Scouse for all!

I've decided to make Scouse after my trip to Liverpool last weekend. I checked for recipes online to find that they all have one or two ingredients that I'm sure the place I had didn't add to. So I combined recipes from two sources to make my own concoction. So here goes!

Scouse served with a mini baguette

Ingredients:

450 grams of Stewing Beef, large cubes
2 Tbs of cooking oil (vegetable cooking oil)
Salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
pinch of dried thyme ( few specs)
300 ml beef stock concentrate
200 ml of water
1 large onion, quartered or diced
3 large potatoes, quartered
4 large carrots, chunky slices or large dices (depending how you like it)

Method:

• Add  generous amounts salt and pepper to taste to the meat. Heat oil to about medium heat. Brown the meat evenly. 
• Once the meat is browned on all sides tip in the chopped or quartered onions. Cook for 5 mins.
• Then pour in the stock and water and allow to simmer (mini bubbles) with bay leaves and thyme for 1 1/2 hours with the lid on. If you like you can add a few pieces of diced potatoes to allow to simmer with the meat (this will give good texture to the end of the scouse) 
• After this step, add the potatoes and carrots and allow to simmer without the lid for another hour. This is to reduce the liquid of the stew. Check every now and again to see that it doesn't dry out. You can add a little water to prevent drying out.
• Once ready serve in soup bowl with a petite pain.

Nasi Briyani - The Malaysian style without the layering

Not the best picture, I also ran out of Saffron
but you could see a speckle of yellow.

Nasi Briyani
3 cups long grain basmati rice, rinsed and soaked for about 20 mins
4 cups water
1 Tbsp corn oil
1 Tbsp butter/ghee
1 tsp of salt (adjust to taste as different types of salt have different intensity)
1 stick 2" cinnamon
1 star anise
5 green cardamon pods
4 cloves
3 cloves garlic, skinned
3 shallots, or 1 medium onion
1 pinch saffron strands (soaked in 2 tbsp hot water) or saffron powder diluted in 2 tbps of water

Method:

• Heat a pan or a deep cast iron pan (with cover). 
• Add oil and ghee until uniformed then brown onions in the pan.
• Once onions are close to being ready reduce heat to low, put in the garlic and spices (except saffron) and stir to fry until fragrant.
• Drain the rice and pour it into the pan with the onion and spice mix.
• Increase the flame a little and fry the rice until all the spice is incorporated.
• Tip water and allow to boil, then bring it down to a simmer and close it with a lid. Then you can choose Rice Method A (No rice cooker) or Rice Method B (Rice cooker)

Rice Method A:

• Lift the lid to check the texture of the rice (if you press on the rice it will break into three pieces, sort of Al dente)
• Cover the lid with a tea towel and cover the rice to allow to cook through on the lowest heat.
• Open the rice in between and tip in the saffron essence in a quick swirl. Turn off the heat and leave the cover on for about 5 mins to allow the rice to absorb the saffron. 
• With a ladel stir around the rice to create lovely multicolour Briyani rice

Rice Method B:

• Alternately you could then tip the entire portion into a rice cooker and let it do the rest.
• You could open the lid to check the progress of the rice and tip in the saffron essence in a swirl and leave it at 'keep warm' or off for a few minutes before fluffing up the rice.

Serve rice with curry of choice.

The above ensemble is Briyani rice with Chicken Curry - Fenugreek Leaves. Thanks to Madhur Jaffrey's Curry Nation. I've included the recipe for Fenugreek Chicken at Good Food Channel.

Alternatively you can find it at my blog with the version I've changed a little:
Chicken Curry with Fenugreek Leaves