Paella


No ,this is not a Malaysian Dish ,lol .Paella is one of the most famous
Spanish dishes. I thought of sharing this Spanish dish with all of you since it
came out well when I made it.


In researching paella recipes I found that there was no one-way of making
paella. Every chefs have their  own way of making it and the list of ingredients
is different as well. Some recipes uses white wine  and chicken.


As mentioned by Sarah Jay of
www.paellapans.com
it isn't difficult to make a fantastic paella,the main
important thing is that when the rice in a paella is cooked well, nothing else
matters-not the chicken, not the clams, not even the artichokes. The other
ingredients do have a role to play in the pan, and that is to provide flavor to
the rice. She further stated that for great paella, add the other ingredients
with restraint, and let the rice take center stage.


The Paella is actually advised to be eaten straight from the pan rather then
serving it on a plate!!!This style is said to be the traditional way to eat
paella, and it is believed that this tradition is still alive in some household
in Spain .


The first time when I saw
Bill Granger of Bill’s Food
cooking it on TV , I just thought to myself, being a seafood lover ,
it would indeed be great if I could try out the recipe. I have substituted a
few ingredients .Bill had used chorizo sausage,Spanish calasparra rice ,black
mussels and Italian parsley in his paella. I have replaced them with chicken
frankfurter,basmati rice, squids and coriander leaves.I did not use olive oil
for sauté of shallots instead used margarine.I have not used olive oil to cook
basmati rice therefore was not sure whether it will turn out tasty!Therefore
margarine was the best substitute.


Can you blame me in making it slightly fusion!!!






You can get Bill Granger’s version of Paella

here



Here is my recipe :



  • 2 tbsp of margarine

  • 1 chicken sausage, thinly sliced

  • 7 large shallots, sliced

  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed

  • 2 teaspoons paprika

  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

  • 300gm basmati rice

  • 2 large chopped tomatoes

  • 1 tsp tomato puree

  • 1/2 teaspoon saffron, soaked in 1 tablespoon water

  • 1 red pepper (capsicum), roasted, peeled and thinly
    sliced

  • 500ml water

  • ½ chicken cube(crumble)

  • 7 green beans, chopped

  • 10 large raw prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined,
    tails left intact

  • 2 large squids,cleaned and cut roundly

  • 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves

  • ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper


  • Method:
  • Heat 2 teaspoons of the margerine in a large saucepan
    over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, for
    6–7 minutes until it is crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside.

  • Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining oil to
    the pan. Add the shallots and sprinkle with salt. Cook, stirring frequently,
    for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic, paprika and cayenne and cook,
    stirring, for another minute. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with
    oil. Add the tomatoes,tomato puree, saffron, pepper and 200ml water. Stir
    until all ingredients are combined.(Instead of using chicken stock I use
    chicken cube + water)

  • Add the beans,prawns and squids and return the
    sausage to the pan.

  • Transfer the rice to a rice cooker.Add in the
    remaining 300ml water.

  • Stir and cook
    the rice. I felt it was easier to cook the rice this way.

  • Add in the capsicum and give it a stir.

  • Once done, garnish with chopped coriander leaves.Add
    more salt and pepper if desired. Surprisingly the rice was not that spicy.





I was thinking what side dish should I make to go
with Paella. Finally I did Achar Timun or Cucumber pickle. Its rather a sweet
and sour dish which actually complimented each other well .If you want a curry
with it I think Dalca would be my suggestion.But if it’s the Malaysian way you
want then sambal bawang would be the best.





Thanks for visiting!

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Comments

  1. You make me hungry.. uh,uh. Hehe.. I love your blog. Do you want to do some Link Exchange?? I'm sure many of my overseas Malaysian friends would love to stumble on your blog. You have such wonderful recipes to share with us! Email me if you're interested,kay? =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi! Thanks for your prompt reply. I've added your blog to my blogroll! =)

    ReplyDelete

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