JeanneinDoha Cooks | A Few of my Favorite Recipes for Ramadan Dinners and Beyond

Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker
(...but any pressure cooker will do!)

I enjoy cooking Indian, Asian-inspired, or simply well-flavored food almost as much as I enjoy eating it! This week on the blog, I'm sharing a few tried-and-tested recipes, and the bloggers and writers who dreamed them up. These are recipes that I return to time and time again because of their ease of preparation and guaranteed flavor, and I think all of them would make wonderful additions to any dinner spread over Ramadan and beyond.

Before jumping on to recipe-sharing, I wanted to take a moment to direct you to a kitchen appliance that you will see pop up a few times in this blog post: I am a major fan of my InstantPot electric pressure cooker. It's inexpensive, readily-programmable and simple to use, and allows you to cook tasty curries, stews and braises relatively quickly. We received our InstantPot as a wedding present. At the moment amazon.co.uk don't appear to have InstantPots available. However, I believe one can acquire an electric pressure cooker at Sharaf DG in the GCC. Alternatively, pick one up whilst on holiday and bring it back with you. I use my electric pressure cooker at least once a week and would be lost without it. You can also make use of a manual, stove-top pressure cooker. I am looking at acquiring one of these as well so that I can be ever-so-cool and have two pressure cookers on the go whilst making dinner!

Turning now to recipes. What Indian meal would be complete without a steaming pile of rice? I love this recipe for saffron brown rice. The instructions are pretty accurate and I find the only modification I sometimes have to make is to add additional water or stock along the way if it looks like we're running low. I also like to sauté some almond flakes in butter and sprinkle them over the top. I would also suggest not scrimping on the saffron.

Let's move on to vegetables. If you haven't yet come across Smitten Kitchen's blog, you're missing out! I have made her cumin junkie cauliflower and potatoes on several occasions.  I do, however, find the recipe a little bland for my palate, so I tend to double the spice quantities shown. I also add a 250 ml. can of coconut milk to the potato, cauliflower and spice mixture as it cooks down. I've made this recipe for brunch and dinner and it's always been a hit 

I have a few other go-to vegetarian recipes in my arsenal. Vegan Richa's blog is full of meals bursting with macro-nutrients. Her vegan chick pea saag served with brown rice has been a lunch box staple of mine. If you don't have a pressure cooker available, you can make it with tinned, organic chick peas and cook your curry on the stove top. I'm also a major fan of this palak paneer recipe from my wonderful neighbor in India, Veena. I've routinely made a "lazy version," cooking thawed frozen spinach with the onions before blending the mixture before continuing as directed.

Pressure Cooker Beef Curry | Pressure Cooking Today

Meat! If you're new to my blog, you would be forgiven for thinking that I'm a vegetarian given how many veggie-oriented posts I have shared to date. I love my vegetables and try to be mindful of the quality and quantity of meat I'm consuming. However, this is not to say that I don't love a good lamb or beef curry. I've made this beef curry recipe in my pressure cooker and it's been a hit with my husband as well as with dinner guests. My Heart Beets is similarly filled with pressure-cooker friendly, largely paleo curries and other main course ideas. A word of caution - this blogger's recipes run on the spicy side, so lower the heat if you don't like getting your sweat on. I liked her goat curry in a hurry (pressure cooker and slow cooker recipes here). 

Spanish Fish Stew | BBC Good Food

We usually have fish for dinner a couple of times a week. Sometimes, we simply pan-sear salmon and serve that with quinoa and steamed veg (I try to follow the Gordon Ramsey's "scored skin" method for searing salmon). On other occasions, we try something more exotic. This Spanish fish stew from BBC Good Food  is amazing! I usually include some saffron to the stock for added flair. I also add the 'parsley with ½ the garlic and lemon zest,' at the beginning of Part 3, rather than at the end. This is beautiful served with cous cous and grilled courgettes. Tip: for those of you who live in Doha, Megmart has frozen wild salmon that works well. I have also had success with My Heart Beets' Kerela fish curry which is beautiful and aromatic over rice with a light salad.

Happy feasting!

Please note that pictures used in my article are drawn from the original blog or web posts. I have the food photography skills of an aged ram, and therefore defer to the capabilities of those far more talented than myself.

JeanneinDoha Explores | Expatriate Life in Korea: Part 1 - On Understanding

As many of you know, I divide my time living between Doha, Qatar and Seoul, South Korea. I have spent the better part of the past seven months working in Seoul and have been struck by a few things during my time here. In this post, I will share some of my musings, as I try to learn more about my home away from home. This is a post that I have drafted, redrafted and picked apart on several occasions, as I found it hard to convey the breadth and nuance of my experience. 

My first few weeks in Seoul were a whirlwind between settling into a new job, getting accustomed to long periods away from my spouse and acclimatizing myself to my environs. Seoul is one of the world’s most densely-populated cities. Very little ever pauses and I found its hustle, bustle, sights and smells just that little bit daunting. As a foreigner, I stood out in an otherwise broadly homogeneous population. Having previously lived in very multicultural cities, the feeling of being an obvious 'other' was initially difficult to internalize. 

Concurrently, however, I was also struck by the shy warmth of those around me: colleagues who, without question, helped me with the simplest of everyday tasks that had become enormously difficult due to my rudimentary Korean language skills; strangers on the street who offered help simply on seeing my befuddled face as I tried to navigate the city - the list goes on. My first six weeks in Korea were challenging but ultimately exhilarating.

Looking back, a few things have helped me on my journey so far. I'm trying to learn Korean. Whilst street and subway signs in Seoul are usually displayed in both English and Korean, you'll need to pick up some of the language if you would like to effortlessly trawl through supermarkets and understand food labeling, read many menus, book appointments and so on. My progress is tediously slow but I see every coffee ordered in Korean, every 'thank you' and every compliment or bemused look I receive as I stutter through the simplest of sentences as a small victory. 

