translucent. Do not brown. Then add all the tomato pieces. Cook for a few minutes till the tomatoes start to release the juices and start getting cooked. Next add the cashews or pumpkin seeds and stir them in and cook for a minute. Then add the vinegar, garam masala, sugar, chilli powder, some salt. Remember that there was salt added to the chicken, so add only a tsp of salt. You can adjust to taste after the cooked chicken is added to the gravy.  Boil the gravy for a few minutes till it is fragrant, and turn off the heat. Let it cool and then puree in a blender. 

Now, cook the chicken. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and once the oil is hot and shimmering, add the chicken pieces. Cook on one side for a minutes and then flip them and cook on the other side for another minute or two. We are cooking the chicken partially and then will finish cooking it in the gravy. If you want to eat the chicken pieces as a tikka, make sure to cook the chicken well till it has reached the minimum temperature of 165F or higher.  Cook all the chicken pieces. 

In a deep saucepan, heat 2 tbsp of butter. Strain the gravy through a sieve and add it to the melted butter. Once the gravy heats up, add the chicken pieces and let it boil till the chicken is cooked through. To check, use a thermometer and check the temperature of a few pieces of chicken. It should be 165F or higher.  For a visual check, cut a piece of chicken. It should cut easily and the inside should not have any pink or raw looking meat. Cooked meat turns a white color.

Then crush the fenugreek leaves between your palms, and add to the gravy. Finally add the cream and stir it in. Taste and adjust the salt. Your butter chicken is ready. Serve it hot with rice or naan. 

This makes a very large serving of chicken which can easily serve 8 people or more. You can halve the recipe for a smaller proportion.

Tips

If the chicken is frozen, I thaw it out overnight in the fridge. Clean it by patting it with a paper towel and then cut the partially frozen chicken. It is much easier to cut. Keep the chicken in the fridge during marination as well. Never leave raw chicken on the countertop as it can lead to salmonella growing on it.  You can use pumpkin seeds instead of cashew nuts to make this nut free. You can increase the amount of butter to 8 tbsp while cooking the gravy. 

Culinary Tour of the World: Episode 6: Antigua and Barbuda - Ducana

Welcome to our sixth episode of the Culinary Tour of the World. This post takes us to the Carribean islands of Antigua and Barbuda (Antigua is pronounced as "Antigah"). Antigua and Barbuda are islands in the West Indies.  As I was researching the cuisine, I learnt that there are many dishes which are similar across the various Caribbean islands like fungie. There are many seafood and other meat dishes which have a variety of vegetables too and and fresh tropical fruits are aplenty! A couple of dishes that I observed were spoken of when speciality from Antigua was discussed in some Caribbean food groups, one was home made ginger beer and the other was ducana. I bought the ingredients to make ginger beer, which was essentially a lot of grated ginger, sugar and water to create a ginger drink (non-fermented), but then realized that this is a commonly brewed drink on other islands too. So, finally I decided to make ducana which is a speciality made with coconut and sweet potato and usually served along with saltfish and vegetables. 

It was absolutely delicious!! We topped it with a little ghee (clarified butter) and oh my goodness, it made a delicious dessert. The taste is very similar to the coconut dumpling (modak), except here all the ingredients are cooked together.  It is always exciting to find similarities between known dishes and new ones I am exploring through this project!

Link to the video recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut, grated (fresh or frozen and thawed)

1/2 cup sweet potato, grated (Japanese sweet potato or one which has cream colored flesh)

1/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp water

1/2 to 2/3 cup all purpose flour 

1/4 tsp nutmeg powder

1/4 tsp ginger powder

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

banana leaves and foil to wrap the ducanas

water to boil the ducanas

Method

In a bowl, mix together the coconut, sweet potato and sugar. Mix well and then add the water, then add the spices and vanilla essence. Then mix in the all purpose flour. Add only a little to begin with and mix it to see how thick the mixture gets. It should be like a thick cake batter. I needed to use only about 1/2 cup of flour. If you live in a humid climate, or if there is a greater moisture content in your ingredients, you may need to use more flour. 

Place a banana leaf (about 8"X4") on top of a foil which has similar dimensions.  Add some batter (1/4th of the total) to the center and shape it into a rectangle (see video). Then fold the leaf over the batter, to create a rectangular packet. Then fold the foil to create a rectangular packet. 

Boil water in a saucepan or large pan. To this add the foil packets and cook for about 45 mins to an hour.  Remove the packets from water and drain well. Serve warm. It is not usually topped with butter or ghee, but adding a dollop really enhances the dish.  

Tips

Double the ingredients to make 8 ducanas. This recipe will yield 4 ducanas which are about 2 inches by 4 inches in size. You can use desiccated coconut too, if you cannot find fresh coconut. However, soak it in a little milk before using it. The amount of flour you use will depend on the moisture content of the rest of the ingredients. You need enough to create a thick batter. Too much may yield to a stiff dumpling. 

Vegetarian Roselle Birria Tacos

Let me start by saying that this is an amazing recipe. It is one of the tastiest Mexican foods that I have eaten in recent memory. It is spicy and has a burst of flavors and everyone in the family absolutely loved it. I am so glad to have found this recipe because it is perfect to use all the roselle hibiscus petals after making tea. And now I have a way to use the large harvest we have had this year. It does not matter if you are using fresh roselle sepals or dried ones in this recipe. The ones in the original recipe were dry whereas I used the fresh ones that I harvested today. The recipe was originally shared by a friend, Ayshica, in a wonderful gardening group called "Gardening in the Desert".  She shared this recipe from a YouTube channel called "Views on the road" and highly recommended it. Ayshica is a great cook herself and I trust her food recommendations, so I thought that I had to give this recipe a try. 

