If you've tired of the onslaught of beef and polao (and the works), worry not, since you're not alone. With Qurbani Eid barely a week or two behind, our palettes have taken an extensive ride through the worlds of any and every variation of beef, curry, biryani and rice. As much as we love to gorge on Eid delicacies, sometimes it might just seem a tad bit too heavy for the palette. Keeping that little need in mind, I've thought of two very fresh, easy-to-create recipes that combine the refreshing flavours of fruits with savoury items such as rice and bread to create a one-bowl meal of sweet and sour pineapple rice and a decadant bread pudding to finish it all off. Bon Appetit!
Orange bread pudding
Ingredients
12-14 slices of bread 3 cups of milk 2 tbsp custard powder ½ cup condensed milk A pinch of salt Zest of half an orange Handful of raisins and nuts For the orange glaze Zest of another half an orange Juice of an orange 1 tbsp butter 4 tbsp sugarMethod
In a large saucepan, whisk together milk, custard powder, condensed milk and a pinch of salt and let it come to a boil. Turn the heat on medium low and cook it for about 10 minutes or until the pudding mixture thickened a little bit. Take it off the heat and add in half of the orange zest.
Brush the bread slices with butter on one slide and toast them slightly. Place them in your preferred baking dish with raisins and nuts in between the bread slices and pour over the pudding mixture. Let it sit for at least half an hour or more. The longer the bread sits and soaks in the liquid, the creamier your bread pudding will be.
Top it off with a few more raisins and nuts and bake it in a preheated oven for 20-30 minutes at 180 degree Celsius.
To make the orange glaze, squeeze in the orange juice, orange zest and sugar in a smaller sauce pan with a knob of butter. Stir till it thickens and gives of a smooth glaze.
Once it is done baking, pour over the glaze on top of the bread pudding and tuck in!
Sweet and sour pineapple rice
Ingredients
1 cup of uncooked rice (pilaf/basmati) ½ cup coconut milk 1 ½ cup hot water A pinch of salt 3-4 tbsp of vegetable oil 1 cup chicken strips 3 cups of pineapple 2 chopped green chilli ½ red bell pepper 3-4 tbsp sugar ½ green bell pepper Handful of cashew nut Handful of fresh coriander ½ lemonMethod
Cook the rice in coconut milk and water with a pinch of salt till it is al dente.
Meanwhile, chop one whole pineapple, red bell pepper and green capsicum. Mix the chicken strips with salt and 1 tbsp flour. Fry them and keep aside. Roast the cashew nuts and set aside.
In a large skillet, add one big glug of oil, and 3 cups of pineapple. Cook the pineapple till the juices are reduced to about half. Add in the sugar, green chilies, red and green capsicum and turn the heat to medium high. Add the rice, fried chicken strips and cashew nuts. Stir to combine. Cook for another 2-3 minutes and add in the chopped coriander. Serve with a squeeze of lemon!