Indian rice pilaf with spicy mince

This is a great recipe, but the real star of this dish is the rice.  It’s one of those versatile recipes that you can build so many simple meals around.  You can’t really tell from the photo, but the flavour comes from a mixture of cumin seeds, caraway seeds, turmeric, garlic & onion.  A great combination.

I’ve actually tagged this as a ‘kids’ recipe because it’s one of my boys’ favourite dinners – just the rice on it’s own with a few peas thrown in.  I don’t blame them.  It’s pretty great.  In fact this would be up there as one of our top 5 family meals.  It’s simple, it’s flavoursome and I know that as long as I have thawed mince on hand, I can have a great meal on the table in 20 mins.

If spicy mince isn’t your thing, try serving the rice with sliced tandoori chicken breast or a simple pumpkin and cauliflower curry.  Yum!

Indian rice pilaf with spicy mince

Recipe source: The Australian Women’s Weekly
Cooking time: 20-30 minutes

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. caraway seeds
1/8 tsp. ground turmeric
1 cup basmati rice
2 cups chicken stock
500g beef mince
1½ tsp. curry powder
1/3 cup sweet chilli sauce
¼ cup water
4 green onions, sliced thinly
2/3 cup frozen peas
Coriander leaves, roughly chopped, to garnish

Method
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium saucepan.  Add onion, garlic, seeds and turmeric and cook until onion is soft.  Add rice and stir over heat until rice is coated with oil.  Add stock, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to very low.  Cover & cook for 12 minutes. 

While rice is cooking, heat remaining oil in a frying pan.  Add mince and cook until browned.  Add curry powder and cook for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.  Stir in sweet chilli sauce, water, green onions and peas.  Cook, stirring occasionally until peas are soft and heated through.

During this time, keep an eye on the rice and once it has cooked for 12 minutes, remove from heat, keep lid on and stand for another 5 minutes or until rice is tender.

To serve, top pilaf with spiced mince and coriander leaves.

Berry cup with brown sugar crumble

A simple photo for a simple dish!

I was invited to brunch recently where we each brought something to share.  There were a few things to consider when planning what to take – nothing too sweet for 10am in the morning, something that would travel well and most importantly, nothing complicated.

I decided to try a slightly fancier version of my everyday breakfast of Greek yoghurt, rolled oats and blueberries.  Not everyone has a palate for the tartness of Greek yoghurt, so I toasted the rolled oats with shredded coconut and brown sugar for a little crunchy sweetness.

All the berry cups were eaten, including mine, so I’m going to call it a success.  I think I’ll also use this in the future as a quick & refreshing dessert.  Any leftover crumble can be stored in the freezer in a Ziplock bag.  The only danger being that the crumble tastes delicious on vanilla ice-cream as a late night treat!

Berry cup with brown sugar crumble

Ingredients
1 cup mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup natural Greek yoghurt
1/4 cup traditional rolled oats
1/4 cup shredded coconut (not desiccated coconut)
2-4 Tbsp. brown sugar

Method
In a small bowl combine rolled oats, coconut & brown sugar.  Add brown sugar to your taste.  Toast in moderate oven until oats & coconut are turning light golden brown.  Divide berries between two small glasses (I used frozen berries).  Dollop yoghurt on top & sprinkle generously with oat mixture.