Sri Lankan Chicken Curry

This recipe is fabulous for introducing children to spice. Reduce the amount of chilli to half a teaspoon and serve it with a generous amount of rice and other palate soothing accompaniments.  If nothing else a cold glass of milk helps.

The children at Piper and Holland's school love it, there are very few nay sayers if ever it is on offer.   

Ingredients

1.5 kg chicken pieces or thigh fillets - chicken chops are good too

3 tablespoons ghee or oil

¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (optional)

10 curry leaves

2 large onions, finely chopped

2 – 2 ½ teaspoons finely chopped garlic

2 teaspoons finely grated ginger

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon chilli powder (optional) more less to adjust how hot

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground fennel

2 teaspoons sweet paprika - not hot

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons brown vinegar

2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped or one can of diced tomatoes

6 Cardamom pods

1 Cinnamon stick

1 stem of fresh lemon grass or 2 strips lemon rind

1 cup coconut cream (optional) – I would only add this if curry was too hot or if I wanted it to be richer than it usually is.

Method

Heat ghee/oil and fry fenugreek and curry leaves until they start to brown. Add onions, garlic and ginger and fry until onions are soft and golden.  Add spices; turmeric, chilli, coriander, cumin, fennel, paprika, salt and vinegar and stir until spices become aromatic.  Add chicken and stir over a medium heat until chicken is thoroughly coated with spices.  Add tomatoes, whole spices and lemon grass and cook, covered over low heat 40 – 50 minutes (less time for thigh fillets). 

Add coconut cream and taste.  If desired add more salt and a squeeze of lemon juice.  Do not cover after adding coconut cream.

Serve with rice and accompaniments. 

Add extra chilli to taste if a hot curry is desired.              Enjoy!

Beef and Pearl Barley Soup

As my Nana says, this soup will stick to your ribs and it falls in my category of good hearty comfort food.  I have also served it as a starter in winter for dinner parties and it always goes down well.  

Ingredients

500g blade bone steak

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 large brown onion

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

2 ripe tomatoes peeled and chopped

6 - 8 cups of good quality liquid beef stock

1 swede, diced

2 medium carrots

2/3 cup pearl barley

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs of continental parsley

3/4 cup of green beans chopped into 1.5cm long pieces

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

Cut beef into 2cm pieces.  Heat a deep saucepan on medium high until hot.  Add one table spoon of oil and half the beef (if using Saladmaster you can eliminate adding the oil).  Cook for approximately four minutes or until brown, remove from the pan and repeat with remaining beef.  

Reduce heat, add remaining oil and onion.  Cook onion for five minutes or until clear.  Add stock, celery, carrot, barley, swede, tomato, parsley, bay leaf and pepper*.  Return beef to the pan and bring it to the boil.  

Using a slotted spoon remove any scum from the surface.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until beef is melt in your mouth, tender.

In the last ten minutes add chopped beans and continue to simmer until tender.

Season with pepper and salt. *Note: If you are using a purchased stock it is a good idea to hold off on seasoning until you have tasted it at the end.  I also try to use salt reduced stock - it gives me more control over the seasoning.  

Simple and delicious - Enjoy!

Big fan of this soup:  Shelby Stewart

Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients

2 cups plain flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons caster sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

750mL buttermilk

75g butter, melted

Method:

Stir the flour, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl.

Add the eggs, buttermilk and melted butter, whisk to combine.

Heat frypan or griddle over medium heat and melt ¼ teaspoon of the extra butter.

Pour 1/3 cup of pancake batter into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until bubbles appear on the surface.

Turn the pancake over gently and cook for another minute. (this is where you can hone your air flipping skills – best practiced with kids and dads in the room only)

Transfer cooked pancakes to a plate and keep warm (oven at 120°C) while cooking the rest of the pancakes or serve them as they come off the pan one at time.

Note:  Our breakfast chef claims the first pancake always fails!  We also recommend not using them as Frisbees when serving.

Chocolate banana bread or muffins

Ingredients

2 cups self raising flour

125g butter

¾ cup caster sugar

4 ripe bananas, mashed

2 eggs lightly beaten

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

175g good quality dark chocolate chips

Method

Preheat oven to 180C

Mix the butter, sugar, banana, eggs, vanilla and chocolate chips together in a bowl.  Sift flour over banana mixture and combine gently.  Do not over mix.

