Chilli Bites

Yes, this is another out-of-the-box test. While I was walking around at the Good Food & Wine Show, Osman’s Spices had some chilli bites already prepared – it was left for us to try. I was craving something savoury, so I tried one. It was really good. I wanted to buy a box right there but they weren’t selling them (not a smart move).

While I was at the Indian spice shop, same place I picked up the tandoori spice, I saw these chilli bites.

It was not what I was after – they didnt have the Osman’s brand, so I went ahead and bought these. I thought its a good week for trial…. and maybe error 😉

I added a chopped onion, grated potato, a green chilli, and water. I ended up adding too much water, so I added some plain white flour into it, to get the right consistency.

I fried them – they took 2 minutes per batch. Not bad.

The verdict: I enjoyed them – savouries always go down well with me.
He said: Too oily (he does not eat samoosa’s for the same reason) – they are fried in deep oil
Perfect for: unexpected guests coming over; afternoon weekend snack or when you have an Indian or savoury craving.

Tandoori Chicken

When it comes to Indian cooking / cooking with spices, I rarely (ok, up until this weekend, never) buy premixed spices. I always add my own quantities of each spice to whatever I’m making. I learnt from my mom and she would also cook this way, meaning she wont use a briyani mix that you get sold at stores.

Over the weekend I was at a spice shop and saw a packet of tandoori chicken spice – all you had to do was add yoghurt and marinate, before grilling. I decided to give it a go – test it out and see if its worth buying. If you work full time and rely on convenience cooking, it would be ideal.

As per instructions on the the packet, added yoghurt to the spices and marinated drumsticks and thighs for a few hours in the fridge. I then baked / grilled it for about 25-30 minutes on 200°C.

This is what it looked like: (I expected it to come out slightly more red).

I served it with rice and salad. You can also serve it with raita.

The verdict: I liked it, so did my husband. It was spicy and hot.
He said: Will definitely eat it again.
Perfect for: Lazy weekends – not much effort involved or weekdays if marinated in the morning.
Alternate serving options: Naan or rolls.

Kebab Chutney

When I was still living in Durban, one my favourite lunches used to be kebab and roti, which I used to buy from an Indian shop in Musgrave centre. My mom also used to make a tasty kebab chutney and I think my dish is sort of similar to hers, seeing that she taught me the basics of cooking.

This is still one my favourites and so easy to make.

What I did:

Once the kebabs thawed, I washed them and set it aside. In a pot, heated some oil and braised an onion. Added spices – chilli powder, garam masala, dhania & jeera powder, very little tumeric powder and green chilli. Added about 3 tomatoes, which had been liquidized. Let the chutney cook for a bit until a nice gravy forms. Lastly, threw in the kebabs (12), and added some ginger & garlic. I cooked it for about 7-10 minutes. Garnished with fresh corriander and served it with hot rotis.

Prawn Curry

I made this prawn curry a while back when I was craving prawns. I usually get my prawns from a shop in Rivonia (on the boulevard), I dont know the name, but they do all the cleaning, and their service is excellent. So I ended up buying them from Woolworths and had to do the cleaning myself, which I didnt mind. I just had to have the prawn curry!

I marinated the prawns in the following for an hour:

• 1t chilli powder
• 1t Mozambican style peri-peri rub
• 1t dhania (corriander) & jeera (cumin) powder
• garlic
• salt to taste
• little black pepper
• lemon juice and some water to make a paste

For the curry:

• 1 large onion
• 2-3 tomatoes magimixed
• jeera (cumin) seeds
• butter
• garlic (a little)

I braised the onion in the butter and added the jeera (cumin) and garlic. After it sizzled a bit I added the prawns and let it cook for a few minutes, until pink / done. Lastly added the tomatoes and cooked for a short while, making sure the prawns dont get over cooked.

Serve with basmati rice or naan.

Haleem

This is my first attempt at making haleem. I used my mother’s recipe and eliminated the crushed wheat and gram dholl because it wasn’t available at any store near me.

Ingredients

• 1 cup barley
• 500g chicken (I used fillets)
• butter
• cooking oil
• ½ t whole jeera
• ¼ t black peppercorns
• 1 onion
• 1½ t chilli powder
• 1½ t gharam masala
• 1½ t dhania & jeera powder
• 1 t ground green chilli
• 1 t ginger & garlic
• salt to taste
• ¼ bunch dhania

Step 1:
Boil the barley with water and some salt until it gets soft. Once cool, liquidize and set aside.

Step 2:

1. Braise onion in butter and cooking oil.
2. Add jeera, peppercorns and chicken. Add spices salt and cook till done. Add water if necessary.
3. When done, add the liquidized barely. You may add some water at this point. Mix and bring to the boil.
4. Add about 2 cups of water. Mix.
5. Cook for 2 hours on low and stir it every 10-15 minutes.
6. About 10 minutes before switching off, in a small frying pan, heat some butter on high and add some whole jeera – about a teaspoon and a half. When it sizzles (after about 1-2 minutes), add it into the haleem.
7. Add dhania to garnish.
8. Serve with lemon juice.

More info on Haleem.