As we entered the new year buoyed by the #metoo campaign and a renewed sense of awareness regarding women's rights in the work place, allow me to bring you some recipes that you can enjoy with your girl friends as you plan and plot to rule your world and assert yourself! Here's to more equal opportunities and no extra kilograms, regardless of what you eat! ladies, have a Fearless 2018 and may everyday be one for women!

DEVILED EGGS

Stuffed eggs were a popular entry in ancient Roman cuisine and these preparations made a comeback around the 13th century CE in Spanish cuisine, as the eggs were laced with all kinds of exoticness. The term "deviled" for any food started in 1786 CE in Great Britain, to categorise any food with spices. So, here's a Fearless Olive rendition of this popular recipe, meant to spice up your girl time with your cohort of plotters, as you think up of ways to rule the world and other chit chat!

Ingredients

4 duck or chicken eggs, hard boiled

1 tsp kashondi, or you can mix 1/2 tsp mustard paste with 1/4 tsp chili paste & 1 tbsp vinegar

1-2 tomatoes, finely diced

1-2 spring onions, the leafy green parts (finely diced)

1 tbsp ground zeera or cumin seeds

1 bell pepper (very finely diced)

Mint leaves (finely chopped)

Rock salt and pepper to taste

A pinch of cheera or rice flakes

1 tbsp olive oil

Method

For the duck eggs, simmer an extra 5-7 minutes after the water has boiled, as they might take slightly longer than chicken eggs. Once boiled and cooled, gently peel off the shells and cut the eggs in half, giving you two oval halves. Empty out the middle yolk gently without tearing the white top. Mash up the yolks together with 1 teaspoon kashondi mixture, diced tomato, diced spring onion, ground cumin, bell peppers, mint leaves and salt and pepper. Once all the ingredients are mixed properly, scoop them back into the boiled egg whites carefully so they look like the yolks. drizzle them with olive oil and a dash of lemon juice if you want.

Serving

Throw in some of that boldness you possess and sprinkle it lightly with fried cheera or rice flakes or even lightly roasted cheera. You can also use roasted nuts as a topping and serve with a hot tamarind sauce to further tantalize those taste buds.

Health Focus

Egg yolks are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, which help prevent macular degeneration  and keep your eyes more vigilant of actions against gender parity!

ROASTED PUMPKIN

Now conjure up a spicy plot of domination and dig into this dish, oozing with healthy goodness, meant to set you in a good mood. Though to have been eaten since the time of the ancient Mexicans about 7500 years ago, pumpkins still carve a superior niche in our vegetable list.

Ingredients

1 small pumpkin, de-seeded

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (you can take the seeds and bake them with a pinch of salt until they are crisp)

1 tbsp roasted cumin (zeera)

1/2 cup sour yogurt

1/2 tbsp mint leaves, ground into a paste

pinch of nutmeg, pinch of lemon zest

1 cup pomegranate

A pinch of dried basil and thyme

1/4 cup walnuts, roasted

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Pre-heat oven at 180° for 10 mins then stick the pumpkin in, cut into 4 large parts, on a baking paper. After about 10 mins drizzle some olive oil on the pumpkin so it will not burn. Also smear it with some nutmeg powder and salt before sticking back into the oven. Change sides and bake till tender. Roast the cumin seeds and add to the yoghurt along with salt and pepper, thyme, mint paste, lemon zest, you may add the remaining olive oil in as well. Mix well and serve with the pomegranates and pumpkin.

Serving

Pour the yoghurt over the pumpkin and serve with a helping of pomegranates and crushed walnuts on top to add some crunch, mixed with the sweetness of pumpkin and the acid of the pomegranates, just like your mandate on women's issues!

Health focus

The free radical neutralizing powers of carotenoids in pumpkin not only keeps cancer at bay but also does wonders to your skin. Feel beautiful while asserting your rights!

HOT CHOCOLATE WITH COCONUT CREAM

Nothing spells dessert better than chocolate, so celebrate the day and enjoy this decadent drink to end on a positive note!

Ingredients

1 tbsp un-sweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tbsp molasses

300ml milk

½ tsp cinnamon sticks broken off

1 tsp coconut cream

Method

Boil the milk with all the ingredients (except coconut cream) and then lower the burner flame and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes till the fragrance wafts in the surrounding air.

Serving

Pour the hot chocolate from a point holding the pot as high as you can so it forms froth at the top. Leave a swirl of coconut on the top and serve it immediately before the coconut melts and seeps in. When drinking hot chocolate, it's best to drink out of a large mug or bowl because your senses pick up every aroma coming out from the steaming hot milk.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF CHOCOLATE

Tryptophan in cocoa releases the feel-good neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain and flavonoids are the antioxidants which may improve blood flow to the heart and brain, prevent clots, improve cardiac health, and act as anti-inflammatories. So, as you turn on the happy mode and stock up on those antioxidants, don't forget to get a bit of exercise in to keep that pro-women's heart of yours going!

Follow Reema Islam on Instagram @islam.reema for more.

Photo: Collected