Restaurant Review: Galle Road

Name: Galle Road (pronounced g-ALL)

Where: 15 Pultney Street, Dandenong

– Parking that is close, is paid 😦 For a place like Dandenong I find that very unimpressive. There is free parking at the local shopping centre, but it is not close to the restaurant. Dandenong, however, it full of traditional and authentic food stores. So directly next door to this restaurant is a Sri Lankan grocers where you can buy all your traditional ingredients. Dandenong is a foodies dream to be honest, Asian grocers, halal butchers, fresh seafood, you name it, Dandenong more than likely has it!

Venue: 4/10

– Going to be honest here, this is just a large room with a couple of tables and chairs haphazardly thrown around. There is no decoration or authenticity, there isn’t even any charm. It is also a bit large for the amount of patrons they (currently) get so it looks very empty. This is definitely tailored for the Sri Lankan families who know it is there.

Service: 7/10

– If you didn’t know what to expect, you would consider their service to be terrible. But the service here is, sort of, expected from a Sri Lankan restaurant like this. They are absolutely lovely to talk to, they are very happy and smiley and want to help. However, they take a long time to get to you, you often have to approach them and tell them what you want. This restaurant seems to be developed using minimal customer service in mind. 

Food: 9.5/10

– This is their saving grace. It is an all you can eat Sri Lankan buffet. Le Fiance and I came here because his parents were away and he was craving a good traditional Sri Lankan curry. Enough said right there! If this is the restaurant of choice, of a Sri Lankan man, to get Sri Lankan food, then it must be good! It tastes just like his mum makes. We got rice with chicken curry, lentils, potato curry, cashew nuts, and salad. Mouth watering amazing. Traditionally this would have been eaten with their hands. While we still do this at home, yes we did use a fork in public.

Coffee: 6/10

– I got an iced coffee. This doesn’t seem that fantastic, but if you haven’t tried a traditional Sri Lankan iced coffee you haven’t lived! It is full of brandy and deliciousness! To be honest, this iced coffee may not be that bad, but one of Le Fiance’s friends mums, makes the bestest ever iced coffee ever. So nothing can compare really. As soon as I get the recipe and try to make it myself, I will most definitely be popping it up here.

Would I come back: Yes

– I would definitely come back because it is delicious. The food is delicious, and when you are craving a curry, only something as amazing as this will satiate you. Everyone needs to have a restaurant near by, that can cook traditionally, just like mum (or in this case, mum in law, as I can cook just like my mum!).

HEART HEALTHY: No Butter, Butter Chicken

I have been thinking recently that I should at least ATTEMPT to eat things that are a little healthier, and with the high prevalence of avoidable heart disease in the world I thought that heart healthy meals would be a good place to start. As a result, we will now be trying some HEART HEALTHY meals! That isn’t to say I’m going to stop with the sweet stuff, it just means that there is a new addition to the cooking family. Just look over to the right there, now you can look at Restaurant Reviews, Heart Health, Hot Tips From Mum, all along with my other recipes! I hope you enjoy it.

I will often refer to heart healthy approved ingredients, I am not sure about other countries, but in Australia food manufacturers can contact the Australian Heart Foundation and request a Heart Foundation Tick. The food then goes through scrupulous testing, and if it meets the requirements of being heart healthy, the food received a big red tick that they can display and claim that they are heart healthy! Note, ALL fresh fruits and vegetables are considered heart healthy; salt-reduced, or not salt options are preferable in all cases, as are no-fat and low-fat options.

