Pushpanna (Flower Rice)

225g fresh ricotta cheese

2/4 cup cashews or blanched almonds

11/2 cups grated coconut

6 tbs ghee

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 bay leaves

6 cardamom pods, bruised

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp grated nutmeg

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp asafetida

½ tsp ground black pepper

¼ tsp ground cloves

2 cups basmati rice

¾ cup raisins

3 ½ cups water

½ cup sugar

1 tbs salt



* Cube the ricotta cheese and fry until golden brown and drain well
* Toast the grated coconut in 2 tablespoons of the ghee and set aside
* Fry the nuts and drain well
* Heat the remaining ghee and when it begins to smoke, toss in the fennel, cumin, bay leaves and cardamom
* After 30 seconds add all the powdered spices and stir-fry for a few seconds
* Add the rice and stir until the grains are translucent and lightly browned
* Add the fried ricotta cheese, raisins, sugar, salt and water and mix gently
* Bring to the boil covered with a tightly fitted lid and simmer for 5 minutes and turn the heat off leaving to steam for 20 minutes
* Add the fried nuts and coconut and mix gently before serving

Gayatri
Instructor
Australian School of Meditation and Yoga

Ayurveda Workshop

Coming up on the 23^rd of this Month is our Full Day Lifestyle Workshop which will be featuring Ayurveda. Ayurveda is an ancient form of herbal medicine that is becoming so popular in the west that doctors are actually studying it and complimenting their medical practices with it. However Ayurveda doesn’t only cover herbal medicine, it is complete, healthy lifestyle which includes diet, relaxation, yoga and meditation. In this workshop you will learn your body constitution or dosha as well as foods and lifestyle that compliment your body type as well as meditation, breathing, relaxation, yoga, chi-kung and a delicious Ayurvedic buffet style lunch.

Make sure your get in early as places are booking fast. For more information contact Candace on 38958944 or email us at brisbane@asm.org

Indonesian Vegetarian Cooking Class

Make sure you have your seat reserved for our next vegetarian cooking class which is Indonesian. Anna, from Indonesia is one of our volunteers and has organised a wonderful traditional menu of some of the food she has enjoyed all her life. The class will start at 2pm and go through until 5 or 6pm when the buffet dinner is served out. Please make sure that you aren't going out for dinner afterwards as you'll be sorry. For more information please contact Candace on 3895 8944 or email me at gauranga@optunet.com.au.

Gayatri
Instructor
Australian School of Meditation and Yoga

Deep Fried Taro Cakes

· 200g taro
· 1 white sweet potato
· 1 potato
· 1 handful coriander (chopped)
· 4 spring onions (chopped)
· ¼ teaspoon salt
· ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
· Plan flour for dusting
· Vegetable oil for deep frying


1. Bring water to the boil in the bottom of the steamer. Meanwhile peel the taro, sweet potato and potato and cut them into chunks of the same size.

2. Place the vegetables on the steaming tray and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the knife can be easily poked through the flesh.

3. Place the cooked vegetables in a food processor and combine the coriander, spring onion, salt and pepper.

4. Using damp fingers, form the mixture into thick croquettes about 7cm long. The mixture should make approx 24 cakes.

5. Lightly dust in flour and deep fry for approx 4-5mins or until golden.

Gayatri
Australian School of Meditation and Yoga

Red Lentil Dhal with eggplant

2 cups (400g) red lentils
1 litre (4 cups) water
2 cups (500ml) vegetable stock
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil or ghee
3 baby eggplants (500g), chopped coarsely
2 tablespoon of tomato paste
2 teaspoons of vegetable oil or ghee
1 medium brown onion (150g), chopped finely
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon of chili flakes
2 large tomato’s (500g), chopped coarsely

• Rinse lentils in large colander under cold water until water runs clear.
• Add lentils to the water and stock bring to a boil in a large heavy based pot. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered for about 40minutes or until dhal mixture thickens slightly, stirring occasionally.
• Heat two tablespoons of oil or ghee in a heavy-based saucepan; cook eggplant until lightly browned and soft.
• Add eggplant and tomato paste to dhal.
• Heat two teaspoons of oil or ghee in the saucepan and cook onion. Add garlic first, then mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ground cumin and chili flakes.
• Add tomato’s to saucepan and mix then add to dhal pot.
• Serve with fresh coriander and a dollop of natural yogurt.
• Optional: squeeze the juice of one fresh lemon over the dhal and stir before serving

Gayatri
Instructor
Australian School of Meditation and Yoga

Following on from our posts for "How to make a good chutney", here is some information in general ingredients used in chutneys that you should become familiar with.

· Vinegar (malt, white or wine) – This is an important ingredient used to make a fantastic tasting chutney, however often tamaring is used in Indian chutneys to give that lovely sour taste. Make sure that you use high quality vinegar or tamarind. If you are using vinegar it must have acetic content of at least 5%.
· Sugar - raw or brown. Brown sugar gives a darker colour to the chutney that is often preferred. Prolonged cooking of any sugar does, however, have a darkening effect on the chutney and, if a lighter colour is wanted, the sugar should only be added when the fruit and/or vegetables are already soft and mushy.
· Spices – generally whole spices are preferable in chutney-making than ground ones which can give a muddy appearance to the chutney. Bruise these and tie them up in a muslin bag and cook with the other ingredients. Often I just throw in the whole spices and then remove them later. Some recipes call for a mixture of both whole and ground spices to give the best flavour, so it all really depends on the recipe that you use.

Next post we will be discussing different problems that you can come accross in chutney making.

Gayatri
Instructor
Australian School of Meditation and Yoga

Caribbean Cooking Class Saturday 21st February 2009

We held our Caribbean cooking class last Saturday to a very enthusiastic audience. Altogether 9 dishes were demonstrated including:

Tofu Coconut Soup
Okra Fried Rice
Quinoa Salad with Citrus Dressing
Eggplants Stuffed with Sweet Potato
Pumpkin Coconut Curry
Mango, tomato and red onion salad
Coconut ice cream
Tapioca Pudding
Pina Colada Granita Smoothie

Over the next few weeks I will be posting all the recipes that we domonstrated in the cooking class, so keep your eyes peeled.

Gayatri

Australian School of Meditation and Yoga