Just Add Yoghurt

This Ethiopian stew is commonly served after periods of fasting like Christmas and Easter. Its hearty nature makes it the perfect dish to break a fast and enjoy family time. Christmas according to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Ethiopian calendar is 7 January, not 25 December. Spicy, tasty and warming, this dish is far from the typical Australian BBQ but would be delicious on a cold Christmas night. Traditionally cooked with butter, I opted for oil and a little yoghurt instead – lighter yet still a little creamy with the yoghurt. Ingredients: 3 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 tablespoon of minced ginger 1 onion finely chopped 3 garlic cloves 2 tablespoons of Ethiopian spice mix (berbere) 1 tomato, chopped 8 chicken drumsticks 2 cups water 2 cups chicken stock 4 hard boiled eggs 3 tablespoon Greek yoghurt Salt and pepper Method:       Cook onion in oil until it starts to soften            Add garlic and ginger until soft and fragrant           

After a Google search and a few interesting Christmas traditions later (for example in Japan, KFC is the traditional Christmas Eve feast - the lines go out the door!), I came across this interesting Danish Christmas tradition. Risalamande is a rice pudding with almonds and cream, served with cherry sauce. Riz a l’amande translates to rice and almonds. Having grown up on rizogalo, a Greek rice pudding with cinnamon, I was curious so had to give this one a go…with a yoghurt twist of course. Traditionally this dish is served mixed with cream however to lighten it a little I opted for ¾ cream and ¼ yoghurt. I think the result was good. Ingredients: ½ cup white rice 2.1 cups of milk ¼ cup water ½ teaspoon of vanilla essence 2 tablespoons of sugar 200g pitted cherries in syrup 2 tablespoons of the cherry syrup 2 tablespoons of icing sugar 1 tablespoon of sugar 2 tablespoons of ground almonds ¾ cup of cream ½ teaspoon vanilla ¼ cup of Greek yoghurt Meth