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Inspire Grant with your top recipe

Do you have a favourite recipe?

Are you a dab hand at desserts or perhaps a wizard with the wok and have a mouth-watering recipe to share?

We’re asking our franchisees and Crest personnel to tell us what they love to eat. It might be a family recipe that’s been handed down the generations or perhaps a simple dish you love to prepare that everyone raves about. We’ll post all your recipes online as part of a nationwide show of support for CrestClean’s Grant McLauchlan who faces a culinary challenge like no other.

Right now Grant is really feeling the heat as he tries to squeeze in some much-needed practice in the run up to a high-profile charity event on October 19 when he’ll be on stage helping to prepare dinner for hundreds of guests.

We need your support to help hit the event’s $50,000 goal. You can donate to Grant’s Givealittle page at: https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/crestclean-ceo-cookoff/donations

First to step up to the plate is Tauranga CrestClean franchisee Pinakin Patel, who is sharing some of his family’s favourite vegetarian recipes and backing the charity fundraiser.“It’s great to be able to be involved and give our support in this way and share the sorts of food we eat as a family. Good luck to Grant, I’m sure he’ll do well on the night!”

Grant needs your recipe ideas to ensure he shines on the night and his Givealittle page stays on the boil.

But as well as providing inspiration, your recipes will be food for thought for Grant who will be expected to give a commentary when he’s on stage with top chefs and other business leaders.

“It will give me ideas to speak about on the evening. There will be a lot of conversation as we are cooking. When I’m asked about our involvement I will be able to talk about recipes our people have sent me.”

Grant’s generous supporters have already donated more than $3,000 to FoodShare, a charity that rescues food destined for landfill and redistributes it to those in need. Now Grant is calling on Crest’s franchisees to step in and push that figure even higher.

“We have 34 different nationalities represented among our franchisees,” he said.

“This is a unique chance to swap and share our cultural cuisines and give our support to a charity that helps people who cannot afford to feed their families.

“When I travel the country I am inundated with requests from our franchisees to come and join them for dinner to share their local cuisine.

“This is a chance to share all these recipes that they are fondly wanting me to enjoy on my travels.

“To get these authentic recipes from the many different countries our personnel are from will be fantastic.

“I’m really looking forward to support from the franchisees and reviewing the recipes they send me. I certainly need their inspiration.

“Crest franchisees are all successful business owners, so I hope they will get behind this excellent fundraising initiative to support the needy of New Zealand.

“People can send recipes and perhaps even a photo of themselves with the finished dish. I will respond to them all in due course.”

We’d love to get your recipes. If you want to include a photo of yourself with your favourite dish that would be a bonus. Don’t forget to tell us your name. Send your recipes and photos to: news@crestclean.co.nz

Pinakin and his family are originally from the Gujarat region of India, 450km north of Bombay. The typical Gujarati thali consists of roti, dal or kadhi, rice, and shaak/sabzi (a dish made up of several different combinations of vegetables and spices, which may be either spicy or sweet).

Lapsi, cauliflower with peas and Gujarati dal are family favourites in the Patel home.

CAULIFLOWER WITH PEAS
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 12 mins
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
To be ground into a paste (using 2 tbsp water)
2 tsp freshly grated coconut
2 green chillies
25mm piece of ginger
2 to 3 garlic cloves

Other ingredients
2 cups cauliflower florets
1½ cups green peas
¾ cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped coriander
½ tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp coriander-cumin seeds (dhania-jeera) powder
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp oil
Salt to taste

Method
Combine the onions, coriander, turmeric powder, coriander-cumin seeds powder, chilli powder, prepared paste, oil and salt in a deep bowl and mix well to make a marinade.
Add the cauliflower and green peas to this prepared marinade, mix well and keep aside to marinate for 15 minutes.
Transfer it into a deep non-stick fry pan (kadhai), add 1¼ cups of water, cover and cook on a medium flame for 10 to 12 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, while stirring occasionally.
Serve hot.

LAPSI
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 10
Ingredients:
1½ cups of cracked wheat
4 cups of water
1½ cups brown sugar
5 tablespoons ghee
4 cloves
½ teaspoon ground cardamom

Method
Melt ghee in a large saucepan. Add cracked wheat and gently fry until golden brown.
Add water and slowly bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.
When the water has nearly gone, turn off the heat, cover with a lid and leave for 20 minutes.
Add the sugar, cloves, and ground cardamom and thoroughly mix in.

GUJARATI DAL
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Servings: 2

Ingredients:
To pressure cook dal:
½ cup Toor dal (Pigeon peas or arhar dal)
1 tablespoon peanuts
1 cup water
Other ingredients:
2 cups water
½ teaspoon red chilli powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ cup chopped tomato
1 green chilli, slit
½ teaspoon ginger paste or freshly grated
1 tablespoon jaggery
Salt – to taste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Cilantro or coriander leaves – few sprigs, finely chopped

For tempering (tadka):
1 tablespoon oil
¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
6-7 fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
1 clove
¼ inch piece cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 dried red chilli, broken into two pieces
5-6 curry leaves
Small pinch asafetida (hing)

How to make Gujarati Dal:
1) Wash toor dal under running cold water till water runs clear.
2) Put dal into pressure cooker. Add 1 cup of water. Now take a small piece of muslin cloth, put peanuts in it and tie it. Make a “potli”. Put into pressure cooker.
3) Cover with the lid, put the weight on. Turn the heat on medium. Let it cook for 6-7 whistles. Then turn off the stove. Let the pressure go down by itself. Then open the lid.
4) Remove the peanuts potli, open it and keep boiled peanuts aside.
5) Add 2 cups of water to the dal and blend it using immersion hand blender. The dal should be smooth.
6) Now add red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt.
7) Stir well, add green chili, grated ginger and chopped tomatoes.
8) Also add jaggery and mix it.
9) Turn the heat on medium. Let the dal boil/simmer for 10 minutes. If it gets too thick add splash of water.
For the tadka:
1) Heat the oil in a small tadka pan on medium heat. Once hot add mustard seeds. Let them pop. Then add cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds. Let them sizzle a bit.
2) Now add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves and dried chili. Saute for 30 seconds.
3) Add curry leaves and hing.
4) Immediately add the tempering to the simmering dal.
5) Mix it. Check the consistency. The dal should be thinner. Simmer more or less accordingly. Then turn off the stove.
6) Add lemon juice, boiled peanuts and chopped coriander leaves.
7) Mix well and dal is ready to serve.

Donate to Grant’s Givealittle page at: https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/crestclean-ceo-cookoff/donations

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