If a few years ago someone had suggested that we spend my day off cooking, I would have laughed my head off but to my surprise, last week I took my RDO (roaster day off) and that is exactly what I did.
As my husband was working that day, I had a friend come over. We didn’t have much planned so we thought it would be a great idea to try some new dishes. So we came up with a four course menu for the day.
It was
- Aloo chop with golbheda achar
- Lentil soup
- Chorizo and tomato couscous
- Fresh green beans with pan fried mushrooms
- Chocolate mud cake with ice-cream
Surprisingly the food turned out yummy even though we tried some of the recipes for the first time. They were all easy and quick to make so I am sharing the recipes here.
Aloo chop with golbhera achar (click here for recipe)
Lentil soup
Ingredients
- 200gm brown lentils
- 2 litres chicken or veggie stock
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tomato diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon of ghee (can be replaced by butter or oil)
- 1/ 2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- Thickening cream (optional)
Steps
- In a large saucepan, heat oil and add turmeric powder and crushed garlic.
- Once garlic is brown, add tomatoes and onion along with cumin powder and salt. Fry for few minutes.
- Now add lentils and stock and combine all ingredients. Bring to boil, then simmer until lentils are soft, 30 to 45 minutes.
- If you have a pressure cooker, press it for 5 whistles instead.
- Add thickening cream if you want to add flavor.
Chorizo and tomato couscous (from Coles website)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Moroccan Seasoning Mix
- 400 g can Tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup Chicken Stock
- 250 g Broccoli Florets
- 1 1/2 cups Couscous
- 1 cup Flat Leaf Parsley
- 2 Chorizo Sausages, sliced
- 1 Onion, chopped
Steps
- Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium. Cook chorizo for 1-2 mins each side, until golden. Remove from pan. Cook onion in the same pan for 3-5 mins, until soft. Add seasoning mix and stir until fragrant.
- Add tomatoes, stock and broccoli. Bring to boil and sprinkle over couscous. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 5 mins, until liquid has been absorbed. Using a fork, stir through parsley and chorizo, fluffing up grains as you go.
Fresh green beans with pan fried mushrooms (from Coles website)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil, (from pantry)
- small brown onion, thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 300 g cup mushrooms, quartered
- 500 g green beans, ends trimmed
- 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
Steps
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook the onion for 2-3 minutes to soften. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for 5-6 minutes until softened and lightly browned.
- Cook the green beans briefly in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, or until just tender and vibrant green.
- Remove the beans with a slotted spoon and add to the mushrooms with the thyme. Season with salt and pepper and remove to a serving platter.
Chocolate mud cake with ice-cream
Ingredients
- 1 cups hot water
- 250 g butter
- 200 g dark cooking chocolate
- 1 cup cocoa
- 2 cups caster sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten lightly
- 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
- 1 cups self-raising flour
- 2 teaspoon chocolate topping
- Ice cream to serve
Steps
- In a saucepan over low heat melt together, butter, cocoa, chocolate, sugar, vanilla and hot water.
- When cooled add flour and eggs and mix well. The mixture will be very runny.
- Pour into a lined 30 cm cake tin and bake at 150C for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes before turning out.
- When cool sprinkle with icing sugar.
- Pour chocolate toppings on the slice of a cake in the plate and serve with ice cream.
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