Mint Tea
(Digestive drink with a fresh flavour of mint, usually after meals, extremely popular in Israel and the Middle East)
Serves: Two
Time: 10 minutes

6 to 8 five-cm sprigs of mint leaves
440 ml boiling water
1/3 tsp Darjeeling tea leaves
sugar to taste
Put the mint sprigs into the cups, top with boiling water; add a pinch of tea leaves and sugar. Serve immediately

Jumping Potatoes
(Thrice fried crisp potatoes, very popular among the Baghdadi Jews. Served with schug, a spicy red chilli paste. Make the schug a day before for best results)
Serves: Two
Time required: 90 minutes

300 g baby potatoes
1/4 tsp turmeric
salt to taste
oil for frying
For the schug:
50 ml malt vinegar or apple cider vinegar
50 g dried red Kashmiri chillies, deseeded
20 g chopped garlic
50 g tomato puree
1 tsp roasted coriander seeds
salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
To prepare the schug:
Heat the vinegar and soak the red chillies in the hot vinegar for about two hours.
Place all the ingredients in a grinder and grind to a fine paste.
To prepare the potatoes:
Peel the baby potatoes and prick them with a fork. Heat some salted water in a pan along with the turmeric. When it boils, blanch the baby potatoes for about two minutes. Drain completely.
Place the potatoes in enough cold oil to cover them and bring it to a low heat.
When the oil heats up, lower the flame and cook for about five minutes. Then turn off the heat and allow the potatoes to cool in the oil. When the oil cools down, repeat the process of heating and cooling the potatoes twice more. This will cook the potatoes completely and the process will give the potatoes a crisp outer coating and a soft centre.
Drain on paper towels, and serve with the schug.

Mushroom And Emmenthal Tart With Tossed Lettuce Greens
(Open tart with mushrooms with Emmenthal cheese and fresh herbs. Popular in Greece)
Makes: One tart
Time required: 1hour 15 min

1 tart shell of 12.5 cm diameter
1/2 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp mixed herbs
50 g Emmenthal cheese, grated
1 tbsp white wine, optional
salt, pepper and paprika to taste
50 g mixed mushrooms, sliced (button, shitake, porcini, etc)
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp olive oil
1 spring onion, chopped
1 tsp chopped sun-dried tomato
To serve:
Lettuce greens
Whisk together the eggs, milk, mixed herbs, cheese, wine and seasonings. Pour into the tart shell and bake at 170o C, for 25 minutes till firm.
Stir fry the mushroom with garlic in olive oil for about five minutes till done. Season to taste. Add the chopped spring onion and sun-dried tomato.
Place this stir fried mixture on top of the tart and bake for a further five minutes.
Serve warm with a good mix of lettuce greens (including iceberg, olorosso, endive, oak leaf and rocket if available).

Stuffed Risotto Cakes With Herbed Mozzarella And Salsa Rossa
Risotto cakes served with a sauce made with red pepper, tomato and onion. Popular in Italy)
Serves: Two
Time required: 1 hour 20 mins

10 ml olive oil
8 tsp chopped onion
4 tsp spring onion
1 tsp chopped garlic
100 g Arborio rice (or use thick rice from South India)
150 to 200 ml vegetable stock
30 ml cream
4 tbsp (60 g) grated Mozzarella
8 tsp (40 g) bread crumbs
2 tsp (10 g) mixed herbs
oil for frying
4 basil leaves
For the salsa rossa:
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 each onion and red pepper, thickly sliced
1/2 cup tomato concasse (see below)
1 tbsp tomato puree
100 ml vegetable stock
a pinch sugar
2 tbsp dry red wine
salt and cracked pepper to taste
2 to 3 basil leaves
For the tomato concasse:
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 each garlic cloves and tomatoes, chopped
100 ml vegetable stock
1/4 tsp sugar
salt to taste
3 to 4 basil leaves, roughly torn
To prepare the tomato concasse:
HEAT the oil and sauté the onion and garlic. Add the chopped tomatoes, vegetable stock, sugar and seasoning. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Add the torn basil leaves.
To prepare the salsa rossa:
Heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, onion and red pepper and quickly sauté.
Add the tomato concasse, tomato puree, red wine, vegetable stock and seasonings, wine and basil leaves.
Cook on low heat, covered, for about half an hour.
If it starts to dry up, add some more vegetable stock. The sauce would be thick when done.
To prepare the risotto cakes:
Heat the oil, add the onion, spring onion and garlic and sauté for a while.
Add the rice and sauté for a minute, then add enough vegetable stock to cook the rice. Continue cooking the risotto on low heat, adding vegetable stock as and when required.
Season well and cook the rice completely, finishing it off with the cream.
Mix the grated mozzarella along with the breadcrumbs and herbs.
Shape the risotto into small cakes, about five cm in diameter, and stuff each with a teaspoon full of the mozzarella filling.
To assemble:
Pan fry the risotto cakes in oil, just enough to get them slightly crisp.
Pour the salsa rossa over and serve, garnished with fresh basil leaves.

