Potato is a very humble root vegetable. It doesn’t look extremely elegant but it makes wonderful side dishes whether you boil, roast, fry or steam it. A humble root vegetable like potato is sometimes underrated and often doesn’t get limelight like some other vegetables do. But, treating potato with respect could make you change your view on this wonderful root vegetable.

Mashed potato is quick and easy to make. It goes well with sausages, roast dishes and many others. It is extremely comforting accompanied with gravy (I love it)! It is important to choose the right kind of potatoes. I usually go for light fluffy and floury potato such as a Maris Piper or King Edward. Desiree is also one of my favourite too.

The perfect mash is smooth and creamy with a fluffy finish and no lumps. I just love silky smooth mashed potato that is usually served at high-end restaurants. Well, there is no secret that to make perfectly silky smooth mashed potato needs a tiny bit more effort and time. Well, don’t get me wrong, it is not difficult at all, but just need a bit more effort and patience, but the result is well worth it!

Look, I don’t eat mashed potato very frequently. When I make it, I want it to be the best of the best, even at home! It is a win-win situation – get perfectly silky smooth mash and give our hands a good few minutes of workout!

The is no secret but to pass the cooked potatoes through a fine sieve. Then, add butter and double cream or milk or both. The result is absolutely amazing and I never look back to those days, eating lumpy mashed potato. And of course, I don’t trust potato masher any longer but love my sieve that I can’t live without it!

Perfect Mashed Potato

Ingredients:

650g floury potatoes (King Edward or Maris Piper)
40g butter
50ml double cream
70ml warm milk
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with plenty of cold water. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil over high heat. Uncover and gently boil for 15 minutes or until tender.

2. Drain cooked potatoes and place in a bowl. Roughly break the potatoes with the back of a fork. Place a sieve over the used saucepan, transfer about 4 heaped tablespoons of the potatoes, then use the back of a spoon to press through a fine sieve. Repeat for the rest.

3. Place the saucepan over medium-low heat. Add butter, double cream and milk and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

I love Madeleines! They are great for afternoon tea.

I have previously shared Madeleines recipe with you all before. This time, I want to share the idea of trying different flavours in making Madeleines. There are many many different flavours that you could add to Madeleines. The most common is vanilla or lemon. I personally have tried quite a few flavours like green tea and pandan. Most recently, I tried with orange flower water and dark chocolate. I absolutely love both!

Orange flower water is a clear and distilled from the blossoms of the orange tree. It is widely used in making desserts, just like using vanilla essence. I have previously used orange flower water in Moroccan-Style Blood Orange Salad. And of course, using it in making Madeleines is great too! It has very subtle aroma that is light and refreshing.

Apart from the soft, light and fluffy texture of Madeleines, what attracts me most is the shape. I have a few Madeleines moulds of non-stick and the silicone ones. But, my all time favourite is still the non-stick pan.

I doubled the recipe when I last made these yummy little cakes. I divided the mixture into two – one mixture for orange flower flavour and the other for dark chocolate. For dark chocolate, you could use chocolate powder or you could melt about 50g of dark chocolate. All these were gone in just 2 days! I have to always remind myself not to eat more than two each time but I couldn’t help it as they were just too good!

Orange Flower & Dark Chocolate Madeleines

Ingredients:

150g flour
125g butter
125g sugar
2 eggs
1.5 tsp orange flower water
1 tsp yeast

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Brush madeleine moulds with melted butter.

2. Whisk the eggs and sugar until the mixture is thick and pale and the whisk leaves a trail when lifted.

3. Mix the yeast into the flour. Gently fold in the mixture, then add the melted butter and orange flower water. (To make chocolate madeleines, melt about 50g of dark chocolate in microwave and add the melted chocolate to the mixture and mix well)

4. Spoon into the moulds, leaving a little room for rising. Bake for 12 minutes or until very lightly golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the moulds and cool on wire rack.

After more than 1.5 years, I decided to give my blog another face lift! Not a lot has changed – I still like to maintain its simplicity as I always do. Highlights of the new designs are:

1. “Most popular” - at the bottom half of the home page is the section where you could find my past popular posts.

