Celebrating our diverse community

• Masgouf/Iraqi Grilled Fish (Iraqi)
• Latkes (Australian)
• Sri Lankan Tempered Chickpeas (Sri Lankan)
• Rice Paper Rolls (Vietnamese)
  
• Dundee Cake - Easy Fruit Cake (Scottish)
• Potato Bread (Irish)
• Lentil Chilli Cheese Pie (Australian)

Masgouf / Iraqi grilled fish

The recipe came from IRAQ originally. It is a cultural recipe that is widely known for people originally from Mesopotamian lands.

Origin: Iraqi          Prep time: 30 mins          Cooking time: 45 mins           Serves: 4



Ingredients

• 1/2 KL white fish fillets
• 2 tsp. salt divided
• 2 tsp. curry divided
• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 5 tsp. vegetable oil
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1 & 1/2 cups chopped parsley
• 8 tsp. of can tomato paste
• 2 tsp. vinegar
• 3 TSP. lemon juice
• ½ cup water
• ½ tsp. cayenne pepper optional

Method

• Wash fish fillets and pat dry. Rub it with one TS & 1 TS curry.
• Place the fish on a grill-safe pan. Cover, to keep the fish from drying out and refrigerate until ready to cook.
• Sauce: Chop half of the onion, along with the cloves of garlic & sauté in vegetable oil until translucent.
• Chop 1 of the tomatoes, along with the parsley, tomato paste, vinegar, lemon juice, water, remaining salt, and curry.
• Add cayenne pepper, if using. Stir until all the ingredients come
  together to form a nice, rich sauce. Simmer for approximately five minutes and set aside to cool.
• Slice the remaining onion and tomato. Remove the fish from the refrigerator and smother with the tomato sauce.
• Arrange the sliced tomatoes and onions on top of the sauce. Grill the fish in a grill basket to achieve smokey masgouf, you can also bake it in the oven.
• Heat your barbecue grill, and once hot, add the fish. Cook forapproximately 10 minutes. Flip halfway through.
• Serve with rice

Latkes


Origin: Australian          Prep time: 20 mins          Cooking time: 30 mins          Serves: 12




Ingredients

• 700 g potatoes- peeled , shredded or grated
• 1 small onion - peeled, shredded or grated
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp breadcrumbs unseasoned
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/2 tsp pepper or to taste
• 1/2 cup - canola oil for frying

Method

• Remove the Liquid from potatoes and onions- : Place about 4 paper
  towels folded in half over a medium size bowl and add the potatoes and
  onions. You can use a cheesecloth as well. Gather the corners of the
  paper towels up and squeeze as much of the liquid out of the potatoes
  and onion as possible.
• Transfer the potatoes and onion to another bowl. Add in the egg,
  breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Mix everything well and set the batter
  aside while the oil heats up.
• Add the oil to a large pan and heat it over medium-high heat.
• Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup (or large spoon) scoop the mixture onto
  a flat spatula and flatten it with your fingers to form a patty. Transfer
  this to the fry pan and repeat until pan is full but don't overcrowd.
• Cook about 4 to 5 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Adjust heat if
  necessary. Repeat with remaining latkes.
• Transfer the cooked latkes to a paper-towel lined plate plate.

Sri Lankan Tempered Chickpeas

This recipe is actually from partners culture and family, to say I have fallen in love with Sri Lankan food is an understatement and these chickpeas are a great way to taste the flavours without committing to a big meal.

Origin: Sri Lankan         Prep time: 5 mins         Cooking time: 5 mins         Serves: Snack



Ingredients

• 4 cups boiled chickpeas
• 1 onion chopped
• 2-4 dried red chillies broken into pieces
• 1-2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp chillie powder
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 cup sliced coconut
  

Method

• Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seed and cumin.
• Fry for few minutes till the seeds pop.
• You might want to close the pan with a lid so that the seeds will not pop
  out of the pan.
• Add the rest of the ingredients except the chickpeas and fry till the
  onions are gold brown.
• Finally add the chickpeas, add salt to taste.
• Fry for another 2-3 minutes.
  Serve hot.

Rice Paper Rolls

It’s a very traditional Vietnamese dish that is best enjoyed with others. I found the recipe online but it is very similar to what I do at home.

Origin: Vietnamese         Prep time: 20 mins         Cooking time: 20 mins         Serves: 6




Ingredients

You can use almost anything to fill rice paper rolls, from leftover chicken, to all kinds of fresh vegetables. Traditionally, along with meat and vegetables, cooked rice vermicelli noodles are included for extra texture and bulk, although feel free to leave them out if that suits your taste. Another important inclusion is a range of
fresh herbs, with Thai basil and mint being the most popular. Some popular fillings include:

• Prawn and barbecued pork with
  cucumber, basil and mint
• Barbecued chicken with Chinese cabbage,
  bean sprouts, mint and coriander
• Roast beef with cucumber and mint
• Chicken with lettuce mint and basil
• Prawn, carrot, pea sprouts and mint
• Julienned carrot, cucumber and capsicum
  with mint and basil 

Best served dipping sauces are, Satay Hoisin and peanut and Sweet chilli.

