Simply Blissful Living - Taste of Fiji

Ingredients: Makes 10 rotis 2 cups all purpose flour 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoon neutral oil 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup hot water (you may need slightly more or less)  1/4 cup flour for dusting  ghee/oil/butter for oiling (use oil or vegan butter for vegan option) Method: In a large bowl, add 2 cups of all purpose flour, salt, and 1 tablespoon of oil and mix well.  Gradually add water in 1/4 cup increments. Mix with a spoon. Add only enough water to bring the dough into a crumbly texture.  Once dough is cool enough to handle with your hands, bring dough together and knead into a dough ball. Add more water if needed, being extra careful as the water is hot. Use a spoon if needed, or let dough cool before touching again.  Once all of the flour has come together into one ball of dough, add 1 teaspoon of oil and knead for a few minutes. Cover the dough with the additional 1 teaspoon of oil, cover with tea-towel, and let rest for 10-15 minutes.  Divide dough into 10-12...

  Ingredients: Makes 20-30 pieces  2 cups chickpea flour/channa besan/gram flour 14 oz condensed milk (1 can) 2 tablespoon + 1/2 cup ghee 2 tablespoon + 1/2 cup liquid milk  1 tablespoon cardamom powder  chopped nuts for garnishing  1/4 teaspoon mace/javatri powder *optional but highly recommended* 1/4 teaspoon salt **if desired** few strand of saffron * optional  Method:  In a large bowl, add gram flour, 2 tablespoons of milk and 2 tablespoons of ghee. Mix well and rub between your palms to ensure that all ingredients are well incorporated. Break up any large lumps. You can sieve the mixture if you'd prefer or pulse in a blender for a few seconds to break up any lumps.  Add 1/2 cup of ghee in a heavy bottom pan over medium low heat. When warm, add gram flour mixture and roast for 20-25 minutes on low flame, stirring frequently. The mixture will turn to a golden orange in color and will have a beautiful aroma. Add 1/2 cup milk *you may soak the sa...

  Ingredients  Makes about 15 pieces 2 cups full fat milk powder  1/3 cup cocoa powder  3 tablespoons liquid milk or heavy cream  3 tablespoons ghee Sprinkles or nuts to decorate  Syrup  1 cup sugar  1/2 cup water  Method  In a mixing bowl, add milk powder, and the ghee in 2-3 increments. Mix well by rubbing in between your palms after each addition.  Add the liquid milk, 1 tbsp at a time and mix well. Mix until the mixture resembles coarse sand.  Sift cocoa powder into milk mixture and whisk to combine.  Quickly pulse milk & cocoa powder mixture in a food processor to break up any lumps and to mix thoroughly. Alternatively, you could shift or strain using a strainer. Set aside after blending well.  Line a baking pan or tray of your choice with parchment paper or grease with ghee. To prepare the sugar syrup, add sugar and water  to a heavy bottom pan and bring to a boil. Once the syrup boils, turn your heat t...

  Ingredients: 1.5 lbs firm white fish, gutted, cleaned, and cut into desired pieces (650 grams approximately) 1 large onion, sliced 8-10 cloves of garlic, crushed  1 inch ginger, crushed  Hot pepper to taste, crushed  Curry leaves, 1-2 sprigs 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon asefotida/hing 2 tablespoon gram flour/besan 2  tablespoon hot Fiji Masala or garam masala 1.5 teaspoon turmeric 2 tablespoon oil for curry 2 tablespoon tomato paste or 2 whole tomatoes chopped  1 tablespoon tamarind paste/concentrate mixed with 1/4 cup water  13.5 fl oz canned coconut milk (398 ml) salt to taste 1/2-1 cup water *adjust to your liking* oil to fry fish Take garlic cloves, ginger, and hot peppers and crush into a paste.  In a shallow bowl, take cleaned and cut fish and marinate using 1 teaspoon of the ginger/garlic/pepper paste, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1 tablespoon Fiji masala, 2 tablespoons of gram flour, salt and some water to coat fish properly. Let fish m...

 Ingredients: 1 (4-5 lb) chicken cut into pieces  3 cups basmati rice 1 cup onions, sliced 1 head of garlic, crushed 2 inch ginger, grated/crushed handful of cilantro leaves (plus some more for garnishing)  5-8 chili peppers crushed/grated (or to taste) 1 sprig of curry leaves 2 Indian bay leaves 1 cinnamon stick 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 star anise  2.5 tablespoons + 1 tablespoon pulao masala 1 tablespoon hot Fiji masala or garam masala 1/4 cup ghee 3 tablespoons oil (or additional ghee) salt to taste (start with 1 teaspoon and adjust to your liking) 4.5 cups room temperature/cold water  Method: Thoroughly wash your chicken pieces after cutting. Marinate your chicken pieces with 1 tablespoon of pulao masala either overnight or 1-2 hours before cooking. The longer you marinate it, the better! Grind your garlic, ginger, hot peppers, and cilantro to a fine paste.  Wash and soak your rice right before you start cooking -- approximately 30 minutes In a big, heav...

