Mince Pie - Chicken/Beef/Lamb

This is one of my mum's famous recipes! Tastes excellent and goes really well with some crusty garlic bread.

Ingredients

Mince meat (Chicken/Beef/Lamb mince) - 1/2 kg
Potatoes - 3 medium
Onions -2 chopped
Green chillies -4
Ginger - 1" piece
Coriander leaves - A bunch
Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Oil -3 tbsp
Salt - To taste

Method

1. Pressure cook the mince meat with potato. For beef and lamb mince pressure cook for 15 minutes after first whistle. For chicken mince pressure cook for 7 minutes after first whistle. Add water while pressure cooking about 1 cup.
2. Chop onions, green chillies and ginger.
3. Put a non-stick pan on the fire, add oil and fry onions, green chillies and ginger till light brown.
4. Once the mince meat is cooked. Take cooker off the fire and  remove the potatoes. 
5. Cool and peel the potatoes. 
6. Return the cooker with mince meat to the fire and dry up all the water in the cooker. 
7. Mix the mince meat with the fried onions, green chillies and ginger.Add coriander leaves and fry for some time. Keep aside.
8. Mash the potatoes, add a little salt and pepper.
9. Mix the mince with the mashed potato.
10. Line a baking tray with butter.
11. Put the mince and potato mixture into the pan.
12. Prepare white sauce. (Method given below)
13. Pour a little white sauce and mix it with the mince meat mixture in the baking pan. Now pour rest of the white sauce on top and bake for about 45 minutes at 180 Deg C.
14. Serve warm with crusty garlic bread.

White Sauce

Ingredients 

• Milk - 2 mugs
• Butter - 3 tbsp
• All purpose flour  (Maida) - 3 tbsp
• Cheese- 50 gms (Cheddar)
• Eggs -1
• Salt - To taste
• Pepper - To taste

Method

1. Keep a saucepan on the fire and add butter. Flame should be low.
2. When the butter melts, take it off the fire and add the all purpose flour.
3. Stir it well, put it back on the fire and stir till it becomes light brown.
4. Now add the milk, stirring all the time till it thickens.
5. Take it off the fire and add cheese and egg.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Batura

This is one of my mum-in laws recipes. The batura's are very easy to make and the best part is, if you have left overs you can store them in an air tight box in the fridge and they stay soft. You just need to microwave before you serve them again!

Ingredients

• All purpose flour (Madia) - 2 cups
• Egg -1
• Oil -2 tbsp
• Curd/Yoghurt -1 tbsp
• Soda bicarbonate -1 pinch
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Sugar - 2 tsp
• Instant yeast -1 pinch
• Milk -1/2 cup

Method

1. Put the flour into a bowl.
2. Make a well in the center of the flour heap and put in all the above mentioned ingredients.
3. Make a soft dough and knead well until smooth.
4. Smear the dough with a little oil, cover with a wet kitchen towel and leave it to rise in a warm place.
5.  In case the weather is not warm enough, you could pre-heat the oven to 30 Deg C, switch it off and then leave the dough inside for rising. (4-6 hours) 
6. When the dough is ready, make small balls and roll out flat using a rolling pin. Don't roll it out too thin. You can alter the size of the batura's as per the size of your frying pan. 
7. Fill a frying pan with oil, heat well and once the oil is hot, then deep fry the batura's and drain on a kitchen towel.
8. If you want to make it faster you can add a little bit more yeast while making the dough.

Butter Garlic Tiger Prawns

Ingredients

• Tiger prawns - 4
• Garlic cloves - 2
• Butter - 2 tbsp
• Cream - 3 tbsp
• Freshly ground pepper -  To taste
• Salt -  To taste
• Parsley - A  small bunch, chopped

Method

1. Put the butter and garlic in the blender and grind.
2. In a non-stick pan heat butter and garlic mixture. Once the butter has melted, add the prawns and stir well.
3. Stir fry until the prawns are pink (about 5- 6 minutes). Do not over cook.
4. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.Add the cream and mix well. 
5. Garnish with chopped parsley.
6. Serve at once.