2. Pinterest-style navigation – I love how Pinterest-style navigation enable us to see everything in one glance and decide which one to choose to see in detailed. Not only it is a good way to organise all the posts but definitely great to showcase images! From page 2 onwards and archived posts are all presented in Pinterest-style. Hope you’ll love it and find it a better experience in browsing all the posts on my blog!

3. Archives – You can browse the archives by cuisine, category and month/year.

Of course apart from the above, another great news is that My Cooking Hut is now a responsive website – which means the layout of my site changes according to devices (smartphones and tablets). I believe this will make it an even better user experience! You still have the choice to switch back to full website layout if you want by choosing the option at the bottom of the page when you browse on your smartphone or tablet.

Smartphone Format

Tablet Format

We left Delhi and headed to Jaipur, Rajasthan’s capital – such a flamboyant state. It took us about 3 hours on to arrive in Jaipur by train. I felt Jaipur was slightly less chaotic than Delhi.

We stayed at Umaid Bhawan, which is located in a quiet residential area in Jaipur, about 1 km from the railway station. This heritage hotel is a family-run hotel, which is built in traditional style with beautifully carved balconies, courtyards and terraces.

There are a number of things that we did during our short stay in Jaipur:

1) Old City (Pink City)

The bustling Old City is often referred as the Pink City, which was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. Avenues in the Pink City is divided into gridded streets. Each of the street specialising in certain crafts. The main bazaars in the Old City are Johari Bazaar, Tripolia Bazaar, Bapu Bazaar and Chandpol Bazaar.

Johari Bazaar is a favourite street for Jaipur’s women – offering various styles of jootis (traditional shoes) and perfumes. If you are into jewellery, then Johari Bazaar is for you.

Walking in the Old City is really an experience – the sights and sounds. A lot of street food on offer; traditional sweets of many types arranged nicely for purchase; colourful flowers for prayers; many merchants carried out their daily business; customers negotiating hard for items to purchase; some were enjoying their late afternoon snacks and sipping hot Chai tea; colourful jootis arranged nicely on racks,…. that I couldn’t resist to get a pair for less than £5!

I couldn’t stop taking pictures as there many things seem to always be on the move and different from one minute to another! One thing that I particularly love is the vibrant colour of traditional clothing that women in Jaipur wear – so bright in colour!

2) Hawa Mahal

Hawa Mahal also known as “Palace of Winds” or “Palace of the Breeze” is Jaipur’s most distinctive landmark. It has really unique architecture – built with pink/orange sandstone, dedicatedly honeycombed hive that rises a five storeys. It was built by Sawai Pratap Singh to enable ladies of the royal household to watch the life and processions of the city.

3) Amber Fort

Located in Amer, 11 km from Jaipur. It is one of the tourist attractions that rises from a rocky mountainside. This magnificent fort is built from pale yellow and pink sandstone and white marble. It is divided into four main sections, each with its own courtyard. We hired a driver for half a day to see this majestic fort. Views from the fort was beautiful.

4) Jal Mahal

Jal Mahal is really pretty. Rising from the water makes it really special. It is also known as “Water Palace”, located in the middle of Man Sagar Lake. The Jal Mahal palace is built in Rajput and Mughal style of architecture providing a picturesque view of the lake and the surrounding hills. It is a 5-storey building out of which four floors remain under water when the lake is full and the top floor is exposed.

Though the trip was short in Jaipur, it was just nice to do all we wanted to do. Looking back at those photos, I think that Jaipur is a beautiful place.

Not too long ago, Christine from Christine’s Recipes sent me a copy of her cookbook – “Easy Recipes－A Selection of Simple Classics (簡易食譜──精選．易學．經典)”. I was really excited when I got her cookbook and couldn’t wait to flip through the book and check out all the recipes. I have been following Christine’s blog for quite a while now and I love all the recipes that she has been sharing.

