Category Archives: Ramadan
CHICKEN STIRY FRY
CHICKEN STIR-FRY
Serves 4
Ingredients:
100g broccoli
100g baby sweetcorn
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2.5cm piece root ginger
bunch of spring onions
2 carrots
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon soya sauce
Method:
Bring a wok or pan of water to the boil. Cut the broccoli into florets. Blanch the broccoli and sweetcorn in the water for 2 minutes. Drain well.
Cut the chicken into large pieces. Peel the ginger and cut into thin matchsticks. Trim and diagonally slice the spring onions. Peel the carrots and cut into matchcsticks.
Wipe the wok with kitchen pape and heat the oil until almost smoking. Add the chicken and stir fry for 7-8 minutes or until golden. Keep warm
Stir fry the ginger, spring onions and carrots for 2 minutes. Stir in the broccoli and sweetcorn and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken and heat through.
Variation: Use any fresh vegetables of choice.
EASY SAVOURY CHEESE MUFFINS
Easy cheese muffins (savouries)
Ingredients:
500ml (300g) cake flour
15ml baking powder
5ml dry mustard powder
5ml salt
500ml grated cheddar cheese
250ml milk
80ml oil
2 eggs
Method:
Sift flour, baking powder, mustard and salt in a mixing bowl
Add grated cheese
In a jug combine the milk, oil and eggs. Mix well
Add to dry ingredients and mix gently until combined, taking care not to over mix. Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake at 200C for 20 minutes
MINI SAUSAGE ROLLS
This is a firm favourite in my house at anytime. So easy to prepare. I usually make a batch to freeze, so there is always something to cook when unexpected quests arrive or whenever the kids feel like nibbling.
MINI SAUSAGE ROLLS
Makes 16
Ingredients:
500g ready-made puff pastry
Flour for dusting
1 egg, beaten
8 good quality sausages cut into two
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Small handful fresh thyme leaves
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C
Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to a rectangle of about 48x32cm.
Cut the large rectangle in half lengthways, then cut both smaller rectangles into eight equal sections. You now have 16 rectangles in total. Brush one end of each rectangle with a little of the beaten egg, lay a piece of sausage at the other end, then season the sausage with salt and freshly ground black pepper and sprinkle with thyme leaves. Roll the sausage up in the pastry to enclose and repeat with all the sausages. Put the sausage rolls in the fridge for 20 minutes for the pastry to harden.
Once the pastry is hard, remove the sausage rolls from the fridge and score the tops with a sharp knife for decoration, or prick with a fork. Brush well all over with the rest of the beaten egg and bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes, or until the pastry has turned golden-brown and looks crisp. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before serving.
Variation:
Use viennas (Frankfurters) instead of the sausage
SPRINGROLLS
Vegetable Spring Rolls
Ingredients:
1 cup mixed vegetables, chopped long and slim/shredded (carrot, beans, cabbage, peas, corn, green, yellow, red peppers, etc)
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon ginger & garlic paste
1 tablespoon soya sauce
1 chopped green chilli
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon oil
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions until transparent and pink.
2. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for another minute.
3. Next add the vegetables and green chilli, sprinkle some water and cook closed until soft, yet crunchy.
4. Turn heat to high and add the soya sauce. Mix well for a minute on high.
5. Lower heat. Mix in salt and pepper. Remove from fire and cool.
Filling and rolling:
Defrost the pastry to room temperature before separating the sheets.
Lay out one sheet; add about 2-3 tbsp (depending on the size of your spring roll sheets) of the vegetable filling towards one corner.
Fold in the end of the corner first and then both sides.
Once these ends are firmly placed, start rolling towards the other end until fully done.
Deep fry until golden brown.
Cook’s notes:
– Add cooked, shredded chicken pieces.
– You can use any mix of vegetables you want. However, cabbage and peppers really enhance the taste.
– Arrange spring rolls in a single layer on a medium baking sheet. Brush with vegetable oil. Bake in preheated oven @ 200C for 20 minutes, until lightly browned. For a crispier spring roll, turn after 10 minutes.
QUICK MINI PIZZAS
Quick mini pizzas (savouries)
Ingredients:
1 cup chicken fillet – cooked with green chillies, salt and 1 teaspoon ginger and garlic
1 cup grated cheese
1 green pepper – cubed
1 tomato – finely chopped
2 eggs – lightly beaten
5 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup sweet corn – optional
Ground green chillies to taste
Method:
Mix all ingredients well in a large dish.
Place in greased patty pans and bake at 180C till done – 10-15 minutes.
