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Appetisers, Soups & Salads

Appetisers, Soups & Salads/ Poultry & Meat/ Recipes

Easy Chicken Meatballs

Easy Chicken Meatballs / www.quichentell.com

My easy chicken meatballs are exactly what they claim to be. They can be assembled and cooked in a jiffy; no special ingredients and techniques required. Everyone loves meatballs –  as finger food with cocktails or wrapped in a tortilla with salsa, or bunged between slices of bread, or slathered with marinara nestled within reams of spaghetti; there are so many ways to eat them. It’s all about the mince…

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Appetisers, Soups & Salads/ Poultry & Meat/ Recipes/ Seafood

Spicy Prawn Soup

Spicy Prawn Soup / www.quichentell.com

Spicy prawn soup in November is like winter haiku in a bowl. Just a few ingredients celebrating the season creating deep, warming harmony on your palate. The heat hums in this spicy prawn soup, never jarring, just right. I started the season of soups with one that’s not too hearty and heavy, yet it’s filling enough to be a meal by itself. Surf and turf This soup is spiced with…

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Appetisers, Soups & Salads/ Recipes

Marinated Tofu and Watermelon Salad

Marinated Tofu and Watermelon Salad / www.quichentell.com

A watermelon salad was just what the doctor ordered when my stomach needed rest from rich, heavy food. Watermelon and feta salads are popular but this post is an Asian take on that classic combination. This watermelon salad has silken tofu marinated in a tangy, savoury dressing – it’s lighter with a beautiful balance of sour, sweet and salty flavours. Why you should marinate the tofu I like the soft,…

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Appetisers, Soups & Salads/ Breakfast/ Recipes/ Vegetables

Baked Chickpea Cakes

Baked Chickpea Cakes / www.quichentell.com

Baked chickpea cakes for dinner on a weeknight were exactly what I needed –  a healthy, easy-to-put-together, light meal. After the indulgences of the winter, now fading fast, it’s time to shift to menus suited to warmer weather. Chickpeas are wildly popular, present in every store cupboard and are incredibly versatile. These baked chickpea cakes can be anything you want them to be –   appetisers at a party, a…

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Appetisers, Soups & Salads/ Recipes/ Seafood

Tandoori Prawns

Tandoori Prawns / www.quichentell.com

Tandoori prawns are a surefire crowd pleaser; whether you’re cooking it for just for your family or for a large party. Seafood is delicate, yet the ground spices in the marinade for these tandoori prawns builds a savoury patina of flavour that complements the intrinsic sweetness of the prawns. Now, tandoori dishes – chicken, lamb and seafood must be grilled in a tandoor as the name suggests, but in the…

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Appetisers, Soups & Salads/ Recipes/ Vegetables

Coconut Milk Rasam

Coconut Milk Rasam / www.quichentell.com

I refuse to call coconut milk rasam mulligatawny soup with coconut milk just because the English (read British) decided to call rasam by that ridiculous if not incorrect name. Rasam or milagu (pepper) tanni (water), a  literal translation from Tamil, according to me, is actually anything but that – pepper and water. Rasam or charu (in Telugu) like this coconut milk rasam has a unique aroma and flavour that comes…

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Appetisers, Soups & Salads/ Poultry & Meat/ Recipes

Lehsuni Murgh Tikka

Lasooni Tikka / www.quichentell.com

Lasooni tikka or lehsuni tikka is a little less famous than its cousin the murgh or chicken tikka. But in my book, it gets more points for its bold, garlicky, savouriness. This past weekend we ate fresh, homemade whole wheat pitas with meaty mounds of velvety lasooni murgh tikkas and crunchy salad nestled within with a dousing of tangy mint chutney and a creamy cashew nut sauce. What a lunch…

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Appetisers, Soups & Salads/ Seafood

Curry Leaf-Scented Crispy Coconut Prawns

Crispy Coconut Prawns / www.quichentell.com

I ate the best crispy coconut prawns at The Green Turtle, a charming little restaurant on a white sand beach in Mozambique. Everything about that experience was magical – the spotless sand beside the turquoise Indian Ocean, the beautiful verandah-style restaurant, the delicious coconut water and rum cocktails and of course, golden, crispy and succulent coconut crusted prawns served in a coconut shell.. Crispy coconut prawns are a popular appetiser…

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Appetisers, Soups & Salads/ Recipes

Lamb Rasam

Lamb Rasam / www.quichentell.com

I craved lamb rasam on a cold winter evening. Tangy, meaty and peppery, it was the warm hug I needed to keep me cosy and safe from the December chill outside. Rasam is the Jewish penicillin of South India. Every home has their favourite rasam recipe passed down from great grandmothers and grandmothers, to cure all manner of colds, coughs and sniffles. Rasams are thin, mainly vegetarian soups with either…

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