Recipe: Minced beef spaghetti (Persian-inspired)

Today I share with you my spaghetti recipe that I created myself inspired by Persian cooking techniques and this delicious meal I had, cooked by a dear friend from Persia.

It doesn't take much time to cook and it's home-made, so you get to make it according to your own taste :)

Ingredients for the sauce
- minced beef
- 2 medium sized tomatoes (chopped)
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- 1/2 medium sized capsicum (chopped)
- Chili (chopped)
- 1 clove of garlic (crushed)
- 1 or 2 potatoes (thinly sliced)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 3/4 cup of water
- 1 tbsp oil

Method:
- Heat the oil in a pan, and fry the onions till slightly soft. Then add the potatoes.
- When onion turns golden brown in colour, add the capsicum, garlic and chili. Keep stirring the mixture.
- After about 2 minutes, add the minced beef, salt and pepper and continue stirring.
- When the minced beef has changed colour, add the chopped tomatoes.
- Let the flavours combine for about 3 minutes, then add the soy sauce, oyster sauce and tomato paste followed by about 3/4 cup of water.
- let it simmer on low heat for about 5-7 minutes. Occasionally stir the mixture so it doesnt settle at the bottom.
- Your sauce is ready for step 2.

PS. do not worry about the potatoes being raw. This will be fixed in step 2.

Step 2.
Ingredients:
- Spaghetti
- Water
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp oil

Method:
- Fill 3/4 of your pan with water and bring to boil on high heat
- add salt and oil
- add the spaghetti
- Now let it simmer on high heat for about 7 mins till the spaghetti is half cooked and soft from the outside.
- Turn off the heat and drain the noodles.

Now comes the fun part.
- In an empty pan, add a bit of oil and spread it around the base of the pan.
- Now add some spaghetti at the bottom, followed by some of the prepared sauce on top.
- Now repeat the steps layering the spaghetti and the sauce and ending with a layer of spaghetti on the top.
- Now set the stove on high heat for about a minute, then set it on low heat, adding 1/4 cup of water and covering the pan. cook the pasta on indirect heat this time (you can place the pan on top of a frying pan if you don't have the proper tool for indirect cooking).
- After about 20minutes, check if the pasta is cooked. If not, leave it for a further 5-10minutes.

Your pasta is now ready and should look like this.

 Now you can mix all the contents of the pan together making sure the layered sauce is mixed with the pasta nicely.
The end result should be something like this:

I know it seems like a tedious process, but what I usually do is multitask by cutting veggies while meat defrosts, cook the sauce while the pasta boils, etc. This saves a lot of time.

Hope you enjoyed this recipe.
Have a good Sunday! :)

Rambles: "Politeness" shocks people

You know what, I am very sad to say that we have reached a point in this world where being polite means "we want something from you" or something that does not exist anymore.

I say this because:

1. I never witness much of it here in Malaysia.
- I remember I once tripped on a few steps in public and I saw this girl giggling her a** off behind me. I don't know what was so funny for her, but I felt sorry for her sad life, reaching a situation where she had to get joy from other people's weak moments.

- It shocks people when I am polite.
- I take the taxi every morning and I always wish the taxi driver "Good morning" when I sit in the car.
One day, as I got into the car, I greeted the driver (I hadn't seen him before). He told me that in his 7 years of working as a taxi driver, he had never heard anyone say that to him before.

That made me feel really sad for him, but I felt good to make a tiny difference in his day.

Today I had a similar experience...I was walking over to my taxi and on the way, I wished all the drivers a good morning. One of the older ones said "Wow you are so good, you say good morning to all of us." I was kind of embarrassed by that as I didn't know how to respond to that.

I just wonder how much effort it takes to smile at a person, greet them, say thank  you or acknowledge their existence in any way. Making this effort will make a difference.

Remember, no matter how good you look, how attractive you are or what position you hold. You are as just the same as every other person, so treat everyone the way you want to be treated.

Love you all!

Recipe: Nooreen's Nachos (Useful during periods of starvation)

Hi guys! As promised, here I am with my first quick and simple recipe. It is not the actual Nachos recipe, so if you are looking for that, this is not the right place. However, if you are hungry, limited in time and ingredients, and craving for a cheesy mouth-watering delicacy - this place is totally for you! :)

Before I start, I highly recommend that you stock up with some ready-made tortilla chips. This saves an hour off your time!

 Fresh tomato salsa:

 What you need (serves one person):
- 2 medium sized tomatoes
- 1 tiny onion
- salt to taste
- Habanero chili - a tiny piece (or any other type of chili that you prefer)
- Lime
- Lots of grated cheese

Method:
- Peel the Tomatoes and onions and chop into tiny pieces
- Add some lime juice and salt to taste
- Put the above mixture in a container, shake the container a bit and refrigerate for around 10 mins to let the flavours combine.

When ready to eat, layer the tortilla chips with the salsa and cheese and bake in oven till the cheese melts. You can even microwave it for about a minute.

Your quick, delicious Nachos is ready to be devoured!

*A handy tip (thanks to my sweet mom)*
To peel tomatoes effortlessly, make two slits on two sides of the tomato and place it in a bowl or pan filled with hot water. 5 minutes later, the skin should come off really easily when peeled!

Hope you liked this recipe. It may not look as attractive as the conventional Nachos, but trust me, Nooreen's Nachos taste awesome! XD

Feel free to leave comments/suggestions and share your recipes with me.

Much love,
Nooreen

Rambles: Blog Intro

Hi all! This is Nooreen welcoming you all to her new blog with huge hugs and kisses!

Why don't you let me take that coat from you while you get comfortable on my page. You are probably going to be here for a long time :)

To those of you who know me, pardon me for the brief period of boredom am going to impose on you as I introduce myself to the other readers.

In terms of profession, I am an Advertising university graduate working as a Graphic Designer. I love design and copywriting. You can check out my blog www.designaholism.blogspot.com  and my Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/designaholism for design related tutorials if design interests you too.

In my personal life, I am a deep thinker who spends a lot of time speculating on different issues. I enjoy being around my friends, going to the gym, learning beauty tips, cooking and so on. Now before you jump into the conclusion that I am a total girlie girl, my next statement will stop you dead in your tracks! I have a secret dream to build six-pack abs (not a secret anymore), I hate wearing skirts and I feel extremely uncomfortable hugging people (virtual hugs are OK as seen performing above).
So you see, I am one weird soul, and you want to know what else? I love being this way :)

Okay, now without further ado, let me tell you about this blog.
I am going to post all my above mentioned interests here. I will share beauty tips, interesting stories, recipes of food that I cook, pictures and everything else related to my personal life that I find worth sharing.

So I hope you enjoy reading my posts as I will surely enjoy writing them!
Yours,
Nooreen