Finger-licking good

Rajni Anand Luthra

lists her all-time favourite

It’s party time, folks. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, the holidays are upon us, and you’re probably getting friends or family over for a celebration. On New Year’s Eve, perhaps.

This fortnight I present for you my favourite finger foods. Tested time and again, these come out great as appetizers. True to my trademark anthem - Minimum Effort for Maximum Effect - most of these are no-fuss recipes. You won’t find a deep-fried snack here (or puff pastry based dishes). Who’s got the time? Plus the seasonal produce is wonderful this time of year, so why not retain original flavours and textures, I ask you.

Note to self: perhaps I should pick from this very list when the gang comes over on New Year’s Eve: there’s plenty here to keep us going till about midnight with all the drinks… and maybe I can organise for a simple biryani and raita after the fireworks are done.

Watermelon with Feta

Seedless watermelon

Danish Feta cheese

Basil leaves for garnish

Freshly ground pepper

Extra virgin olive oil.

Cut up watermelon into neat bite-sized rectangles. Arrange on a white platter. Place a basil leaf on each –keep the leaf whole or tear up. Crumble the Danish feta and arrange on top of the leaf. Drizzle some good quality olive oil over, allowing some to splash on the platter. Grind fresh pepper over the top. Great as a starter. (You could substitute mint leaves for basil).

Spinach Wrapped

Chicken Rolls

500 gms chicken breast fillets

1 small onion, chopped

2 cups yoghurt

1 egg white

2 slices bread, crusts removed

1 tbsp soy sauce

Red chilli powder to taste

Large spinach leaves, white stalks removed

1 cup white wine

Put into a food processor chicken, onion, yoghurt, egg white, bread soy sauce and red chilli powder. Blend till smooth. (There’s no need for salt if you’re using soy sauce, but do a taste test regardless, and add some if you feel it is needed).

Spread out spinach leaves on bench top, underside facing up. Flatten as much as possible without tearing. Spread mixture thickly over each leaf. Wet your palms and roll the leaf up gently.

In a large flat bottomed pan, bring the wine to a gently boil. Put the rolls in one by one, flap side down. Cover and cook for about ten minutes. Keep checking to see liquid does not evaporate completely. Take out and cool completely.

Slice gently into circles. To serve, put a toothpick on each, and serve with a sauce of your choice.

(You can substitute chicken stock for wine).

Thai Fish Cakes

185 gms can of tuna in brine

2 tbsp Thai green curry paste

1 tbsp fish sauce

¼ cup coconut cream

Cheesy Pita Spikes

2 rounds pita bread

¼ cup olive oil

1 clove garlic crushed

¼ tsp red chilli powder

Plenty of shredded cheese

Fresh parsley, chopped

Mix garlic and red chilli powder into olive oil. Spread over the pita bread. Sprinkle cheese over, and then the parsley. Cut into thin wedges using a pizza cutter. Gently pick each one up and arrange on lined oven tray. Bake in a moderate (180 degrees) oven fro about 12 minutes.

Mango Rice Paper Rolls

1 under-ripe mango

1 Lebanese cucumber

2 spring onions

12 x 15cm round rice paper wrappers

2 cooked chicken breast fillets, sliced

¼ cup torn mint leaves

Peel the mango, remove the flesh and slice thinly. Cut the cucumber and spring onion into 8cm long thin straws.

Place the rice paper wrappers in a bowl of warm water for 1 minute or until soft and pliable. Remove and pat

Vegetable Morsels

Salad vegetables

Cherry tomatoes

Cucumbers

Celery

For filling

375 gms cream cheese

200 gms plain yoghurt

Red pesto sauce

Green pesto sauce

For garnish

Fresh herbs such as basil, mint, dill and chives

Walnut halves

Red caviar

Sliced olives

Sliced red capsicum

2 tbsp cornflour

1 egg

Fresh coriander, chopped

2 spring onions, chopped

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

¼ cup peanut oil

Drain tuna and put into food processor. Add curry paste, fish sauce, coconut cream, cornflour, egg and coriander. Process until just combined – not paste-like. Add breadcrumbs and whiz again. Take out into bowl and add spring onions. With wet palms, take small handfuls and shape into patties.

