March 24 marks the start of Ramadaan.
The month of fasting will be observed by Muslims as a period of prayer, reflection and community.
Monowara Mohamed Bhamjee shares recipes to help you prepare:
*STEAK MINCE LOLLIES
1 kg steak mince
Add the following...
1 onion, grated
¼ red, yellow and green peppers, grated
1 small tomato, grated
Squeeze out some of the water then add it to the mince
Add...
salt to taste
1 tsp fine dhania
1 tsp fine jeera
1 tbs green chillies or to taste
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp red ginger masala
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp peri peri spice
½ tsp garlic and herb
½ punnet of green dhania (cut up)
4 slices of bread soaked in water and squeezed out
Method
Mix above well and leave to marinate for a few hours. Shape into lollies.
Push a skewer in and place in an oven tray.
Drizzle with some oil and bake at 180°C for 40 to 50 minutes or until it’s done.
* Serve with a variation of dips, guacamole and/or garlic butter naan (see naan recipe on this page)
*For the Guacamole
Mash 3 avocado pears with a fork roughly. Add ¼ onion cubed, ¼ tomato cubed and some red, yellow and green peppers cubed. Add ½ tsp green chillies, 1 tsp garlic, a handful of cut up green dhania, salt, black pepper and some Guacamole spice. Mix well.
*For the Jelapeno Dip
Braize ½ an onion in ghee or butter until transparent. Add 6 sliced jalapeños, and 2 yellow, 2 orange and 2 red sweet baby peppers. Braize until the peppers are tender, then add 1 to 2 tsp green chillies, 1 tbs garlic, 1 tsp Cajun spice, a dash of black pepper and salt to taste. Take it off the heat and let it cool slightly. Add a handful of dhania then blitz until fine. Add +/- ½ bottle mayonnaise and mix well.
*MINI SUBS
For the dough:
4 cups cake flour
1 packet instant dry yeast
1 tsp salt
4 tbs milk powder
2 tbs sugar
1½ cups lukewarm water
¼ cup oil
Method
Add sugar and dry yeast to the water and let it froth for 10 minutes. Sift the flour and salt then add the frothed water and oil and knead for 10 minutes.
Place it in an oiled dish and allow it to rise for 2 hours or until doubled.
Knock it down and break off about 30 pieces and shape it into an oblong. Place it on a baking tray and let it rise again for 30 minutes then bake it at 180°C for 10 minutes or until done but still pale.
Make a slit across the top deep enough but not right through and fill it with the filling of your choice. Decorate with colourful peppers.
Cover it with grated cheese. Bake in moderate oven until the cheese melts about 5 minutes.
* For the saucy chicken filling:
½ kg chicken fillets (cubed)
1 medium onion slices and diced fine
½ tsp whole jeero
a pinch of mustard seeds
½ tsp dhania/jeero
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp chicken spice
½ tsp Aromat
½ tsp peri peri spice
½ tsp fine red chillies
1 tsp crushed green chillies
1 be heaped tsp red ginger Masala
1 tsp crushed garlic
salt to taste
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs soya sauce
A ¼ of each colour Pepper's
1 tbs Tomato sauce
1 tbs mustard sauce
1 tbs mayonnaise
1 tbs Nando's garlic peri peri sauce
Method
Braise the onion with whole jeero and mustard seeds in ghee and oil until light brown. Add the chicken, peppers, all spices, soya sauce and lemon juice.
Cook until done and the filling is sticking to the pot a bit.
Add sauces mix through and switch off pot.
NOTE: This is a versatile filling and can be used on pizza's, pies, schwarmas, surprise rolls.
*HOT SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN BITES
1 chicken cut into small bite-size pieces (remove all veins, washed and drained well)
Marinade in the following: (Add salt to taste only if necessary)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp peri-peri spice
1 tsp garlic and herb spice
1 tsp Aromat
1 tsp Portuguese peri-peri spice
1 tsp chicken spice
1 tbs garlic
1 tbs ginger masala
½ tsp dhania/jeero
1 tbs lemon juice
½ cup buttermilk
Marinade above for a few hours.
For the flour dip:
1 cup cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ cup maizena
1 cup Southern Fried Dip (hot)
1 tsp Aromat
Dip the chicken pieces into the flour dip. Then dip again in flour dip just before frying. Shake off any excess flour and deep-fry in medium-hot oil until golden brown.
*CHICKEN KEBAB WITH CREAMY LEMON GARLIC BUTTER
For the kebabs:
1 kg chicken mince (washed and drained well)
¼ each red, yellow and green peppers grated
1 small tomato grated
1 big onion grated (squeeze some of the water out)
½ bunch green dhania (cut up fine)
salt to taste
2 tbs green chillies
1 tbs garlic
1 tsp red ginger masala
1 tsp ground dhania
½ tsp ground jeera
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp white pepper
a pinch of ground gloves
½ tsp Aromat
1 tsp Cajun spice
4 slices bread (soaked in water and squeezed out)
1 egg
½ cup bread crumbs
Method
Mix above well and leave it overnight in the fridge to marinade well. I leave it for a day or two before making the kebabs.
Shape the kebaabs into oblong logs. Freeze for a few minutes to firm. When shaping the kebaabs it's best to keep a dish with water with you.
Wet your hand, shape the kebaabs and every time your hands get sticky, just wet it again. It makes shaping kebaabs a breeze.
Fry in medium hot oil for a few minutes. Turn it around and fry another 2 to 3 minutes. Take it out with a slotted spoon and drain the excess oil on towelling paper. Arrange the kebaabs in a Pyrex.
Make the creamy butter sauce and pour it over the kebaabs.
Place the Pyrex in a hot oven for about 5 minutes before serving.
* For the creamy lemon garlic butter sauce
2 tbs butter
125ml fresh cream
1 tbs mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
a dash of Aromat
a dash of Cajun spice
¼ tsp green chillies
¼ tsp garlic
the juice if a lime
Add everything in a saucepan. Bring it to boil then add ½ level tsp maizena mixed with a little milk. Let it come to boil. Mix well then take it off the heat.
*Follow Monowara on Instagram.
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