pizzas and wings

What goes hand in hand with Pizza is ofcourse Pasta. Now the thing is eventually one always gets tired of meat filled pizza and meat filled pasta. We are Indians afterall. So over the weekend, my husband decides Saturday afternoon he wants to play golf, clearly Saturdays aren't days for slogging in the kitchen neither do eat a whole hearty meal. But I got tired of the whole weeks meat-steak-chicken-fish-prawns menus. A hajj friend of mine bought a wood fire pizza oven for her patio (jealous much, yes even me), ofcourse it makes the most delish pizzas, but her ideas are endless with any gadget. Thanks for the inspiration!
Instead of Pasta I went Debonairs route and made wings from all my collected cut up chicken. Sometimes I find the wings of chicken is such a waste when making curries or kalyo as no one eats them. So nowadays I collect the wings and use it a one go for Spicy Sticky Wings

Carmelised Onion Sundried Tomato Pizza
1 pizza base (readymade or make your own - I bought mine)
1 red onion sliced finely lengthwise
few sundried tomoates chopped
few button mushrooms, sliced
green pepper, chopped
2 tbsp sweetcorn kernel
fresh basil leaves
fresh mozzarella cheese
pinch of salt
1 tbsp of red wine vinegar
pinch of sugar
olive oil and butter

saute onions in olive oil and butter combo, add the salt, sugar and vinegar, on LOW heat.
once done, it will nice and soft, spread out on the pizza base (I used a little tomato sauce first, baked a little and then topped with onions).
in the same pan, saute mushrooms and corn, cook water out till dry add the green pepper.
top the mushroom pepper and corn over the onions, and then evenly place over chopped sundried tomato.
finish off with fresh basil leaves and fresh mozzarella cheese, the ones that comes in the tub of water and you pull off pieces. if you cant find that, grated mozzarella is also fine. bake in oven of 180 degrees till cheese is melted and heated through.

Spicy Sticky Wings

about 6 chicken wings
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Portuguese Peri Peri sauce
Garlic
Crushed Pepper
Robertson's Spicy Portuguese Seasoning
Chicken Spice
Paprika
Salt to taste
Lemon Juice
1 tbsp Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp Mustard Sauce

Marinate chicken wings in the above for a few hours. Melt butter, cook the wings only, in some water. Then once water is dry out, place in a sheet pan and pour over the left over sauce and finish cooking in the oven of 180 degrees for about 20 mins.

TGIF's

Durban staple on a Friday is Dhaar and Rice, papad and Kachumbar... Variety is the spice of life.

Dhaar
3/4 cup gram dhall
1/2 polished moong dhall
1/4 masoor dhall,
wash and soak overnight

The next morning boil together the above with 1 cup oil dhall.
Once its tender, liquidize.

Mutton Curry

1 tsp jeero
1 cinnamon
few elaichi
few cloves
few peppercorns
2 bay leaves
Sautee in ghee with chopped 1 onion.

Add ginger garlic and 2 tsp dhana jeero powder, 1-2 tsp chilli powdee, 1/4 tsp haldi powder, 1 tsp Suhanas meat masala, salt to taste. Roast for a few mins.. Then add washed and drained 1 kilo mutton. Add 3 liquidized tomatos and add a cup of hot water. Cook till mutton is done and soft- adding water when necessary.
Once mutton is done add the dhaar, add cook together. Adding water to the consistency you want. Finish off with vagaar, fresh dhania and spring onion. Serve with vagaar rice papade and Kachumbar

Vagaar
1 tsp jeero
2 slit green chillies
curry leaves
chopped onions
saute together with ghee and throw over dhaar before serving.

For vagaar rice omit the curry leaves.

simple flavors seafood pasta

Yesterday was a little crazy last min supper, I thought I would be able to get away from cooking since I was looking forward to Machachos. Unfortunately my family left late from Witbank and wouldnt make it on time. Nelspruit does not have a variety of halaal fast food places. I asked my husband what he would like to eat and got a very very frustrating 'I dont know,  surprise me, be creative etc etc' response. While driving home I went passed the fishmonger and stopped to see what they have. And then it hit me, I had the most delicious seafood pasta in Plettenberg Bay at a place called Cornuti, even in Knysna overlooking the Heads. 4 years ago and still nothing beats that flavor. I thought let me recreate it. Pasta being my favorite, fresh seafood lets keep it simple and let the seafood shine.

Seafood Pasta for 2
100g fresh mussels
100g calamari rings
150g fresh deveined and deshelled prawns
100g fish (monk's/hake) - optional
100g squid heads - optional
Leave to drain as much water as possible

3/4 tin italian tomatoes, liquidized
2 clove garlic grounded
1 deseeded green chilli - optional
few tbsps of coconut milk
peri peri oil
1/2 onion chopped finely
1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste
Robertsons Portuguese Spice
fresh chopped italian parsely and spring onion

Sauté onion in peri peri/olive oil till translucent
add garlic , chilli, spices and spices and roast a few mins
add lemon juice and tomatoes and cook till dry
add seafood and cook out the water.