Heat oil in a flat-bottomed pan and cook fish cakes on each side for about 2 minutes each, or until lightly golden.

To serve, make up a dipping sauce by combining sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce and a touch of grated ginger.

(You could also make the same with tinned salmon and red curry paste).

Corn Roll-Ups

12 slices bread

Margarine

1 440 gm tin creamed corn

½ bunch dill, finely chopped OR

To prepare fillings, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add in yoghurt and whisk till smooth. Put into three separate bowls. To one bowl add green pesto sauce, and to the second red pesto sauce. Keep the third bowl as is. You now have three different colours of filling. To prepare vegetables, wash and dry. Slice tops from cherry tomatoes (take a thin slice off the bottoms too, so they can have a base to sit on). Slice cucumbers thickly (or, you can cut into thick batons and scoop the centre out to make a hole for filling). String celery and cut into chopped shallots

1 cup grated tasty cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Put the creamed corn through a sieve and drain somewhat. Mix with dill and cheese in a bowl.

Season with salt and pepper. Remove crusts from bread. Spread one side of each slice with margarine. Turn upside down on a cutting board and flatten dry side with rolling pin. Spread corn mixture onto dry side of bread.

Then gently roll up sides to form a log, with greasy side outward. Lift gently and put in a lined baking tray. When all the slices are prepared thus, bake in a 220 degree oven for ten minutes or until golden.

Tomato and Basil Muffins

2 cups plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

¼ cup sundried tomatoes in oil, oil drained

3 tbsp oil form the sundried tomatoes

2 eggs

1 cup milk

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

Red chilli powder to taste

2.5 cm lengths (slice at an angle).

To prepare garnishes, wash and shake dry herbs, slice olives and capsicum thinly and cut up walnut neatly.

To assemble, arrange vegetables on platter, spoon filling over and arrange garnishes on top. Mix and match for colour, the vegetables filling and garnish – presentation is important thing here.

You could use other vegetables, such as button mushrooms: remove stalk and place on platter like a boat, and then fill in.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add in sugar and red chilli powder and mix. Chop up sundried tomatoes. Beat oil, milk and eggs together until combined. Pour into dry ingredients. Add in sundried

Grease a mini muffin pan. Put mixture in to the three-quarters mark. Bake in a moderate (180 degrees) oven for about 15 minutes.

Serve hot or cold with a good mayonnaise and chilli jam.

Sausage Discs

3 large kransky sausages

½ cup parmesan cheese

½ cup grated cheddar cheese

2 tbsp chopped fresh dill

2 tbsp chopped fresh chives dry on a clean tea towel. Lay them out on your bench. Divide the mango, cucumber, spring onions, chicken and mint between each wrapper, placing them on the bottom-left side nearest to you. Roll up firmly to enclose the filling, folding the right side over the filling as you go to make a base, and leaving the left side open to show the filling. Serve with sweet chilli sauce or a dipping sauce of 1/3 cup fish sauce and 2 tablespoons lime juice, if desired.

(Recipe and image provided by Mango Communications)

210 gm can salmon, drained, forked down and skin and bones removed

4 eggs

½ cup each red, yellow and

½ bunch dill, finely chopped OR chopped shallots

½ cup shredded tasty cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together. Grease a mini

¼ cup breadcrumbs

1 egg, lightly beaten Mix cheese, herbs, breadcrumbs and egg in bowl. Cut kransky sausages diagonally into 1-cm thick rounds. Put 1 tsp mixture onto each sausage slice and smoothen. Cook under hot grill until lightly browned. (Best warn the guests what they’re eating. Indian vegetarian guests often mistake the red of the sausage for tomato) mixture in. Bake in a 180 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot or cold with a good mayonnaise and chilli jam.

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