Pilau Rice Thursday, Aug 14 2008 

Rice Dishes , , lindafamilyblog 8:33 pm

Ingredient:

Plain rice (1 cup)
Onion (medium sized)
Garlic cloves (~ 1 tbsp)
Cumin seeds (~ 1 tsp)
Cumin powder (~ 1 tsp)
Cinanmon powder (~ 2 tsp)
Cardamon powder (~ 1 tsp)
Black pepper
Salt to taste

Method:
1) Chop up the onion and fry in a pan with olive oil until soft. Add the cumin seeds and stir. Next add in the rest of the spices.
2) Pour in the rice and stir to make sure the rice is coated with the spices.
3) Pour in 1 and 1/2 cups of water and cover the pan. Cook using a high heat then reduce the heat once you see that half the water is evapourated.

Extra:
This spicy rice is nice to serve with grilled meat and salad.

 

Salmon in the oven Thursday, Aug 14 2008 

Seafood Dishes , lindafamilyblog 8:14 pm

Ingredients:

Salmon fillets (defrosted)
Fresh spinach
Garlic cloves (crushed)
Ginger (crushed)
Olive oil (~2 tbsp)
Asparagus
Baby sweetcorn
Lemon
New potatoes
Italian herbs (~ 1 tbsp)
Black Pepper
Plain yogurt (~ 4 tbsp)
Mint (~ 1 tbsp)
Salt to taste

Method:
1) Lay the spinach leaves first in the petri dish then on one side of the dish place the salmon fillets and on the other side place the asparagus and baby sweetcorn.
2) Pour the olive oil in a small bowl then add the garlic and ginger and mix well. Drizzle this over the salmon and vegtables.
3) Sprinkle the Italian herbs, black pepper and squeeze the lemon over the salmon and vegtables. Also add a little water about 2 tablespoons.
4) Cover the petri dish and place in oven to cook slowly in medium heat.
5) While the salmon is cooking boil the new potatoes until cooked.
6) Mix the yogourt and mint and serve with dish as a dip.

Extra comments:
My sister gave me this recipe as something quick and easy to cook after a long day at work. Its basically just throwing salmon and veg in dish and cooking it in a oven. You can use any type of vegtables you like for this dish. Make sure to use plenty of spinach leaves as it only looks alot to begin with.

 

A cheats pizza Wednesday, Aug 13 2008 

Meat Dishes , lindafamilyblog 7:39 pm

Ingredients:

Mince beef (small packet)
Onion (small, diced/grated)
Garlic cloves (~ 3 cloves)
Bolognese sauce
Black pepper
Cumin powder (2 tsp)
Chilli powder
Italian dried herbs (2 tsp)
Fresh basil (optional)
Red onion (1/2, chopped)
Green Pepper (1/2, chopped)
Button mushrooms (~ 5, chopped)
Cheddar and Mozzarella cheese (grated)
salt to taste
olive oil
Ready made dough

Method:
1) Fry the onion in olive oil till soft then add the mince meat and garlic. Fry till meat is visibly cooked.
2) Next add the fresh basil, black pepper, cumin, chilli powder, Italian dried herbs, and bolognese sauce. Leave to simmer.
3) Spread the meat sauce over the dough. Add the chopped pepper, mushrooms and red onion.
4) Sprinkle with the grated cheese and place in oven for about 20 minutes.

Extra comments:
This is a real lazy way to make pizza but still tastes good. I normally make the dough as I have a bread maker but I see no harm in buying it ready made. I use Dolmio original bolognese sauce. Also remember that you are making a pizza so don’t carried away with the topping (like I did and it ended up being a lasagne).

 

Tiger prawns with ginger and coriander Wednesday, Aug 13 2008 

Seafood Dishes lindafamilyblog 3:38 pm

Ingredients:

Tiger prawns (cooked)
Butter (~ 60g)
Garlic cloves
Ginger (grated)
Fresh green chillies (finely chopped)
Milk (~ 4tbsp)
Fresh coriander (chopped)
Ground black pepper

Method:
1) Melt the butter in frying pan and add garlic, ginger and chilli.
2) Add milk and stir quickly to make a creamy consistency.
3) Add prawns, black pepper and coriander. Stir until heated through.

