Almond Mint Rice

Almond Mint Rice

The cooking classes featuring Mangalorean Protestant Cooking that I started as a hobby is gaining in popularity and I now have people coming from all over the world to learn from me.  It's very exciting and I love meeting people with similar interests.  It's so nice to talk with those who share your passion and love food as much as you do.  This is one of the recipes I taught Marthijn and Anna from the Netherlands.

The Recipe:

2 cups basmathi rice; 1 large onion sliced fine; 2 inch piece of ginger, minced; a salt to taste; 2 tbsp olive oil; a handful of mint leaves; 3 cloves, 3 cardamoms and a piece of cinnamon;  a few nuts- almonds or cashew nuts for garnish.

Wash the rice in running water 3 times and drain.  Heat oil in a pan and saute onions and ginger for a few minutes. Add the rice and stir fry gently till dry and grains are coated with the oil.  Add salt to taste. Transfer to rice cooker , add mint leaves and cook till done.   Garnish with nuts and serve piping hot with the rest of the menu.

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Two Ingredient Dulce de Leche Yoghurt Pudding

Two Ingredient Dulce de Leche Yoghurt Pudding

A light bulb went off in my mind a couple of days ago while browsing through my blog.  I

wanted to make an easy dessert to die for with limited ingredients.  I had some left over dulce de leche and a lot of yoghurt or curds as we call it.  So made a minute pudding for taste and another when we had guests over for a cooking class.

The Recipe:

50 gms thick yoghurt (curds); 50 gms condensed milk; a few toasted nuts for garnish.

Whisk the curds and dulce de leche together.  Place in a heat proof mixing bowl.  Cover tightly and steam over boiling water in a cooker or steamer for 20 minutes.  Garnish with nuts just before serving hot or chilled.

That's it.  Simple, quick and absolutely to die for.

NB:  Make sure the yoghurt is thick for a gorgeous, melt in the mouth pudding.

To Attend My Cooking Class CLICK HERE:

Rice Wine Chicken

Rice Wine Chicken

A few months ago I realised that I had accumulated extra points over the years thanks to our credit card purchases in different places.  I had no idea that I could exchange the points for a variety of things.  So, I went through the catalogue and was really excited to see that one of the items available was a roaster.  To cut a long story short, I went and got it and this is the first recipe I made using my Roaster Oven and everyone loved it.

The original recipe is from http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/masterchef/recipes/tequila-and-lime-chicken-with-chilli-ginger-garlic-sauce-and-baked-potato

I had this really old bottle of home made rice wine given by a friend and decided to use  whatever ingredients I had in my kitchen.  So here goes...

The Recipe:

1 whole skinless 2 kg chicken- clean, wash and thoroughly drain;  1/2 cup Chinese Rice Wine; zest and juice of 2 lemons; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp crushed Pink Himalayn salt.

Mix ingredients together and marinade the chicken overnight.  Next day, bring it to room temperature, preheat the Roaster Oven for 5 minutes at 200C, place chicken in a shallow pan with marinade in the roaster and roast chicken for 40 minutes or till done.  Follow instructions given in the manual.  Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with ginger- garlic sauce and any flavoured rice.

Ginger Garlic Sauce:

4 red chillies- fresh because we prefer less than spicy food; juice of 1 large lime; 2 cloves of garlic; 1 inch piece ginger; 1 tsp brown sugar; 1/2 tsp salt or more to taste; 4 tsp olive oil.

Grind all ingredients to a smooth paste maintaining a liquid consistency.  Transfer to a glass bowl and keep aside till require.  Refrigerate the left over s and use with any roast meat or fried eggs.

To Attend My Healthy Cooking Class CLICK HERE

Baked Brinjals with Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar

Baked Brinjals with Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar

Although I have been a fan of Nigella for years, I never tried out any of her recipes until I saw her on MasterChef recently.  Brinjals are not a favourite in our family and eaten under protest when confronted with it.  This sounded really good, so since I had some brinjals in my vegetable basket decided to give it a try with the ingredients I had in my kitchen.  The original recipe is from

http://www.chatelaine.com/recipe/vegetarian/nigella-lawsons-baby-eggplant-with-oregano-and-red-onion/

Mine is different and tastes so good.

The Recipe:

500 gms medium sized brinjals- any variety will do; 2 tbsp olive oil; 2-3 fresh Oregano leaves ( I have then growing on my balcony); 1 medium onion, sliced fine- used the Indian Onions that we always use; 4 tbsp pomegranate balsamic vinegar that was a gift and just waiting to be used; salt to taste; 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil; 1 1/2 tbsp cold water; 1 large clove garlic, minced fine; a few fresh oregano leaves for garnish.

Preheat oven to 225 C.  Slice brinjals in half lengthwise, keeping the stalks on. Mix olive oil with fresh oregano in a bowl.  Place the eggplants, cut-side down in a baking pan and drizzle the mixture all over.  Grill in centre of oven 5-7 minutes each side until golden brown.  Mix onion, pomegranate balsamic vinegar and salt in a small bowl. Keep aside for 10 minutes. Gently whisk in extra-virgin olive oil, cold water and garlic. Transfer brinjals to a serving plate. Pour onion dressing over eggplant. Keep aside for 10 - 15 minutes.    Sprinkle with fresh oregano and serve as an appetiser or side dish.  Tastes too good to be true and I can't wait to make it again!

To Attend My Healthy Cooking Class CLICK HERE