This is a firm family favourite. Since
it is so nutrient dense, about 4 to 5 heaped tablespoons with yoghurt is
satisfying. Easy to prepare and yields well making it cost efficient.
Ingredients
6 cups rolled oats
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup natural almonds roughly
chopped in half
1 cup cashew nut pieces
½ cup flax seed powder
¼ cup chia seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
½ cup sesame seeds
½ cup pumpkin kernels
½ cup honey
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
powder
1 cup chopped dates
½ cup sliced figs
1 cup sultanas
Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees
Celsius. In a large bowl, combine the oats, desiccated coconut, all the nuts
and seeds. Mix well. In a small saucepan set over a low heat, add honey, oil
and cinnamon powder and stir until all melted together – make sure you don’t
boil. Pour over the grains and nut mix. Mix well, making sure everything is
evenly coated.
Put in two large baking dishes
and place them both in the oven. You will need to check every five minutes and
turn the muesli over so the mixture is evenly toasted and golden brown.
Remove from oven, and add the
dried fruit while still hot. Mix well and leave to cool before storing in air
tight containers. Serve with yoghurt and seasonal fruit.
This is a very simple and satisfying dish (sometimes called tarka dhal or tadka dhal) you see on the menu in Indian restaurants and households. There are any number of variations – normally this is made with Toor Dhal (obtained from specialist Indian stores and you would cook this in a pressure cooker as stove top method takes too long) but I have done a simple one with all the flavours using red lentils.
Ingredients
1 cup red lentils washed
1 thumb size fresh ginger piece
chopped fine
1 large onion finely chopped
1 fresh red chilli finely chopped
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons ghee
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Salt to taste
½ fresh lemon
1 tablespoon coriander leaves
finely chopped
Method
Place the lentils in a large
saucepan and add two and a half cups water. Add the onion, ginger, chilli and
turmeric powder. Stir to combine contents of the pot and bring it to a boil.
Once the water is bubbling, reduce heat and let the lentils simmer for 15
minutes stirring a couple of times so the lentils do not stick to the bottom. Once
cooked stir in the salt, lemon juice and coriander leaves and set aside. Heat
the ghee in a small fry pan. When hot add the cumin seeds, fry until they
splutter or the seeds have opened up and the flavour is evident. While hot pour
on top and serve immediately with pulao. Serves 4.
PULAO
Dhal fry and pulao
Ingredients
2 cups Basmati rice rinsed in a
sieve and drained
1 large carrot cut into a small 1
centimetre dice
1 large onion sliced very thinly
1 cup frozen peas
½ thumb size piece of fresh
ginger finely chopped
4 plump garlic cloves finely
chopped
1 x 5 cm cinnamon stick cut in
half
5 cloves
5 cardamom
4 tablespoons ghee
Salt to taste
Method
Take a wide saucepan with a lid
preferably one with a non-stick surface. Heat ghee and add the whole spices. Fry
for a minute until all the spices have opened up and the smell is evident. Then
fry the onions for three minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and continue to fry for
a further minute. Add the rice, carrots and fry for a couple of minutes. Add
salt and three and three quarters cups of cold water from the tap. Increase
heat and let the contents of the pan come up to the boil. Reduce heat to the
lowest setting and cook for 12 minutes. Stir in the frozen peas and continue
cooking for a further 4- 5 minutes. The key to cooking beautiful rice on stove
top is to get the best quality Basmati rice you can afford and also do not stir
more than once in the middle of cooking. Allow the rice to rest for ten minutes
before serving hot with the Dhal or raita.
Radish / Onion Salad
5 small pink table radishes
sliced thinly
2 medium red onions sliced thinly
Salt to taste
Pinch of sugar
½ teaspoon Ajwain seeds (Indian
store)
Juice of one lemon
Method
Using your hands, mix the radishes,
onions, salt, sugar and ajwain seeds. Squeeze in the lemon juice and allow to
pickle for at least half an hour. Serve as part of an Indian meal.
ANDHRA STYLE LEMON PICKLE
10 large, juicy lemons (Meyer)
Juice from 4 lemons
10 tablespoons salt
9 tablespoons chilli powder (I
use a combination of very hot and mild Kashmiri chilli powder)
1 heaped dessertspoon full of
fenugreek seeds (roasted until brown and ground to a fine powder)
10 cloves plump garlic (optional)
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
4 tablespoons vegetable oil like
canola
Method
Cut the 10 lemons into eighths or
if smallish into quarters. Take a large jar and place lemons in jar. Add all
the salt and shake the jar so the salt is mixed in. Set the jar aside for 24
hours. Squeeze out all the pieces (retain the juice that has collected) and you
can dry the pieces in the sun or I prefer to dehydrate them in the oven at 50
degrees Celsius for about 16 hours or so. Heat the oil and add the mustard seeds – fry until
the seeds are sputtering. Then add the garlic and fry for about 30 seconds. In
another large mixing bowl, using a wooden spoon mix the chilli powder and roasted
fenugreek powder and add the oil mixture. Add the dried lemon pieces and also
the reserved juice (the one from soaking). Mix well and put all the pickle back
into the jar. Allow to rest in a cupboard for a couple of days. Then give it a
good mix and squeeze in juice from the four lemons. Will keep for a few months
in the back of your cupboard. Serve as accompaniment to an Indian meal.
1 large ripe avocado (you know it’s
ripe when the stalk falls off easily)
1 red chilli finely chopped (optional)
1 small garlic (optional)
1 small tomato finely chopped
1 small shallot finely chopped
Few sprigs of coriander leaves
chopped
½ a large lime
½ teaspoon hot sauce
Salt to taste
Method
Cut the avocado in half and scoop
out the flesh into a bowl. Using a fork, mash it so there are a few small
chunks here and there. Add the remaining ingredients and give it a mix. Serve
as a dip or relish for burgers or potato wedges.
