3 Fun Global Dinner Ideas Your Whole Family Will Love
If you’re looking to shake things up in the family kitchen, we’re here to help. There are a whole host of global kitchen-inspired dinner ideas out there that not only taste fantastic but are simple enough to get kids involved too.
Adventuring the world together is better as a family, after all. All these recipes will feed (at least) a family of four.
Jamaican Oxtail Stew
Looking for new beef dinner ideas? In Jamaica, flavorful oxtail is transformed into a hearty, stew that will satisfy even the pickiest of your family members with its warming, spice-filled flavors. If you fancy making this oxtail dinner recipe tonight, you can buy your oxtail from Instacart, a grocery delivery service, and it will be delivered the very same day.
This is a forgiving dish that doesn’t need precise measuring, which means kids can get involved with the preparation.
Make a paste with equal measures of allspice, nutmeg, and Jamaican seasoning, some salt and pepper, and a little bit of soy sauce to bind. Marinade 1-2 inch thick slices of oxtail (around 3 pounds of it) for an hour. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil and brown the meat on both sides. Lift out, then throw in some roughly chopped Spanish onions, and chunks of carrot. Fry for 3-4 minutes. Chuck in a few teaspoons of minced garlic and ginger and fry for a minute longer. Deglaze with beef stock, and transfer everything, meat and all, into a big saucepan. Add more stock, a sprig of thyme put the lid on, and simmer for 2-3 hours, adding stock if it becomes too dry. In the final 10 minutes, chuck in a can of butterbeans. Serve with rice.
Lamb Koftas with Flatbread and Lemon Mint Yogurt
Lamb kofta is a Middle Eastern dish where ground lamb is transformed into delicious kebabs, served on top of flatbread with zingy yogurt. It’s an interactive, messy kind of dinner kids will love.
Mix 2 pounds of ground lamb (beef works in a pinch) with a teaspoon each of ground cumin, fennel, and coriander seeds. Add half a teaspoon of dried mint, a handful of chopped almonds and season with salt and pepper. Then roll the meat around skewers — but don’t worry if you don’t have them, just roll into logs.
Stick the kebabs on the BBQ or in a hot skillet or griddle on the hob, turning frequently until cooked through (about 6-7 minutes).
For the yogurt, add a squeeze of lemon, a very finely minced garlic clove, and a teaspoon or so of dried mint to 4-5 generous tablespoons of plain yogurt. Season with salt and pepper and mix.
Serve the kebabs on warmed flatbread, spooning over the yogurt. Wrap up the flatbread and devour!
Indian Channa Masala
This is a fantastically flavorful, chickpea-based, vegan recipe no kid is able to resist!
Finely mince a large Spanish onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, and a thumbnail size piece of ginger. Make a spice blend of half a tablespoon each of ground cumin, garam masala, and ground coriander. Add a teaspoon of turmeric.
Fry the onions in oil until soft but not yet browned. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for a couple of minutes more. Coat the onion mixture with the spice mix, cooking on low heat, careful not to burn the spices. Add a can of pureed tomatoes, two cans of chickpeas, and a can of coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes until everything has thickened and the sauce is coating the chickpeas. Serve over rice, garnished with cilantro.
It’s easy to get caught in a rut in the kitchen. Once we identify a few dishes we know how to make (and we know our kids will eat), it’s easy to routinely make them. But if you’re looking to spice things up a bit, give one (or all!) of these recipes a try. You won’t regret it!