Tikka Masala Fish

Ingredients:

2 Whole Snapper
200g Plain Yoghurt
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 and 1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Pepper
2 Tsp Ginger
2 and 1/2 Tsp Garlic
1 and 1/2 Tsp Cumin Seeds
1 Tsp Turmeric
1 Tsp Crushed Green Chillies
1 Tsp Red Chilli Flakes

Method:

Wash and clean fish thoroughly. Make slits in the skin.

Mix all ingredients together to make a paste.

Marinate fish in this mixture, pushing marinade into the slits and into the cavity.

Prepare a coal BBQ. Oil the grill well to prevent fish from sticking. Cook fish for about 8 minutes a side.

Serve hot with lemon wedges. Enjoy :)

White Chocolate, Rose & Raspberry Cheesecake

While browsing through an Asian supermarket the other day, I came across a packet of dried rose buds. On impulse I bought them and set about looking for a recipe that I could use them in. While you don't actually use them in this dish, I had seen a few recipes which used them as a garnish, so here's the result! 

Ingredients:

1 Cup Raspberries (Frozen is fine)

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 Tsp Gelatin

250g Marie Biscuits

100g Melted Butter

250g Cream Cheese

300 ml Cream

1 Cup White Chocolate

1 Tsp Rose Water

1/4 Cup Caster Sugar

1 and 1/2  Tsp Gelatine

Crystallized Rose Petals and Dried Rose Buds to garnish

Method:

Mix Raspberries and sugar and leave for 30 minutes to macerate. Mix the gelatin with 3 Tbsp of hot water till dissolved. Add this to the raspberry mixture. Pour into a flat tray and leave in the fridge to set. This step is to make the raspberry mixture less runny.

Crush the biscuits in a food processor and mix with the melted butter. 

This quantity gives a fairly thick base, if you prefer a thinner base, half the amount.

Line the base of your spring-form pan with grease proof paper. Firmly press biscuit mixture into the base of the pan and leave in the fridge to set.

Beat cream cheese, rose water, sugar and cream till well mixed. Melt the chocolate and pour this into mixture. Dissolve the gelatine in 1/4 cup of water and add this to the mixture. Mix well.

Pour half the mixture onto the biscuit base. Remove raspberry from pan and gently place over mixture.

Add the other half of the mixture and place rose buds into mixture facing upwards.

Refrigerate till set.

Garnish with rose petals, glitter or anything else you can get your hands on! The rose buds don't taste that great, so might be an idea to tell your guests to remove them before eating lol.

Enjoy :)

Herb Crusted Lamb Cutlets

Every season on master-chef, someone always seems to make a herb crusted rack of lamb or lamb cutlets. Every time I see it, I say hmmm I should try that. Finally got around to doing it lol. Feel free to adjust the crumb mixture depending on the nuts and herbs you prefer :)

Ingredients: 

5 Lamb Cutlets

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 Tsp Black Sesame Seeds

1/2 Tsp Sumac

1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder

3 Tbsp Almond Meal (Can substitute this with any other ground nuts you like Eg. Pistachio, Walnut etc.)

1 Tsp Fresh Thyme

1 Tsp Fresh Olive Leaf (Can substitute with Rosemary if you don't have Olive Leaf)

Method:

Finely chop thyme and olive leaf.

Mix this with the salt, pepper, sesame seeds, sumac, garlic powder & almond meal.

Wash and dry the lamb cutlets.

Brush the cutlets with olive oil on both sides.

Dip the cutlets in the crumb mixture and coat well.

Press mixture onto cutlets firmly.

Heat a grill pan on medium heat. You dont need to add any oil into the pan as the olive oil and fat on the cutlets will be enough.

Pan fry the cutlets for about 4 minutes each side for medium, for well done about 6 minutes a side. take care not to keep turning or moving them as the crumb mixture will fall off. When almost cooked, stand cutlets upright to brown the sides.

Can be served with salad, rice, or potato wedges. Enjoy!

Chocolate Orange & Almond Tart

So here goes my first post....Yummy chocolate orange almond tart! This recipe is a result of a few different recipes I found, plus a few tweaks of my own lol...Enjoy :)

Ingredients:

Orange Peel : 1 Orange, 1/4 cup Sugar, 2 Tbsp Water

Pastry : 225g Plain Flour, 140g Butter, Pinch of Salt, 2 Tbsp Caster Sugar, 2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder, 1 Tsp Cinnamon & 3 Tbsp Water

Filling : 1 Cup Roasted Almonds (Slivered), 1 Tsp Cinnamon, 1 Cup Heavy Cream, 240g Dark Chocolate & Zest of 1 Orange.

Method:

Remove peel from orange in strips taking care not to peel off the pith. In a saucepan, cover orange peel with water and sugar. 

Stir on low heat for about 20 minutes till the syrup is thick and the orange peel is translucent.

Pour onto baking paper and cool. 

Finely chop or process peel.

To make the pastry, mix all ingredients except water in a food processor till combined. Add the water and make a soft dough. Cling wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper.

Gently invert over a tart pan. press mixture into sides and trim off excess pastry. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Blind bake for 15 minutes using baking beads or rice. 

Remove beads or rice and bake for a further 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

Toss almonds, orange peel and cinnamon together in a bowl.

Sprinkle mixture over the bottom of the crust.

Place cream in a heavy pan and bring to a simmer. Take off the heat, add chocolate and mix till dissolved and smooth. 

Add orange zest and mix through.

Pour over mixture.

Decorate the top with almonds, orange peel or anything else you like. I've used gold coated sugar crystals.  Refrigerate for 3 hours.

Cut into slices to serve :)