A. Spiced rice
Ingredients:
6 cups basmati rice
3 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
2 tbsp blended shallots
1tsp garam masala
3cm cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 cardamom
2 star anise
1 tbsp salt
Yellow colouring
6 cups water
Garnish:
Fried shallots
Coriander leaves
Method:
1. Soak rice overnight. Drain just before cooking.
2. In a large pan, melt ghee before adding all the spices.
3. Once fragrant, add in rice and salt.
4. Once all the rice has been coated with oil, if you are cooking in the rice cooker, at this point, add in 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil before transferring it into the rice cooker and add 4 more cups of water and cook. If you are cooking on the stove, add 6 cups of water and bring it tu a boil before covering the pot and let it cook at a low flame. In the middle of cooking, after about 10 min, add 4 drops of colouring to the wet rice. This will give it a nice rich yellow colour. Once cooked, garnish with coriander leaves and fried shallots.
B. pineapple salsa
Ingredients:
1 honey pineapple quartered and sliced
1/2 green capsicum
1 red chili
1 shallot
Method:
Chop up the shallot and chillis into small chunks and mix it up with the pineapple. Leave it a container (preferably made of glass) overnight.
C. Chicken in spiced tomato gravy
Ingredients:
2kg chicken
400g shallots
6 garlic
4cm ginger
1 cinnamon stick (abt 6cm)
2 cloves
2 cardamom
2 star anise
1 handful dried chili
2 tbsp tomato purée
1/2 can tomato
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp yoghurt
2 bunches mint
1/2 cup oil
Method:
1. Blend the shallots garlic and ginger.
2. Heat up oil and fry 12 tbsp of the blended mixture.
3. Add all the spices
4. Blend the chili and add in 6 tbsp of the mixture
5. Once fragrant, add the tomatoes and fry further till fragrant.
6. Add the sugar and salt till the flavour is to your liking
7. Add the chicken and cover till cooked.
8. Add yoghurt and mint and mix well just before turning off the flame.
D. Lentil curry
Ingredients
Part (i)
2kg lamb ribs
1 white onion (quartered)
4 inch ginger (sliced)
Part (ii)
500g shallots (ground)
6 garlic (ground)
5 inches ginger (ground)
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 cardamom
2 star anise
2 cups lentils (soak for at least 2 hours)
3 stalks curry leaf
6 tbsp dalca curry powder
300g eggplant
2 carrots
4 potatoes
300g long beans
6 whole tomatoes
Salt to taste
Lots of water
Oil
Method:
In a pot, put (i) then add water till it covers the meat. Boil with low heat for at least 5 hours. Refil water as needed. Once the meat falls off the bone you know it's ready.
In a separate large pot, put enough oil to fry the onion/garlic/ginger mixture. Once fragrant, add the spices and fry for a few minutes. Then, add curry leaves and curry powder. Fry till fragrant then add the lentils, meat and stock and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste then add vegetables. Boil at low flame for about an hour for the flavour. It's best to be cooked a day in advance to develop it's flavour.
That's it!
As long as you plan in advance, it will all be done within 4 hours (not including cooking the ribs).
