All you can Eid: How to beat Eskom during your prep

Hello everyone,

It’s Labarang week and stress mode has officially kicked in.

The house is being spring cleaned and the special linen and fancy bordjies are taken out.

For my own sanity, I’m a firm believer of making lists. There are sticky notes everywhere and everyone has their own tasks leading up to Eid, which in Cape Town is taking place either on Saturday or Sunday, depending on the sighting of the new moon.

My challenge this Eid will be load shedding.

If it’s not me worrying about having enough time to cook, it’s me hoping all my ingredients and the fresh cream and puddings don’t get affected with the power being off.

To keep my ingredients as fresh as possible, I am going to leave my shopping till the last minute. Also remember the shops can get crazy at this time so take along a cooler bag just in case you get delayed.

I plan to keep it simple this Eid, with just a roast, a good curry and all the sides to go with it, and most of my prep will be done the night before.

With curries I find making it the day before works well as it always tastes better the next day as the flavours and spices develop and intensify.

All the best with your preps and a blessed Eid Mubarak to you and your family.

For more recipes or baking and cooking inspiration, visit my website www.sprinklesandspice.co.za or visit my social media platforms on Instagram or Facebook @sprinklesandspicect or Sprinkles and Spice by Farzana Kumandan.

Happy Cooking and Baking,

Love, Your Cooksister

Recipes

Corned Beef/ Corned Tongue

Ingredients

Corned beef (preferably the eye piece)/ Corned Tongue

(You can cook them together or separately)

2 carrots peeled and cut in half.

1 large potato and onion peeled and cut in half.

3 bay leaves

1 teaspoon black pepper corns

4 all spice

1 tablespoon Sprinkles and Spice Pepper Roast Spice (optional)

Method

Fill a large pot with cold water and add all your ingredients (water must cover the corned meat)

Once it boils, turn down to a medium heat. Allow it to simmer on a slow boil for 3hrs.

Be sure to keep topping up the water, ensuring the corned meat is completely submerged in water.

After 3 hours remove the meat from the water and transfer to a glass dish.

Lightly cover with foil and enjoy (do not refrigerate) leave it fresh to enjoy on Eid Morning

Oven Roast Leg of Lamb

Ingredients

1 leg of Lamb (3 - 3,5kg)

2 - 3 tablespoons Pepper Roast Spice Mix

1/4 cup olive oil

5 cloves of garlic

a few sprigs of rosemary

Root vegetables of choice

Method

Rinse the lamb and trim it of all excess fat.

Marinade the lamb with oil and Pepper Roast Spice Mix.

Make incisions into the leg with a sharp tip knife and insert the garlic and sprigs of rosemary.

Transfer the leg to a roasting dish and add peeled root vegetables of your choice. Add a sprinkle of Pepper Roast Spice over your vegetables and cover your roasting dish with a double layer of foil.

Ensure the foil seals the dish completely, so no heat escapes (we want the lamb to steam in its own juices) Roast in a preheated oven on 180 degrees for 3½ to 4 hours.

In the last 20 minutes of your cook time, remove the foil and return the lamb to the oven to brown.

For the Gravy

Remove the excess liquid from the roasting dish and transfer to a pan.

On a stove top over a low heat, simmer the liquid, until it reduces, and it comes to a slow boil.

In a cup, mix 1 heaped teaspoon of corn flour to a ¼ cup of cold water and add it to the pan.

Stir until it thickens and stir in 1 teaspoon butter.

And that’s it! So simple, yet absolutely delicious.

Roast Chicken

Ingredients

16 Chicken drumsticks (1 pack)

1 tablespoon garlic and ginger

2 tablespoons Roast Chicken Spice or any Chicken or Braai Spice of your choice

2 tablespoons Tikka Spice

Squeeze of lemon juice

100g butter

Crisp Iceberg Lettuce leaves

Sliced Cucumber

Sliced Pineapple

Anything else you lus for

Method

Rinse and pat the drumsticks dry with roller towel.

Marinade the chicken with the garlic and ginger, spices, and lemon juice.

Marinade for at least an hour (or longer)

On a stovetop, in a heavy based large pot, on a medium heat, add the butter. Once the butter is completely melted and starts to foam, add the chicken. Roast until golden brown, then add ¼ cup water and cover. Simmer on a low heat for 10-15 minutes. Allow the water to dry completely and allow it to cool.

