Simple Orange Marmalade With Just 3 Ingredients!

Making your own jam is not as difficult as you think. Once you get the hang of it, gone will be the days you buy the store bought one. You will find yourself looking at what other fruit in the market you can use to make jams. It's addictive! 

This recipe is as simple as it gets! Just 3 ingredients and voila you have a jam.. No need to buy pectin or whatever other more complicated ingredients are out there in other recipes. This is just the fruit and sugar with a bit of spice. 

So here goes!

Simple 3 Ingredient Orange Marmalade

Ingredients:

3 oranges

1 1/2 cup of fine sugar (not caster)

1 star anise  (if you prefer you can use a cinnamon stick instead)

Method:

Cut the oranges in half and remove the juice. I used a simple squeeze and press juicer for this.

Put the juice in a small non stick cassserole along with 1 star anise and the 1 1/2 cups of sugar.

Now with the balance orange halves, cut them into quarters then with a sharp knife slice off the white pith on the inside of the orange (that makes the marmalade bitter if you keep it). Imagine you were filleting a fish. It's the same technique.

Now that you are left with just the quarters (without any pith on the inside), cut it into strips of your desired thickness. We like ours fairly thick. Die hard marmalade fans (like my husband) seem to like their jam more on the bitter side and somehow cutting the rind in thicker pieces also helps achieve that.

Do this for all 3 oranges. Add the zest to the casserole with the juice, sugar and star anise. Bring it to a low simmer. 

If you find any froth coming to the surface, remove with a spoon and discard. Keeping the froth will cloud your marmalade (i.e. it wont be very clear in appearance)

Do this till it reaches a one drop consistency.  To check, take your spoon and drizzle a drop on a cold saucer. If it sets and a thin film forms on the surface then stop the cooking process (this you can only master with experience).

As soon as its ready, switch off the heat and pour it into glass air tight jars (that have been washed and dried thoroughly before).  Close the lid while hot. This helps to create a vaccum in the jar, that will preserve it for a very long time, if  you don't plan to use it immediately. 

Only once cooled outside completely, then store in the fridge.

Tip: Do not cook the jam till it is the store bought consistency. The jam should be a fairly thin consistency, as it will thicken once its cold in the fridge. If you cook it to the "store bought" consistency in the pan itself, it will harden like a rock once in the fridge. 

Simple Orange Marmalade

Tip: Don't fret though, if you find that once its bottled, that it's set way too much and has gotten too hard, put it back on the heat, and add a couple of tablespoons of water to thin it down. Once reheated, bottle it again.

Tip: another tip is to never mix the spoon/knife going into the jam jar with something else. Keep the butter one separate or any other such condiment. Cross contamination can cause your jam to spoil. 

Homemade Strawberry Jam

It's much easier to make jam than you think. The hardest part of this recipe, is using your gut instinct to decide when to stop cooking the jam. I have never sterilized jam jars before using them. I usually save old store bought jam bottles, give them a good wash with soap water, remove any labels (by soaking them in soap water overnight) and dry them well. When making the jam, I just make sure I use clean spoons and utensils. My jam will last for a really long time in the fridge without getting spoilt. When using the jam, I usually use a separate knife or spoon and not the butter knife, again to avoid contamination.

Simple Homemade Strawberry Jam

Ingredients:
2 packets of strawberries
1/2 lemon with the zest removed
1/4 cup sugar for soaking the strawberries
1 1/2 cup of sugar

Method:
Remove the green leafy part of the strawberry and slice in quarters. Soak the strawberries in 1/4 cup of sugar for about an hour. This will help release some of their natural juices.

In a stainless steel casserole, put the sugar, lemon zest and the other 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Cook the mixture on low till the sugar dissolves. Add the strawberries and the juices that were released into the casserole. Cook again on low heat till the mixture boils.

Skim the surface for impurities with a spoon (the foamy bits) while boiling the jam. Discard. By doing this step, you will have a clear jam.

Increase the heat, keeping an eye on it at all times. Once it has started boiling and has reduced in quantity, take a saucer and do a drop test.

To do a drop test, take a small spoon and drop a little onto the saucer. Wait for it to cool, and check if the jam is runny or stays where it is. Push the jam with your finger, if it wrinkles its ready. If not, give it another 5 minutes and do another drop test. Overdoing the boiling, will result in your jam crystallizing in the fridge, so the texture should not be too thin, but at the same time not too jelly like.

Keep in mind, it will set further once the mixture cools down. Once the jam is ready, switch off the heat, and transfer immediately while hot to the jam jars. Leave to cool completely before you store it in the fridge.

TIP: if you do overboil your jam (and realize its too hard once its cooled off), add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water to a pan along with the overcooked jam. Put the heat on, and as soon as the jam dissolves, put the heat off and transfer to the jam jar. It will still come out perfect!

Corned Beef Hash

Not everyone likes the taste of corned beef. It is an acquired taste, I have to say.. but it's a lovely accompaniment to any breakfast meal. I've used a store bought corned beef tin for this dish. You could also serve this dish with some crostini (hard crusted bread slices) as an appetizer or fill this mixture in canapés or even use it as a filling for a good lunch sandwich. It is extremely simple to make, and the only effort really required here is to boil the potatoes.