“Easy Recipes－A Selection of Simple Classics” contains a selection of over 60 classic and delicious recipes, including breakfast, tea, main, soup and dessert. Each recipe is very well-written in both Chinese and English. Besides, it is also accompanied with step-by-step instructions followed with pictures side by side. And of course, there are photos that show the final look of the dishes too. Christine has taken all of the photos in her book, which I believe is a big task and she has done a great job!

Personally, I love classic dishes and I think this book has all those yummy and most-loved classic dishes that everyone loves and it is a great keeper in my cookbook collections. You can get a copy of Christine’s book here.

There are so many recipes that I wanted to try and couldn’t make up my mind. In the end, I decided to make braised pork belly. One-pot dish like this always appeal to me, especially so when living in a country where we tend to have more cold than warm days throughout the year!

It is very important to get a nice piece of pork belly. Usually I like to get those with less fat so that I can enjoy more of the meat. The end result of the dish was just unbelievable – the meat just melt in the mouth and the intense glistering colour of soy and sugar makes the dish looks really appetising! It goes well with plain steamed rice since the dish is infused with great flavours of spring onion, Shaoxing wine and garlic! My husband and I had 2 portions of rice and managed to finish the whole dish! Yes, it was really that yummy!

Braised Pork Belly

Yield: 3 persons

Ingredients:

470g pork rashers/pork belly
1 clove garlic, sliced
2 stalks spring onion, sectioned
2 tsp Shaoxing wine
18g rock sugar
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 cup water
3 hard boiled eggs, shelled

Directions:

1. Cut the pork into cubes of 1 to 1 1/2 inch size.

2. Heat a little oil in a pan or deep pot, as the pork will release some oil. Fry the pork until light brown. Add garlic in the middle and cook until aromatic. Add wine, light and dark soy sauce, water and rock sugar. Bring it to a boil.

3. When the sauce boils, add the spring onion, cover and simmer until the pork softens and the sauce reduces by half. Add the eggs and continue to simmer until they turn brown. If you like a smoother and clearer sauce, sift the garlic and spring onion away through a fine sieve. Serve hot.

It’s officially spring now but the weather here still isn’t spring-like. I still need to wear my winter coat when I go out. Seriously, I have no idea what’s wrong and when will we have decent warm and sunny weather! At least, a long weekend has kind of cheered me up!

Time  just flew by without my realisation and a long weekend is a luxury for me! Of course, it wouldn’t make sense if I just do nothing and waste all the free time I have. So, I have decided to make some hot cross buns to give myself an Easter treat!

Hot Cross Buns are spiced sweet buns made with currants or raisins that are generally eaten on Good Friday, when Christ was crucified on the cross and His return to life on the Sunday following his death on Friday, which is Easter – the preeminent feast that celebrates His resurrection. The cross on the bun is the symbol of crucifixion.

Never have I before attempted baking hot cross buns so I was really excited to get my hands on! I found some recipes on the internet and after checking all the ingredients, they seem pretty straight forward and I have them all in my larder and fridge. I think hot cross bun is pretty similar to Panettone, as it also uses raisins and citrus peels. Both have fluffy and light inside, just a good tea time treat!

Happy Easter!

Hot Cross Buns

Adapted from bbcgoodfood.com

Ingredients:

For the buns:
300ml full-fat milk , plus 2 tbsp more
50g butter
500g strong bread flour
1 tsp salt
75g caster sugar
1 tbsp sunflower oil
7g sachet fast-action or easy-blend yeast
1 egg , beaten
75g sultanas
50g mixed peel
zest 1 orange
1 apple , peeled, cored and finely chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon

For the cross:
75g plain flour , plus extra for dusting

For the glaze:
3 tbsp apricot jam

Directions:

1. Bring the milk to the boil, then remove from the heat and add the butter. Leave to cool until it reaches hand temperature. Put the flour, salt, sugar and yeast (see Tip, below) into a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour in the warm milk and butter mixture, then add the egg. Using a wooden spoon, mix well, then bring everything together with your hands until you have a sticky dough.

2. Tip on to a lightly floured surface and knead by holding the dough with one hand and stretching it with the heal of the other hand, then folding it back on itself. Repeat for 5 mins until smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hr or until doubled in size and a finger pressed into it leaves a dent.

