Ghee Rice

For a richer chicken or meat curry experience, serve it with this rice.

GHEE RICE

1 1/2 cups white rice

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 cardamom pod

1 stick cinnamon

2 cloves

1/4 onion, finely sliced

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 Tbsp ghee

3 cups boiling water

 

In a heavy based oven-proof pot, heat ghee, and fry the onions with the spices until light brown.

Add water to the onions.  Rinse rice and add to pot with salt.

Bring to boil on high heat for 5 minutes – stir the rice to separate the grains.

Reduce heat to low, and cook for further 15 minutes.

Keep a check on the water, add more if needed.

Cover and cook in a moderate oven (180C) for 30 minutes.

White Rice (for Curries)

Pastas are pretty easy to cook, but rice is a bit more tricky.   I confess, when I got married, I didn’t know how to boil rice. I could never figure out how much of water to use, or if the rice was done. Fortunately I learnt how, but it’s because my mum typed out a step-by-step recipe for me. Rice for dummies. 🙂

WHITE RICE

1 1/2 cups white rice

4 tsp coarse salt

1 cardamom pod

1 cinnamon stick

2 cloves

6 cups of water

 

In a deep pot, bring water to boil.  Add salt and spices. Rinse rice thoroughly, and add to water.

Cook for 10-15 minutes till rice is done. You’ll know the rice is cooked, if when you break a kernel and there is no hard centre.

Drain and rinse with cold water.  Return to pot and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of water. Place in a moderate oven for 30 minutes.

 

Durban-style Prawn Curry

A South African Curry is very different from its Asian counterparts.  And an east coast Durban curry, is different from a west coast Cape Malay style curry.  Durban curries are generally more hotter, possibly, because they have evolved from migrant Indian labourers, and we also have the L.M. Mozambique Peri Peri  influences filtering down the coast.  If you grew up in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and are the kinda foodie that ventures off the beaten track, or went to the beach somewhere up Zululand way, chances are, you’ve stopped in La Mercy and tasted the best prawn curry on the east coast of Africa – from Seabelle Restaurant of course.  Really, I am not exaggerating, this is award winning curry we’re talking about.  So, I am in no way claiming that this curry is of Seabelle’s standard, but it is pretty good.  The trick is to not brown the onion.  Like any pukka durbs curry, it’s best served with plain brown rice, or if you want to get really fancy, a savoury rice.

PRAWN CURRY

1 kg prawns, shelled & deveined

1 large onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

4 Tbsp tomato puree

1 1/2 tsp crushed garlic

1/2 tsp crushed ginger

4 tsp Packo Masala or 2tsp fine chilli powder + 1 tsp rough chilli powder

1/4 tsp tumeric powder

1 whole green chilli

1 sprig of curry leaves

lemon juice

salt to taste

1 Tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

mint to garnish

1 Tbsp ghee

3 Tbsp Oil

freshly ground black pepper

Sprinkle prawns with lemon juice, salt, 1/2 tsp of the garlic and saute in ghee till dry.  Set aside.

On a medium heat, saute onions, curry leaves and green chilli in oil, till the onion is soft and translucent. Do not allow onions to brown.

Add chopped tomatoes, and cook till dry – about 10 minutes. Then add spices and simmer slowly on a low heat for 10 more minutes.

Throw in the prawns, and simmer for 5 minutes, adding 1/4 – 1/2 cup of boiling water if you find the gravy too thick.

Garnish with coriander and mint and season with freshly ground black pepper.  Serve immediately.

Savoury Rice Recipe

Yellow Savoury Rice

This is a savoury rice that works well with seafood curries or peri-peri anything.  The spice I use for flavour is very South African, so if you can’t get hold of it, I have put a note in at the bottom with *substitute ideas.

YELLOW SAVOURY RICE

2 cups rice, white or basmati

1 tsp salt

1 cup frozen mixed veges – corn/peas/carrot mix

1 tsp tumeric powder

1 large onion, cubed

1/2 each green pepper and red pepper, cubed

3 tsp Robertsons Spice for Rice

3 Tsbp ghee or butter

 

Add the rice, salt, mixed veges, tumeric powder to a litre of rapidly boiling water.  Cook till rice is done on a medium heat.  Drain.

In a seperate pan, fry the remaining ingredients, until onions are translucent.  Pour into the rice and stir it through.

Put the rice into an oven-proof pot or casserole, cover and allow to steam for about 30 minutes.

*You can use any spice of your choice for flavouring as an alternative. I like to use a mix of lemon pepper and garlic powder if I don’t have Robertsons Spice for Rice.

Baked Beans Pizza

I remember a time when Pizza wasn’t so common and easily available in the city I grew up in.  Shocking,  hey?  There were very few places, let alone Halaal places,  that served pizzas on their menu, and when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was the most popular TV show on KTV, pizza was THE food to eat.   So my mother, bless her, improvised and concocted her own version of a pizza.  Now my childhood friend Farzana and I had a private joke. Everytime our mums ran out of school lunch ideas, we got a Koo baked beans sandwich – the best that mum could do.   (Honestly, I didn’t mind, not being much of a meat eater myself.)  Anyway, our school was a typical “House of Delegates” aka “Indian” primary school, and a lot of my classmates were Hindu and didn’t eat meat either.  So for our year-end party in Std 2, Grade 4, my mum came up with a vegetarian pizza.  It was the hugest, yummiest, tray pizza topped with baked beans and mushrooms.  It was such a hit, that every year after that, my sister and I had to supply the pizza for our year-end parties.  The base is not real yeast dough, but more a scone-ish type dough, so this is very quick to make.  You could top it with whatever you prefer.

