When asked how they chose a career in cooking, many chefs tend to cite their mother or grandmother as the one who taught them in the kitchen at a young age. In many cases, this influence led them to pursue a culinary path later in life.
In celebration of this year’s Mother’s Day, three leading chefs from Capsicum Culinary Studio pay tribute to their mothers by sharing recipes they most remember their moms whipping up for them.
Sandra Nagan’s South Indian fish curry
Chef Ann Nagan says it was her mother Sandra who passed down the love of authentic Indian cooking to her, and if she had to pick a favourite dish she made for the family, it would be her South Indian fish curry.
Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
6 green chillies, sliced down the middle
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp Kashmiri masala
1½ tbs fish masala
8-10 ripe tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, sliced in half
2 stem curry leaves
4 tbsp black tamarind, soaked in hot water
2kg fresh fish (salmon is especially good)
A few small brinjals, chopped (optional)
Salt to taste
Method
Soak the tomatoes in hot water until the skin starts to come off, then remove and purée in a food processor.
Add just enough oil to cover the base of a flat-bottom pot and heat. Add mustard seeds and allow to fry.
Add diced onions, green chillies and curry leaves. Once the onions are translucent, add the sliced garlic and masala spices.
Mix well and allow to braise for a few minutes before adding the puréed tomatoes and salt to taste.
Allow to simmer on medium heat for about 15-20 minutes. Mix tamarind in a little hot water then strain into the mixture.
Reduce heat to low and allow to cook for an additional 8 to 10 minutes before adding the fish and brinjals, making sure you don’t break the fish.
Swirl gravy around but do not mix. Reduce the heat and allow to cook for another 10 minutes or until the gravy thickens and the fish is cooked through.
Garnish with coriander and serve with rice, bread or roti.
Spinach pesto pasta with chicken
Chef Kamogelo Makhubela says his favourite dish made by his mom is her spinach pesto pasta with chicken.
“It’s one of those recipes where a little goes a long way and it can be eaten hot or cold,” she said.
Ingredients
200g spinach
50g cashew nuts
4 garlic cloves
120ml extra virgin olive oil
200g Parmesan cheese
300g pasta (penne or rigatoni works well but you can use just about any pasta)
200ml lemon juice
2 chicken breasts
Sprig of rosemary
½ tsp lemon pepper
1 tbsp thyme
Sea salt & ground black pepper
Method
For the pasta: Place spinach in a bowl and blanch it by pouring over boiling water and covering it with a lid.
In a separate pot, boil the pasta in salty water until almost al dente. Toast the cashew nuts in a frying pan over medium-high heat until golden brown (about 3 minutes), keeping an eye on them so they don’t burn.
In a blender add the blanched spinach, 60ml of the oil, three of the garlic cloves, half the Parmesan, 20 ml of lemon juice, and the toasted cashews and blend until everything is incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Strain the pasta and save a cup of the pasta liquid. In a pan at medium heat, add the pasta and pesto a spoon at a time, then add the pasta water for the right consistency (it should be thick but smooth).
For the chicken: Soak the chicken in lemon juice for about an hour. Pat dry and set aside. In a pestle and mortar, grind the rosemary, thyme, and garlic clove adding 20 ml oil to create a smooth paste.
Rub all over the chicken then grill or pan-fry the chicken until cooked through. Slice into pieces and lay over the pesto pasta and finish off with grated Parmesan.
Granny E’s triangle delight cake
“There may be dishes for Mother’s Day that are a lot more intricate, fashionable, or even grander, but the best part of this cake is the sharing,” says chef Catherine Greyling.
“I used to make it with my granny for my mom, as she did with her granny for her mom. It’s every mom’s favourite and it’s the stuff memories are made of.”
Ingredients
1 packet of Tennis biscuits
1 tub of smooth cream cheese
1 tin condensed milk
50ml lemon juice
10 cherries
Decoration
½ cup icing sugar
2 tbsp margarine
3 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp hot water
Cherries
Dark chocolate shavings or buttons
Method
In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk and slowly add the lemon juice while stirring, until the mixture thickens.
Taste regularly to make sure it is just right. Set aside and cool in the fridge.
Divide the biscuits in two equal amounts on a sheet of tinfoil, and set half of the biscuits in rows of three each to form the sides of the triangle.
Carefully spoon half of your mixture over the biscuits. Set out the other half of the biscuits in the same pattern.
Spoon the rest of the mixture over the biscuits. Arrange the cherries in the middle of the cake length-wise.
Carefully use the foil to bring the two sides together to form a triangle. Press gently together. Wrap firmly with the foil and cool in the freezer.
Mix the cocoa powder with the warm water, add the margarine, sift in the icing sugar, and mix until you get a spreadable mixture.
Spread over the sides of your cake and decorate with whipped cream, cherries, and chocolate shavings.