Extra comments:
This is a recipe I got from a magazine and have not treid it out yet. Did not copy the recipe exactly as they always tend to over complicate matters. When I try it will let you know if they are missing something out. They say to serve the prawns with crusty bread and side salad. I would serve this with a lemon wedge and the sauce as a dip.

 

Mums Nando Chicken Wednesday, Aug 13 2008 

Chicken Dishes , , lindafamilyblog 3:00 pm

Ingredients:

1/4 Chicken per person
Garlic cloves
Ginger
Lemon Juice (~ 2 tbsp)
Nando Hot peri-peri sauce
Black pepper
Salt to taste

Method:
1) Blend the garlic, ginger and lemon juice.
2) Pierce the chicken with a fork and add the blended ingredients and the rest of the ingredients listed above and leave for few hours or overnight if possible.
2) Grill the chicken until properly cooked.

Extra comments:
Pierce the chicken so that it soaks up all the juicy flavours. I recommend using the very hot Nandos chilli sauce. Serve this with chips,salad and colesaw.

 

My lamb Stir fry Wednesday, Aug 13 2008 

Meat Dishes , , lindafamilyblog 2:43 pm

Ingredients:

Lamb strips
Garlic cloves
Ginger
Chilli sauce/chilli powder
Chinese 5 spice (~ 2 tsp)
Sesame oil
Onion
Green pepper
Red pepper
Yellow pepper
Black bean sauce

Method:
1) Marinade the lamb strips in garlic, ginger, chinese 5 spice and chilli sauce and leave for an hour or if possible overnight.
2) Fry the lamb in sesame oil until cooked.
3) Add the onion and peppers and stir fry.
4) Add the black bean sauce and stir.

Extra comments:
I recommend using Nando Hot peri-peri sauce for the marinade as seems to add a little more flavour to stir fry/sauces. I also recommend Sharwood Black bean sauce. This can be served with plain rice or medium sized egg noodles.

 

Lamb Curry Wednesday, Aug 13 2008 

Meat Dishes , , , lindafamilyblog 2:20 pm

Ingredients:

Lamb (diced)
Onion (diced)
Garlic cloves
Curry paste (~2 tbsp)
Chilli powder (2 tsp)
Tinned Tomatoes (chopped)
Tomato puree (~ 1 tbsp)
Fresh Coriander
Black Pepper
Salt to taste

Method:

1) Fry onions, garlic and lamb in vegtable oil.
2) When the lamb has browned add the curry paste and chilli powder and stir.
3) Next add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and a few tablespoons of water.
4) Seaon with salt and pepper, fresh coriander and leave to simmer.

Extra comments:
I recommend using the ‘Patak Madras’ curry paste. You could also give this dish a little twist by adding a little bit of coconut milk at step 3 of this recipe.

 

Zanzibari Chicken Stew Wednesday, Aug 13 2008 

Chicken Dishes , , , , lindafamilyblog 12:54 pm

Ingredients:

Chicken legs
Onion (grated)
Garlic cloves (crushed)
Ginger (crushed)
Lemon Juice (~ 2 tbsp)
Tumeric (~1 tbsp)
Cinammon (~ 1 tbsp)
Potatoes (2 chopped into four pieces)
Tomatoe puree (~ 1 tbsp)

Method:
1) In a pot put the chicken legs, onion, garlic, ginger, lemon, salt, pepper, spices and abit of water and bring to the boil.
2) Next add potatoes and tomato puree. Cover pot and leave to cook slowly.

Extra comments:
This is very simple chicken stew to cook and a family favourite. The sauce should have a smooth consistency which is why you need to grate the onion and crush the garlic and ginger. The amount of water you add depends on how thick you want the stew to be. Serve this with plain rice.