3. With the dough still in the bowl, tip in the sultanas, mixed peel, orange zest, apple and cinnamon. Knead into the dough, making sure everything is well distributed. Leave to rise for 1 hr more, or until doubled in size, again covered by some well-oiled cling film to stop the dough getting a crust.

4. Divide the dough into 15 even pieces (about 75g per piece - see Tip below). Roll each piece into a smooth ball on a lightly floured work surface. Arrange the buns on one or two baking trays lined with parchment, leaving enough space for the dough to expand. Cover (but don't wrap) with more oiled cling film, or a clean tea towel, then set aside to prove for 1 hr more.

5. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Mix the flour with about 5 tbsp water to make the paste for the cross - add the water 1 tbsp at a time, so you add just enough for a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag with a small nozzle. Pipe a line along each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create crosses. Bake for 20 mins on the middle shelf of the oven, until golden brown.

6. Gently heat the apricot jam to melt, then sieve to get rid of any chunks. While the jam is still warm, brush over the top of the warm buns and leave to cool.

For our second last night in Delhi, it was almost 7pm. After a short chat with the hotel concierge, we decided to give it a go – Bukhara. It is highly recommended and we were told it was tough to book a table. But, we got lucky to be able to book a table for 2.

By the time we arrived at ITC Hotels - where the restaurant is, it was almost 8pm. It was quite a distance from Connaught Place. We saw a lot of people waiting outside of the restaurant. “Mr. Lucky”, (that’s how the restaurant manager prefers to address himself as), gave us a very warm welcome. When asked him why “Mr. Lucky”, he has explained to us “Bukhara” is a city in Uzbekistan and also means a place of good fortune or lucky. That’s why he has called himself as “Mr. Lucky”.

Before our table was ready, we were taken to a smaller table and were served with drinks. The restaurant is very authentically decorated and the kitchen is part of the restaurant that can be seen through a glass divider. It looked clean and neat. A few minutes later, we were taken to our table and we were given the menu.

Bukhara offers traditional clay oven or tandoor-cooked kebabs, vegetables and breads. Once this rustic cuisine was enjoyed at the harsh terrain of the North West Frontier Province, which comprised parts of Afghanistan and the Northwest part of pre independence India, since year 1900.

The use of tandoor/clay oven guarantees food is cooked at constant temperature without making meats/vegetables/breads dry. This style of cooking is robust in flavours though not accompanied by any sauce or gravy, but only pre-marinated and cooked before serving.

We decided to go for Barrah Kabab (chargrilled chunks of leg of lamb and chops marinated in a mixture of yoghurt, malt vinegar and melange of spices), Murgh Malai Kabab (grilled creamy “kabab” of boneless chicken blended with cream cheese, malt vinegar, green chill and coriander) and Dal Bukara (black lentil, tomatoes, ginger and garlic, simmered overnight on slow charcoal fire, finished with cream and served with a dollop of unsalted butter). And of course accompanied with some Naan breads.

All the dishes came in really big portion. My favourite is the grilled chicken – nicely grilled outside and moist inside. For me, the dal is too creamy and heavy, though it did taste nice initially. The lamb was not bad but there was nothing too special about it. For our sweet endings, we had Kulfi (dairy dessert, almost like ice-cream) and Gulab Jamun (dumplings made of thickened or reduced milk, soaked in rose flavored sugar syrup). Though I am not overly crazy in desserts, but Gulab Jamun managed to get my 2 thumbs up!

The bill came to about over £90, for 2 people for all the dishes, a beer and a bottle of mineral water. I feel neutral and not disappointed. But in terms of food, there was nothing too amazing about it too. It is popular amongst the locals and a lot of foreigners. But that for me, doesn’t necessary mean or guarantee outstanding food. Or, it could be that I went to the restaurant with high expectation, looking at the fact that it is in a 5-star hotel! And for the price we paid, I think it is expensive and I could have spent it eating something better in London.

