Tandoori Turkey Burgers with Mango Salsa and Minted Chutney

I am having a turkey moment. I am not sure if its because it is nearly Xmas when we traditionally eat it,  because I have been trying middle eastern recipes using turkey, or because its a very lean meat to eat.
A little of all of the above, I think !
If you don't wish to use turkey mince you can use chicken mince of course. My son loves these burgers but he prefers them with chicken.
They are very easy to make and are delicious the next day as well. A kilo of mince will make quite a few approx 8-10 large  plump burger patties or more if you flatten them a little.
You could also make them into small meatballs and serve them as finger food for a party. Mix some chutney or pickle through the yoghurt as an alternative dipping sauce.
The lime pickle I used is actually a condiment and you could use a little lime juice, instead. If you are using turkey, I like a little sweetener in it, so use a mango chutney or any kind of sweet chutney you may serve with an Indian meal.

1 kilo turkey mince
2 tablespoons Tandoori  Paste mix like Pataks
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
1 small onion very finely chopped
1-2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sweet lime pickle or another  Indian chutney
1 large egg
canola oil for frying
burger buns

Salsa for 6 burgers

1 fat mango cheek diced
1 small red onion finely diced
1 cucumber deseeded and finely diced
1 tomato finely diced
4 tablespoons chopped coriander
1/2 small red chilli finely diced

Minted Yoghurt

1 cup plain yoghurt I use Greek as its thicker
4 tablespoons finely chopped mint

Cos lettuce leaves


Mix the mince in a large bowl with all the other ingredients and set aside to infuse the flavours, for at least 2 hours.
Meanwhile chop and mix all the ingredients for the salsa and also set aside.
Mix the yoghurt with the chopped mint and set aside
Remove the turkey mince from the fridge and shape into large patties pressing the ingredients firmly together.
All of the above steps can be done well ahead of time.
Heat the oil in a shallow pan and fry the burgers turning carefully so they don't break. If they are quite thick they will require about 10 minutes each side.
Toast the burger buns slightly nearing the end of the cooking time of the patties.

Assemble by spreading a thin layer of the yoghurt mixture on the toasted bun and then an even amount of the salsa. This stops the salsa from spilling out of the bun. Top with the meat pattie and more yoghurt, more salsa if liked and finally the lettuce leaves.
You could also add extra pickle or chutney if liked. Enjoy!

Middle Eastern Lamb Shanks with Coriander Pesto

We love our lamb shanks. Once given to the dog they weren't regarded as anything special. To my knowledge they were not even sold separately. Now they are a culinary must for a winter dinner. Slow cooked, meat falling off the bone, unctuous, glossy and full off flavour. Whilst they should be, they are not an incredibly cheap meal as they once would have been. Paying by weight there is often more bone than meat. You will need at least one for each person, maybe one and a half to two for men.
The dish can be prepared a day ahead and as is the case with all casserole type dishes it is often better the next day. Particularly yummy, if you have any left over take the meat off the bone and serve it with pasta perhaps a wide ribbon pasta, for another meal.
I have made shanks in many ways, with orange and dates and tomatoes. I taught this for many years in my cooking classes and it is by far my favourite. Spicy and sweet and full of flavour. The following amounts will feed 8-10 people.

150 ml canola oil
10 lamb shanks
2 onions, chopped
large bunch coriander
1 heaped teaspoon turmeric
30 grams  ground coriander
30 grams ground cumin
2 red chillies
2 cinnamon sticks
1/4 cup fresh ginger grated
2 pinches saffron
1/4 cup honey
2 cloves garlic sliced
150 ml white wine
chicken stock
approx 20 dried apricots.

