Honey Glazed Soetpatats - South African Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potato is much healthier and full of Nutrients packed one than an Ordinary Potato. An Ordinary Potato is high in sugar content which quickly released and used by the body it is not good for diabetic. Here in South Africa, Soetpatats ( Sweet potatoes) is traditional starter they make in different ways like mashed sweet potatoes, glazed, Stewed and Baked. In South India, we also do the same but in different version of having it, mash the cooked sweet potato mix it with little bit of ghee and sugar. Only the ingredients and cooking method is different from place to place, this Soetpatats are often eaten very popular sweeter dish can be roasted or baked.

Ingredients:

1.Sweet potato - 1 medium in size (250 gms)
2.Margerine - 1 tbsp
3.Brown Sugar - 1 tbsp
4.Honey - 2 tbsp
5.Cinnamon powder - a big pinch
6.Salt to cook the sweet potatoes

Preparation:

1.Cook the sweet potato into a pot  and over with hot boiling water and required amount of salt.
2.Bring to boil and simmer until it turns soft n tender.
3.Drain it well and keep it aside to cool.
4.Heat a Non-stick pan in medium flame, melt the margerine, brown sugar, honey and add a cinnamon powder together.
5.Put the fire in medium flame and leave it to melt till it turns thick syrup. Now cut the cooked sweet potato into thick blocks and put it into the pan.
6.Close the pan with the lid for 5 mts, then only the syrup will incorporate to the potato blocks.
7.Pre-heat the oven to 350deg F and foil the baking tray, Place the glazed sweet potato blocks in the tray and pour the syrup on top of each blocks.
8.Bake it for 10-15 mts, now the Honey Glazed Sweet Potato is ready to serve hot.
9.We both tasted this yummy Glazed Sweet Potato with our yesterday's dinner. Sure kids will love it very much.


I am Passing this Honey Glazed Sweet Potatoes to AWED - Africa hosted by PJ and to Divya's AWED menu and to Meetha's - Monthly Mingle - South Africa.

South African Yellow Rice with Baked Chicken Breast and Awards

In South Africa, the yellow rice is an ultimate comfort food for all of them here. This is the one Salad gave it in that book gifted by my Hubby, it named as " RICE SALAD WITH BAKED CHICKEN" but i did mentioned here as normal rice can also taken as Rice Salad. Here local people like this Yellow Rice cooked in Par-boiled rice, they like to have hot steaming bowl of rice accompany with Grilled chicken. This rice is available here in many forms, but we use to buy sometimes the white rice or Brown rice. My Hubby like this Yellow rice recipe very much and if i cook the white par- boiled rice it will goes well with nice spicy curries.
For our daily usage, we buy the Basmati rice cos here we don't get our ponni rice. For Me n My Hubby we get use to having the Basmathi rice for daily, if some of our friends comes to our house that time only i will cook this rice cos they don't feel complete meal without it.
Par boiled rice is good for diabetics, because the starch in it helps the body uses less insulin and also which has low glycemic index value (GI). Here, in breads itself they give low GI varieties of bread and the brown bread comes with mixed seeds. I like brown par-boiled rice which we all know its rich in fibre and low in fat, i like brown bread with mixed seeds than the white bread.
Today am going to show you the Yellow Rice cooked in Par-boiled rice with Baked chicken, this one is comfort and versatile food here for all time. This rice takes bit extra time to cook than our Basmati rice, i cook the Basmati rice in 10 mts but this rice takes about 40 mts to cook soft.

Ingredients:

1.Chicken breast piece - 1

2.Par boiled rice - 1 cup

3.Chopped Green Bell Pepper - 1/2

4.Chopped Tomatoes - 1

5.Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp

6.Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

7.Canola Oil - 4 tsp

8.Salt to taste

Preparation:

1.Marinate the chicken with salt and chilli powder and keep it aside.Wash the rice nicely and keep it aside.

2.Heat oil in the pot , saute the bell peppers and tomatoes just for 3 mts in medium flame ( don't need to cook fully just mild sauteeing is fine) becos the flavours of bell peppers and tomatoes should goes with rice while cooking. If it cooked fully you don't feel the flavour of those items. 

3.Now add the washed Par - boiled rice in the pot, stir it well till the oil coats to the rice. ( This par-boiled rice process lot of starch and the cooked rice turns starchy, to avoid that sauteeing the rice in oil).

4.Follow with hot water to the rice, red chilli powder and salt.( here i didn't cooked this rice in pressure cooker so we can check the water while cooking itself).

5.Close the pot with the lid leave it to cook in medium flame it will take bit longer to cook soft n tender.

6.After the rice cooked , if you feel little bit water in the rice means just microwave it till you get fluffy rice or leave it to cook till it turns perfect.

7.Now the yellow rice is ready, bake the chicken in 350 deg F for 10 -15 mts.

8.Now the hot steamed Par-boiled Yellow rice and baked chicken is ready for nice and light dinner.