We woke up extremely early the next morning as we had a train to catch to go to Agra – best option to get to Agra, slightly more than 2 hours from Delhi. Yes! To see the Taj Mahal – one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Though Agra is a small town but with long and rich history – it was once the centre of India’s great Mughal empire and its legacy lives on in beautiful artwork and architecture.

When you read up a guidebook, it probably suggests the best time to see Taj Mahal is either at sunrise or sunset. Since we didn’t spend a night in Agra itself, we just have to see Taj Mahal in daylight. Maybe we were not very lucky as the day was very hazy. (I couldn’t figure out whether it was hazy or was it because of pollution!)

The Taj can be access through several gates – west, south and east. At the Taj, they are strict about what you can take or cannot take with you. You are ok to take cameras, mobile phones, water bottles, small bags and books.

The Taj Mahal is located on the right bank of the Yamuna River in a vast Mughal garden that encompasses nearly 17 hectares, in the Agra District in Uttar Pradesh. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal with construction starting in 1632 AD and completed in 1648 AD, with the mosque, the guest house and the main gateway on the south, the outer courtyard and its cloisters were added subsequently and completed in 1653 AD. If you’d like to read up more about Taj Mahal, you can check it here.

Though Agra is a dusty small town. But to set my foot in this little town to see the majestic view of the Taj is unquestionably worth it! It is quite an experience to see Taj Mahal in real, right in front of you. Just like a dream comes true! Well, I guess, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Citrus fruits are my best friends. Whenever I have a craving for sweet sour combo, they never let me down. I have been eating a lot of blood oranges – they are the most gorgeous citrus fruits in my opinion. I love the ruby red, maroon or even dark blood red flesh when it is cut open. I just get really excited, followed by a ‘wow’,  just like a kid again! It’s hard to describe my excitement. But, every time I see them, I just couldn’t help but have to grab some.

They are mostly grown in Mediterranean countries and America. Blood oranges tend to be smaller than regular oranges and some may have reddish blush on the skin.  The dark red colour of its flesh is because of anthocyanin, which is an antioxidant pigment. It develops when blood oranges ripen during very warm days and cooler nights. Anthocyanin starts to develop around the edges of the peel and skin and slowly follow into the flesh.

The blood oranges that I got are from Sicily, Italy. Sometimes, these oranges are also called Silician oranges or red orange of Sicily. Its Italian name is Sanguinello means “full blood orange”. They are a lot sweeter than average oranges, have fewer seeds and with tender flesh. Blood oranges can be easily found during this time of the year, starting from the end of winter in February.

For me, the best way to enjoy them are to drink the juice or cut into slices or segments. I recall a very simple yet the most delicious way of eating oranges, that was when I visited Morocco – skin them, cut into slices and sprinkle some cinnamon powder. If you like, you can also drizzle some orange blossom water and a bit of sugar. Just as simple as that!

Apart from sharing this simple recipe today, I also wanted to share a news. A while ago, I kind of mentioned I have won Gourmand Cookbook Awards 2012, with my cookbook Lemongrass and Ginger, in the category of Best Blogger in the UK. Gourmand Cookbook Awards is organised by Gourmand International, founded in 1995 by Edouard Cointreau.

I was then qualified for the “Gourmand Best in the World”, where I competed against the winners in the same category from other countries for the “Best in the World” title. The event took place at the Louvre in Paris in February during Paris Cookbook Fair. I initially had made plans to go to Paris to coincide with the event, but had to cancel the trip last minute due to unforeseen circumstances. However, I was so delighted to learn that I won in the category of Best Blogger and made me the proudly wear the badge of the “World Best” award and waiting to receive my certificate.  I was super excited!

I so truly appreciate the recognition that has been awarded to me! This is another great milestone for me – after having Lemongrass and Ginger, my first cookbook, published. It has been a a very rewarding journey and I truly enjoy all the things I have done so far with all your continuous supports, for the love of food! Of course, I will keep it up and looking ahead in my food journey and adventures!