Coriander Pesto

2 bunches coriander
2 cloves garlic
150 grams walnuts
2 green chillies
150 grams grated parmesan


Place all of ground cumin, coriander, chillies, honey and fresh coriander into a food processor and blend. Heat the oil in a large pot and brown the shanks. Remove from pan and set aside. Fry the chopped onion in the pan and add the blended spices and honey mixture to the onion, with the garlic turmeric, ginger, cinnamon sticks and saffron and continue fry.
Add the stock and wine and stir. Return the shanks to the pot making sure all the shanks are covered.
Bake in a slow oven for 2 1/2 hours. If you want to do it a little faster, turn the oven to 200C and cook for 1 1/2 hours. When cooked remove the shanks, pour the liquid into a saucepan and simmer.
Leave to cool and skim the fat off. Strain the sauce and reduce slightly.
Add the apricots and simmer  gently. Add the coriander pesto and 2 tablespoons butter. If your guests may not want the extra chilli leave out the coriander pesto and serve it as a side, just add the butter.
Serve the shanks on a bed of cubed sweet potato roasted with onion. Pour the sauce over and drizzle with mint yoghurt and preserved lemon. I served the dish with risoni and sweet potato last night!

Curried Chicken Drumsticks Madras Style

This dish is one I haven't made since my children were young and loved drumsticks. It is a great family meal, pretty inexpensive and very easy. It is a great introduction to "spicy food" for little ones, as it is not terribly hot .The dish keeps and freezes well and as usual with this type of dish, it is often better the next day, so prepare ahead.  You can adjust the seasoning to your liking, you can adjust the amount as well. This  recipe is for 1 kilo which isn't a lot if you have a hungry family to feed ! You could use thigh cutlets as an alternative.



1 kg chicken drumsticks
1 tablespoon Madras curry paste
60 mls of canola oil
1 birds eye chilli finely chopped
3 cm piece of fresh ginger finely chopped
2 garlic cloves
2 tomatoes chopped
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 can coconut cream
2 teaspoons salt

Gently fry the chicken drumsticks to colour and remove from the pot. Add the rest of the oil you may need extra and fry the garlic, ginger, chilli , turmeric and tomatoes together and add the curry paste. Cook these for a minute or two. Add the coconut cream , sugar and salt and blend with the spices.
Return the drumsticks to the pot and cook on a gentle simmer for about 30-40 minutes. Give it a stir every 10 minutes or so to stop it catching on the bottom of the pan and too make sure all of the drumsticks are covered and cooking.
Add some chopped coriander for garnish and serve with rice and poppadoms and a little chutney.

I used about 2 kilos of drumsticks and obviously increased amounts of everything

A sprinkle of coriander and toasted peanuts for garnish

Pork and Veal Thai Meatballs with Yoghurt sauce

Getting in the mood with a touch of Thai, again. I had some of the yoghurt sauce in the fridge  from my vegetable pasties and it was also delicious with the meatballs.
Fresh ingredients and beautiful aromas of freshly chopped coriander and mint, have you salivating for these before you have cooked them.
They can be adapted and made a lot smaller for finger food for a party.
Serve them with a really fabulous salad and when the weather gets a bit warmer a mango salsa would be beautiful with them too.


1kilo pork and veal mince
1/2 red capsicum
1 small red onion
2 cloves garlic *
2 teaspoons minced ginger *
3 tablespoons chopped coriander
3 tablespoons chopped mint
1 stalk lemongrass finely chopped
2 tablespoons Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce or to taste
1 egg beaten
S&P
Canola or peanut oil

* I used for this recipe a minced  bottled garlic and ginger bought from an Asian supermarket

 Finely chop onion, capsicum, lemongrass and whole garlic and ginger if not using minced.
Add these along with the chopped mint and coriander to the pork and veal mince. Mix thoroughly and add Sweet Chilli Sauce  and the beaten egg to bind the mixture. At this point you can add salt and pepper.

Shape the mixture into balls  about the size of golf balls. If making them this size a kilo will make about 20 meatballs.
Heat the oil in a shallow fry pan and add the meatballs. Don't put them all in at once and don't overcrowd the pan. Turn them to make sure each side is evenly cooked.
Drain on paper towel and serve when ready with the yoghurt sauce, or alternatively serve with extra Sweet Chilli sauce
They can be made earlier and reheated. They also freeze well.

