Black Pepper Prawns

This is loosely based on recipe by Peter Kuruvita. Its reasonably spicy.

However, I can't remember what I did. 

Vegetarian Savoury Pancakes

This is something I've always been wanting to try. Its fairly simple and I've loosely based it on a vegan recipe, which I have fortunately/unfortunately deveganified.

Vegetarian Pancakes served with veggies and yoghurt

Ingredients (Serves 2)
Pancake Batter
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons Greek style yoghurt
2/3 cups self raising flour
1 teaspoon turmeric
salt to taste (1/4 teaspoon)

Vegetable mix (use whatever you have/fancy)
1 carrot grated
1 tomato diced
1/2 onion diced
1/4 capsicum sliced
1 large Portabella mushroom diced
1 chilli sliced
Oil for frying


Recipe

1. Whisk eggs, milk and yoghurt together. 
2. Whisk in sifted flour, turmeric and salt.
3. Fry onions and mushrooms together.
4. Mix together all the vegetable.
5. Heat frying pan on medium heat and oil it.
6. Spread vegetables on the pan to the desired shape of the pancakes
7. Pour batter to cover vegetables completely
8. Let it cook until the top is almost cooked and it is firm enough to flip.
9. Flip the pancake and cook for 1 minute
10. Repeat
11. Repeat

Marshmallows

Marshmallows for Australia day

Making marshmallows was easier than I had expected. I used a slight variation of this recipe. It's a fairly easy recipe but these are my tips.

Ingredients
1.5 Cups Caster Sugar
20g Gelatine (2 table spoons)
Vanilla Essence
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup icing sugar
Food colouring

Recipe
1. Mix gelatine in 2/3 cup cold water and let it sit for at least 10 minutes
2. Add sugar and 2/3 cups water to sauce pan and heat on medium heat.
3. Keep stirring sugar until the syrup forms a firm ball. Alternatively heat it until it reach 250°F on a candy thermometer. (See this for more info)
4. Take sugar syrup off heat and combine with gelatine mixture.
5. Beat sugar/gelatine mixture using a beater for about 10 minutes until it is quite thick.
6. Beat in vanilla essence
7. Separate marshmallow mixture into two bowls and add desired colouring
8. Line a large tray with baking paper and dust paper generously with icing sugar.
9. Pour marshmallow mix onto tray
10. Let it set overnight
11. Colour coconut with desired colour
12. Toast coconut on a frying pan for a few minutes until it starts to brown.
13. Combine coconut with icing sugar
14. Slice up marshmallow into pieces and coat with the coconut mixture.

My first attempt (or perhaps it was my 2nd)

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.

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.

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.

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