BAKED BEANS PIZZA

Pizza base, recipe below

Pizza sauce, recipe below

Baked Beans, recipe below

1/2 punnet button mushrooms, sliced

1/2  onion, sliced

2 cups grated cheese, mozzarella or cheddar

Dried oregano

Cover base lightly with sauce.  Spread baked beans over, then top with mushrooms, onion and cheese.  Bake at 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes.   Test center to check if it is done.  Cut into squares and serve.

Pizza Sauce

1 can tomato and onion mix, All Gold
1 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp chilli powder
1 green pepper, cubed
1 TB oil

Saute garlic and pepper on medium heat for a few minutes.

Add canned tomato and spices, cook  till dry.

Baked Beans Topping

1/2 onion
1 green chilli – whole
1 small tomato, chopped

1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tin baked beans

salt to taste

1 Tbsp Oil

Saute onion in oil. Add tomato and chill, cook till dry.  Add chilli powder, salt and baked beans and cook for

a few minutes till beans are warmed through.

Pizza Base

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
60 G butter
5 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/4 cup yoghurt
1/2 cup milk

Sift flour and baking powder together.

Rub in butter so that the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Beat the egg, yoghurt and milk together.

Mix with flour to form soft, not sticky dough.

Roll out to fit into large oven tray.

Avocado Apple Chicken Salad

The weather is still rather hot in the Emirates, and so more often than not I prefer something cool for lunch.  This salad is the result of my GO BIG or Go Home mentality.  I’m sure you’ve seen the articles in your favourite magazine.  Superfoods – the things we should be eating daily?  The list varies from time to time, but there are a few staples –  Apples, Avocados, Leafy Greens, Olive Oil, Pumpkin Seeds are on a few lists.  So one day I decided, the best way to get it all at once, is to throw it into a salad.  I have to say I do enjoy eating this salad, it doesn’t really feel like a chore, and my kids enjoy it too.  The semi-sweetness of the apple gives it a great flavour.

Whenever you have left over grilled chicken, you could use that, which is what I usually do.  However, I’ve included  chicken in this recipe.

Avocado Apple Chicken Salad

AVOCADO APPLE CHICKEN SALAD

Chicken

2 medium sized pieces of chicken breasts, skinless and boneless

1 clove of garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp oregano

1 Tbsp Greek Salad Dressing, regular store bought ( I like Ina Paarman’s)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

a pinch of salt

Marinate the chicken with the rest of the ingredients, and grill or pan fry till done. Slice into thin strips.

For the Salad

1 bag of salad leaves or lettuce

2 mediterranean cucumbers

1/2 ripe avocado

1 green apple

1/2 a carrot, finely grated

a handful of pumpkin seeds

For the dressing

1/4 cup of fresh orange juice

1/2 tsp of honey

1 Tbsp mayonaisse

1 tsp olive oil

pinch of salt

freshly ground black pepper

Slice cucumbers, cut avocado into cubes.  Thinly slice the apple.  Place leaves in a serving plate, top with cucumbers, and then apple slices, sliced chicken. Toss avocado cubes in. Garnish with the finely shredded carrot, and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.  To make the dressing, whisk all ingredients together. Pour dressing over when you are ready to serve.

A quick note, personally I prefer the rough-skinned Hass avocados to Fuertes, I find they taste more buttery and yummy.  If you live in South Africa, and don’t feel like making the dressing, Ina Paarman’s French Salad dressing works just as well with this salad.  If you live in the Emirates, you can probably pick it up at Spinney’s.

Cheesy Corn Poppers

One of my favorite cities to visit is Mumbai – there’s such a lot to eat! For the chilli and spice loving foodie, Mumbai is possibly Nirvana, if you’re adventurous enough that is.  While I thoroughly recommend high tea at the Sea Lounge, Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, I also recommend the awesomest potato & cheese sandwich you’ll ever eat,  at the street cart  across the road from the famous Leopold Cafe in Colaba Causeway. Wash it down with a pomegranate juice, heavenly!   One of my favourite snacks is from a must-stop Cream Center on Linking Road. I’m not sure if they actually have a sign, but the pink,green and orange “Gelato Italiano” sign is hard to miss.  Almost everything on the menu is great – especially the sizzling brownie! But my most favourite item on their menu is Corn Balls. Yes it’s an odd name, you can stop laughing now. After much deliberation, cogitation and rumination (MasterChef) my cousins and I decided to rename it Cheesy Corn Poppers. So here’s the recipe. It does require a bit of effort, but totally worth it. You might want to go easy on the chilli if you are serving this to kids.

Cheesy Awesome Goodness

CHEESY CORN POPPERS

2 cups  frozen sweet corn, boiled
2 medium sized potatoes, boiled & mashed
1/2 block of cheddar cheese, cut in small cubes
4T cornflour
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
5-6 green chillis
3T chopped coriander
1T lemon juice
1tsp sugar
Salt to taste
1/2 cup cold milk
Bread crumbs

In a blending machine, grind chillis, coriander and lemon juice to make a paste. Add corn and grind again, so you have coarsely ground corn. Mix with everything but milk & bread crumbs. Roll into small balls – like a kebab. Chill for 10 minutes. Dip in milk, roll in bread crumbs. Chill some more. Take out of fridge 5 mins before frying. Fry on medium heat till golden brown.  Serve immediately. Really, because the cheese shouldn’t be cold.

And that’s wot2cook for now. I’ll balance it out with a healthy chicken salad later.

Yay me!

I finally got around to getting a blog. It’s probably because I’ve been deprived of the interwebs for a couple of weeks, detrimental to an info-junkie like me. Since I love good food, but don’t have much prep time, I figured I’d blog about easy recipes.  So, this is a blog, primarily for busy mums and other foodies, who hate thinking about “what to cook?” everyday. Hope I can provide some inspiration, but since it’s 2 am, and I don’t have to think about what to cook for another 5 hours – watch this space!