Chilli Con Carne

A bowl of delicious chilli con carne on a cool evening, with all the added extras.. Yum.
This little number goes a long way, basically cooks by itself with the occasional stir and can feed an army if needed. I served it as part of a tex mex night for thirty 25 year old hungry men. Stand up cocktails and easy finger food followed by the chilli con carne.
I served the brown rice and chilli in a noodle box and I put all the extras out for them to use as desired and it went down so well. Not a lot of washing up and all prepared the day before! Easy entertaining or a great family meal, with corn chips, sour cream, jalapenos, grated cheese, and extra finely chopped onion. Put it all out an let them choose .
This recipe can be doubled and tripled, but the chilli heat is purely up to your taste,. That's why it is good to serve the jalapenos or jalapeno sauce as a side for those who like a big kick of chilli.
I bought a Mexican spice mix from the markets in North Sydney and it is so hot you only need a very small amount, so be careful if you have a spice or chilli blend. Start off cautiously!
To be honest, I probably never make this the same way. If you want to add tomato paste add a little sugar as well. The sugar balances the chilli .

1 kilo beef mince
1 chopped onion
3 cloves garlic chopped
2 tablespoons oil
3 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons paprika
2 freshly chopped chillies or 2 spoons of minced chilli from a jar or more if desired
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
2 tins of chopped tomatoes  OR
1 tin tomatoes and 1 bottle Sugocasa Tomato sauce (sold in tall bottles at supermarket )
1 tin red kidney beans
fresh chopped coriander
fresh chopped parsley
salt and pepper


Chop the onion and garlic . Heat the oil in a large pot on the stove top and saute the onion and garlic.
Add the mince in small amounts and brown. You will have to stir and chop it down with a spoon to get it all browned. Add the tomatoes and Sugacasa and all of the ground spices with the chilli and tomato
sauce. Simmer for about half an hour then add the kidney beans, chopped coriander and parsley.
Stir through and  check your seasoning ! This is the time to add more chilli if you would like. If you feel the mixture is too dry, this will depend on your mince, you can also add more tomatoes or some water or stock.
Simmer for a further half an hour, stirring every now and again to stop it catching on the bottom.
Serve with all the accompaniments . This can be made the day before eating, and freezes very well.

Vegetable Curry

This is the curry I served with the Indian Roast Lamb. I thought I should share it with you. It is a delightful dish full of vegetables and flavour.
You can change the vegetables depending on what is in season or what you have available at home.
It is also a great vegetarian dish served with some basmati rice, yoghurt, chutney and some naan bread if you desire.

2 medium onions chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves chopped
2 inch piece of ginger or approx 100 grams peeled and chopped
2  green chillies  ( you can increase or decrease this amount depending on your tastes )
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground fenugreek 
2 tablespoons lemon juice
black pepper approx 1/4 teaspoon
4 potatoes peeled and cubed
3 carrots peeled sliced and cut in half if large carrots
1 parsnip peeled sliced and cut in half for larger slices
2 large zucchini sliced into chunky slices and cut in half
you may use any of the following vegetables as well
green beans chopped in half 1 cup OR 1-2 cups broccoli flowers OR 3/4 cup green peas
1 can of chopped tomatoes approx 400 grams
salt teaspoon

Heat the oil in a large pan. I use a wok over a gas flame.
Add the onions, ginger, garlic and chillies and fry until onions are soft and starting to colour.
Meanwhile combine the spices, turmeric, paprika, coriander, fenugreek and pepper with the lemon juice and a little water. Add to the pan and fry with the onion mixture, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Add extra water if it gets too dry.
Add the chopped vegetables to the pan and fry in the spices for a couple of minutes until totally coated.
Add the tomatoes and salt and cover the pan. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 25 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Check occasionally and stir gently to make sure the vegetables aren't sticking to the bottom of the pan.  Transfer to a serving dish