The set of Awards from My Blogger Friends

I have received these Set of Wonderful Awards from Pavi of Binge on Veg and Rumana of Spice ur Senses. I am very happy to receiving the set awards from these sweet Persons, both of them got nice blog with nice recipes Pavithra got lot of traditional south Indian recipes with nice pictures I like "Kollu Rasam" from her blog cos my amma always makes that rasam if we had cold and in winter time now am missing that rasam.
Rumana got nice space with eye candy pictures of the recipes, i like the Korean chicken gravy from her blog and she got traditional North Indian food recipes.  Thanks to both Pavi n Rumana for reminding me and for your Sweet Set of Awards.


 


















I am Passing this South African Yellow Rice with Chicken Breast for Meetha's - Monthly Mingle - South African Cuisine.

Koeksisters - South African Dessert

Our Weekend went on very well, enjoyed a lot and have done our this Month's Candle Light Dinner at Restaurant enjoyed a 3 course meal with dessert me n my Hubby's faaaaav Cheese Cake. After a long time, we went to Restaurant for our Candle Light Dinner to Indian Restaurant " Bhanjara" this restaurant got very good ambience, in the evening time it will be pleasant to spend time for couples with Candle Light Dinner. On Our Dinner day evening, the weather was pleasant outside drizzling, nice breeze and our table was in the Balcony side with melodious live music inside restaurant wooooow!!!! simply superb evening. Last week, my Hubby was busy with his work, we couldn't find time to spend each other in the evenings so we planned to stop other works and spend our weekend only both of us.

Okay, let me come here to my recipe today. Koeksisters comes from the Dutch word koekje, Koek meaning "Cake". It is a South African syrup-coated doughnut in a twisted or braided shape (like a plait). It is prepared by deep-frying dough in oil then dipping the fried dough into cold sugar syrup. Best eaten cold, koeksusters are very sticky and sweet and taste like honey.(source wiki). Here, Everybody makes Koeksisters for Christmas and all occassions, also Indians do for all occassions very simple and easy dessert with sugar syrup on outside and inside will be fluffy like cake.I tried many times, while i tried at first time the shape didn't came our right after getting practice doing many times now the koeksisters shape looks nice n perfect. Below, i showed my first time koeksisters and present koeksisters shape you can see the difference between my first try and recently made koeksister.

Ingredients:

1.Cake Flour - 2 cups
2.Egg - 1 Large
3.Butter - 3 tbsp ( i used margerine many times but while using butter koeksister comes soft)
4.Butter Milk - 1/2 cup
5.Baking Powder - 3 tsp
6.Salt - 1/2 tsp
7.Canola Oil for Deep Frying

Ingredients for making Syrup:

1.White Sugar - 700 gms
2.Water - 2 cups
3.Crushed Whole Cardamom pods - 4 no's ( Here they use Cinnamon sticks, i like always cardamom to use)
4.Ground Ginger - 1 tsp
5.Lemon juice - from 1 small lemon

Preparation:

1.Mix dry ingredients first, Cake Flour, Salt and Baking Powder then rub with butter nicley till it turns like Fine bread crumbs.
2.In another bowl, beat the egg roughly and add the butter milk mix it gently for 2 mts, then add these wet ingredients with flour knead it gently for 5 mts if you feel sticky in your hands apply oil and then knead the dough.
3.You have to knead the dough till you feel soft and do not stick around the edges of the pot, test the dough by making one small lemon size ball it should come soft and in shape without any crack on sides.
4.Now close the dough with damp cloth and leave it to sit for 4 hrs. Meanwhile, we can make Sugar syrup.
5.I use to prepare the syrup a day before itself, because we shouldn't put the fried pieces in the warm or hot syrup. It should completely cold while we are dipping the hot fried pieces.
6.Heat all the ingredients under making syrup put together and leave it to cook in medium flame close the pot with the lid. Stir it well frequently till it dissolves fully.
7.There is no consistency need for this Sugar syrup, just dissolved everything ( not too watery use exact amount of measurement for syrup)
8.Now leave the syrup to cool, keep it inside the fridge.
9.Now, we need to start do frying our koeksisters, Now roll down the dough to 7 cm long and 2 cm wide.
10.Cut into 3 strips, we can make in 2 ways one like our hair plait with 3 strips and other one is take 1 strip from the 3 strips twist like in the first picture and pinch together at the end of the strip.
11.Make what shape you prefer, but the koeksisters shape should be like in the pictures.
12.Now deep fry the koeksisters till it turns golden brown. Drain it in the kitchen towel and dip it in the cold sugar syrup. (Dip immediately the koeksister is hot)
13.Take out after 5mts and leave it in the plate to set well.
14.Now the Koeksisters are ready to serve cold.

I am Passing this Sweet, gooey and fluffy Koeksisters - South African Dessert to AWED - Africa hosted by PJ and to Divya's AWED menu.

And also Passing this Cardamom flavoured koeksister to Priya's CWS event.

I am passing this Sweet Koeksisters to Meetha's Monthly Mingle - South African Cuisine