my lunch

this was my lunch today

i had some coriander and mint hanging around my fridge and i wanted to use them up before they went all crappy. so after hunting around the internet for mint and coriander recipes i came across this, a yoghurt, mint, coriander and cucumber yoghurt or otherwise known as a raita. Super easy to make and delicious with turkish bread, naan and other indian breads. Anyways my lunch ended up being a hodge podge of dips and stuff with turkish bread from the kebab shop in winthrop village. The turkish bread there is AMAZING!! its soooo fresh and made daily, my bread was still warm in my hand when i bought it at 12pm for lunch.

Anyways, onto my super simple recipe...

Raita yoghurt dip
1 lebanese cucumber
1 small bunch of coriander
1 small bunch of mint
200 ml of plain greek style yoghurt
salt, pepper and sugar to taste

1. grate the cucumber, and squeeze out as much water as you can from the shredded cucumber
2. finely chop the coriander
3 finely chop the mint
4. add cucumber, mint, coriander and yoghurt into a bowl, mix with a spoon, add salt, pepper and sugar to taste.

you can adjust the quantities of herbs to suit your taste buds as well, i like mine heavy with herbs, i love the flavours of mint and coriander - so im rather generous with them, if you arent so keen, start off bit by bit until its just right.

the other condiments i had in the small bowls were olive oil, sweet balsamic vinegar and homemade dukkah [got it as an xmas present from a student- super yummy!] it all goes well with fresh turkish bread. [i dont bother buying turkish bread from coles or woolies - its the same price as the kebab shop but no where near as fresh!]

enjoy!
xoxo

food when you're sick

because i'm sick
i eat what chinese people always eat when they are sick
rice porridge, congee or bubur
[people also eat it for breakfast when they aren't sick]
its a savoury dish thats very simple and comforting

i loaded mine with lashings of garnishings
to give it heaps of flavour

this was the bowl i had for lunch and i added
- chinese crullers [ char kuay]
- sweetened pickled radish
- spring onions
- fried crispy shallots [ bawang goreng]
-soy sauce
- white fine pepper
- sesame oil

to make the basic plain congee
i added 2 cups of cooked white rice into a large pot
added about 2L of water
and put it on medium heat on top of the stove, stirring every once in a while

eventually all the rice grains breakdown and it becomes a thick porridge

to make it more flavourful you can add
- chicken stock
- vegetable stock
- chicken pieces
- pork mince
- thinly sliced fish
- century egg [ for the adventurous!]

in my porridge today i added pork mince and century egg
because its my favourite flavour combo :)

my throat is getting better but my vow of slience continues
xxoo