Pilau & co

on Monday, we had a mix of Indian influenced dishes for iftar - Pilau Rice with Honey Chicken, Cucumber Raita, Courgette & Mint Relish, Chick Pea Curry and Fried Aubergines. few things missing - papadom & mango chutney & pickled lime - none in the pantry and couldnt be bothered going out to the shops to get them.

 above L to R : Pilau Rice, Ayam Masak Madu, Chick Pea Curry

 L to R : Curumber Raita, Coriander & Mint Relish, Fried Aubergine

thats the whole spread. i'm not into indian sweets, i did have Frozen Samosa in the freezer but it completely slipped my mind.  i made Kueh Ketayap and encik suami blitzed Mango Lassi as well to complete the course.

nampak macam banyak sangat lauk kena masak  and you must have thought i spent a lot of time in the kitchen? well, you got it all wrong.. it took me just over 10 minutes to prepare Cucumber Raita which i made in the afternoon, then chilled it. i used Brahim's Ayam Masak Madu paste for the chicken dish, follow the instruction on the packet, then i added petit pois (very small green peas) and sliced onions. Courgette & Mint Relish was bought from the quaint Jam on the Hill shop in the Rutlands.

PILAU RICE (original recipe from bbc.co.uk, with some modification - in red)

Ingredients

• 450g/1lb basmati rice  (i cooked 4 'rice cooker' cups of rice for 4 people for iftar & sahur)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• large knob butter, plus extra to serve ( i used 2 tablespoons of Ghee)
• 4 cardamom pods
• 8 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• pinch saffron threads  (u can skip this if you dont have any saffron)
• 2 bay leaves
• 600ml/1 pint hot chicken stock, vegetable stock or water (6 'ricecooker cups' of water, i normally use the ratio of 1 cup rice :1.5 cup water; add 1 pot Knorr Vege Stock)
• salt (just a pinch)
• fresh coriander leaves

Preparation method

1. To make sure you get lovely fluffy rice, wash it in several changes of cold water, then leave to soak for about 30 minutes in fresh cold water. If you don't have time for this, place in a sieve and wash under the cold tap for a minute or so. (i used the second method - i just placed the rice in a sieve and wash under cold tap)
2. Cook the onion in the butter for around 5 minutes until softened. Add the spices, saffron and bay leaves and cook for a couple more minutes. The spices will give a wonderful fragrant flavour to the rice. Add the rice and stir until the grains are coated in the butter before stirring in the stock or water and salt. (from this point on, i shall leave it up to you how you want to cook the rice; reason being because i used the electric rice cooker. once i stirred in the water, i just put the pot into the rice cooker. however if you choose to use the ongoing method, you will definitely get fluffy rice - i know cos i've tried that method before) Bring to the boil and then cover with a tight-fitting lid. If the lid isn't very tight, cover the pan with aluminium foil before putting the lid on. Turn the heat down low and leave to cook for 10 minutes before turning off the heat. Don't remove the lid; just leave the rice to continue cooking in the pan for about 5 minutes until you're ready to serve.
3. The rice should have absorbed all the water and will just need fluffing up with a fork. Add a knob of butter before serving

CHICKPEA CURRY (original recipe from bbc.co.uk, with some modification - in red)

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• ¼ tsp coriander powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ¼ tsp red chilli powder (u can skip this if you use curry powder)
• 1 fresh tomato, chopped
• 1 x 400g/14oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 5cm/2in piece root ginger, grated
• pinch of garam masala (i skipped this) 
• 1 tablespoon meat curry powder

Preparation method

1. Heat a deep saucepan or a medium sized wok and add the oil or butter followed by the onions and garlic.
2. Fry the mixture till the onions are caramelised. Then add the salt, cumin, coriander, turmeric and red chilli powders. Mix for a minute and tip in the tomato. Cook the sauce until it begins to thicken.
3. Add ¼ cup of water and stir. Then tip in the chickpeas and mix. Mash a few of the chickpeas while cooking. Cover and simmer for five minutes. Then add the ginger and the garam masala. Cook for another minute.

CUCUMBER RAITA (original recipe from delia online with some modification)

half cucumber - peel, cut into half lengthwise, slice thinly. put in basin and sprinkle with salt. leave for an hour. drain the liquid and dry cucumber/strain in kitchen paper. (you can also remove the seeds and finely diced)
combine cucumber with natural yogurt, spring onion, 1 clove chopped garlic and season with salt & pepper and chill. (you can add mint leaves/coriander leaves and chopped tomatoes if you are using them)

FRIED AUBERGINES

half aubergine - cut into quarter lengthwise, slice thinly. sprinkle with salt & turmeric powder and deep fry.

MANGO LASSI

1 can  Mango Pulp (+ syrup)
fresh milk
single cream (u can skip this)
natural yogurt
crushed ice ( i skipped this)

blitz everything & serve chilled.