Moreover, as one learns the language, one comes to better appreciate cultural subtleties. I try to pay attention to local etiquette and everyday rituals, like remembering to hand my credit card over with both hands rather than one. I try my best to gently explore the culinary landscape. I try to make friends beyond the expat bubble and through them learn about cultural inflections that I would not otherwise have been aware of. And whilst I don't always succeed in doing so, I try to focus on the positive learnings from my experiences. 

Inset picture of Seoul, South Korea (Reabirdna/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images)

Laundromat: Ai Weiwei's Installation at the Doha Fire Staion Art Gallery

Ai Weiwei’s Laundromat installation, currently on view at Doha’s Fire Station Art Gallery, displays clothing and belongings abandoned by Syrian and other refugees at a makeshift camp near the village of Idomeni on the Greek-Macedonian border.

I was surprised to see a politically and socially-relevant exhibition of this kind in Doha as it invariably raises the question of how regional actors ought to respond to the plight of displaced people on their doorstep. The content of this exhibition is similarly unsettling. We see clothing in color, freshly washed and pressed. The shades of muddy brown, so often associated with poverty, aren’t visible here. The items on display also tell us a little bit about the their former owners, who we quickly realize were individuals of taste and means.

The arrangement of the display is equally striking. Walking between the rails of clothes, one is beset by claustrophobia. If you have visited the Holocaust memorial in Berlin and walked between its blocks, you may have experienced a similar urge to observe from the outside rather than to explore from within. The floor, in turn, is tiled by a news feed of collected articles about refugee crises past and present. Symbolically, one has to walk over these to observe the refugees' possessions in any detail. Finally, one arrives at the countless rows of shoes. It is hard to ignore the lone running shoe or the glossy pink pair of children’s rain boots.

In a country where there are seemingly more malls than people, with countless empty shops and thousands of rails of ignored clothing, this exhibition is of added poignancy. Easily, one of the highlights of my year thus far in Doha, I would strongly recommend that you pay a visit to this installation.

Laundromat is on display at the Fire Station Artist in Residence Garage Gallery until 1 June 2018.

Dining Reviews with JeanneinDoha | Sampling Cucina's New Menu

Cucina, the Marriott Marquis City Center Doha's Italian restaurant, has consistently been one of my favorite dining spots in Doha. My husband, Matthias (occasionally referred to on this blog as Mr. JeanneinDoha), and I had our first date at Cucina. Three hours, a pizza and some pasta later, I knew I had met the man I wanted to marry. Perhaps even the serving staff knew something magical was afoot. We dined at Cucina with family the evening prior to our wedding. A year later, a group of our closest friends hosted us there for our first anniversary dinner party. Many of our fondest memories as a couple center around this restaurant and its rustic interiors.

Cucina has had the same menu for almost as long as I can remember. Matthias and I had it quite happily memorized and it never disappointed. So when I learnt, via Instagram, that Cucina had launched its much-anticipated new menu, I was keen to try it out. And so, Matthias and I headed over to the restaurant on Saturday evening on a quest for pasta.

Cucina's new menu

On entering Cucina, we noticed that the Marriott had not just introduced a new menu for the restaurant, but had also updated some of its previously tired-looking decor, and the addition of further soft lighting had considerably enhanced the ambiance. Moreover, the staff had picked up a little Italian along the way: our hostess, Marjorie, greeted us with a warm 'buonasera' and seemed genuinely keen to talk us through the menu, explaining the new additions, describing the provenance of dishes and pointing out the chef's recommendations. Whilst polite hosting staff are ubiquitous in Doha, those that endeavor to learn more about the cuisine they are serving and seek to engage in conversation with guests are few and far between. So it was heartening to see that the Marriott had not just thrust the new menu on to their staff, but had helped them understand it as well.

Now to the food. After gobbling up the complimentary crusty bread (still steaming from the oven) and the generous accompanying portion of sun-dried tomato pesto, Matthias and I tucked into the tagliere da condividere. The arancini were the stuff of dreams, luxurious on the inside and crisp on the outside. The bresola was light and not overly seasoned and the burrata, buttery and inviting. (Note: on writing this review, I realized we were served a slightly different version of the tagliere than marketed on the menu. Ours was lovely either way and I was too enamored with the cheese to notice at the time). Our board of bruschette e crostini made for a tasty accompaniment. The caramelized onion bruschetta was my favourite.

On to our second courses. Matthias opted for the minestrone soup which he found pleasing, whilst I was excited to try out the agnolotti di carne. I am particular about my pasta in Doha and only choose to eat the freshly-made variety in restaurants. Cucina never disappoints. The al dente agnolotti were filled with a light meat mixture and the accompanying meatballs were dense and rich. The dish's highlight for me was the sauce. Whilst a little saltier than my palate usually prefers, I appreciated its smokiness and general depth. One suggestion would be to alter the plating style. It's hard to see the shapely crescent agnolotti under the layer cheese topping, and the large plate is perhaps slightly unnecessary. 

Stuffed and short of room for further courses, we settled back into our chairs with full bellies. I will admit that I miss some of my old menu favorites, such as the salmon with crushed potatoes and olives. But we are looking forward to returning to Cucina to explore more of  the new menu and try out, in particular, the ossobucco.

Many thanks to the Marriott Marquis' Carol Braganza and Karen Castillo for organizing our dinner, to Cucina's Chef Trovato Claudio for his delicious cooking, and to Restaurant Manager, Fabrizio Depascale, for his attentive service. We had a fabulous evening and encourage you to try out Cucina's new menu soon.