Method

• Soak the vermicelli noodles in just boiled water to soften, then
  rinse them in cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain well, then
  chop them into short lengths to make it easy to add to your rolls.
• Place each of your fillings in separate bowls along the bench.
  Keep your bulkiest items, such as the cooked noodles, closest to you,
  with the herbs furthest away.
• Pour boiling water into a shallow dish that is wide enough to
  take your dried rice paper. Working with one sheet of rice paper at a time,
  dip into the hot water for a few minutes to soften, then transfer to a plate
  covered with a damp tea towel.
• Working with one sheet at a time, place some of each of the
  fillings in the centre of the rice paper, ensuring it is kept 10 cm from each
  end. Do not overfill or you could risk the rice paper splitting.
• Bring the two ends of the rice paper over the filling, then roll up
  the sides to create a tight parcel. Repeat with remaining

Dundee Cake - easy fruit cake

I am from Dundee, a port city on the east coast of Scotland, which may explain the relatively exotic ingredients which don’t grow in Scotland. I got the recipe from a recipe book and I have made it a number of times. My mum also makes it. It’s a cake with great structural integrity (very heavy!) and so it keeps very well and can be taken on long walks without falling apart.

Origin: Scottish          Prep time: 20 mins          Cooking time: 50 mins         Serves: 12        



Ingredients

• 225g butter
• 225g soft brown sugar (or 225g dates
  stewed in 250ml water and pureed)
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 350g plain flour (50/50 white/wholewheat
  is good)
• 1-2 tablespoons milk
• 175g sultanas
• 175g currants
• 175g raisins
• 75g candied peel, chopped
• 75g glace cherries, halved
• 50g ground almonds
  grated rind of 1 orange or lemon
• 75g blanched almonds, halved, for decoration
  extra butter for greasing the cake tin

Method

• Preheat oven to 170C
• Grease 20cm cake tin and line with greaseproof paper or use non-stick tin
• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
• Add eggs and beat well
• Sift flour onto mixture and fold it in
• Add milk if mixture does not drop from spoon
• Stir in all remaining ingredients except blanched almonds
• Put mixture into cake tin
• Arrange halved blanched almonds on top
• Bake for 2.5 hours.
  

Potato Bread

Origin: Irish          Prep time: 15 mins         Cooking time: 30 mins           Serves: 4



Ingredients

• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in four
• 1 pinch salt
• 4 tablespoons plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tablespoon melted butter

Method

• In a pot, cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil over high heat.
  Simmer on medium-high heat until the centre of the potatoes are tender when pricked with a fork, about 20 minutes.
• Turn off heat. Drain, return potatoes to pot and allow to completely dry out over remaining heat.
• Mash with a potato masher until smooth.
• Place warm mashed potato in medium bowl.
• Stir in flour, salt and melted butter. Mix lightly until dough forms
• On a well floured surface, knead the dough lightly. The dough will be sticky.
• Use a floured rolling pin to flatten into a 25cm circle about 5mm thick. Cut into quarters using a floured knife.
• Sprinkle a little flour into the base of a frying pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until evenly browned. Season with a little salt and serve straight away.

I like to have mine with Runny Eggs and Bacon or the traditional UlsterFry.

Lentil Chilli Cheese Pie

I made this up by cobbling a few different recipe ideas together.

I first tasted a similar pie in a local Health Food Shop and absolutely loved it but new owners took over and this pie was no longer sold so I had to try to replicate it or die. Happy for photo to be used.

Origin: Australian         Prep time: 60 mins        Cooking time: 60 mins         Serves: 4



Ingredients

• 1 tblsp olive oil or ghee
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp minced garlic or cloves
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 capsicum, seeded, finely chopped (green looks best against tomato)
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• salt & pepper & sugar to taste
• 1 can tomatoes or fresh
• 400 g can lentils, drained, rinsed or just cook your own prior to
• 2 sheets frozen shortcrust pastry (bottoms)
• thawed & 2 sheets puff (for tops)
• 1 cup grated tasty cheese
• Natural yoghurt to serve

Method

• Preheat oven to 180 C (fan forced). Heat oil/ghee in a large frying pan on
  high. Saute onion, carrot, capsicum and garlic for 2-3 minutes, until
  onion is tender.
• Stir in spices/seasonings and cook for a minute or so until you can
  smell them. Mix in tomatoes and simmer for 5 mins. Add the lentils and
  cook for a couple of minutes (if canned) or til soft if they are fresh hard
  then take off hob and cool mixture down.
• Press shortcrust pastry into pie trays. Prick bases and weigh down if
  desired – (if you don’t pastry may rise a bit but it goes back down when
  you put filling on top of it). Bake for 5 mins. If using a pie maker, do
  whatever you do.
• Spoon filling evenly between pie bases & top with grated cheese before
  putting the puff pastry top on. Bake for approx 30 minutes, until golden
  on top.
• Serve with yoghurt or a yummy homemade tomato ketchup.