Serves: 4

Time: 50 minutes

What you need:

• 1 tablespoon heart healthy approved canola oil
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons salt-reduced or no-added-salt tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 2 skinless chicken fillets, trimmed of all visible fat, cut into 2cm squares
• 400g can no-added-salt diced tomatoes
• ¾ cup reduced-fat thick natural yoghurt
• 300g green beans, trimmed and steamed
• 2 cups cooked basmati rice
• Optional: coriander sprigs to garnish
• Optional: toasted almond flakes to garnish

What you do:

• Heat oil in a deep non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
• Add onion and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add garlic and ginger, cook for a further 2 minutes.
• Add tomato paste, cook for a further 1 minute.
• Reduce heat to low, and stir in cumin, garam masala, brown sugar, chilli flakes, and turmeric.
• Add chicken and thoroughly cover in the onion mixture.
• Cook stirring for 2 – 3 minutes.
• Add tomatoes, and yoghurt. Stir to combine.
• Turn heat to high, bring to the boil, stirring continuously.
• Reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked and the sauce has thickened.
• Stir through beans before service.
• Serve with cooked basmati rice. Garnish with coriander and toasted almond flakes.

I’m going to be honest here… I forgot to take a photo until I was halfway through eating it… whoops!

Per Serve
Calories		312		Fat	g	5.4
Cholesterol	mg	24.4		Sodium	mg	95.2
Potassium	mg	428.9		Carbohydrates	g	49.6
Sugars	g	13.5		Proteins	g	18.5
Vitamin A	%	27.3		Vitamin C	%	53.9
Calcium	%	22		Iron	%	13.5

Thai Green Chicken Curry

I often only have a short period of time to create my dinners from beginning to end. That includes shopping for the ingredients! This is mainly because I balance my life between work and sport leaving me with only a little bit of time between the two to cook and eat. This recipe is quite quick and simple to make, and is yields delicious results!!

When it comes to making the curry paste there is the traditional and fresh way… Or I have out the cheats way in brackets!

What you need:
– 2 cups jasmine rice
– 1/2 bunch coriander (or 2tsp minced coriander in a tube)
– 1 stalk lemongrass, white part only, finely chopped (or 2tsp minced lemongrass in a tube)
– 2 small red chillies, seeded and chopped (or 1/4tsp chilli paste)
– 2 garlic cloves (or 2tsp minced garlic)
– 5cm piece of ginger, peeled and chopped (or 2tsp minced ginger)
– 2tbs peanut oil
– 600g chicken thigh fillets, chopped into approximately 2cm squares (bite sized)
– 2 kaffir lime leaves, spine removed and shredded (best results achieved when it is torn apart)
– 400ml can coconut cream (not milk!)
– 1 small zucchini, sliced into ribbons (I had a fun new contraption to play with for this part!)
– 50g green beans, tips removed and sliced
– 1tbs brown sugar
– 2tsp fish sauce
– 2tbs lime juice

What you do:
– Cook the rice.
– Meanwhile make your curry paste. Either the traditional way (1) or the cheats way (2).
– (1) Wash the coriander thoroughly, and scrape the roots with a knife to clean them. Chop the roots and stems (reserve the leaves for garnish). Place into a mortar and pestle with the lemongrass, chillies, garlic and ginger, and grind to a paste.
– (2) Combine the coriander, lemongrass, chilli, garlic and ginger pastes in a bowl.
– Heat 1/2tsp of peanut oil in a wok over high heat and quickly stir fry the chicken until it starts to brown. Transfer to another bowl and repeat with the remaining oil and chicken.
– Leave the oil in the bottom of the wok and stir fry the curry paste for 2 minutes of until fragrant. Return the chicken to the wok and toss through the paste to coat the chicken.
– Add the kaffir lime leaf and coconut cream. Reduce to a simmer for 4 – 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
– In the last minute of cooking, add the zucchini and beans.

For my birthday a while back my friend got me a fun little kitchen contraption which I haven’t been able to find a use for until now! I used my Vegie Twister to prepare my zucchini!

– Add brown sugar, fish sauce and lime juice. Taste and add more of any of these things according to your preferred taste.
– Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Curried Meatballs

I have had another idea for a recipe category on my blog. Curries!! I love curries, and anyone who may have followed me from the beginning would know that my Sri Lankan boyfriend was one of the many reasons I dived head first into cooking. I haven’t actually cooked a curry in a while so when I opened my first Sri Lankan cookbook I remembered why I loved the book so much!! So curried meatballs were on the menu for tonight.