Sprinkle with origanum before baking
Beef Stir-Fry
serves 4
Ingredients:
500g lean beef
4 spring onions
2 cloves garlic
2.5cm piece ginger
2 carrots
2 small leaks
1 stick celery
3 tablespoons oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dhanya
2 tablespoons soya sauce
Method:
Cut the beef into thin strips. Wash and chop the garlic and ginger. Peel the carrots, leeks and celery and cut into matchsticks.
Heat the oil in a wok. Add the spring onions, garlic and ginger. Cook for 4 minutes over a medium heat. Add the beef and cook over a high heat for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Season.
Add the remaining vegetables, soya sauce and cook over a high heat for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the coriander and cook for about 1 minute.
Serve immediately.
Variation: Use any fresh vegetables of choice.
CHEDDAR SCONES
CHEDDAR SCONES
Makes 12-15
Ingredients:
200g self-raising flour, plus a little extra for dusting
50g butter, at room temperature
25g oats
75g grated cheddar cheese, plus extra for topping
150ml milk
Method:
Heat your oven to 220C. Pace the flour in a large bowl, then rub in the butter. Stir in the oats and cheese, then the milk – if it feels like it might be dry, add a touch more milk, then bring together to make a soft dough.
Lightly dust the surface with a little flour, roll out the dough no thinner than 2cm. Cut out rounds with a cookie cutter.
Transfer to a baking sheet, dust with a little more flour or grated cheese, then bake for 12-15 minutes until well risen and golden. Cool, serve on their own or topped with mashed avocado or soft cheese.
CHEESE SAMOSAS
Cheese samosa filling:
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup cheese, grated
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 teaspoon oil
Salt to taste (optional)
Oil for frying
Method:
Heat the oil in a pan.
Add chopped onions and fry till brown colour.
Add chopped chillies to it.
Fry for 3 – 4 minutes.
Let it cool for some time.
Add grated cheese and salt, if using, to the mixture.
Mix well and fill your samosas as usual.
3 CHEESE SAMOSA
3 Cheese Samosa
Ingredients:
½ cup mozzarella cheese, grated
½ cup processed cheese, grated
½ cup cottage cheese
1 teaspoon crushed red chillies
3 tablespoons fresh dhanya, chopped
Mix all the ingredients together, ready for filling your samosa leaves. Fry as you normally would.
SAMOSAS
Samosa strips:
500ml (2 cups) cake flour
3ml (1//2) teaspoon salt
190ml water
corn flour as needed for sprinkling
oil as needed for smearing
Method:
Sift flour and salt in a mixing bowl.
Add water and mix into a stiff dough.
Knead well, cover with a damp cloth and leave aside for 30 minutes.
Divide dough into 8 portions.
Roll out each portion to the size of a saucer.
Smear oil edge to edge onto 6 of the rolled-out pastry.
Sift corn flour lightly on each oiled pastry.
Make two stacks of pastry into a large disc. Roll out thinly.
Toss each stack on a heated griddle for a few seconds, turning frequently, until they loosen into individual pastries.
Place on tray and cover with a damp cloth.
Complete tossing the second lot in the same way.
Cut through stack with kitchen scissors or sharp knife to desired width.
Snip off the uneven ends to form an even pastry.
Chicken samosa filling
500g chicken mince or chicken breast chopped finely
3 large onions, chopped finely
1 teaspoon ground jeera
1 teaspoon ground koljana
2-3 teaspoons crushed chillies
salt to taste
Wash and drain mince. Brown the mince in a large pan until brown and dry. Remove from heat. Add the onions and spices and mix well. Fill approx 30 samosas
Potato and pea filling:
500g potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 onion, finely chopped
100g frozen peas
1 tsp whole jeera
1 tsp whole koljana
2 tsp crushed chillies
salt to taste
Braise onion until golden brown 5-10 minutes. Add whole jeera and koljana. Add the potatoes and cook until soft adding water if necessary. The mixture should be dry so keep stirring to ensure it does not burn. Add crushed chillies and salt. Lastly add the frozen peas and cook a further 5 minutes. Cool and fill samosa leaves.
Fills approx 20 samosas
Mutton Mince for Samoosas
Ingredients:
1kg mutton mince
4 large onions finely chopped and water squeezed out
2 tablespoon green chillies crushed
2 bunches dhanya cut finely
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon ginger and garlic
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp coarse black pepper
Wash and drain mince. Put in a pot in the stove on medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes. Now add in ginger and garlic, salt, turmeric and pepper. Cook for a further 20 minutes stirring now and then and breaking lumps. When mince is cooked remove from heat, the mince should be dry. Add onions, chillies and dhanya to this. Your mince is now ready.
Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights - Salwaa Smith 
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