What’s a banana bread recipe doing on an Asian foods website?  Well, this is really for me , so that I can access it easily (and for my many friends who have asked for the recipe).  It literally takes about 10 minutes to pull this bread together so I bake it all the time (in my little toaster oven).  Just 3 bowls and no major appliance needed, so wash-up is easy, too.  Try it, it’s really really good.  The base recipe is from Nigella Lawson, but I have adapted it slightly.

Chef’s tip: Depending on your microwave power, you may need to adjust the time, but note it down so that you can use it over and over again.  Also, if you have overiped bananas sitting around and cannot spend the 10 minutes to pull this together, mash it up and pop it into the freezer.  It defrosts easily and holds well for baking.

1/2 cup flame raisins
1/2 cup gold rum

1 cup +2 Tablespoons AP flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup / 1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar or less
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, at room temperature
3 large bananas, mashed
1/2 cup dark choc chips

Preheat oven 325F
1. Soak raisins in rum until plump – overnight or zap in microwave for 30 seconds
2. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together, set aside
3.  Zap butter in microwave till just melted (some lumps of solid butter unmelted) about 30 seconds.  Whisk to melt the unmelted butter – this way, you needn’t wait for the butter to cool)
4. Take some of the butter to oil a 1 lb / 9 X 5 ” baking loaf pan, dust with some of the measured sugar
5. Into the remaining melted butter, whisk in sugar and vanilla, followed by eggs one at a time
6. Fold in the mashed bananas, raisins and rum soaking liquids
7. Fold in flour mixture and choc chip till just combined
8. Bake for about 40 mins or when golden/ skewer comes clean.

Tags: Breakfast.

I first tasted kuku at my friend’s Tammy’s dinner party.  Not knowing what it was called or its origin, I remembered it was absolutely tasty and exploding with herbal freshness.  Tammy is my citizen du monde friend — from the Bay Area to Chicago, New York, London and now Paris….like those ad taglines for high end perfume.  But it was really from her Persian background, as I found out years later….although I still didn’t know what it was called. In a casual conversion with my Persian neighbor in the laundry room, I learned it was called kuku and eaten during the Persian new year.  That’s when the kuku exploration began.

Kuku is essentially a Persian fritata.  Many Middle Eastern stores sell a kuku mix, and the advieh mix.  But you can make your own from scratch.  Just make sure you use all fresh herbs….the dried ones are just not the same.

Chef Tips: Make your own Advieh with this recipe: In a coffee /spice grinder, add 1 X cardamom, cumin, ginger and dried rose petals, 2X cinnamon and 0.5X cloves and grind into a fine powder.

6 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons Persian Advieh
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 cup garlic greens, chopped
1 cup parsley, chopped
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/2 cup mint, chopped
2 tablespoons dried barberries, reconstituted

2 Tablespoons clarified butter or olive oil
1 Tablespoon dried fenugreek

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Break the eggs into a large bowl. Add the baking powder, flour, advieh, salt, and pepper. Lightly beat in the chopped garlic, herbs and barberries.
3. Using a 10-inch oven-proof  skillet, melt butter.  Add fenugreek until the fenugreek pops.  Turn down the heat a bit. Add the eggs and herbs mixture and cook over medium-low heat — gently stir in the beginning then run a spatula underneath the sides of the omelet and tilt the pan so the uncooked eggs slide to the underside.   Cook until the eggs are just set.
4. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 5 minutes, or until well set and puffy. Remove from oven, slide kuku onto a large plate, cut into wedges and serve.

Serves: 4

Tags: Breakfast, Persian.