  Ingredients:  1 tablespoon cumin seeds 1 tablespoon fennel seeds 1/2 tablespoon black peppercorn 4 star anise 1 whole nutmeg 1 tablespoon whole cardamom pods 2 tablespoon coriander seeds 1 teaspoon cloves 1 tablespoon broken cinnamon sticks (7 inch piece)  4-5 dry chilis 1 mace/javatri (optional) Method: Heat a heavy bottom pan on medium/medium high heat Once pan is hot, add black peppercorn, star anise, whole nutmeg, and whole cardamom pods.  Roast these larger spices for 5-7 minutes stirring frequently to avoid burning the spices or uneven growing.  Add all other spices and roast for an additional 5-6 minutes or until the coriander seeds turn brown. Be sure to keep stirring frequently to avoid burning your spices.  Turn off heat and keep stirring for an additional 2 minutes.  Transfer the spices to a open tray or plate and let cool completely. Once cool, grind the spices into a powder using a spice grinder or coffee grinder. Let spice mix cool comp...

This shrimp dish is so quick and easy yet so satisfying! Growing up we had shrimp quite often as it was readily available on the islands! Now-a-days, I like to cook this at least once a month because its so easy and yet so delicious!  Ingredients: 1 lb/16 oz peeled & deveined shrimp  2 tablespoon oil 1 cup onions, chopped (about 1 large onion) 1 cup tomatoes, chopped (2-3 tomatoes) 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 8-10 garlic cloves, crushed 1 inch ginger, grated/crushed hot pepper to taste 2-3 sprigs curry leaves 1 teaspoon turmeric powder 1 tablespoon garam/Fiji masala  1/4 cilantro, chopped 1/2 cup water ** adjust as needed salt to taste  Method: Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan on medium to medium high heat. Add onions and cook until soft and golden. You can add a pinch of salt to speed up this process.  Moving the onions aside, add cumin seeds and let splutter/crackle. Add chopped tomatoes and tomato paste and cook until tomatoes are soft,...

Corned/Tinned mutton is a family staple in many Fijian households. I remember eating it at least once every couple of months while growing up in Fiji. Now, its more of an indulgence but definitely a family favorite! I like to cook tin mutton in a few different, but when I am in a hurry, this is my go-to method. Its fast, easy, and so good! It makes a wonderful breakfast with some roti and lal cha! YUM!!! Ingredients: 1 can (11.5 oz or 326 grams) tin mutton (I swear these used to be bigger!) 1.5 tablespoon oil  1 cup onions, sliced 2 tablespoons crushed garlic 1 inch ginger, crushed 3-8 chili peppers (or to your liking) 1 sprig of curry leaves (optional but highly recommended)  1 tablespoon tomato paste or 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes   salt to taste Method: Heat oil in a non-stick ceramic pan over medium heat.  Once oil is hot, add sliced onions and sauté until golden, approximately 2-3 minutes.  Add ginger, garlic, hot peppers, and curry leaves and sauté for a minu...

 Ingredients: 1.5 lb lamb cubed into 1 inch pieces (bone in or boneless) 1 large onion sliced (about 2 cups) 10 garlic cloves, crushed 1 inch ginger, crushed  hot chili peppers to taste, crushed 4-6 shishito peppers, sliced (you can use any other mild pepper/bell pepper) 2-3 dry chili peppers * (optional) 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce 2 tablespoon light soy sauce (low sodium) 1 tablespoon oyster sauce  2 tablespoon oil (any neutral oil is fine) 1 teaspoon garam masala* (optional but recommended) 1 tablespoon chili sauce* (optional but highly recommended) salt to taste  garlic chives/scallions/green onions to garnish  water as needed  Method:  Add oil into a pan or pot over medium heat. Add half of the sliced onions and sauté until golden brown. Lower heat if needed to ensure that onions are not burned.  Add shishito peppers (or any peppers you desire), dry chili peppers, crushed garlic, crushed ginger, and crushed chili peppers and sauté for 2 minut...

Ingredients: 1 large eggplant (choose a big variety like Italian or Black Beauty)  4-6 cloves of garlic  1 tomato  Chili pepper to taste sliced onions to taste chopped cilantro to taste  salt to taste pepper to taste Method:  Wash and dry eggplant.  Cut slits into eggplant and push one garlic clove into each piece. Roast eggplant over an open flame - you use use a gas stove or a open fire grill  Turn eggplant periodically to ensure that it is roasted evenly Once roasted, remove from flame Roast tomatoes and peppers on open flame if desired.  Once eggplant has cooled slightly, slice the charred skin into half and scoop out the pulp into a bowl.  Using a fork, potato masher, or your hands mash eggplant and garlic until a smooth paste is formed.  Peel charred tomato and peppers and add to your eggplants. You may chop them if you desire. Discard any stiff/hard pieces.  Add chopped cilantro and sliced onions and mash everything well....