Moroccan-Style Blood Orange Salad

Yield: 2 persons

Ingredients:

4-5 blood oranges
2 tsp orange blossom water
1-2 tsp cinnamon powder

Directions:

1. Cut off the top and bottom of each orange. Rest the orange on one of its flat and start to cut down where the white pith meets the flesh to remove the pith. Work your way around the orange until you have removed all the skin and white pith and expose the flesh completely. If there's any skin or white pith left, cut the orange into slices.simply continue cutting as before to remove it.

2. Then, cut the orange into about 0.5cm slices. Transfer and arrange orange slices onto individual plates. Drizzle over orange blossom water and sprinkle cinnamon powder before serving at room temperature.

I stepped into a very nicely decorated Georgian house with a well-lit and big kitchen that I would dream of! Quite a number of bloggers were already there by the time I arrived – socialising and enjoying some French pastries with hot drinks to start the day. It was nice to have met some familiar faces and new ones too!

We were very lucky to have Florence Knight, the head chef of Polpetto to give us cooking demo throughout the day. We were shown how to make Tiramisu, octopus served with new potatoes, meatball in tomato sauce and Burrata salad.

One of my favourites has to be the Burrata salad. Burrata is made from mozzarella and cream – where the outer shell is mozzarella and inside is a mixture of mozzarella and cream. It has such creamy and soft texture and a lot more rich than mozzarella. For those who love creamy cheese, you will love this a lot! Florence decided to serve Burrata with blood orange and an olive oil & herb dressing. It makes me long for a warm summer day!

Octopus with new potato is another of my favourite. How can a seafood lover say no to octopus? I have never purchased a whole octopus before and really would love to try out a few different recipes using octopus. It may not be everyone’s favourite as it may be chewy if not cooked properly. But, for me I totally love octopus!

It was overall a very fun day – mingling, learning, cooking and eating! A huge thank you to all the staff at Finish and the photographer of the day Charlotte (I love my portrait that you took!)

I have been neglecting my blog recently. There has been a lot going on at the moment thus my disappearance. Having not a lot of time to spend in the kitchen means quick and simple meals have taken preference.

Quite a while ago when I did my usual weekly food shopping, I came across some fish fillets that have similar texture and colour to haddock and cod. This quickly took my interest as a lot of times, I like to use white fish in my cooking.

Labelled as river cobbler, also called basa fish or catfish; scientific name is pangasius bocourti. Basa are native to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and Chao Phraya in Thailand. Basa has become pretty common in the UK and can be easily found in most supermarkets in frozen or fresh forms.

Having tried basa fish for a few times, I think that it is a great alternative to cod or haddock, which the stocks have collapsed as a result of overfishing. As a fish lover, I find the firmness of bass fish is comparable to either cod or haddock. However, it is very mild in taste, reason might be that it is a fresh water fish. I personally do believe that salt water fish usually tastes a lot better than those that are farmed. Even so, it doesn’t deter me using fresh water fish from time to time.

To make bass fish flavourful, I have decided to use strong flavouring such as black pepper, ginger and garlic to give a lift of flavours so that it is on par with its texture. Coupled with an extra hint of honey sweetness makes this dish tastes complete and what’s more when it can be done under 30 minutes!

Honey & Black Pepper Fish

Ingredients:

500g basa fish, cut into 4cm/1½in squares
4 tbsp cornflour
100ml sunflower oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp grated ginger
70g frozen peas
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1½ tbsp honey
60ml water
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a wok or deep, heavy-based saucepan to 180°C/350°F or when a chopstick is placed in the oil and bubbles start to form. Lightly dust the fish with cornflour, and gently slide into the oil. Make sure it is well spaced and not overcrowded. Cook for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the wok, drain on kitchen paper and set aside.

2. Using back the same wok with about 1 tablespoon of oil, add the garlic and ginger, cook for 1 minute or until fragrant and not brown. Add the frozen peas and cook for 1 minute.

3. Return the fish into the wok and toss to combine. Mix light soy sauce, sugar, honey, water and black pepper, pour into the wok. Toss to combine. Bring to the boil and cook until the sauce starts to thicken. Transfer to a serving plate and serve warm.