Based on two Malaysian dishes – Prawn Sambal and Nasi Lemak, Gary Rhodes has created this delicious recipe. Relatively quick and easy to make, it could make an unusual dish for a supper party. As usual, I’ve tried to provide a vegetarian version!

A really quick, easy and very messy starter!! These stir fried prawns are great for an informal dinner party with friends, although maybe not so good if you’re trying to impress your husband’s boss as they’re designed to be eaten with the fingers, but you could of course shell the prawns and provide a knife and fork … but hey, why take away all the fun and guilty pleasure?!!

This has a lovely combination of flavours and, into the bargain, it's relatively cheap, quick to prepare and great for vegetarians.

There's enough pilaf here for 6 people so it's perfect for a dinner party. It tastes good, looks good and sounds exotic and somewhat complicated to concoct but it's relatively simple and, more importantly quite a cheap dish to make. The only tricky bit is getting the rice cooked without burning!