Baked Oriental Samosas, Apple Crumble
Described as ‘the girl from the township who is conquering the world’ with her music – Nomfusi admits that she has to be the worst cook ever! Siba shows her some simple recipes to get her started: a good hearty steak and for a bit of a challenge: spring rolls!
Baked Oriental Samosas
Preparation time: 15 min
Baking time: 15 min
Serves: 8 or more
You will need
45 ml (3 tbsp) olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic clove, crushed
20 ml (4 tsp) grated fresh ginger
1 seeded green chili, finely chopped
1 green chili, seeded and finely chopped
2-4 chicken fillets, cut into very thin strips
60 ml (4 tbsp) soy sauce
15 ml (1 tsp) corn flour
2 small carrots, cut into sticks
4 spring onion, finely sliced
1 small red pepper, seeded and cut sticks
½ cabbage, finely shredded
75 g (½ packet) bean sprouts (optional)
Samoosa pastry or 8 large sheets phyllo pastry, defrosted at room temperature
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Melted butter to brush the samoosas
Serve with
Soy sauce or sweet chili sauce
Method
1.   Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Sauté the onion, garlic and ginger for 2 minutes until soft. Add the chilli and cook for a further 1 minute. Add chicken strips a little at a time, stirring continuously. Add the garlic and ginger paste and sauté over high heat. Stir constantly until just browned and cooked.
2.   Add the carrot, spring onion, red pepper and cabbage. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the bean sprouts, leave to cool. Mix the corn flour with the soy sauce and add to chicken mix. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Cool.
3.   Layer two sheets of phyllo pastry brush in between with oil. Cut into 3 long strips. Place a small amount of filling at one end of each strip and fold into a triangle samoosa shape. Seal with by brushing the end part with an egg white and brush all over to glaze it. Chill uncovered for 15 minutes before frying.
4.   Clean the wok, and then heat the remaining oil and fry the rolls in batches until crisp and golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve with soy sauce or sweet chili sauce as a dip.
Steak and mushroom sauce
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 30 min
Serves: 4 or more
You will need
about 300 g x 2 sirloin steaks
15 ml (1 tbsp) whole grain mustard
15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil
5 ml (1 tsp) marmite
10 ml (2 tsp) water
Mushroom sauce
20 ml (4 tsp) butter
250 g mushrooms, halved or quartered
125 ml (½ cup) plain Bulgarian yoghurt
25 g (½ round) feta cheese (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper
Serve with
250 ml (1 cup) tomato rosa
2 rounds (100 g) feta cheese – 5 minutes bake
Peach and apple crumble
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: about 10 min
Serves: 6
You will need
Filling
2 apples, cored, peeled and slices
2 peaches, pit removed and sliced
1 lemon, halved
60 ml (¼ cup) raisins
20 ml (4 tsp) cinnamon or all spice
30 ml (2 tbsp) brown sugar
Topping
30 ml (2 tbsp) cake flour
180 ml (¾ cup) brown bread flour
80 ml -125 ml (⅓-½ cup) brown sugar
3 ml (heaped ½ tsp) ground cinnamon
80 ml (â…“ cup) roasted walnuts, roughly chopped
125 ml (½ cup) butter, melted
60 ml (4 tbsp) honey
Garnish with
fresh mint, to garnish
Method
1.   Filling: preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly grease 6 individual cups or 1 large ovenproof bowls or enamel with butter or non-grease cooking spray.
2.   Place the fruit in a large dish and drizzle with fresh lemon juice to prevent the apple from discolouring. Add the raisins, cinnamon and sugar and gently stir until the spice is mixed with the fruit. Transfer on the prepared enamel cups or one large bowl.
3.   Topping: Place the both flour n another mixing bowl. Add sugar, cinnamon, roasted walnuts, melted butter and honey.
4.   Spoon the mixture evenly over the peach and apple mix. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the top is golden and crunchy. Remove from the oven and garnish with chopped mint. Serve while still warm with ice cream or custard.