Now, this recipe requires certain Mexican chillies - Guajillo and Pasilla chillies. After making and eating the tacos I am of the firm belief, that these chillies are a key flavor ingredient for the birria tacos. These chillies lend an earthy taste which reminds me of the mole sauce. Also, when I searched for what birria was and other recipes for birria, I realized that the original version is meat based. The birria is a stew made with the meat and these chillies. However, this version is completely vegetarian and if you use non-dairy cheese, will be a 100% vegan. I did not use any broth or bouillon powder/cubes either and the result was still lip smacking delicious. The roselle sepals add a slight tart flavor. These also make the taco filling and  provide that meatiness to the taco, that 3-4 tacos per person was a pretty good serving size for most of the family members. I think any vegetable that retains its texture after being boiled can be a used, like jackfruit or mushrooms. 

The way I understand it, birria is a stew and then the meaty portion of the stew is used to fill the taco and then the taco is then grilled/cooked and eaten by dipping it into the consomme or liquid part of the stew. The stew that I made with the roselle sepals was quite soup like. Then I used the roselle sepals and carrots which were cooked in the sauce as the taco filling. And then we dipped the tacos in the soup and also drank sipped it along with the tacos. I also made the chilli oil which was mentioned in the original recipe and modified it based on what I had on hand. The combination of flavors was perfect for a cold weeknights dinner. And so so delicious!! 

The highlight of the recipe was that I was able to use a lot of our homegrown produce. Roselle hibuscus was the star of the recipe, but it was great to be able to use homegrown carrots and cilantro as well. If you would like to know more details on growing, harvesting and preserving Roselle Hibiscus, do check out our videos on our YouTube channel, "Gardening and Cooking Made Easy".

How to grow Roselle Hibiscus

How to harvest and store Roselle Hibiscus

Ingredients

For the chilli oil

1/2 cup oil

3 guajillo chillies

2 spicy chillies, dry (I used Indian dry chillies)

1 bay leaf or 1 tsp broken bay leaf pieces

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp clove powder

salt to taste

1/4 tsp sugar

For the birria

1.5 cups fresh roselle petals. If using dried ones, I would recommend using 1 cup

6-7 carrots, cut into small bite sized pieces, appropriate for filling in the taco

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 medium red onion, cut into half

3 garlic pods, whole

1 pasilla chilli

4 guajillo chillies

10 cups of water

1 bayleaf

salt to taste

1/4 tsp sugar

For the tacos

corn tortillas

cooked roselle sepals and carrots from the birria/stew

finely cut cabbage

finely cut white or yellow onion

cilantro

chilli oil

shredded/grated cheese

Method

To make the chilli oil

Remove the stem of the chillies. In a coffee grinder or blender in which you can grind spice to a fine powder, grind the chillies and the bay leaf into a fine powder.  If you want, you can also remove the seeds, however I did not as I wanted the oil to have the heat and spice from the chillies. Heat 1/2 cup of oil (I used olive oil) and once it is warm (do not heat to very high temperature to avoid spices burning), add the chilli and bay leaf powder. Stir, and then add the garlic powder, clove powder, black pepper powder, sugar and salt. Cook all the spices for a couple of mins, making sure to not overheat the oil. Turn off the heat and set aside. 

To make the birria/stew

Boil 4 cups of water and pour over the roselle sepals (dried or fresh). Set aside for 15 mins. Strain and use the water to make tea or lemonade. Add 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to the sepals, toss them in it and set aside. 

In a pressure cooker, Instant Pot or a regular deep sauce pan, addd the remaining 6 cups of water. Then to it add the onion, cut into two halves. Then remove the stem of the chillies and add those to the water along with the garlic cloves. If you don't like too much spice remove most of the seeds of the chillies. Add 1/4 cup of carrots. Then cook this mixture. If you are cooking it in the pressure cooker, cook for 1 whistle. In the instant pot, cook for 5 mins. Naturally release the pressure. If you are cooking it in the saucepan, cover and cook for 10-15 mins once it starts boiling, till the chillies are softened. Now, using a skimmer spoon, fish out the chillies, garlic and onion.  Let them cool down a little and blend in the blender to a fine paste. This is your salsa or sauce that flavors the stew.

Add the paste back to the water. Then, add the rest of the carrots, the roselle sepals along with the vinegar and 1 bay leaf and cook for another 10 mins till the roselle and carrots are softened. If using a pressure cooker, cook till it reaches pressure and turn off heat. Instant Pot timing will be 2 mins. Let pressure cookers naturally release pressure. 

Taste, add the salt and sugar and stir well. Then fish out the carrot pieces and roselle sepals and place into a bowl. Heat the liquid and boil it for a few mins. 

To assemble the taco

Use a brush or spoon and smear the corn tortilla on both sides with the chilli oil. Then filling a tbsp of the roselle, carrot filling, cabbage, onions, cilantro and shredded cheese. On a hot pan, cook the taco on both sides till the cheese melts. 

Serve with the consomme/soup part of the stew. Dip the tacos in the soup and eat. 

Tips

The chillies are dry, so it is easy to just split the chillies into two and shake them to remove the seeds. Or remove the stem and shake the seeds out. I made corn tortillas with masa harina flour and the taste was amazing using fresh tortillas. If possible, I recommend it. If the taco is opening up (I do tend to overfill it), place a spoon on top of the taco as it cooks on one side. Then as you flip it over and cook on the other side, it should retain its folded taco shape (see photo above). If you are using other vegetables, then I recommend adding tomatoes along with the onions and garlic and puree those as well. Else, add lemon juice to the stew at the end of the cooking, before serving.