
Tell Mum you made…
Spinach-Mushroom Fried Rice
Total Cooking time: 20 mins
Serving size: 2-3 people
Total cost: $18 (approx.), $25 with chicken
Ingredients
Spinach $2 for 60g
Mushroom $2.2 for 200g
Long white rice $1.4 for 1 kg
Turmeric powder $1.9 for 35g
Salt $1 for 500g
Chili powder $1.6 for 35g
Garlic $3.5 for 80g of paste / $1.5 for 60g of individual pieces
Ginger $3.5 for 80g of paste / $4.6 for 120g of individual pieces
Onion $1.9 for 1kg
Vegetable oil $2.2 for a 750 ml bottle
Optional ingredients
Chicken mince $6 for 500g
Tomatoes $1.1 for 150g
Garam masala $2.8 for 200g
Directions
Put 1 ½ cups of rice in a rice cooker/ pressure cooker with 3 cups of water and leave it to boil.
While the rice boils, chop mushrooms, spinach and onions finely, and throw them into a heated pan with oil.
(For the non-veg version, add your chicken mince in a pan before the vegetables since it’ll take longer for the water in the mince to evaporate. Take your time with cooking this – otherwise you’ll be left with soggy meat!)
Season with salt and pepper and stir it all up.
Once the rice is cooked, introduce the vegetables and stir. Add chili powder, turmeric powder, garlic and ginger.
3-5 minutes more of stirring, and dinner is ready to dish out.

Prawn Potato Sabzi
Total cooking time: 15 mins
Serving size: 2-3 people
Total cost: $25 (approx.)
Ingredients
Prawns $7 for 200g
Potatoes $3.5 for 1kg
Turmeric powder $1.9 for 35g
Salt $1 for 500g
Chili powder $1.6 for 35g
Garlic $3.5 for 80g of paste / $1.5 for 60g of individual pieces
Ginger $3.5 for 80g of paste / $4.6 for 120g of individual pieces
Mustard seeds $1.3 for 25g
Vegetable oil $2.2 for a 750 ml bottle
Optional
Multigrain bread $3 for 100g
Onions $1.9 for 1kg
Directions
Chop the prawns and 3-4 potatoes finely.
Mash them. They can be as mashed as you like – if you like soft potato, go for it!
Toss only the potatoes into a heated pan with oil.
After 1-2 minutes, add chili powder, garlic, ginger, turmeric powder, and salt.
Cover with a lid so that it cooks evenly.
Stir for 30 seconds.
Add the mashed prawns into the mix and stir well. Remember that seafood is easy to overcook, so keep an eye on it!
After 3-5 minutes of stirring, your dinner is ready. You can have the sabzi with bread or rice, but it’s delicious even on its own.
READ ALSO: CULTURE SHOCK