Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Chocolate Orange Poppy Seed Cake

This is a variation of a very easy orange cake recipe on the ABC website.
Cooking Time
Preparation 20 min
Baking 30 min
Preheat oven at 180°C

Ingredients
125g butter
3/4 cups caster sugar
1 1/2 cups SR flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup poppy seeds
grated zest from one orange
juice from one orange
2 tablespoon cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Recipe
1. Preheat oven at 180°C and soak poppy seeds in milk
2.Beat butter, sugar and flour together
3. Beat in eggs, orange juice, vanilla and milk
4. Separate mixture into two bowls mix in cocoa into one half and orange zest into the other half.
5. Spoon in chocolate and orange mix into greased 19cm square cake tray and gently mix to create a marble effect
6. Bake for about 30-40 min on 180°C.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Honey Soy Salmon (Pan fried)

Honey Soy Salmon
Cooking Time
Prep 10 min
Marinate 15 min
Cooking 5 min

Ingredients (Serves 2)
1 large salmon fillet cut into smaller pieces (I like it with the skin)
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 small red chillis slices
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1/2 tomato diced
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Recipe

  1. Combine ingredients to make honey-soy sauce and marinate salmon pieces in it for 15 min.
  2. Lightly oil frying pan and preheat to medium-high.
  3. Pan fry salmon pieces on it making sure to drain as much of the sauce off before placing it on the frying pan. 
  4. Turn salmon pieces from side to side till they are slightly browned. (Should only take a few minutes)
  5. Once salmon has browned flip it so that the skin is facing the frying pan.
  6. Pour in marinade and let it simmer for a minute.
  7. Serve with rice.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Sri Lankan Lamb Curry

This is a family recipe, which uses a fair few spices to create a very fragrant curry.

Lamb Curry
Cooking Time
Preparation 15 min
Marinating 60 min
Cooking 30 min

Ingredients
500g of diced lamb
1 tablespoon Yogurt
Roasted Jaffna Curry Powder
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 garlic cloves crushed
1 sprig of curry leaves
Ground Cumin Seeds
Cumin Seeds
Mustard Seeds
1 cinnamon log
5 cloves
1/2 onion diced
2 garlic cloves sliced
1 table spoon of sliced ginger
1/2 tomato diced
1 large green chilli sliced
2 tablsepoons evaporated milk
Oil

Recipe
1. Mix yoghurt, 1 teaspoon of Jaffna Roasted Curry Powder, grated ginger, crushed garlic, and sliced curry leaves  too make a paste and marinate lamb for 1 hour with paste.
2. Fry cumin seeds, mustard seeds, cinnamon, cloves, garlic, ginger and green chillis on medium low heat in a wok.
3. Once garlic starts browning add onions and turn heat to high.
4. Once onions start to brown and lamb and cook on high until its is changes color on all sides.
5. Lower heat to medium and add tomatoes, 1 teaspoon currypowder, some curry leaves and mix.
6. Once tomatoes soften lower heat to medium-low.
7. Cover wok with lid and cook meat until tender. Add water as required. (Stir regularly and feel free to add a few curry leaves every now and then)
7. Bring heat to high, add 1/2 teaspoon of roasted curry powder or 1/3 teaspoon ground cumin and add evaporated milk.
8. Once curry comes to the boil remove from the heat.
9. Garnish with curry leaves
10. Serve with rice or roti bread.

Notes
1. Roasted Jaffna Curry Powder can be bought in certain spice shops. This a recipe to try make it yourself. Alternatively, you can  use other curry powders but the taste will differ depending on what you use.
2. Vary the spices to create your own personal recipe.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Simple Sambar

Sambar is a simple dah/lentil based stew with lots of vegetables. Add any vegetable you like the more the better. Ideally one should use tuvar dahl, but this takes a long time to boil so red lentils are a tasty and convenient alternative.

Sambar - didn't have any red capsicum at the time
Time
Preparation - 15min
Cooking - 20 min


Ingredients (Serves 4)
Mustard seeds
Cumin Seeds
2 teaspoons of sliced ginger
2 dried red chillis
1 table spoon tamarind
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 Cup red lentils (Washed)
1 green chilli sliced
2 cups of diced pumpkin
2 cups of diced egg plant
1/2 Onion diced
1 Tomato diced
1 Cup beans
1 Carrot diced
2 Cups of broccoli pieces
1/4 Red capsicum diced
1 sliced celery stick
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
3 cloves of garlic crushed
Milk
salt and pepper to taste

Recipe
1. Mix tamarind in 1 cup of boiling water
2. Fry ginger, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and dried red chilli  in a large saucepan on med heat until cumin seeds brown.
3. Add Tomato and celery and fry for a minute.
4. Add lentils and tamarind water (Filter out tamarind bits using strainer).
5. Add turmeric
6. Bring to boil and then add egg plant, pumpkin and beans.
7. Once pumpkin is soft add broccoli, carrot and capsicum.
8. Once brocolli is cooked bring heat to high.
9. Add ground cumin, coriander and crushed garlic.
10. Bring to boil and add a bit of milk.
11. Take of the heat and add salt/pepper to taste.

Notes
1. Add water as required during the recipe.
2. You can pick and choose what ever vegetables you like. For a quick meal you can use frozen vegetables.


Sambar variation - Frozen veggies, broccoli and capsicum.
Garnished with some curry leaves




Sunday, October 16, 2011

Kothu Roti

Chicken Kothu Roti
Kothu Roti is Sri Lankan stir fry of meat curry, veggies and roti bread. It's simple but delicious. You can buy some roti or parotha bread if  your in a hurry. But making roti is fun so if you have spare time then its the way to go!(See this recipe if you want to make it yourself)

Cooking Time
Roti - 40 min (+ 2-3 hours standing time)
Meat Curry - 20 min
Kothu Roti - 30 min


Ingredients (Serves 4)
6 Roti's chopped up roughly (See this recipe)
2-3 Cups Meat Curry (I will put links up to a chicken/lamb curry eventually, or you can skip it for a vegetarian meal)
1 onion diced
1/2 tomato diced
1  carrot julienned or grated
1 cup cabbage roughly cut
1 large green chilli sliced
2 eggs
Curry Leaves
1 tablespoon oil
Chilli powder to taste (This is a great dish to make as spicy as you want)
Mustard seeds
Cumin seeds


Recipe
1. Fry Mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and chilli in a wok on low-med heat.
2. Once mustard seeds start popping, turn heat up to medium-high and add onions.  Mix in chilli powder to taste at this stage
3. Once onions soften, add tomatoes and cook until they soften.
4. Add carrot and cabbage and stir fry for 2 min
5. Lower heat to medium and add eggs.
6. When eggs are half cooked, stir in chopped roti.
7. Add meat curry and stir it through.
8. Garnish with some torn up curry leaves.

Notes
1. You can freeze left overs in a takeaway box, and just microwave it for a quick meal.
2. You can serve it with some extra meat curry gravy.