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Spring Rolls
Spring rolls are a large variety of filled, rolled appetisers. Here is a recipe for crispy vegetable spring rolls. Dip hot, fried spring rolls in sweet spicy sauce.
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 20 sheets filo pastry 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 the heat and allow to cool completely.
ADD CHOPPED, COOKED CHICKEN MINCE FOR VARIATION
Filling and rolling:Defrost the pastry to room temperature before separating the sheets.
Lay out one sheet; add about 2-3 tablespoons (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.
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. Chilli Sauce Recipe – https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=205809582791310&set=a.204968582875410.48230.183695408336061&type=3&theater
Roast Leg Of Lamb
Roast lamb
Serve this tender lamb with your favourite gravy and vegetables.
Ready in 2 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients:
10 cloves of garlic
10 cloves
10 bay leaves
1 whole large leg of lamb, bone in (about 2.2kg)
Salt & pepper to taste
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 190C.
2. Put the lamb into a large roasting tin. Using a sharp knife, make cuts in the lamb, about 1.5cm apart, all the way to the bone.
3. Stuff 1 clove of garlic, clove, bay leave into the each of the cuts. Rub the leg of lamb with salt and pepper according to taste. Add a cup of water into the tin. Cover the tin loosely with foil and roast for 1 hour 30 minutes, adding more water if necessary. Remove the foil and cook for another 30 minutes.
4. Put the meat on a platter, cover loosely with foil and leave in a warm place to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with gravy, roast potatoes, a selection of vegetables of your choice.
ROAST LEG OF LAMB
Prawn Breyani
Prawn Breyani
Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Ingredients:
500g Basmati rice
1 kg large prawns shelled and deveined
To marinate prawns:
1 cup yogurt
Juice of 1 lime/ lemon
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tablespoons garlic paste
1 tablespoon ginger paste
Salt to taste
To fry: 4 large onions sliced thinly (divided into 3 equal portions)
3 large tomatoes chopped finely
For dry masala/ spice mix:
2 tablespoons whole koljana/coriander seeds
1 tablespoons whole jeera/cumin seeds
1 tablespoon saunf/ aniseed/ fennel seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
2 pieces of cinnamon
5 cloves
5 green cardamom
10-12 black peppercorns
2 dry red chillies
For wet masala: 2 green chillies
1/2 cup fresh dhanya leaves
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
3-4 tablespoons fresh chopped dhanya/coriander leaves
4-5 tablespoons cooking oil
Preparation:
Wash the rice. Soak it in warm water for 30 minutes.
Cook the rice till almost done. Drain remaining water (if any) and keep aside.
Marinate the prawns with the marinating ingredients.
Heat a flat pan on a medium heat and gently roast all ingredients mentioned under “For dry masala/ spice mix” till they start to become slightly darker and give off a faint aroma.
Now grind all the roasted ingredients to a fine powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder or use a mortal & pestle.
Grind the ingredients mentioned under “For wet masala”, to a smooth paste in a food processor.
Heat the cooking oil in a deep pan till hot and then fry 1 of the 3 portions of sliced onions till crispy and golden. When done, drain and remove from the oil and keep aside on paper towels to garnish breyani later.
In the same oil, add the remaining sliced onions and fry till soft. Now add the tomatoes and fry till soft.
Add all the dry and wet masala ingredients prepared earlier and fry till the oil begins to separate from the whole mix.
Now add the prawns and all the marinade to this spice mix. Stir and allow to cook till the prawns are done. Do not overcook as the prawns will get rubbery in texture. Season with salt if required.
Remove from heat.
Take a large, deep baking dish/ ovenproof dish (it MUST have its own cover) and grease lightly with cooking oil. Layer the rice and prawn as follows: rice – prawn – rice. End with a layer of rice.
Garnish with the crispy fried onions, chopped dhanya leaves. Cover the dish and seal tightly.
Bake in a hot oven for 30 minutes.
Arabian Breyani
Arabian Breyani
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons onion, choppel
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch saffron or turmeric
Pinch cayenne pepper, optional
½ cup low-fat plain yogurt
1½ pounds boneless lamb, cubed
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups cooked basmati rice, stirred with a pinch of saffron or turmeric
Garnish
2 tablespoons shredded or whole almonds
1 tablespoon golden raisins
1 hard-boiled egg, quartered
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
Method
Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a saucepan. Add the onion, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, and cayenne pepper and sauté over medium heat for about 3 minutes.
Combine the onion mixture with the yogurt in the blender and puree until smooth. Set this mixture aside.
Heat the remaining butter and sauté the meat, a few pieces at a time, until golden on all sides. Season with the salt and pepper then add the yogurt mixture, cover the saucepan, and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Remove lid and simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Combine the meat with the rice and smooth the mixture into a large baking dish. You may cover the mixture with foil and refrigerate until ready to serve or bake the mixture in a preheated oven for 25 minutes at 170C. Garnish before serving.
Mavrou
Mavrou
A Cape Malay traditional dish which is usually served at weddings, on Eid and other special occasions. Mavrou is a very colourful dish and is usually made with steak.
Mavrou
Ingredients:
1 kg cubed steak or goulash
10 ml salt
10 ml ground jeera (cumin)
15 ml ground koljana (coriander)
10 ml barishap (fennel seeds)
15 ml crushed red chillies
3 cloves
3 whole all spice
10 ml ground ginger
10 ml ground garlic
3 cardamom pods
3 cinnamon sticks
Few strands saffron (optional)
4 large onions, thinly sliced
Oil for braising onions
2 large tomatoes, grated
Method:
• Combine all spices and mix well with meat. Marinate for at least an hour.
