Quick Chicken Pilaf

• 2 chicken breast fillets, poached and shredded
• 1 Tbs oil
• 1 brown onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbs finely grated ginger
• 10 small red dried chillis , soaked and chopped
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 4 - 6 cups cooked rice, cooled
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• Natural yoghurt, to serve

1. Add onion to a large pan and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until onion softens and begins to brown. Add garlic, ginger, chilli, cumin, coriander, mustard seeds, fennel seeds and turmeric and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic.


2. Add rice, peas, chicken and almonds; gently toss until just combined.


3. Spoon the pilaf among serving plates. Serve immediately with yoghurt and extra almonds, if desired.

Motivation.....

Mixture of all the herbs, spices and chilli before adding to onion....

Canberra Multicultural Festival, 2012

I won't lie. I did it for the food.

 An interesting sculpture, possibly a depiction of myself if I continue to attend every Multicultural Festival this year?

Egyptian falafel. Tasty yet slightly dry, the yoghurt dipping sauce saved it.

Totes was surprised that the falafel was green inside.

Clockwise from left: Ethiopian vege combo, red lentil and beef wat served with 'pancake'. The pancake tasted quite 'vinegary' to me, something which I'm not acquired to.

Totes loving it!

 Macedonian kebapi. Perfection on a stick - moist, delectable and lean. I could have eaten many more of these little babies!

Czech one two! Potato pancake

 Vietnamese prawn skewers with ginger, lime and lemongrass.....

 Delicious much?

 We managed to take time out of our hectic eating schedule to practice our Facebook poses.

Pot stickers - dumplings containing minced pork and chives; steamed then pan fried, served with a special dumpling sauce (a sweet vinegar/soy based sauce) 

Zucchini pancake - simply zucchini, plain flour and shallots...pan fried goodness.

The pot stickers were easily the number one hit of the day, generously oozing juicy goodness with each bite.

......and now to the hit the gym.....

Scotty's Homemade Chicken Burgers

Yet another scrumptious, homemade recipe from my friend's very culinary husband. Extremely yummy, filling AND healthy!

The actual burger contained chicken mince, ginger, carrot and capsicum, among other Asian-style ingredients.....

Spicy Meatballs with Tomato Sauce and Chickpeas

I apologise for the quality of photos, these were taken on my phone. Note to self: charge camera battery tomorrow!

Serves 6 - 8

For the meatballs

• 1kg minced lamb
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 tsp Tabasco sauce
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp red spice of your choice (peppercorn, chilli)
• 4 tsp ground cumin
• 4 tsp sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbs oil, for frying

For the tomato sauce

• 2 Tbs oil
• 2 small onions, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 tsp ground cumin
• 1 x 400 g canned chopped tomatoes
• 1 x jar pasta sauce
• 4 tsp white sugar
• 4 tsp sea salt
• 2 x 4 cm cinnamon sticks (or you could use cinnamon)
• 1x 400g canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Mix all of the ingredients for the meatballs together in a large bowl. Shape into meatballs, your preferred size. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the meatballs until golden.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the onions for 2 minutes over a high heat. Add the garlic and cumin and fry for a further 2 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to the onion mixture, then add tomatoes, pasta sauce, sugar, chickpeas and cinnamon stick. Simmer for 15 minutes/

Adjust the seasoning as necessary. Serve in bowls, topped with Greek yogurt and garnished with coriander. Serve with rice.      

Mince mixture.

Canned tomato added.....

.....along with the pasta sauce.

Served with rice.

Mi Goreng - Indo Mie Instant Noodles

These Indo Mie Instant Noodles are cheap and easy to prepare. I enjoy these on their own, or as I have done here, you can add more of your own ingredients. The more vegies, the better I say.

Serves 1 (large serve)

2 individual packets Indo Mie Noodles, including sachets

1 T oil

2 spring onions, chopped

2 Tbs fish sauce

2 eggs

lemon wedges, to serve

Prepare noodles as intructions direct, drain. In a wok or frypan, heat oil and stir fry spring onions. Add noodles, fish sauce and sachets (however save the Fried Onion sachet for later) and continue to stir fry for 1 minute. Place noodles in serving bowl, sprinkle with Fried Onions.

Meanwhile, in a separate frypan, fry eggs to your liking. Place on top of noodles and serve with a wedge of lemon.

Individual packets.