What you need:
– 700g mince (beef, or lamb, or a combination of both)
– 1tsp salt
– 100g chopped onion
– 1/2 green finger-length chilli, chopped
– 2tbs oil
– 2tbs chopped garlic
– 1/2tsp chopped ginger
– 6-8 curry leaves
– 1/2 stalk lemongrass, tender inner part of bottom third only, bruised
– 1tsp chilli powder
– 1tsp fennel powder
– 1tsp coriander powder
– 1/2tsp turmeric powder
– 2tbs tamarind pulp
– 1cup coconut milk
– 1tsp salt, to taste

Note: You can use ready made meatballs if you want… After making them by hand myself a couple of times I discovered that my boyfriends mum uses the ready made ones!! *Shock horror*

What you do:
– Combine the mince, salt, and half the onion and chilli. (If you are afraid of heat, remove the seeds. Chillies without the seeds are not spicy)
– Using moistened hands, form small balls.
– Heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat.
– Add the remaining onion, chilli, garlic, ginger, curry leaves and lemongrass. Fry until brown. (Don’t worry about anything sticking to the pan, you will deglaze and scratch it all on later)
– Add all the powdered spices and fry for a further three minutes.
– Add the tamarind pulp, coconut milk and salt, and bring to the boil. Scraping the stuff stuck on the bottom of the pan into the sauce. Bring to the boil.
– Add the meatballs, lower the heat and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through.
– Serve with basmati rice.

Curried Scallops

Everyone loves a meal that is quick and easy. That is EXACTLY what this recipe is!! It takes 10 minutes to make, and only has a handful of ingredients, most of which you will already have in your pantry! Well… At least they were in my pantry… I think I have a normal pantry!

Note: An important note about seafood. Fresh is best duh! If it smells like the sea, it is fresh, if it smells like ammonia, throw it out immediately. Frozen seafood is acceptable because they are often frozen very quickly after being caught.

What you need:
– 500g fresh scallops, no shells, with it without roe (personal preference, I like them)
– 1-2tbs curry powder
– 2tsp turmeric
– 1tbs canola oil
– 1/2tin coconut cream (not milk, there IS a difference!)
– sea salt to taste

What you do:
This is so stupidly simple it seems wrong!
– Heat oil over a medium heat
– Add the curry powder and allow to heat till fragrant
– Add scallops and coconut milk
– Allow to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
– Add salt to taste
– Serve with a light salad and ciabatta bread to sop up the lovely juices!

I would suggest mixing some cornflour and water together and adding this to the curry to make a thicker sauce if you so desire!

Crab Curry

Tonight’s post is a guest post! I went away to a beach side holiday house with a group of friend recently. All we did was fish, eat, and drink. During our time there a friend made a fabulous crab curry!!

We went crabbing that morning and caught about 15 crabs, and cooked them up into a super fresh curry!

What you need:
– 10 whole clean crabs, halved (size will determine how many you need)
– Soy sauce
– Salt
– 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
– 1/2 an onion finely sliced
– 1 and 1/2 tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
– 2tbs olive oil
– 1 tin coconut milk
– 2 tsp curry powder (can use more if desired)
– 1 small handful fresh coriander, stems and leaves, torn
– 2 long fresh red chillies, roughly chopped

What you do:
– In a heavy based saucepan, cover the crabs with water and bring to the boil.
– Add soy sauce and salt to taste.
– When the crab is red (cooked), drain the water, set aside in a bowl.
– In the same saucepan heat the oil over a low to medium heat.
– Add the garlic and onion and heat until softened.
– Add the tomato and heat for a further minute.
– Add the crabs, and a tin of coconut milk (you can use full cream milk, haven’t tried with skim or soy yet so don’t know if that will work)
– Stir through the curry powder, coriander, and chilli.
– Simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes, stirring “letting the crab absorb all that goodness”
(I have decided to directly quote him for the last step because it made me laugh)
–

“Add salt if you want but taste it first, might need some more, I’m a heavy smoker so I can’t tell yo.
And I think that’s it. If you get sick……..I’m sorry 😃
Enjoy”