Invite your friends over this Sunday for a long, elaborate luncheon.Chef Manindra J Singh helps you put out the perfect spread

Mushroom And Beancurd Soup

Serves: Four
Time required: 15 minutes

15 g button mushrooms, sliced
20 g bean curd (tofu), cubed
a few drops cooking oil
10 g garlic
5 g green chillies, finely chopped
2 cups vegetable stock (see box)
salt to taste
sugar to taste
20 g corn flour
5 g coriander leaves, finely chopped

Heat some oil in a wok and add the garlic and green chillies and sauté for two minutes. Add the vegetable stock, mushrooms and bean curd, and bring to a boil. Check seasoning and remove the scum. Thicken the broth with the corn flour.
Garnish with the chopped coriander. Serve hot.
You can also add broccoli and baby corn if you want more vegetables in the soup.

Pot Rice Fish

Serves: Four
Time required: 25 minutes plus marinating times

200 g boiled Basmati rice
150 g 'Bekti' fish slices (boneless)
salt to taste
sugar to taste
20 g corn flour plus a little extra
30 ml cooking oil
10 g star anise
30 g broccoli, chopped
20 g carrots, chopped
30 g red and yellow peppers, chopped
15 g jelly mushrooms
15 g button mushrooms
25 g Chinese cabbage, chopped
15 g baby corn, chopped
1/4 tsp oyster sauce
5 g five spice powder (A pungent blend of equal parts of ground star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fennel seeds and Sichuan peppercorns. Pre-made five-spice powder is available in most super markets)
10 ml soya sauce
1/2 tsp butter (optional)
In a bowl, mix together the salt, sugar and corn flour. Marinate the fish slices in this mixture for 20 minutes. Heat some of the oil in a pan and deep-fry the marinated fish, drain and set aside.
Heat some of the oil in a wok and over medium heat, sauté a little star anise and add the broccoli, carrot, red and yellow peppers, mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, baby corn, vegetable stock or water, oyster sauce, some of the five-spice powder, salt and sugar as required, and bring to a boil.Remove the scum and thicken the broth with the extra corn flour dissolved in a little water. As it thickens, add the deep-fried fish.
Heat the butter, if using, in another wok,add the star anise, and boiled rice and stir fry with some salt, soya sauce and the rest of the five-spice powder. Toss well, and when ready, transfer to an earthen pot. Place the pot in a cooker and steam the rice for five minutes.
Remove the pot from the steamer and add the fish and vegetables over the rice.