Christmas recipes

BAKED ZUCCHINI TOTS
Ingredients
• 3 large potatoes, peeled, boiled and grated
• 2 cups zucchini, grated
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• Olive oil

Preparations
• Place grated zucchini into the bowl with the potatoes and add season with salt.
• Mix well to combine.
• Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Use your hands to form small cylinders/ tots ( about 1 tbps) with the mixture.
• Refrigerate for 20 minutes to firm up.
• Brush the top of each tot with a small amount of olive oil.
• Bake tots until browned about 30 minutes flipping halfway. Serve with ketchup if desired.

SIMPLE CHICKEN ROAST with VEGETABLES
Ingredients
• 1 kg mix of chicken thighs and drumsticks
• A mix of vegetables (like onions, garlic, carrots, zuchinni, potatoes and/or broccoli)
• Olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Fresh parsley, chopped
• Dried herbs (thyme, rosemary, oregano)
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Preparations
• Heat the oven to 425°F.
• Wash and cut the preferrred vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
• Make a bed for the chicken pieces by arranging the vegetables on the bottom of a baking dish.
• Sprinkle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and herbs.
• Rub the chicken drumsticks and thighs with olive oil. Sprinkle the chicken pieces generously with salt and pepper and place on top of vegetables.
• Bake for an hour or until chicken is done. Let the chicken pieces rest on a serving platter.
• Mix vegetables in the baking dish and roast 5-10 minutes longer if needed.
• Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

QUICK CHOCOLATE CORNFLAKES BALLS
Ingredients
• 2 cups dark chocolate
• Water as required
• 2 cups crushed cornflakes
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Preparations
• To prepare this dessert recipe, take a heatproof bowl and add the dark chocolate to it.
• Next, take a large sized deep saucepan with water and place it on a high-medium flame.
• Place the chocolate bowl in between and stir gently until the chocolate completely melts.
• Once done, remove the bowl of chocolate from the flame and add the crushed cornflakes to it.
• Take a small amount of the mixture and give it a shape of small lemon sized balls. Do the same with the remaining mixture.
• Place the chocolate balls in the tray and transfer it to the refrigerator. Allow them to set for a few hours.
• Once set, remove the tray from the refrigerator and serve.

MICROWAVE CHRISTMAS PUDDING
Ingredients
• 500 grams Mixed Dried Fruit
• 100 grams Dates de-seeded
• 100 grams Prunes de-seeded
• 150 grams Butter
• 5 tsp Bicarbonate Of Soda
• 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 cup Marmalade
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp Mixed Spice
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
• 1 cup Plain Flour
• 1 cup Self Raising Flour
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Preparations
• Grease a microwave proof pudding bowl with little butter.
• In another microwave proof bowl, add the dried fruit, dates, prunes, butter and 1/2 cup of water.
• Microwave on high for two minutes or until butter has melted and the mixture is heated through.
• Stir in the bicarbonate of soda and leave aside to cool. Add the sugar, eggs, marmalade, spices and sifted flours to the dry fruit mixture and fold until combined.
• Pour into the greased pudding bowl and smoothen the top.
• Microwave on medium for 25 minutes. Gently pour the syrup on top.
• Stand for 15 minutes before carefully dishing out into a plate.

Oneza Tabish is a food blogger, consultant, and columnist based in Oman. She is also the owner of Oman’s popular Facebook group ‘What’s Cooking Oman.’