simple food – My Whisk and I

Mushroom Chicken

February 13, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

4-6 chicken breasts
60ml flour
45ml + 30ml vegetable oil
30ml butter
300g mixed mushrooms
5ml thyme leaves
2 cloves of garlic, minced
15ml wholegrain mustard
15ml sour cream
125ml dry white wine
125ml chicken stock
30ml lemon juice

Place the chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap and beat them so that they are an even thickness.
Pat the meat dry, season with salt and pepper and dredge them through the flour.
Add 45ml vegetable oil to a pan set over medium-high heat, add the chicken and cook until golden on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add 30ml vegetable oil and the butter to the same pan and wait for it to heat up.
Add the mushroom and thyme leaves and fry for about 4 minutes – the mushroom should be caramelised and golden on the edges.
Turn the heat down, add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Add the mustard, sour cream, white wine and chicken stock and stir to mix.
Place the chicken back in the pan, cover with a lid and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes.
Remove the lid, drizzle the lemon juice over and serve immediately.

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Curried Eggs

January 30, 2024January 30, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

8 eggs
60ml vegetable oil
10ml mustard seeds
7 cardamom pods, cracked
5ml fennel seeds
4 cloves of garlic, minced
10ml minced ginger
1 red chilli, finely sliced
2 red onions, chopped
12 curry leaves
30ml ground coriander
10ml chilli powder
5ml turmeric
30ml sugar
15ml salt
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomato
300ml coconut milk
chilli oil, to garnish
coriander leaves

Fill a saucepan with water and place it over high heat. Add the eggs once the water boils and cook for 6 minutes. Plunge the eggs into cold water. Peel and keep on the side.
Pour the vegetable oil into a pan set over medium-high heat and add the mustard seeds. Wait for the seeds to start spluttering.
Add the cardamom, fennel seeds, garlic, ginger, chilli, onions and curry leaves.
Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Now add the coriander, chilli powder, turmeric, sugar and salt and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the tomato and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring every now and then.
Pour in the coconut milk and taste the sauce – adjust the seasoning to your taste.
Place the eggs in the sauce and heat through.
Serve the eggs on rice with lashings of sauce, a drizzle of chilli oil and fresh coriander leaves.

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Pork Fillet (Tenderloin) in Honey

December 5, 2023December 3, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

5ml salt
10ml smoked paprika
a few grindings of black pepper
2 pork fillets/tenderloin
30ml butter
15ml vegetable oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
45ml apple cider vinegar
25ml soy sauce
125ml honey

Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Add the salt, paprika and black pepper to a small bowl and mix together.
Lay the fillets on a board and sprinkle the mix over, rubbing all over.
Add the butter and vegetable oil to a heavy, oven-proof pan, place over high heat and wait for it to heat up.
Add the fillets and sear until golden.
Turn off the heat, add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Add the vinegar, soy and honey to the pan and stir to mix.
Turn the fillets over and place the pan in the oven. Bake for 18 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the fillets to a plate. Cover tightly with aluminium foil and set aside.
Place the pan back on a medium-heat and simmer the sauce for 3 minutes or so, until syrupy.
Turn off the heat and place the fillets in the sauce, turning to cover the meat completely.
Slice the pork and serve with mashed potato and extra sauce.

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Banana-Meatball Bake

September 12, 2023August 30, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This recipe makes about 30 medium sized meatballs.

Meatballs:
4 slices white bread, crusts cut off
500ml water
1kg minced/ground beef
2 eggs
15ml salt
2,5ml ground coriander
2,5ml ground cumin
5ml white pepper
10ml ground ginger
125ml flour
vegetable oil

Banana and Onion Sauce:
3 onions, sliced
10ml ground turmeric
20ml curry powder
20ml sugar
25ml flour
30ml apricot jam
50ml vinegar
500ml water
4 bananas, sliced
125ml desiccated coconut

For the meatballs:
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a large ceramic dish with cooking spray.
Place the bread in a bowl and pour over the water.
Stand for 1 minute. Drain the water and squeeze out any excess.
Add the bread to a large mixing bowl and break it up.
Add the minced meat, eggs, salt coriander, cumin, ginger and white pepper.
Mix together with your hands, squeezing it through your fingers.
Roll medium sized meatballs (about 15ml scoop) and place them on a baking sheet.
Add the flour to a shallow bowl and lightly roll each meatball in it.
Place a large pan on medium-high heat, add enough oil to cover the surface and fry the meatballs in batches until brown.
Place the meatballs in the prepared baking dish and set aside.

For the banana and onion sauce:
Place the same pan in which you browned the meatballs over medium-high heat, add the onions and cook until soft.
Add the turmeric, curry powder, sugar and flour and stir-fry for one minute.
Now add the jam, vinegar and water and stir while cooking, until you have a thickened sauce.
Season with salt.
Add the banana and stir through.
Pour the sauce over the meatballs, sprinkle over the coconut and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
Serve the meatballs and sauce on fluffy steamed rice.

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Chicken Tikka Masala

June 1, 2022May 25, 2022by Karen Claassen4 Comments

Quick marinade:
9 chicken breasts, skinless and deboned, cut into bite-size portions
250ml yoghurt
15ml ground ginger
15ml garam masala
10ml turmeric
5ml ground cumin
2,5ml smoked paprika
3 cloves of garlic, minced
5ml salt

Sauce:
45ml vegetable oil
45ml butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1cm fresh ginger, grated
10ml garam masala
5ml ground cumin
5ml turmeric
5ml ground coriander
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
5ml smoked paprika
5ml salt
375ml cream
30ml brown sugar

For the marinade:
Add all the ingredients, including the chicken, to a mixing bowl and stir together.
Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes or overnight.

Add half the oil and butter to a frying pan over medium-high heat.
Add the chicken in small batches and fry for about 3 minutes before removing and adding the next batch of chicken.
Keep the fried chicken to the side and keep going until all of the chicken has been fried.
Add the remaining oil and butter to a saucepan set over medium-high heat.
Add the onion and cook until soft.
Now add the garlic and fresh ginger and stir-fry for one minute.
Add the garam masala, cumin, turmeric and coriander and cook for another minute.
Add the chopped tomatoes, paprika and salt and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes.
Decant the sauce to a blender and whizz until smooth.
Pour the sauce back into the saucepan and add the cream, sugar and chicken pieces and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
Serve the tikka masala with a fragrant rice and lashings of the sauce.