• Heat oil in large pot and braise onions until soft and golden, adding water when necessary.
• Add meat and cook covered until soft, adding water when necessary.
• Serve with white or savoury rice decorated with boiled eggs cut into quarters.
VARIATION:
Served with steamed mix vegetables of peas.
PRAWN CURRY
An easy, creamy prawn curry served with roti. Everyone will come back for seconds. Save time by preparing the chili paste the day before.
Delicious and easy prawn curry.
PRAWN CURRY SERVED WITH DHAI / YOGHURT SAUCE
Ingredients:
750g prawns
1 large onion, liquidised
2 medium onions, chopped fine
2 tablespoons chili paste (**see footnote)
3 bay leaves
½ tin coconut milk
4 cardamoms, crushed
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
Method:
Wash and dry the prawns in a kitchen towel. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add bay leaves, cardamom and fry for a few minutes.
Add sliced onions and fry till golden brown.
Then add the liquidized onion paste and the chili paste. Fry for several minutes adding little water, as necessary, to prevent the masala from burning.
Add the prawns. Stir thoroughly and then add the coconut milk. Keep simmering in medium heat till the gravy reduces to a half. Add salt to taste.
Serve hot with rice or roti.
**Chili paste
Ingredients:
1 level teaspoon of chili powder
3 garlic cloves crushed
5 Red chilies chopped
3 Tablespoons of ground ginger
2 Pinches of salt
5 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 Level teaspoon of sugar (can be omitted if preferred)
Method:
Heat oil to medium hot and add chili powder and garlic.
Cook for 2 minutes and then add all other ingredients.
Cook until soft. Decant into a blender and blend into a course paste.
Leave to cool and eat.
Refrigerate and consume within 7 days.
Serve with curry or breyani
DHAI / YOGHURT SAUCE
250m natural yoghurt
1 clove garlic, crushed
2-3 green chillies, chopped
1 tablespoon dhanya, chopped
Pinch salt
Mix all the ingredients together. Pour into a serving dish and serve with curries, breyani, kebabs, etc…
CHICKEN CURRY
Delicious chicken curry, always a winner no matter what the occasion. Serve with flaky roti, chapati (Indian flat bread) or plain boiled white rice. Traditionally served with onion and tomato salad.
Delicious Cape Malay Curry
CHICKEN CURRY
Ingredients
4 tbsp oil
2 cloves
1 stick cinnamon
2 green cardamom pods
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 small-medium onion, chopped
1½ tbsp chopped ginger
6 cloves garlic, chopped
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp ground coriander
½ tsp chilli powder
2 tomatoes, puréed
450g small chicken
½ tsp garam masala
1 handful chopped dhanya
Method:
Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan. Add the cloves, cinnamon, cardamom pods and cumin seeds and fry for about 20 seconds until aromatic.
Add the onion and cook for about 10 minutes until golden brown, stirring often. Stir in the ginger and garlic and cook stirring for 40 seconds before adding a pinch of salt and the ground spices, and stir for 15 seconds. Pour in the tomatoes and cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the liquid in the pan has dried off and the oil leaves the sides of the dry masala around 10 minutes.
**Add the chicken and brown over a medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes. Add enough water to almost cover the chicken (about 350ml), bring to the boil and then cook over a low heat until the chicken is cooked through. The slower it cooks the better it tastes. This takes about 15 minutes for small joints and up to 25-30 minutes for larger ones. Check with a fork; once it is tender it is done.
Add the garam masala and chopped dhanya. Serve with rice or roti.
Variation:
**Add potatoes cut in quarters with the chicken
ONION AND TOMATO SALAD
1 large onion, chopped finely
5ml salt
1 large firm tomato, chopped
2 green chillies, chopped
10ml sugar
30ml vinegar
2 teaspoons chopped dhanya
Steam the chopped onion in the microwave for 3 minutes. Combine with the rest of the ingredients. Transfer into a serving dish and enjoy with breyani, curry, etc…
EASY RING DOUGHNUTS
This doughnut recipe makes great tasting home made doughnuts. Best eaten on the same day.
RING DOUGHNUTS
Makes +/- 30
Ingredients:
500g selfraising flour
3 eggs
¾ cup sugar
70g butter/margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 – 1½ cups buttermilk
Oil for frying
7cm and 3cm round cutters
For the coating:
1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
125g caster sugar
Method:
Cream together the eggs, sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl. Add vanilla essence.
Add the flour and baking powder. Make a slight dent in the middle of the flour.
Add the buttermilk.
Mix together into a smooth ball and then turn out on to a floured work surface.
Roll the dough out to a thickness of just over 1cm. Flour the cutters and use the larger one to cut out rounds of dough, then cut out the centres using the smaller cutter. (Or you can buy a ring doughnut cutter from your local spice shop)
Re-roll the trimmings to make more doughnuts.
Put the doughnuts to one side and make the coating.
Mix the cinnamon into the sugar in a small bowl.
Now fry the doughnut. Place the rings carefully into the hot oil and fry for 3-4 minutes, until golden on the bottom, then turn them over and fry for a further 2-3 minutes, until they are an even golden colour and cooked through.
Lift on to kitchen paper to drain briefly and, while they’re still hot, toss them in the cinnamon sugar until evenly coated. Shake off any excess and place on a wire rack to cool. (Not suitable for freezing).
Cook’s tip
GLAZE
1 cup of icing sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla essence or a drop of food colouring
Whisk in enough boiling water to make a thin glaze, drizzle over donuts.
Cover with sprinkles.
Kids love these different coloured doughnuts!!
Or
Spread the doughnuts with chocolate spread
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
Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights - Salwaa Smith 
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