Ostrich Steaks in the Best Meat Rub Ever

My beautiful friends gave me Justin Bonello's "Cooked in Africa" book for my birthday, and it holds the recipe to one of the best meat rubs I have ever tasted.  He was only preparing two steaks, so the recipe below is to feed 6.

I made ostrich steaks in the rub, and served it with garlic bruschetta, green salad and sautéed asparagus and brinjal.

Ostrich Steak, sautéed Asparagus & Brinjal, Salad and Bruschetta

Meat Rub:
3 teaspoons of:
- Coarse sea salt
- Brown sugar
- Dried Garlic Flakes
- Mustard Seeds
- Coriander Seeds
- White, black and green peppercorns
- Paprika
- Bell Peppers
- 3 Juniper Berries

Toss all the ingredients into a pestal and mortar and grind into a fine granular rub.

Coat the ostrich steaks in Olive Oil before covering in the rub on both sides.  Braai for 15 - 20 minutes.

For the garlic bruschetta coat sliced french bread in olive oil, grill on both sides until golden and crispy and then rub with raw garlic.

For the sautéed asparagus and brinjal, fry brinjal (I used baby brinjals cut into slices) in olive oil, garlic, salt and black pepper until soft and then add the asparagus just before serving (so it is still crunchy).  Garnish with grated Parmesan.

Ostrich Steak, sautéed Asparagus & Brinjal, Salad and Bruschetta

Coriander, Ginger and Chilli Butter Chicken

This is Gordon Ramsay's take on his favourite Indian meal.  I got it from his book "The Ultimate Cookery Course" which literally has everything you would ever need to know about cooking.  There is a TV show based on the book on BBC at the moment which is just as awesome.

He recommends you start marinating the chicken the night before to allow all the flavours to develop.

Ingredients:
- 500g boneless, skinless chicken pieces cut into 4cm pieces (he recommends thighs but I used breast)
- Olive oil for frying
- 1 small onion, peeled and diced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 3cm piece of root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp ground tumeric
- Pinch of chilli powder, or to taste
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 25g butter
- Small bunch of fresh coriander, leaves roughly chopped, to garnish

For the marinade:
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 4cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- Juice of 1/4 lemon
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds 
- 1/2 tsp ground tumeric
- 150g natural yoghurt
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.  Put the garlic, ginger, chilli and lemon juice from the marinade ingredients in a bowl.  Toss the chicken into the mixture, cover and set aside.

2.  Continue preparing the marinade.  Toast the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry pan for about 1 minute until aromatic and the coriander seeds are popping.  Grind to a powder, then mix with turmeric, yoghurt, salt and pepper.

3.  Pour the yoghurt mixture over the chicken.  Mix well, cover and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours.

4.  When ready to cook the chicken, heat a large heavy based pan over a medium heat and add a little olive oil.  When the pan is hot saute the onion with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook until lightly golden before adding the ginger and cooking for a further minute.

5.  Add the ground coriander, garam masala turmeric and chilli powder and stir into onions over a medium heat until aromatic.  Add the tomato puree and stir for 30 seconds.  Add the butter and allow to melt before stirring it through.

6.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and wipe off any excess.  Add the chicken pieces to the pan and cook for 10 minutes, turning now and then until cooked through.  Lower the heat, add the remaining marinade to the pan and cook gently for 5 minutes until piping hot (be careful not to let the sauce boil as this will cause it to split).  Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.  Serve garnished with chopped coriander leaves.

I added 2 chopped tomatoes when I added the chicken, which worked out quite well, and served on basmati rice.