5 Starters you can cook up in 5 Minutes (each)!!!

Hey all you people out there who love hosting parties! Here is a sure fire way to impress your guests with some party appetisers that are delicious and easy not only to prepare but to pick up and eat as well. So guys don’t be shy to show off your culinary and party hosting skills with these easy to make cocktail starters. All you need is a bunch of toothpicks for all these dishes and you can use an assortment of mixed plates and bowls for your starters and dips - the more colourful the better!

1) Paneer and Pineapple Brochette with Thai Sweet Chilli sauce

Ingredients

250 gm Paneer

1 Tin Canned Pineapple

1 Tbsp Flour

1/4^th Tsp Chilli Powder

1 tsp Salt

Pepper (as much as you like!)

2 Tsp oil and

Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce (can be bought at any

You will also need

A Frying pan, Knife, Chopping Board, Toothpicks, A serving plate and bowl for the sauce

Method

1) Cut the paneer into bite sized cubes

2) Mix salt pepper, chilli powder and flour together

3) Dust this mixture onto the paneer pieces so that all the pieces are lightly coated

4) Take 1 tsp oil per batch of paneer and lightly fry the paneer until it is light golden

5) Take the canned pineapple pieces and cut into similarly sized bites

6) Put the pineapple first and then the paneer onto a toothpick

7) Place on a dish and serve with the Thai Sweet Chilli sauce

2) Green Olive and Brie Brochettes

Ingredients

1 bottle Green Salty Olives with any stuffing you like (you know if you find this too saltyyou can do the same thing with those large Californian grapes halved and de seeded instead of the olives

2 roundels of Brie Cheese

A little bit of cumin seeds

(All three ingredients are easily available at any store near you)

You will also need

Toothpicks, Knife chopping board

Method

1) Take the Brie and cut it like a pizza into several small triangles each.

2) Take a toothpick and put the olive/(one half of the grape), the brie and (the second half of the grape)

3) Decorate with cumin (jeera) seeds

3) Strawberry and Blue Cheese Brochettes with Honey Sauce

Ingredients

1 box strawberries (approximately 400g)

150g Blue Cheese

40ml Honey

20ml Cream

You will also need:

Toothpicks, saucepan, knife, a serving dish and bowl to serve

Method

1) In a saucepan on a low heat add the honey and let it thin out over a gentle heat

2) Add the Cream and switch off the heat and allow to cool

3) Wash the strawberries and cut the top green part and cut into half

4) Cut the blue cheese very gently into small bits

5) Put the strawberries on a toothpick and put just a small piece of Blue cheese on the bottom of this toothpick

6) Serve in a dish with the honey cream dipping sauce

4) Yoghurt Chicken Tenders on Brochettes with Mint Chutney

Ingredients

400 Grams boneless chicken

150 Grams Yoghurt

1 Tbsp Honey

½ Tsp Cumin Powder

½ Tsp Coriander Powder

2 cloves crushed garlic

One small piece ginger, grated

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp pepper

2 slit green chillies

Mint and Coriander Chutney – ½ bunch coriander, ½ bunch mint, ½ green chilly salt to taste all whizzed in a blender with ¼ cup water

You will also need

Preparation one night in advance, a large bowl for marinating, a food mixer, an oven, toothpicks, a serving dish and a bowl to serve

Method

1) Cube the chicken into bit sized pieces

2) Dump all Chicken and marinade ingredients in a bowl mix and cover in a cling film or put in an airtight box

3) The next day preheat your oven to 160 Degrees Centigrade

4) Take out the chicken, put one or two pieces on each toothpick depending on their size and bake for 35 minutes

5) Place onto a plate and serve with mint chutney

5) Fish Fingers with Tartar Sauce

Well I know this is a no brainer but it is a great success at parties. Also, trust me you would rather get the readymade tartar sauce because there are way too many ingredients that go in actually making one fresh!

Ingredients

A Packet of Fish fingers

Ready Made Tartar Sauce

Oil to fry it up!

You will also need

A Frying pan, loads of tissue paper to absorb the oil, toothpicks, a platter and a bowl to serve

Method

1) Fry the fish fingers

2) Line your platter with tissue to absorb the oil and serve with the tartar sauce

6) Cherry Tomatoes and Feta with Pistachio

This is a cool recipe I caught in one of the editions of the ME Magazine and it really caught my eye and attention as it's super quick, easy, looks fancy and yummy!

Ingredients

2 packets Cherry tomatoes

1 small packet Feta Cheese

50 Grams Pistachios

½ Green Chilly

You will also need:

Toothpicks, a mixie, a serving platter

Method

1) Mash up the feta till it is a paste

2) Grind together the pistachios and the ½ chilly together

3) Wash the cherry tomatoes

4) Coat each tomato first with feta cheese and then with the pistachio mix and place on individual toothpicks and they are ready to serve!

7) Potato Wedges with Sour Cream

Ingredients

1 packet Mc Cain readymade Potato wedges

Oil for frying

For the Sour Cream -

100 gm Fresh cream

200 Grams yoghurt tied in a muslin cloth and hung overnight

1 pod garlic grated

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

Corriander and Mint – one handful Chopped

½ a chilly chopped finely

You will also need

A frying pan, tissue papers, a plate and bowl to serve

Method

1) Fry the potato wedges

2) In a bowl mix all sour cream ingredients together. Be careful not to over-mix the fresh cream as it could curdle.

3) Tweak the salt and sugar f the sour cream according to your taste buds

4) Place on a plate and they are ready to serve!

Hey I never claimed these to be healthy but they all taste reaaaaaly good and are genuinely super quick to make!