1. Cauliflower & Canned Salmon 

Ingredients:

1 small cauliflower - chopped into bite size pieces
1 can salmon
1/2 onion - chopped
3 cloves of garlic - chopped
2 chilis - chopped
cumin seeds - 1/2 tspn
mustard seeds - 1/2 tspn
tumeric - 1/2 tspn.
curry powder or paste - 1 tspn.
salt to taste
olive oil - 1 tblspn.
curry leaves - 6
tomato - 1, chopped
water - if needed

Method:
Heat oil in a medium pot. Add onion, garlic, seeds and curry leaves. Stir. Add tumeric and curry powder or paste. Stir. Add cauliflower, chili and salt. Cook for 5 minutes. Add a little water if it sticks to the pan.  After 10 minutes add salmon and tomato. Dish takes approximately 25 minutes to cook. Serve with rice, roti or pita bread. Serves 6 to 7 people. 

2. Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
1 small onion - chopped
4 cloves of garlic - minced
3 small chilis - minced
ginger - 1/4 inch
salt to taste
2 tablespoons of olive oil
tumeric - 1/2 tspn.
cumin powder or seeds - 1/2 tspn.
mustard seeds - 1/2 tspn.
fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tspn.
cinnamon stick - 1
cloves - 6
cardamon - 4
curry powder or paste - 2 tspns.
curry leaves - 6
1 tomato - chopped
water or chicken stock - if needed
green coriander - for garnish

Method:
Chop chicken to bite size pieces, set aside. In a medium size pot, heat up olive oil, add onions, seeds, cinnamon stick and curry leaves. Stir and cook for a minute, then add the minced garlic together with turmeric and curry powder/paste. Stir and cook for a minute. Lastly add chicken and salt. Stir and cover. Reduce heat to medium. Stir every 10 minutes or so. After 15 minutes add tomato. If the chicken sticks to the pan, add a little water or stock. Chicken should be done in 40 minutes. Garnish with chopped green coriander. Serve with rice. Serves 5 or 6 people. 

Chicken could be substituted for duck or goat curry. Goat takes a longer time to cook...at least an hour. Seeds could be found in East/West Indian stores. Enjoy! 

3. Kheer (Indian Rice Pudding Recipe)

Ingredients

1 liter milk
2 cups water
1 cup short grain rice OR 1/2 cup rice and 1/2 sago
2 cardamom seeds (crushed)
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 tblspn. sultanas
3/4 cup sugar
1 tblspn. ghee (clarified butter)
6 almonds (blanched, toasted and chopped)
3 cloves

Method
Cook rice in water, until most of the water is absorbed and rice is mushy. Add milk, cook further, stirring frequently. Add almonds, sultanas and sugar. The kheer should be of custard consistency. If too thick, add more milk. Remove from heat, add crushed cardamon and ground nutmeg. Mix well. Heat ghee in a small pan. Add cloves. When the cloves start to bulge or pop, remove from heat. Add both, the ghee and the cloves to the kheer and mix well. Serves 6

4. Mango Pickles - Fiji Style

Ingredients:

8 to 10 green mangoes [seeds removed] - cut into wedges, salted and dried in sun for 2 days.
garam masala - 1/4 cup (store bought or your own)
methi - 1 tspn (roasted)
mangrael - 1 tspn (roasted) (small black seeds)
geera - 1 tspn (roasted)
garlic and chili [minced] - to taste
mustard oil - enough to cover mangoes in jar
salt - to taste

Method:
Heat up mustard oil. Let cool. Place dried mangoes in a large basin. Mix in all the rest of the ingredients except oil. Place in air tight jar. Add oil until mangoes are covered. Pickles are ready to serve after a couple of weeks. Jar may be taken out in the sun once a week. Take lid off while in the sun and cover with a towel. 

5. Raita

Ingredients

2 cups light sour cream or yogurt
1 cucumber - grated
1 carrot - grated
1 clove of garlic - minced
1 fresh chili - minced
1 tspn cumin seeds - toasted and ground
salt to taste

Method
Mix all together and serve as a condiment with any curry dish.

6. Seina

Ingredients:

10 taro leaves (washed)
1/2 cup uradh dhal (soaked overnight)
1/2 onion (optional)
Juice of 1 lime
3 chilies
3 cloves garlic
1 tspn. salt

Method:
Grind dhal. Add lime juice and salt. Make a paste of garlic, onion and chilies and add to ground dhal. Smear dhal paste on the wrong side of a taro leaf. Take another leaf, put paste on and place the second leaf on top of the first one. Repeat spreading the paste on every single leave until about 5 leaves are done. Roll up tightly, plastering loose ends with the dhal paste. Tie with a string and steam  for about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove string, cut into 1/2 inch slices and deep fry in good quality oil (preferably olive oil) a couple of minutes each side or until slightly golden.

Note: Serve with any chutney. It can also be served without frying.  Can be coated with rice flour and then fried. 

7. Vakalolo Recipe (Fijian Pudding)

Ingredients:

4 cups freshly grated casava
1 cup freshly grated coconut
1/4 inch freshly grated ginger
1 cup sugar
6 cloves (optional)

Other Items:
Banana leaves or foil paper (for wrapping) Steamer

Method:
Mix all 5 ingredients together. Divide into 4 equal parts. Wrap in leaves or foil and steam for 40 minutes. Unwrap and serve. Serves 4.