½ cup ghee (or clarified butter)
3 brown onions, diced
1 Spanish onion, diced
3cm ginger piece, grated
10 garlic cloves
9 green chillies
800g chicken thighs, cut into 4 x 4 cm pieces
5-6 medium-sized capsicums
4 cups basmati rice, washed
Rice dry spice mix
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp saffron powder
1 and ½ tsp red chilli powder
2 tbsp coriander powder
1 ½ tsp black pepper, powder
1. To make the chicken pilaf, add the ghee in a large stockpot over medium heat and saute the onions until translucent and caramelised. Combine the ginger, garlic, green chillies and cook for a further five minutes until fragrant.
2. Increase the heat and transfer the chicken into the pot and fry until the chicken is cooked through.
3. In the meantime, heat oven to 200 degrees. Slice tops from the capsicum and scoop out seeds. Reserve the tops. Stand the capsicum in a lined oven tray and bake for 30 minutes until half cooked. Set aside and cool.
4. Once the chicken is cooked through, add the spice mix and stir until well combined. Cover the pan, reduce the heat and cook until chicken is tender.
6. Mix in the rice and add 6 cups of hot water. Cook over a medium heat, covered, and bring to a boil. Once the water has completely absorbed, take the pan off the heat.
7. Fluff the rice gently using a fork and stuff the capsicums with equal portions of rice. Place the stuffed capsicums back into the oven and cook for a further 20 minutes or until the capsicums have softened.
Serves 6-8
2 cups uncooked sushi rice
3 cups cold water
3 tbsp rice vinegar
7 tsps sugar
8 nori sheets
Salt to taste
Prawn tempura
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
8 large prawns, deveined, cleaned and shelled
1 ½ cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 large egg, beaten
3 cups panko crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Sriracha mayonnaise
2 tbsp of Sriracha chilli sauce
6 tbsp of Japanese mayonnaise (preferably the Kewpie brand)
Squeeze of lemon
1. Rinse rice several times and drain well.
2. Place rice and water in a rice cooker to cook. Otherwise, place the rice and water in a medium size pot, covered, over high heat. Bring to the boil. Once water is absorbed, reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, for another eight minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
3. Make a slight cut inside each shrimp to prevent it from curling up when cooked.
4. To make the tempura prawns, lightly coat the prawns in the flour mixture first, then in the beaten egg. Finally, coat in the panko crumbs. Deep-fry the prawns until golden and place on a paper towel to drain the excess oil.
5. To make the sriracha mayonnaise, combine Sriracha, mayonnaise and a squeeze of lemon until well incorporated.
6. In a small bowl, combine rice vinegar and sugar. Add the rice vinegar mixture to the rice and fold until thoroughly combined.
7. To make the sushi, lay one nori sheet on the bamboo sushi mat. Spread a thin layer of rice on three-quarters of the sheet. Smear a thin layer of the Sriracha mayo lengthwise in the centre of the rice layer. Lay two shrimp atop the aioli, with the tails pointing out. Hold filling in place while rolling the sushi together. If the top edge is still loose, dampen your fingers with water and moisten the roll to help seal it shut. Repeat for the remaining rice and prawns.
8. To plate, wet your knife with water and cut rolls into eighths.
½ cup chopped onions
2 tbsp ginger
5 cardamom pods
3 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 kg lamb, cut into small chunks
½ cup Greek yoghurt
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp mint leaves, chopped
A pinch of saffron
A pinch of salt
2 cups of lamb stock
2 cups basmati rice
1. Heat oil and ghee in a pan over medium heat and saute chopped onions and ginger. Add cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon until fragrant. Add the lamb and brown the meat pieces.
2. Add yogurt, turmeric powder, chilli, mint leaves, saffron and salt. Stir the sauce until reduced. Add stock and continue to cook the meat until tender.
3. Remove the meat and reserve the stock for cooking the rice.
4. In a separate pot, boil the rice with the reserved stock and add more water if needed. Let the rice absorb the stock, but be careful not to let the rice fully cook.
5. Place the rice and the lamb pieces on medium heat in a steamer until rice is fully cooked.
6. Serve biryani with a side of yoghurt.
10 mini frankfurt sausages, diced
½ carrot, diced
1 tomato, diced
2 tbsp chilli sauce (try the ABC sambal brand)
1 cup tomato sauce
4 cups jasmine rice, cooked
Salt and pepper to taste
2 spring onions, sliced
1. Add oil in a large frypan over medium heat. Add the brown and Spanish onion and cook until fragrant. Add the frankfurt sausages and carrots and cook for about five minutes.
2. Combine the tomato, tomato sauce and chilli sauce into the pan and cook until it thickens.
3. Increase the heat and add the cooked jasmine rice, making sure the rice is coated in the tomato sauce.
4. Reduce the heat and season with salt and pepper.
5. Remove from the heat, and thoroughly toss through the spring onion.
Serves 4
2 tbsp vegetable oil
200ml coconut milk
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
12 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced (reserve 2 for the garnish)
¼ tsp curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste
3 chicken thighs, cut into 2cm x 2cm pieces
1 brown onion, diced
3 spring onion, thinly sliced
5 cups basmati rice, cooked
Spice taste
1 garlic clove
2 shallots
2 cm turmeric piece
1 cm ginger piece
1 cm lemongrass stalk
To serve
Fried shallots and pickled cucumbers
1. Place all the spice paste ingredients into a food processor and blend into a smooth paste. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan and saute the paste until fragrant. Add the coconut milk, chilli, ten of the kaffir lime leaves and curry powder. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the sauce until it has thickened and the oil from the coconut milk starts to release oils. Set aside and cool.
2. Place two tablespoons of oil in a separate wok over high heat and add about a three-quarter tablespoon of the reserved spice paste and fry until fragrant.
3. Add the chicken pieces, brown onion and spring onion and cook for about five minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
4. Combine the cooked rice into the wok, ensuring the rice is evenly coated.
5. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with reserved kaffir lime leaves, fried shallots and cucumber pickle.
Serves 4
1/3 cup of ghee
2 tsp cumin powder
2 tomatoes, quartered
¾ cup Greek yoghurt
¼ cup old coconut flesh, grated
½ cup coconut milk
Salt
500g banana prawns, peeled and deveined
2 cups basmati rice, washed and soaked in water for 30mins
6 cloves
1 cinnamon sticks
4 cardamom pods
Salt
Cashew nuts, deep-fried until golden
1 ½ cups brown onion.
Paste mix
2cm ginger piece, chopped finely
10 garlic cloves
4 green chillies
½ cup water
1. To make the paste mix, blitz ginger, garlic, green chilli and water in a food processor until a smooth paste is formed.
2. Add ghee in a deep pan over medium heat. Add the paste and cumin and saute until fragrant and reduced. Add the tomatoes and cook for about five minutes until they soften and darken in color.
3. Add the yoghurt and continue to cook until the fat begin to surface.
4. Combine coconut, coconut milk, salt and cook until the liquid thickens. Add the prawns and cook until prawns change in color. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. In a separate deep pan, combine rice, cloves, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, salt and water and cook on a medium heat with the lid. Bring to a boil for six to seven minutes. The rice should be half cooked at this point. Drain the rice and place the rice on top of the prawns. Spread cashews and fried onions. Using a spoon, make a few wells in the rice.
6. Cover the pan with the lid and cook on a low heat for a further 15minutes or until the rice has cooked through.
7. Fluff the rice using a fork and mix well with the prawns.
Serves 4
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