Cooking group travel to Pakistan for a traditional rice dish

Cooking group headed over to Pakistan with Razina to make a Vegetable Biryani.

Biryani, which is a mixed rice dish, mainly popular in South Asia. It is made with rice, some type of meat and spices. In some cases, it is prepared by substituting vegetables or paneer for the meat. Sometimes eggs and/or potatoes are also added.

Razina brought in her own homemade spices to use and explained how she had made these.  In between all the peeling, chopping and preparing we had a good chat about the Pakistani culture and a lot of laughter.

The great thing about this dish is you can use what ever veg you have in, a good way to save food waste.

Here is what some of you had to tell us:

Ela A: I never worked with an Aubergine before. It was good to work with new vegetables and see how they come together in the dish.

Maureen B: Homemade spices like the garam masala and curry spice were quite stronger than the store-bought ones. It was very good to be able to share spices and information about which stores to buy them. I will be making this at home but with some chicken.

Kim C: The method was quite different from how I make it at home, but it was good to see how this was made.

Razina A: I enjoyed showing the group how to make the biryani. Even though I don’t do measurements of recipes, I felt supported by the group. I was happy to see people enjoy the biryani.

Our International

This recipe uses a jar of curry paste which works just as well.

Vegetable Biryani:

Ingredients:

·       2 sweet potatoes

·       1 onion

·       2 courgettes

·       1 aubergine

·       A cup full of frozen peas

·       2 veggie stock cubes

·       1 Basmati Rice

·       2 cup full to 4cups of stock

·       Curry paste Madras (or any flavour you like)

Preparation Method:

·       Peel sweet potatoes and dice it. In a pan add a little olive oil and sauté them till soft.

·       Add all the other diced vegetables. Add half a jar of curry paste and fry for about 7 minutes.

·       In a bowl, make your stock cube. Add rice to pan and keep stirring so it is covered in the curry paste.

·       With the same cup, measure out your stock and add to pan. Bring to boil and then add your frozen peas.

·       After stirring it all together, cover with tin foil, put a lid on and cook.

The International cooking group is taking a short break and will be back in September. If you would like to join us please contact us on 07592003595 or call into the centre to book your place.