ARE we coming to a stalwart on our cottage industries? Observing the sustained growth of locally produced foods in other countries has made me wonder if there is room to grow in Brunei with regards to this — particularly in the expansion towards other types of "self-produced" foods that many locals I know love, but hate to pay the very extravagant price for.

Cheese for example, is something that is definitely a possible cottage industry that local Bruneians could venture into — I've been thinking about this myself, because if it's possible to produce yogurt in this country, which is already being made in small sellable quantity by Mashor Dairy Farm, located in Jerudong. I'll be picking up a few tubs to try out — I've heard great things!

They also do a range of dairy products like flavoured milks. I am a huge cheese fan and thankfully am 'allowed' to eat quite a lot of it without too many side effects according to the Blood Type diet which I very loosely follow. Don't make the mistake I did, which is to think it will keep forever, even in the fridge. I've made that slightly late judgment call on a block of Bega cheddar which was just slightly starting to mold on one end. Nightmares ensued, and I totally blame the late night moldy cheese-fest.

British chef Nigella Lawson does a fantastically simple yet flavour-packed marinated Chicken with a Greek yogurt sauce, but my lack of action to note down the recipe and the inability to find the actual recipe as promised, on the Asian Food Channel's website, I'm replacing it with an equally simple recipe from my favourite recipe website, Epicurious.com. My so-called column has very different (and more amusing) reasons for being named as such!

This is a good one to do for barbeques but if you don't have an outdoor grill, or one of those insanely handy George Foreman grills, you could do this in the oven by keeping the rack oiled and catching the juices in a pan underneath.

Grilled Chicken Breasts in Spiced Yogurt

Source: Epicurious.com

Makes 6 servings

Takes about 35-40 minutes to prepare from start to finish.

Ingredients

* 2 1/4 cups plain yogurt (preferably whole-milk or Greek)

* 3 tablespoons olive oil

* 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

* 2 teaspoons salt

* 1 tablespoon chili powder

(This can be any type really depending on the end result you're looking for. I like the Hungarian chilli's for their sweetness, or crushing up the big, fat, dried chillies you get in the local shops and supermarkets.)

* 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

* 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander (Fresh is always best, but don't fret if you can only find dried ones.)

* 3/4 teaspoon black pepper

* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

* 6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves

* 1 cup small fresh mint leaves

* 2 tablespoons minced shallot

What You Need To Do:

Whisk together 1 cup yogurt, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, salt, and spices, then add chicken and turn until coated well. Marinate at room temperature 20 minutes. Doing this in a large ziplock bag is a really good idea to keep some for freezing. This also allows over time, for the lemon to really act on the protein fibres and tenderise the meat.

While the chicken is marinating, prepare your grill for cooking. If using a charcoal grill, open vents on bottom of grill, then light charcoal. Charcoal fire is medium-hot when you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for 3 to 4 seconds. If using a gas grill, preheat burners on high, covered, 10 minutes, then reduce heat to moderate.

While grill is heating, whisk together remaining 1 1/4 cups yogurt and 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice and salt to taste.

Grill chicken (discard marinade), covered only if using gas grill, on lightly oiled grill rack, turning over occasionally, until just cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes total. Transfer chicken to a platter.

Toss together mint, shallot, and remaining tablespoon oil in a small bowl. Drizzle chicken with yogurt sauce and top with mint salad. Extra lemon is always welcome!

The Brunei Times