Corned Beef Hash

Ingredients:
1 corned beef tin
2 onions chopped fine
1/4 tsp pepper powder
1/2 cup of milk
1 large boiled potato diced into cubes
freshly cut parsley for garnishing

Method:
I boiled my potato in a pressure cooker. For that, immerse the potato in water, till almost all of the potato is covered with the water, keeping in mind that the water ( or any liquid) should never be more than 3/4 of the height of the pressure cooker. Cover and place it on the fire on full heat. Once it whistles lower and time for 10 - 12 mins, depending on the size of the potato. If you have very small ones, then 8 mins would suffice.

Once the timer is finished, take the cooker off the heat. Pressure cookers are dangerous and need to be handled with care so this is what I usually do when I need to open it; to release the steam you need to lift off the counterweight gradually and bleed off the steam, I usually do this by levering the weight with a fork and adjusting it to let out the steam gently or just run the sides of the cooker under water until it has suffficiently cooled down to reduce the pressure in the cooker.

Do NOT attempt to open the cooker without letting off the steam as this could result in some serious steam burns.

Remove the potato immediately, peel and dice into cubes.

In a casserole, heat oil. Fry the onions till nice and golden. Add in the corned beef mixture. Season with pepper powder. Then add in the milk. The milk serves to soften the whole mixture. If you would like it more dry, then omit the milk altogether. Toss in the diced boiled potato. Give it a good stir. Lastly sprinkle over the chopped parsley.

Note: when using parsley, only use the leaves and omit the stem. I prefer flat leaf parsley to the curly one. It also tends to taste and look better, when it is roughly chopped, rather than too finely chopped.

Banana Pancakes

This is a good recipe to make, especially when you have bananas lying at home getting over ripe. You don't need much sugar in this recipe as bananas are naturally sweet. They are an excellent addition to your child's lunch box as well.

Banana pancakes

Ingredients:
4 large bananas
2 tbsps sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
about 1 cup of all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
Milk (around 1/2 cup to 1 cup)
oil or butter for frying

Method:
Mash the bananas in a plate. Add them to a bowl along with the sugar, vanilla essence, baking powder, whole egg and the flour. Add the flour slowly, and mix well with a fork. Add the milk till you achieve the consistency of regular pancake batter. Start with 1/2 cup first and see how thick the batter gets. If you feel the batter is too thick, add in a few tablespoons of milk to make it thinner. The batter should not be watery like a crepe batter. It should be thick enough to scoop with a big spoon. If you feel it is too runny, add in some more flour till you get the desired result. The amount of milk required would vary depending on how ripe your bananas are..

Heat a little oil in a pan. These pancakes benefit from a little more oil than the regular pancakes you make, so add about 2 tbsps of oil for each batch you are frying.  If you would like it to be more calorie full, you could substitute with some butter instead. :-)
Once the oil is warm, scoop out the batter with a ladle onto the pan. If the pancakes are mixing into each other on the pan, that means your batter is too runny. Make sure they are not too thick either, or it won't cook on the inside. If you aren't sure, make a test pancake first, and taste it to see if you are happy with the result.

Banana pancakes

Pancakes should be cooked on a medium heat. You should start to see the batter cook as it touches the pan. Don't be tempted to flip it until you see the edges set and small bubbles appear on top. Flipping it too early will result in your pancakes sticking to your spatula.

Fry in batches till they are golden brown. Drain on a paper towel. Will stay nicely in the fridge for a day or two.

banana pancakes

Akuri (scrambled eggs) Parsi style

This is a dish my father used to make every weekend. He had a lot of Parsi friends and I guess he learnt how to make it from them. Not sure if he put his own take on it but it sure was one of the best I've ever had. I still, to date, make him make some, when I go back home to visit my Parents and love waking up to the aroma of this lovely breakfast dish.

From what I've understood, every family has their own version of it. A lot like it very spicy, but personally for me, I like it with just one green chilly (remove the seeds if you want to reduce the heat further). I like to add a mild chilly sauce or alternatively if I want it less spicy, a bit of ketchup to give it that extra oomph and a lovely finish to the dish.

You can use the same ingredients with the exception of the eggs and milk, to make paneer bhurji with crushed fresh or frozen paneer. I will post this version on a separate page, but the ingredients are basically the same.

Akuri Scrambled Eggs Parsi Style

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 tbsp of milk
1 onion chopped fine
1 green chilly chopped fine
1 red tomato chopped fine
2 cloves garlic chopped fine
1/4 tsp cumin/jeera powder
1/4 tsp coriander/dhania powder
1/4 tsp turmeric/haldi powder
1 tbsp Maggi's hot n sweet chilly sauce or ketchup
Fresh coriander/kotmir leaves for garnish

Method:
Start by beating the eggs in a bowl. Add the milk to the eggs (this helps to keep the eggs nice and soft when cooking). In a frying pan, heat the oil, add the onion and garlic and when translucent add the green chilly and tomato. Next add the spice powders and the chilly sauce or ketchup. Lastly add the eggs. Cook till they are nice and soft. Turn off the heat and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
It goes great with some hot buttered toast and a nice cup of tea.