Pour batter into a lightly greased and floured loaf tin (approx 19 x 11cm) and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.  Cool in the tin for five minutes before turning out onto wire rack.  Serve warm in thick slices spread with butter – yum!

This recipe is great prepared as muffins.  I usually do mini muffins which take approximately 18 – 20 minutes to bake.

Quick and easy coleslaw the Saladmaster way

¼         Savoy Cabbage sliced using cutter #4

1/8       Red Cabbage sliced using cutter #4

2 – 3    sticks of celery chopped on either # 4 or #2 to remove strings

1          large Fuji apple grated using #2

1          medium carrot grated using #1

4          Radishes grated using #1

1          lemon quartered and juice ¾ using any of the cutters on machine.

Combine all ingredients in the beautiful Saladmaster bowl (pictured above) and serve.

  

Notes:

This salad is also lovely with a dash of olive oil, black pepper and salt.

Quantities can be easily varied for this recipe by doubling or halving ingredients listed.  Please note that if you do double the quantity of ingredients, taste the salad before adding extra lemon juice.

Carrot and Beetroot Salad

Zesty and delicious, this salad is great served with char grilled lamb backstrap.  Perfect dish to make for a quick midweek catch up lunch with girls or guys. Try it you'll love it.

2 medium sized beetroot, peeled

2 Carrots

4 Radishes

Juice of ½ an orange

Juice of lemon

¾ cup roughly chopped coriander

½ cup mint leaves

1 – 2 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil

Dukkah

Grate root vegetables using Saladmaster machine and Cutter #1 or traditional grater.  If you prefer a courser texture try cutter number 2 for the carrots and beetroot instead.

Juice orange and lemon.  If using Saladmaster, cut fruit into quarters and simply run over the blade to juice.

Add fresh herbs

Dress with extra virgin olive oil and toss salad to combine dressing and ingredients.

Top with Dukkah* to serve.

Optional:    add toasted hazelnuts, freshly ground black pepper and salt if desired.

*Dukkah is a blend of aromatic spices and roasted hazelnuts.  It is available from good delicatessens. My favourite is Malouf’s Spice Mezza – Classic Egyptian Dukkah

If you have any questions or have trouble locating ingredients please drop me a line and Iwill do my best to help you out. 

Quick Quiche

For dinner or a  snack, I love this Quick Quiche recipe.  Given to me by a friend many years ago, (I still have it written on the tiny piece of note paper she gave me and frantically search for it every time I want to use it.) 

Perfect for an after school snack in muffin size or as a family size quiche served with salad for dinner.

If you are making muffin size quiches, cook them for about 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.  They are great cold too.

4 eggs

1/3 cup melted butter

1/2 cup plain flour

1 1/2 cups milk

Blend all of the ingredients listed above in a bowl or large jug then pour into a greased pie plate.  Then add extra ingredients, whatever you like; bacon/ham, corn, onions/shallots, spinach, mushrooms.  Let your taste buds do the talking!

A note:  Just be aware that if you add grated cheese it will increase the cooking time slightly.

Remember email me if you have any questions.  enquiries@recipeforlife.com.au

Fennel and Parsley Salad

Finely grated rind and juice of 1/2 a lemon (or more or less to taste) 
2 baby fennel or one large, trimmed with fronds reserved
1 tablespoon capers (optional but not nearly as nice without) 
¼ - ½ cup of coarsely torn flat leaf parsley

50ml extra virgin olive oil

Thinly shave fennel on a Saladmaster cutter #4 or mandolin and place in iced acidulated water until crisp (1-2 minutes) then drain well.  Combine in a bowl with capers, parsley and reserved fronds.  Add remaining olive oil, rind and juice.  Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, toss to combine. 

Enjoy!

I love this salad, it is fresh and delicious and is also very quick and easy to prepare. 

What is acidulated water?  
Water with a splash of lemon juice or vinegar.  I use lemon juice, for this recipe I squeeze the whole lemon and use that.


Using Capers...
I use salted lilliput capers which are the tiny ones.  Put them in a fine sieve and rinse them before use.  Lightly dry with paper towel.  If you are using capers in brine, still rinse them as they can sometimes be too salty.




If you have any questions or have trouble locating ingredients send me an email and I will do my best to help you out.  enquiries@recipeforlife.com.au