Middle Eastern Inspired Mince and Fruit Stew

Well tonight Nathan and I started out making sweet curry which is a favourite fall back meal of ours because it only needs 4 or 5 ingredients and takes no time to cook. But then I stirred the rice with curry powder on the wooden spoon and the water turned yellowish. That got me thinking that yellow rice would be fun and so I added a few shakes of turmeric to the water and create yellow rice. From there we just decided to keep adding things to our dish and ended up with an entirely new recipe. And because we kept adding things it took longer to cook and ended up as more of a stew. So now I have this rather bizarrely named dish to share with you all. Of course I haven't been to the Middle East and I think it was the addition of peppercorns and sultanas that got us thinking Moroccan type flavours... Anyway here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 cup basmati rice
• 2 turmeric
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 500g beef mince (the lean stuff!)
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 apple, diced
• 3/4 tin pineapple pieces
• 2 tbsp reserved pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup sultanas
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp pepper corns (I used a medley mix - green, red and black)
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder

To Make

• Put the rice on to boil and stir the turmeric powder into the pot. Cook according to instructions on the packet. 
• Heat the oil up in a large fry pan and then add the mince and brown. Once brown add about half of the curry powder and fry for another minute or two.
• Add the apple and stir through to make sure it is coated nicely in the curry powder. 
• Add the pineappple, the rest of the curry powder and the cumin powder. Stir until all ingredients are combined well.
• Add about 2 tbsp of pineapple juice from the tin and stir through. This should make the mix a little saucy. 
• Now add the sultanas and the pepper corns and cook until the sultanas have absorbed all the liquid. 
• Add the water and continue simmering - it will start to look like a stew. When most of the water has been absorbed and/or evaporated your meal is ready. 
• Serve with the yellow rice and enjoy :)

Next time I think we are going to leave out the pineapple and put apricot pieces in instead. And maybe add some peppercorns to the rice... I'll keep you posted.

yum, yum, yum!

ooh boiling yellow rice