Light your fire and celebrate

Heritage Day is of course National Braai Day. Throwing some chops, chicken or boerewors is one side of the fire, but with all of this goes an array of accompaniments, salads, bread and baked dishes. And of course, loads of South Africans may want a vegetarian option.

So to really inspire your braai menu on this meaty-njama day, try out these Spekko recipe options.

As they say – have a Lekker Spekko Day.

Chunky chicken kebabs with cardamom and orange scented rice

Serves 4

olive oil for frying

• 4 large pre-soaked wooden skewers
• 4 large chicken breasts cut into bite sized cubes
• 1/2 cup natural yoghurt
• ½ tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 large green chilli, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger,
• 2 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 10ml finely grated lemon zest

1. Light your fire.
2. Place the chicken in a glass bowl.
3. Mix together all the remaining ingredients, give it a good stir and coat the chicken cubes all over. Cover and marinate for 2 hours.
4. Thread chicken onto skewers and hand to the man with the braai tongs.
5. Serve on a pile of caraway and orange rice studded with sultanas and fresh coriander and chilli

For the rice

• 1 tablespoons ghee or butter
• 2 toasted cardamom pods, seeds removed and ground
• ½ teaspoon caraway seeds
• 2 spring onions chopped
• 1teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 fresh red chilli chopped
• zest of 2 oranges
• ½ cup sultanas
• juice of 1 orange
• 2 cups cooked Spekko Saman Parboiled Rice
• lots of freshly chopped coriander

1. Heat the ghee add the caraway seeds, spring onion, ginger chilli, garlic,orange zest, garlic and sultanas fry for a minute or so.
2. Add the orange juice, stir in the rice and heat through.
3. Remove from the heat once warm and serve with the Chunky chicken kebabs

   © Jenny Morris 2011

Carrot and ginger rice

Recipe by Deena Naidoo, MasterChef SA Season 1.

• 1 cup Spekko Royal Umbrella Jasmine Rice
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup peanuts, roasted
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon oil
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 onion, sliced
• sprig of curry leaves
• 1 teaspoon crushed ginger
• 3/4 cup carrots, grated
• ¼ teaspoon brown sugar
• salt to taste
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• chopped fresh coriander and spring onion

1. Combine rice and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid, and allow to steam until tender, about 20 minutes.
2. While rice is cooking, grind peanuts in a blender and set aside.
3. Heat the butter and oil in a skillet over medium heat.
4. Add the mustard seeds and allow to “pop”
5. Stir in the onion and curry leaves cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned golden brown about 10 minutes.
6. Stir in ginger, carrots and sugar
7. Add salt to taste.
8. Reduce heat to low and cover to steam 5 minutes.
9. Stir in cayenne pepper and peanuts.
10. When rice is cooked, strain out all of the liquid.
11. Transfer the rice to the skillet and stir gently to combine with other ingredients.
12. Garnish with chopped coriander and spring onion.

From the Spekko kitchen

• Spekko Saman White Rice can be used instead of the Jasmine. It is also a “sticky” rice.

Rice and vegetable burgers

Make about 10 patties.

Recipe by Deena Naidoo, MasterChef SA Season 1

Serve with tomato relish and a slice of cheese.

• 500g broccoli, chopped
• 500g courgettes/baby marrows, chopped
• 250g carrots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
• 1 ¼ cups cooked Spekko Saman Brown Rice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ cup cake flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• burger buns, lettuce, sliced tomato, cucumber, cheese slices and tomato relish

1. To make patties boil or steam broccoli, courgettes and carrots until tender. Plunge in ice water then drain and dry.
2. Place cooked vegetables, garlic, onions and parsley in a food processor and blend to a paste. Transfer to a mixing bowl
3. Add rice, cumin, coriander, flour and seasoning. Mix well.
4. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. Remove and shape into patties. Refrigerate until ready to prepare.
6. Fry patties until brown on a medium fire.
7. Serve on a burger bun with lettuce, sliced tomato, cucumber, a cheese slice and tomato relish.

“Ricey” cheese flat bread

Serves 4

Cape Town celebrity chef Jenny Morris developed this unique and totally delicious rice and cheese bread for Spekko Rice. Serve hot and straight from the oven with butter or a dip of your choice.

• 2 cups cake flour
• 2 cups cooked Spekko Parboiled, Long Grain Rice
• 10 ml salt
• 20 ml sugar
• 10 g instant yeast
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (sunflower will do)
• 200 ml lukewarm water
  

The filling

• 200 g Feta cheese crumbled
• 2 red peppers roasted and sliced

Garnish

• 2 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

1. Place all the dry ingredients and the rice into a bowl and make a well in the center. Add the oil and ¾ of the water and mix it in and mix to a soft dough, add a little more water if need be, if it is too wet add a small amount of flour.
2. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic to the touch about 10 minutes, place the dough back into the bowl and oil the top, cover with a clean cloth and place it in a warm place to rise to twice its size.
3. Remove the dough from the bowl and punch down and roll out into a rectangle the size of a small chopping board.
4. Spread the crumbled feta onto the dough, sprinkle with rosemary and ¾ of the sliced peppers, and roll the dough up into a Swiss roll.
5. Place the Swiss roll onto a floured baking tray, press it into shape and press the remaining feta and peppers into the top of the bread. Stud with sprigs of fresh rosemary and let the bread rise to twice its size.
6. Pre-heat oven to 200ºC and bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
7. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.