Cooking savouries with fruits

Cooked fruit is a great way to add variety, colour, flavour, acidity, sweetness, and lightness to our everyday meals. Cooking intensifies the flavour of fruits and creates an appealing texture, especially in unripe fruits. The two methods of cooking fruits are either by moist cooking or dry heat.

Poaching, stewing, sauces, or compotes (fruit cooked in a sugar syrup with spices) are examples of moist cooking, whereas dry heat methods of cooking include grilling, broiling, roasting, baking, or sautéing. No matter what method we use, it is necessary to take care not to overcook. Exposure to heat breaks down fruits' cell walls, which results in water loss. The less time fruits are exposed to heat, the better they retain their shape. Quick cooking methods are best for ripe fruits.

Summer is the right time to pick up seasonal fruits and make salad, side dishes, barbeque and pairing with meat. The combination of fruit and meat is surprisingly controversial. A lot of people actually find the idea of using both in the same dish unappealing, especially when it comes to the more unusual pairings. The main challenge is finding the right combinations. When the right types of fruit and meat are paired with each other, this extra contrasting dimension enhances the flavour and appeal of the dish.

CRISPY ORANGE BEEF

Ingredients

For marinate —

500g boneless beef (bite size thin sliced cut)

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tsp crushed black pepper

For sauce —

2 tbsp oyster sauce

½ cup orange juice

1 tbsp ketchup

1 tbsp sugar

2-3 tbsp chilli paste

For frying and stir frying —

½ cup potato or corn starch

5-7 cloves garlic, chopped

2 big size onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

½ orange, thin slice

Method

Soak thinly sliced beef in the marinade for at least 4 hours. Prepare the sauce by mixing all ingredients and set aside. Turn on the heat medium with oil for deep frying. Mix ½ cup of starch with the beef and drop the beef carefully into the oil and fry for 6-8 minutes, until brown and crispy. Remove beef from frying oil and place on a plate with a kitchen tissue to absorb the extra oil.

Again, heat a frying pan for stir frying on low medium heat using the beef fried oil. Adjust the oil amount. Put garlic, onion, bell pepper and stir fry for few minutes. Pour the sauce mixture and let it simmer for a minute then put the fried beef, sliced orange and stir fry for a while. Serve hot.

TANGY MANGO PRAWN

Ingredients

1 big mango semi-ripen, julienne cut

6-8 big size prawn

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

6-8 fresh red and green chilli coarse paste

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp oil

Method

Heat a wok with oil on medium-low flame. Shallow fry chopped garlic and chilli paste. Add prawn and fry until colour changes. Add fish sauce and mango. Stir fry for a minute. Tangy mango prawn is ready to serve!

COCONUT PULAO

Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice (soaked for 30 minutes then drained)

1½ cup fresh coconut milk

2 bay leaves

2 medium size onions, chopped

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

2 green chillies

2 cardamom pods

½ inch cinnamon stick

4 tbsp ghee/oil

Salt to taste

Handful Roasted cashew nuts

Handful pomegranate pods

Method

Heat a rice cooking pan on medium-low flame with ghee or oil. Put bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon and fry until aroma spreads. Add chopped onion, ginger-garlic paste and stir fry until colour changes. Add soaked and drained rice, stir fry for a minute. Add coconut milk and cover with a lid. Cook on low medium heat for 30 minutes. Add green chillies, nuts and garnish with pomegranate.

HAWAIIAN STUFFED POTATOES

Ingredients

4 big size potatoes

½ cup fresh pineapple, small diced

½ cup boneless chicken, small diced

1 medium size onion, finely chopped

1 tsp crushed black pepper

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp oyster sauce

2 tsp olive oil

¼ cup shredded cheese

1 tsp crushed oregano

Method

Wash and boil potatoes with skin. Slice vertically and divide into half. Scoop out the inside of the potatoes and transfer into a bowl and set aside.

Heat a pan with medium-low flame with oil. Add chopped onions, ginger-garlic paste, chicken, and pepper. Stir fry for a while. Add soy sauce and oyster sauce, cook until chicken gets tender. Add pineapple and stir fry for another minute. Allow it to come at room temperature.

Stuffed the potatoes with the cooked meat filling. Put shredded cheese and sprinkle oregano on top of potatoes. Bake for 10 minutes at 200° C.

YOUNG COCONUT SHELL CURRY

Ingredients

1 young coconut with coconut water

½ cup minced chicken

2 medium size chopped onion

1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

½ tsp turmeric powder

 ½ tsp crushed cumin

½ tsp red chili powder

4-5 green chillies

¼ cup oil

½ cup holy basil/lemon basil leaf

Salt to taste

Method

After collecting the coconut water in a bowl, use a cleaver to divide into half and to open the coconut. Use a spoon to scrape young shells from the fibred skin. After collecting all the shells, soak into the coconut water for about 20 minutes.

Take out from water, make thin slices of all the shells and soak again into that water.

Heat a cooking pan with oil on medium flame. Add onion and sauté until colour changes. Add ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, red chilli, cumin powder, salt and sauté. Add chicken, drained coconut shells and stir fry. Use little water to cook until chicken and shells get tender, if necessary. Lastly add green chilies and basil, stir fry until oil comes out. Serve with hot steam rice.

Food and Photo: Chiangmi Talukder Lena