Boil the spaghetti as per se, and throw the sauce over with italian parsely and spring onions and serve hot. Grate parmesan cheese as a finishing touch.

Enchiladas

Enchiladas

1 onion sliced thinly
Tri color peppers julienned
Mushrooms , sliced
Chicken fillet, sliced thinly
Portuguese Seasoning
Garlic
Salt & Pepper to taste
Chicken Spice
Paprika/Chilli Powder
Lemon Juice

Cook all the above in some olive oil/ghee

Sauces:
Mustard Sauce
Tomato Sauce
Portuguese Peri Peri Sauce
Tomato paste
Mayonnaise
Paprika
Fresh Cream
Blob of butter
Tablespoon of Sour Cream

Bring to heat in a saucepan till it confirms a thick  sauce.

Bottle of Salsa, and Tortillas

In a casserole dish - pour some sauce on the bottom of this dish.
Spread salsa on tortilla, and then chicken stirfry in the centre of the tortilla and roll.
Place on top of the sauce, seam side down.
Fill the dish and pour the rest of the sauce over the tortilla. Grate cheese over each tortilla and garnish with parsely.
Bake in oven till heated through, and cheese melted.

Chicken Tacos

There's these Taco and Fajita packs that I always see in the supermaket aisle.. this weekend I tried them out. Ofcourse, me being me, won't follow the recipe on the box .I just bought the taco pack Eldo something, they do stock the Tacos and Fajitas separate.

Tacos filling
2 chicken fillets finely chopped
1 tsp garlic
Few dashes of Robertsons Portuguese Spice
Salt and Pepper to taste
Sliced mushrooms
Lemon Juice
Chilli Powder or Green Masala

Cook the above in a non stick pan with some ghee and finish off with dhania, and some Steers Peri Pero sauce to make it saucy.

Salsa
1 tomato chopped, seeds removed
1 onion chopped
1/4 cucumber chopped
1/4 yellow pepper chopped
Lettuce finely julienned

Warm Tacos in the oven for a few mins, spoon chicken, the grated cheese and finish with the salsa and serve. 

Rolly Polly Chicken

Pepperdew and Feta rolled Chicken Fillet
Chicken Fillet, tenderised (mallet it thin)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 pepperdew per fillet sliced finely (mild)
Crumbed feta
Little olive oil to drizzle

Once the fillet is mallet thinly, season with salt and pepper, then evenly spread a sliced pepperdew, layer crumbed feta and roll from one end, so the end is down. Pepper the top, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with fresh chopped parsely. Bake in oven of 180 degreea for 15-20mins, place over creme fariche mushroom sauce.

Mushroom Creme Fraiche Sauce
Thick slice mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook over stove.
Add 1-2 spoons of lemon and herb marinade,  pepper sauce and few heaped spoons of creme fraiche. Turn off heat and melt creme fraiche.

Blogspot isn't allowing me to upload a pictyre. But it will be available on Instagram and Facebook Page @the_contemporary_kitchen

The Rolls Royce of Beef

I's a red meat lover, would prefer meat anyday over fish and chicken. I think my husband too and with Ramadan everything is either meat or chicken and rarely seafood. Sundays I generally like to cook 'akhalwaya' style but Saturday I was invited for iftar at a friends. She specifically told me not to bring anything and its my day off, but I can't sit idle and neither could the fillet in my freezer. So I took that out to defrost thinking of what I can make for Sunday so I'm prepared in advance. The thing about Ramadan is you think you can eat alot when you break fast, but at iftar you can't even half of what you have prepared. Since its only hubby and I, I sliced the fillet where it makes 'V' just enough for us. Baby potatoes and mushroom are perfect with it. I did not use exact measurements because my fillet was small, the bigger the fillet the more spices you need to add.

Pepper Fillet topped with Masala Mushroom served with Roasted Baby Potatoes and Garlic Bread

Beef fillet, trimmed off fat and threads, washed and drained
Fresh ground pepper
Lemon Pepper
Lemon Juice
Salt to taste
Green chilli paste
1/2 tsp barbeque spice
1/2 tsp steaks and chops spice

Marinate the fillet overnight.
Sear the steak on a hot nonstick frying pan with some oil on all sides, thereafter toss in oven of 180 degrees till done. About 10-15 mins depending on the size of your steak.
Once done, slice steak - I don't like a pink steak- and top with masala mushroom sauce

Masala Mushroom Sauce

Mushrooms that you prefer, I used portobello, sliced length wise
Onion slices length wise
Tomato Paste
Portuguese Sauce - the hot one, not alot of it.
Dhana Jeero Powder
Chilli Powder
Salt to taste.

In a saucepan add a stick of butter and sautee onions till pink, add mushrooms and cook till soft.
Add some tomato paste, till it melts and add spices. Top with fresh chopped coriander.

Baby Potatoes
Olive oil
Lemon Pepper
Salt
Parsely
Rosemary
Thyme

Toss together and bake in preheated oven of 180deg till done.

Garlic Bread - just buy from the store 😂