Peri Peri Prawns from Mozambique

Mozambican prawns are famous.  They are bigger and better than the every day prawn.  Peri peri sauce is equally famous, but outside of Southern Africa you might not be able to find a bottle of peri peri sauce in a store near you.  Never fear, you can make your own version of it.  Of course you might not be able to get hold of the extra-large Mozambican prawn either, but with this sauce any medium to large prawn will do.  Beware though, this dish is a little spicy!
20 large prawns
1/4 cup oil (Olive or cooking)
4 garlic cloves finely chopped
2 chilies finely chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons paprika
2 tablespoons butter
lemon slices to garnish
Mix the oil, garlic, chili, chili powder and paprika together in a bowl.  Throw in the prawns.  If they are very large then you can butterfly them.  Use your hands to mix the prawns in with the sauce.  Leave to marinate for minimum of one hour.  24 hours in the fridge is best.  You can grill them or put them on the barbecue.  I elected to fry them.  Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the prawns.  Cook for 2 minutes per side until the prawn flesh goes pink.  The marinade will mix with the butter to create a great sauce.  Serve with rice as a main, or a smaller portion as a starter.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently living in Ukraine.  She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U @ 8 and Not Telling.  All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format.

Koosa from Lebanon

An old school friend of mine, Jeannette Ferriera Mostert, shared her favourite recipe with me and I decided to do a little research and then do my own take on it.  The traditional koosa dish consists of a large marrow stuffed with a mince and rice mixture and boiled in a tomato based sauce.  Where I live I can't find those large marrows so this take on the traditional recipe is a little different.  Just think of it as a deconstructed koosa.

2 large courgettes (baby marrows) or a punnet of small ones
400g mince
1/2 cup long-grained rice
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 onion finely chopped
1 green chili finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 can whole peeled tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 cup water or chicken stock
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Bulgarian yoghurt
Mix the mince, seasonings, rice, garlic, chili and onion together in a bowl.  Form into meatballs and place on the bottom of a large pot.  Slice the courgettes into rings and some of it into about 3cm long thin slices.  Lay the sliced courgettes on top of the meatballs.  Pour over the can of whole peeled tomatoes and the small can of tomato paste.  Add the water and lemon juice so that the food is covered.  Cook on medium heat for about 45 minutes until the rice inside the meatballs is cooked.  Add extra water if need be to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.  When serving you can pour Bulgarian yoghurt over the meatballs.
Cindy Vine is a South Africa currently living and working in Kyiv Ukraine.  She is the author of Not Telling, Defective, Hush Baby and C U @ 8.  All her novels are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format.

Chapatis from East Africa

Whether you are in Kenya, Tanzania or Uganda, you'll encounter chapatis served with mild curries.  Chapati is a bit of a staple in East Africa.  Surprisingly easy to make, you can knock them up just before your dinner guests arrive.

4 cups flour
8 tablespoons cooking oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
Cooking oil for dribbling
Put the flour and salt into a mixing bowl.  Add the cooking oil and mix it into the flour.  Add the water a little at a time, kneading and mixing until the dough is soft, elastic and not sticky at all.  Let it rest for about 15 minutes.  Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.  Sprinkle a little flour on your pastry board and roll each of the 8 pieces into a round flat thin circle the size of a dinner plate.  Now is the fun part.  Put a little cooking oil in a large frying pan.  When it's hot carefully place a chapati in it.  Dribble some cooking oil on the top of the chapati and flip it over.  Dribble some oil on the side facing you.  Flip it over again.  You'll see brown spots on both sides.  The whole process of cooking the chapati takes only a couple of minutes.  Lift it out, put it on a plate and fold it in half and then half again.  You'll quickly get into a rhythm of flipping, folding and rolling the next one.  Serve with curry.
Cindy Vine currently lives in Kyiv Ukraine, and is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U @ 8, Not Telling and The Case of Billy B.  All her books are available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback format.

Beef and Guiness Pie from Ireland

This is a great meal on a cold rainy day.  An Irish Pub classic!  The gravy is quite rich and I suggest you put the salt in little by little according to taste.  I made this the day before my Sunday lunch party and the meat absorbed the flavours and was so tender it simply fell apart in my mouth.  Only put the pastry on when it is ready to go into the oven.

Beef and Guiness Pie

3 onions sliced

2 tablespoons cooking oil

6 garlic cloves finely chopped

1 red chili finely chopped

1.5kg beef chuck cut into bite-sized cubes

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

2 tablespoons dried thyme

2 tablespoons Worcester sauce (soy sauce works as well)

2 cups water

1 beef stock cube

1 x 440ml can Guiness

2/3 cup flour

Ready-rolled puff pastry

1 egg

Put cooking oil in pot with onions, garlic and chili.  Fry until soft.  Add in cubes of beef and brown a little to seal in the goodness.  Sprinkle the flour on top of the meat and stir it in.  Add in seasonings, Worcester sauce, water, stock cube and Guiness.  Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours.  Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.  Spoon beef and Guiness mixture into a deep pie dish or into individual ramekins.  Cover with the puff pastry, brush with a beaten egg and bake in the oven for 25 minutes until golden brown.

Cindy Vine is the author of Not Telling, Defective and Hush Baby.  She currently lives and works in Kyiv, Ukraine.  Her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format.