Turlu Turlu
A Turkish vegetarian preparation of couscous, oven-roasted vegetables and a mint tomato broth. Popular in Turkey)
Serves: Two
Time required: 1 hour

200 g couscous
1 tsp chopped mint
1 tsp chopped coriander
salt and pepper
300 ml vegetable stock
50 g each cubed zucchini, carrot, aubergine, bell pepper and tomato
5 whole peeled shallots (small Madras onions)
1 tsp chopped garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp tomato concasse
2 tbsp boiled chickpeas
1/2 tsp each mint and coriander
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup tomato broth (see below)
For the tomato broth:
2 tomatoes, chopped
200 ml water
1/4 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cm stick cinnamon
4 peppercorns
5 mint leaves
To prepare the couscous:
MIX the couscous with the mint, coriander, seasonings and about 275 to 300 ml of the vegetable stock. Keep covered for about five minutes. Open the dish and run a fork through the couscous to break any lumps.
To prepare the vegetables:
Mix together the zucchini, carrot, aubergine, bell peppers, tomato, shallots, garlic and olive oil.
Place in an oven roasting pan and roast for 20 to 30 minutes, till done.
Heat the tomato concasse. Add to it the chickpeas, oven roasted vegetables, mint and coriander and seasonings.
Keep warm.
To prepare the broth:
Place all the ingredients for the broth - except the mint leaves - in a pot and boil for half an hour.
Puree the boiled mixture, strain and add the mint leaves.
To assemble the dish:
Heat the couscous in a pan for two minutes. Place in a bowl.
Place the oven-roasted vegetables in the centre. Serve with hot tomato broth on the side.

Penne With Prawns In Pernod Cream
(Penne pasta tossed with fresh shrimps, a touch of paprika, olive oil, garlic and Pernod liquor.
A great Italian dish)
Serves: Two
Time required: 40 minutes

200 g penne
2 tsp (10 g) finely chopped garlic
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp finely chopped shallots (small Madras onions)
150 ml cream
30 ml tomato puree
a few drops of Tabasco sauce
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
12 medium sized prawns
100 ml chicken stock
salt and crushed black pepper to taste
15 g Parmesan cheese, grated
30 ml Pernod
For the garnishing:
30 g Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp finely chopped parsley
Cook the pasta al dente.
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the chopped garlic and shallots for half a minute. Add the cream, tomato puree, Tabasco sauce and chilli flakes. Then add in the prawns and cook on high heat for five to eight minutes till done. If the cream dries up, add chicken stock as required to moisten. Season with salt and crushed black pepper.
Now add the Parmesan and the Pernod, stir and remove.
Divide the pasta between two plates. Garnish with the Parmesan and chopped parsley. Serve hot.

Flame Grilled Chicken With Mustard Mashed Potatoes
(Marinated chicken chargrilled and served with mashed potatoes and a red wine and shallot jus. Popular in the Mediterranean region)
Serves: Two
Time required: One hour

For the chicken:
4 chicken breasts (approximately 220 g)
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
For the mustard mashed potatoes:
2 tsp olive oil
200 g potatoes, boiled, cooled, peeled and mashed
salt to taste
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp mustard paste
2 tsp scallions (small thin spring onions)
For the vegetables:
1 artichoke bottom
70 g mushrooms
80 g broccoli
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
For the red wine and shallot jus:
50 ml demi glace (or stock cubes dissolved in water)
30 ml red wine
1 tbsp chopped shallots (small Madras onions)
salt to taste
pepper to taste
To prepare the chicken:
Marinate the chicken with the other ingredients for a few minutes.
Cook the breasts on a char grill or sear in a hot pan and roast in a pre-heated oven at 180o C for 30 minutes.
To prepare the mustard mashed potatoes:
Heat the olive oil in pan, add the mashed potatoes and other ingredients and mix well for three minutes.
To prepare the vegetables:
Quarter the artichoke bottom and mushrooms.
Mix the olive oil, salt and pepper with the broccoli and roast for two to three minutes in a hot oven.
To prepare the red wine and shallot jus:
Heat oil in a pan add the demi glace and add the reduced red wine. Mix well and add the shallots and reduce the liquid again. Season it with salt and pepper.
To serve:
Place some mashed potato in the centre of each plate. Place two chicken breasts along the sides of the mash. In the centre, add the roasted artichokes and the broccoli. Pour the sauce on top of the chicken breasts and sprinkle a pinch of freshly crushed black pepper on them.