Peel and slice the onions as
thinly as you can. Sprinkle and mix the salt and sugar. Place in a jar and pour
in the apple cider vinegar and water. Mix or shake jar and allow to rest
fifteen minutes before serving. Will keep in refrigerator for up to a week. Use
for burgers or in tacos as a topping.
750 grams potatoes washed (Agria
or Red Desiree potatoes)
4 teaspoons vegetable oil like
canola
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon chilli powder or
ground cayenne
½ teaspoon hot chilli flakes
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon mild paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat your oven to 220 degrees
Celsius.
Dry the washed potatoes
thoroughly. No need to peel. Cut to make about 8 wedges from each potato (depends
on how thick your potatoes are). Place the wedges in a large mixing bowl. Mix all
the spice powders in a separate small bowl and sprinkle on the wedges tossing
them as you go along. Then drizzle the oil and toss to ensure all wedges have a
bit of the spice mixture and the oil. Lay them out on a large shallow baking
tray. Place on top shelf for 40 minutes turning them once or twice during
cooking. Serve hot.
This is a very colourful and scrumptious salad that can be served on its own, or as a side dish to quesadillas or tacos. Poached chicken is optional.
For the Salad:
¼ small red cabbage
¼ small green cabbage
1 large carrot
3 or 4 pink table radishes
2 sticks celery, peeled and
sliced
3 or 4 spring onions sliced
Handful of parsley roughly
chopped
Handful of mint leaves sliced
½ cup sunflower seeds toasted
(optional)
For the dressing:
4 tablespoons tahini
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons liquid honey
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground pepper
For poached chicken (you will
need an instant read thermometer)
400 grams chicken breasts
2 -3 pods of garlic
1 teaspoon pepper corns
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 sprig of coriander or parsley
stalk
If using poached chicken, prepare
this first so chicken has time to cool. Place chicken in a deep sauce pan. Add
enough cold water so the chicken is at least submerged 5 centimetres deep. Add
the remaining ingredients. Put the sauce pan on gentle heat and check
temperature has reached to 65 degrees Celsius at the thickest part of the
breast. This normally should take about 10 -12 minutes depending on the size of
pan and amount of water. Once the desired temperature has reached, remove
chicken breasts and let cool completely on a plate before slicing on a diagonal.
Prepare the salad by finely
slicing the cabbages and julienning the carrot and radish. I normally use a
mandolin for this. Mix all the prepared salad vegetables and set aside in a
large bowl as it yields about 12 cups or so. You can add the parsley and mint
after dressing the salad.
For the dressing, mix all the
dressing ingredients until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning to your
preference. Set aside.
Mix the dressing a little at a
time with the salad vegetables and chicken if using (I normally take out enough
for one time use and store the remaining vegetables in the refrigerator). Once
the dressing is mixed in, I stir in the herbs and garnish with the toasted
sunflower seeds on top.
1 x 400 grams tin of chick peas
drained and rinsed
1 red onion sliced
½ head cauliflower washed and cut
into florets
Juice of one lime
Curry Paste
4 tablespoons peanut butter
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 red chilli finely chopped
To Serve:
3 tablespoons coriander leaves
35 grams toasted peanuts and
sesame seeds
1 lemon cut into wedges
Silverbeet Rice:
4 silverbeet leaves washed and finely
chopped removing the rib
4-5 spring onions finely chopped
2 cups Basmati rice rinsed
30 grams butter or ghee
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 x 5 centimetre cinnamon pieces
Salt to taste
For the curry:
Mix all ingredients for curry
paste and set aside. You can thin by adding a couple of tablespoons of warm
water.
Heat oil in a sauce pan. Fry
pumpkin cubes, then add the lentils. Add a cup of water and after ten minutes,
add sliced onion, chick peas and cauliflower florets. Increase heat, add the curry
paste and coconut milk. Stir to combine and check amount of liquid – add more
if necessary. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and cook for 15 -20 minutes making
sure all vegetables are cooked to your liking. Finish off by adjusting seasoning.
Serve immediately with the toppings or the silverbeet rice.
Silverbeet rice:
Heat half the butter (15 grams)
in a large fry pan with a lid. When the butter is starting to froth, add the
chopped silverbeet. Increase heat, add a half teaspoon salt and fry until the
silverbeet is nicely wilted and partially cooked. Remove and set aside. Heat
the remaining butter in the same pan. When frothing, add the cinnamon stick and
cumin seeds. After frying about 20 seconds, add the rice and continue to fry so
the rice is toasted (maybe about a minute or so). Add half a teaspoon salt and
about three and three quarters cups of cold water. Stir, increase heat and cover
with lid. Let it come up to the boil, reduce heat and cook without stirring for
15 minutes. Mix in the silverbeet, cover and let cook for a further minute.
Once rice has blossomed and is cooked, stir in the spring onion and serve with
the pumpkin and peanut curry.
1 large broccoli washed and
trimmed into florets (the stems are sweet and tasty, just peel lightly)
For the Miso dressing
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon white miso paste
1 small garlic grated
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ cup vegetable oil like canola
Salt and pepper to taste
Put the broccoli florets into a
microwave safe bowl and microwave for 6 minutes or less if you prefer the
pieces crunchy, taking out after three minutes and giving the broccoli pieces a
shuffle. Drain any liquid and set aside to cool.
Prepare the dressing in a large
bowl by mixing the ingredients together. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
When the broccoli is warm to touch, pour in the dressing and mix well. Serve at
room temperature. Serves four.
Put all ingredients in a large
bowl and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Refrigerate for at
least an hour and take out one hour before serving. Great with Cos lettuce or
microwaved broccoli.