Serve on a bed of lettuce, cucumber, pineapple, or anything else you lus for

Tikka Chicken Masala

Ingredients for the Marinade

1kg chicken thigh fillets

1 cup double cream yoghurt

1 heaped teaspoon red masala (of dried red chilli, ginger and garlic paste)

50g tomato paste

Freshly Chopped Coriander

1 tsp Turmeric

2 tsp tandoori spice

1 heaped tsp ground cumin (jeera)

1 heaped tsp ground coriander (dhania)

1 tablespoon oil

*Marinate the chicken with all the above ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.

Additional Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil

2 heaped tablespoons ghee or butter

1 finely chopped onion

1 cinnamon stick

3 cardamom pods

1 dried red chilli

7 curry leaves

¼ tsp cumin seeds

1 cup fresh cream

Salt to taste

1 tsp garam masala

Freshly chopped coriander.

Method

In a large pot, over a medium heat add the oil and ghee/ butter. Once the ghee/ butter melts add in the onion, whole spices and curry leaves. Braise until the onion is slightly golden brown. Add in the cumin seeds. Once the seeds begin to pop and sizzle, add in the marinated chicken.

Add in the fresh cream, salt to taste, garam masala and chopped coriander.

Mix until well combined, reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Garnish with freshly chopped coriander and green chillies and serve.

Seafood Breyani

Ingredients

10 crayfish tails

15 prawns (shell on, head off)

Half kg kingklip or any firm fish

4 heaped tsp garlic (freshly always best)

1 heaped teaspoon crushed chillies

2 tsp jeera

2 tsp koljana

3 tsp tandoori spice

2 tablespoons seafood masala

1 tsp turmeric

The juice of a half lemon

1 cup yoghurt

Half cup freshly chopped parsley

Salt to taste

Add 1 tin tomato puree.

Add 2 grated tomatoes.

Add 2 tubs fresh cream.

Method

Rinse and drain all seafood in the fridge, overnight (in a colander) to ensure all seafood has been thawed and no excess water.

Marinade your seafood in all the above ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Braise 2 finely chopped onions and 15 curry leaves in 4 tablespoons butter or ghee.

Once golden and cook for 15 minutes on medium heat. Add your marinaded seafood, tomato puree, tomatoes and fresh cream. After a 15 minutes, prep 4 cups rice (4 cups rice, cooked with 8 cups water and 4 level tsp salt. Bring to boil and drain)

Layer half your rice in an oven safe pot or a big black oven tray and add your seafood with your sauce over half the rice, leaving some curry behind.

Add the rest of rice add and top with some fried onions.

Pour over the remaining seafood and sauce over your rice and Garnish with freshly chopped coriander.

Cover with a double layer foil and steam in the oven on 180degrees for 35-45min **Note you can steam your rice for a half hour on a low heat on the stove, but seafood usually draws water, to ensure your breyani is not soggy its best steamed in the oven.

After your rice is steamed. Fluff up your top rice with a fork.

Enjoy with some dhay, paaper or any of your favourite side dishes.

Rose Barfi Cake

Ingredients

2 eggs

¾ cup sugar

½ cup oil

½ cup milk

2 teaspoons baking powder

1¼ cup flour

1 teaspoon rose water.

1 level teaspoon fine cardamom

Method

Mix all ingredients together until smooth and lump free.

Transfer to a large tray or rectangle baking dish (either grease sprayed or lined with baking paper)

Bake in a preheated oven on 180 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

(Test to see that a skewer comes out clean)

Allow cake to cool, add the icing and sprinkle crushed edible rose petals.

Barfi Rose Icing

Ingredients

100g soft butter

3 cups sifted icing sugar.

3 heaped tablespoons klim

½ teaspoon fine cardamom

1 tablespoon red rose syrup

2 tablespoons dessert cream

Method

Mix all ingredients together until a smooth icing is formed.

Once cake is cool, add the icing and sprinkle crushed edible rose petals.

Eclairs

Ingredients

60g soft butter

2 eggs

½ cup boiling water

½ heaped cup flour

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Method

In a heavy based pot on a low heat, bring your soft butter and boiling water to a slow boil.

Add in your flour and stir until a smooth, soft ball of dough is formed.

Remove the dough from the pot and transfer to a glass bowl, spreading it out across the bowl, allowing it to cool for 5 minutes.

With an electric whisk, add your eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition.

After adding your second egg, it should look like a semi thick paste.

Transfer your eclair dough to a piping bag and pipe your eclair rounds on a baking tray, lined with baking paper.

Pipe 12 equal golf ball sized rounds, leaving equal space around each round.

Bake on 200 degrees, on the lower rack for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180degrees and bake for a further 15-20 minutes, until your eclair is golden brown.

Once golden, turn the oven off but leave the door open and allow the eclairs to cool for at least a half hour.

Once cooled, fill fresh cream, top with melted chocolate and grate some milky bar.

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