Fruit Salad with Custard

Recipe Ingredients:

1/4 cup chopped pear

1/4 cup chopped kiwi

1/4 cup chopped apple

1/4 cup chopped strawberries

1/4 cup chopped rock melon

1/4 cup chopped red papaya

1/4 cup blueberries

1/4 cup raspberries

1/4 cup orange slices

1/4 cup chopped banana

1 cup custard

How to prepare:

In a bowl add chopped pear, kiwi, apples, strawberries, banana, rock melon, red papaya, orange slices, blueberries, raspberries and mix well.  Add  custard and mix well untill well combined, allow to chill at least for 2 hours. Serve chilled.

Eggplant Chutney

Recipe Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup chopped eggplant (small cubes)

1/2 cup coriander leaves

2 strands of tamarind

4 green chillies

2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1/2 tbsp mustard seeds

1/2tbsp split black gram

1/2 tbsp split bengal gram

2 dry red chillies, broke into two pieces

5 curry leaves

5 tbsp oil

salt (according to taste)

How to prepare:

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan over a medium high heat. Add few cumin seeds and green chillies and cook for 3 minutes. Add egg plant and stir for further 2 minutes. Now add tamarind strands and coriander leaves and then stir around. Cover the lid and let it cook untill egg plant is well cooked and pulpy.

Transfer the contents in the saucepan to blender, add garlic and salt and blend into a slushy paste, transfer the egg plant paste into a bowl. Heat remaining oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat, when hot add mustard seeds followed by adding remaining cumin seeds, split black gram, split bengal gram, curry leaves and dry red chillies and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes.

Pour the contents of saucepan over egg plant paste scraping off every bit from the saucepan, mix well untill combined.

Serving Suggestions:

It goes well with hot rice and ghee or with dosa.

Andhra Mutton

Recipe Ingredients:

1 kg lamb

5 tblsp oil

500 ml water

1/2 tblsp cumin seeds

1 tblsp turmeric

2 medium onions,diced

4 cardamom pods

2 tblsp ginger garlic paste

5 small green chillies finely sliced

2 tblsp red chilli powder

2 tblsp garam masala powder

1 tbsp coriander leaves

Salt (According to taste)

How to Prepare:

Heat oil over a medium heat then add onions, chillies, cardamom pods and ginger garlic paste. Cook for approx 8-10min or untill the onions are soft.

Add turmeric, red chilli powder, salt, cumin seeds and cook for a further 5min.

Add lamb pieces and then simmer on a low heat for 25-30 minutes. Add 250ml water, coriander leaves and garam masala powder . Cook untill 85% of water is absorbed by the lamb. Serve hot.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve with rice .

Sago & Coconut Pudding

Recipe Ingredients:

1/2 fresh coconut

225 ml water

850 ml milk

85 gm sugar

25 gm raisins

55 gm sago

seeds from 6-8 cardamom pods

25 gm almond flakes (for garnish)

How to Prepare:

To prepare the coconut milk, remove the flesh from the coconut half-shell and grate it. Place in a food processor or blender, add water and process untill smooth. Strain through a sieve into a jug, pressing down on the coconut with the back of a wooden spoon. Discard the contents of the sieve and reserve the coconut milk.

Bring the 850 ml milk to boil in a large heavy-base vessel and continue to boil untill it has reduced to 600 ml. Reduce the heat, add sugar and stir untill dissolved. Stir in raisins and sago. Simmer gently for 6-8 minutes, or untill sago is cooked.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in coconut milk and cardamom seeds, then pour into individual serving dishes. Sprinkle with the almonds and leave to cool before serving.

Spicy Chicken Tenders with Avocado Dip

Recipe Ingredients:

For Chicken Tenders:

600 gm boneless chicken

1/3 cup plain flour

2 tbsp red chilli powder

oil for shallow fry

1 tbsp salt

For Avocado Dip:

2 ripe avocados

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp chopped coriander

salt (according to taste)

How to Prepare:

Cut each chicken piece diagonally into strips. Sift plain flour and chilli powder onto a plate. Dip chicken into the flour mixture and shake off the excess flour. Heat oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Working in batches (don't overcrowd), cook chicken over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, turning occasionally, or untill golden and crisp. Drain on paper towels to remove excess oil.

To prepare avocado dip, remove the flesh from the avocado, mash avocado flesh with a fork or hand, then mix with lemon juice, salt and coriander. Serve with chicken tenders.

Hearty Chicken Pasta & Cabbage Soup

Recipe Ingredients:

For the Stock:

1.5 kg whole chicken pieces

1/2 brown onion, chop into large chunks

2 carrots, chop into 3 cm pieces

2 baby potatoes, halve

water as required

2 bay leaves

2 inch ginger, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp salt

For the Soup:

1/2 cabbage, thinely sliced

4 carrots, chop into 3mm thick discs

2 celery stalks, chop into 3mm thick slices

200 gm spiral pasta

1/4 cup coriander leaves

1/2 tbsp pepper powder

salt (according to taste)

How to prepare:

Heat oil in a large deep saucepan over a medium heat and sweat the onions, carrots, potatoes, minced ginger & garlic, bay leaves and salt for 5 minutes stirring often. Add the whole chicken to the pan and cover with about 4 liters of water. Bring the liquid to a low simmer and cook gently for 25 minutes or untill the chicken is just cooked through. Skim and discard any fat that raises to on the top of the liquid.

Remove the cooked chicken from the stock to a baking tray and let it cool slightly at room temperature. Strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve and discard the solids. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones, pull apart into bite-size pieces and reserve, discarding the bones.

For the soup, return the same saucepan to a low-medium heat and add oil. Add the carrots and celery and sweat for 3 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a simmer, then pour in the pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Return the chicken to the saucepan and add the cabbage, salt and pepper powder. Continue cooking untill the pasta is al dente and the cabbage has wilted for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Ladle the soup into  bowls and serve.

Carrot Vada

Recipe Ingredients:

1 cup soaked split bengal gram

1 cup grated carrot

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 green chillies

2 inch ginger minced

2 garlic cloves

2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves

2 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves

10 curry leaves, finely chopped

1 tbsp cumin seeds

oil for deep fry

salt (according to taste)

How to Prepare:

Grind half of the split bengal gram (reserve the remaining untill needed), minced ginger, garlic and green chillies to a coarse paste in a blender or food processor. Transfer to a bowl and add reserved split bengal gram, onions, cumin seeds, grated carrot, chopped coriander, chopped mint, chopped curry leaves and salt, mix well untill well combined.

Divide the paste into equal size balls. Working with one ball of paste at a time, Flatten between your palms 4 cm round. Continue with all the other paste balls. Heat oil in pan over a high heat, when hot reduce the heat to low and drop the round paste into oil and fry them untill golden brown in colour. Serve hot.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve with tomato sauce or any kind of chutney.