~~~MINI BEEF STEAKS com BATATA EM NATAS(creamy baked potato)~~~

Mini beef steaks com batatas em natas



tiny beef fillets with a portuguese wine sauce and creamy potato'batata en natas'


Goan portuguese 'bife en sangue' goes tweaking

Beef and potatoes in all forms have always been a well recieved and loved combi,mashed or whole...
Now why cant i have my version of creamy mashed potatoes ,without really mashing 'em but baking 'em whole...ok done...
And they sure will be very well done,with the mini,too tiny for fillets ,fillets....
These were the thoughts flooding my mind as i drifted into a blissful sleep.
Many a time just when i rest my head upon my soft pillow,i get inspired..not inspired to sneak in the kitchen for a chocolate over dose in hot chocolate to dunk in a few cookies.

Last night as was ruminating on a few mini beef slices i'd kept by when we carving(as i call it) meats to pack in the freezer for the week i made these mini slices from the big scraps around & this is my crossover from a simple steak to a nice saucy one with a wine saucea.k.a.,like this wine sauce,minus the onion& butter,my all time fav& yeah here i kept cooking the beef while simmering the sauce in the same pan & it was delicious really.

Now the creamy potato was really that,creamy...like that one cheesesy baked veg dish we always seem to have at buffets,is it au gratin or white sauce,i aint very clear on that but i have to read up though now my batata em natas already sits in the oven,sizzling away....all ready and done...

FOR THE BEEF FILLETS


~~~7 tiny slices of beef

~~~garlic as per taste& a small piece of green chilly,seeds removed.


~~~salt and pepper to taste


~~~a splosh of vinegar & red wine


~~~olive oil to fry

FOR THE SAUCE


~~~1/2 cup chicken stock/beef stock/cube dissolved in water


~~~1/2-3/4 Cup red wine(portuguese)


~~~pepper,salt & pinch of sugar to taste

HOW TO.....
1)Pounded the slices in a ziplock bag & then rubbed with salt ,pepper,garlic.(i used both white and black pepper)
2)Place in a shallow glass marinating bowl,splosh over the wine and vinegar ,cover with cling film,marinate for an hour or overnight.
3)Heat olive oil in a pan & sear meat well,cover cook to brown on both sides & cook till soft.(after browned i added in some water with a little of sauce ingridients to soften meat.)
4)when done tip in all the sauce ingredients & simmer on high to reduce for a few mins.

BATATA EM NATAS
~~~1 V LARGE potato
~~~200ml of low fat cream
~~~a few garlic cloves to taste,crushed
~~~salt & pepper to taste
~~~a pinch each of sugar/honey& stock powder or cube
~~~1 cube cheese,cubed
~~~1-2 tbh cheese spread
note-i added in a tsp of prawn preserve too but thats absolutely optional & this is as delish without it too.
(this photo above ,before going to the oven)

1)Heat the cream.
2)Add garlic,pepper,stock powder/salt,pinch of honey/sugar. Good stir
3)Add green peas,both cheeses,blend.
4)Pour over potatoes & sprinkle crushed pepper.
5)Bake till done(first half of the time in baine marie but thats absolutely optional), at 210*c-250*c.t took me 2 hours in my oven to get this texture.

~~~A NOSTALGIC GOAN MEALEE OF GOAN BEEF CHILLY FRY & GOAN PULAO~~~

A GOAN MEALEE

i love goan food as much as goan street food & home cooked food in villages all over to re-discover & travel thru the well known flavours ,each as flavourful as the get & delish but all complimenting each other.
Another wonder day ends with a glorious sunset indicating we will soon welcome a glorious morn ,& then noon. and noon= lunch.

A lunch where i had to work around beef some of us going to be round the table,so thought a pound and half of beef would suffice& i pepeated a summer dinner of May '09 which was a great combi of a goan beef chilly fry with a quick salad & fish mol...i love the combi really...

This is born outa my passion for the flavours i know so close to my heart & have been born & brought up with. I love the addition of local toddy vinegar & love only the one my moms makes,its simply excellent & i treat it as an art ,right from the type of jars & all the tests they pass to procuring the best toddy from a sleepy village to getting set to them sitting in the corner for a few months...i wait eagerly to open the first jar...it does intensify in depth & flavour over time & i love that but there are some who prefer lime juice oevr vinegar and thats great too,i even try a combi of both at times...& it aint like i dont fancy balsamic or a good apple cidee r or red wine or rice wine vinegar but when we are talking vinegar the closest to my heart has to be a good goan toddy vinegar,the base of many a fantabulous goan creation.And ,ah, how can i forget tamrind combing with vinegar...oh that tang....

Ok now lets get going with the beef for which will mention the sustitutes too.


WHAT U NEED---


~~~~1 1/2 pound of beef/chicken cut into smallish cubes pounded a bit(around 700 grams)

1)NOW THE FOLLOWING IS FRESHLY CRUSHED AND RUBBED IN WELL INTO THE MEAT AFTER WASHING WITH A LITTLE SALT,TURMERIC,CUMIN POWDER,DRAINING OFF WATER & PAT DRYING
~~~~7 cloves
~~~~a piece of cinnamon
~~~~7 whole cardomons
~~~~7-10 cloves garlic
~~~~a green chilly(only the tail)
~~~~a red chilly(aldona/kashmiri)
the above i roughly crush ,helps keep spice level low too.
~~~~salt to taste+ a tbh of goan vinegar/lime juice

2)Marinate everything in a glass bowl & keep aside covered with cling wrap for an hour or overnight.






~~~~7onions cubed/ sliced(u could vary this to ur palate)






3)Place marinated meat along with spices(remove whole chillies), a pinch of sugar,half the cubed/onion,3 cups water(remember we are working on a pulao too & we need stock) & olive oil(stick to clarified butter for traditional flav but its lovely with olive oil too) in a pressure cooker & cook for around 2 whistles(1 for chicken).Keep aside.
U sure can place meat directly in the pan but i love what p.cooking does to the meat,kinda seals in juices &tenderizes so its great for beef anyway.
4)Now heat some oil in a pan,and while its heating strain stock.
5)Fry the remaining alongwith whole chillies in the pan &when done put in all the meat and along with the onion & spices to the pan.(here u can add a few peppercorns crushed,white and black)
6)Stir fry awhile,add in a cup of stock,reserve remaining stock.ANd a tsp or 2of TAMRIND PULP.
COver pan for a few minutes.
7)STir.Check seasoning,repeat with any of what the spices used if needed .

Now the PULAO can be prepared along side the chilly fry.
~~~2 cups basamati rice
~~~2 onions sliced
~~~2 tomatoes ,finely cubed
~~~3/4 cup green peas
~~~3-4 maggi cubes(optional)
~~~salt to taste


1)Wash2CUPs RICE well,soak in water.
2)heat 1 TBH OLIVE OIL.
3)fry 2ONIONS SLICED,when done add in 2 TOMATOES CUBED. Saute well.
4)Add the remaining STOCK and water to get 3.5 cups of liquid.
5)Bring to a quick boil.Add rice and some GREEN PEAS(FROZEN OR BOILED)
6)Cook till done.Top off with portuguese oilive oil.

this fry & fragrant rice combines well with a simple salad of sliced onions/shallots with cilantro & a squeeze of lime.

love the chilly fry served on a nice big slice of baked potato(boiling is fine too)