Recipes

Marinated Olives

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:49:00 +0000

Serves 6

Ingredients:

115g (4oz) green olives
2 thin lemon slices
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 cloves garlic
olive oil to cover
115g (4oz) black olives
¼ red pepper
1 small hot chilli
1 sprig thyme

Method:

Place green olives in a jar. Cut each lemon slice into quarters and add to olives. Lightly crush coriander seeds and 1 clove garlic and add to the olives. Cover with olive oil and seal jar.
Place black olives in a separate jar. Crush remaining garlic clove and cut pepper and chilli into strips, removing seeds. Add to olives with sprig of thyme. Cover with olive oil and seal jar.
Leave in marinade for at least 2 days before transferring to a serving bowl and serving with other mezes. Consume within one week. The oil can be used for salad dressing and cooking.

Sindhi Sandwich

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:42:00 +0000

Ingredients:

2 soft boiled eggs (3 mins), shell
1 onion, slice fine
2 green chillies, slash into 4 lengthwise and chop
40g grated cheddar cheese
1 tomato, remove seeds, chop fine
2 sprigs coriander leaves, chop fine
12 slices of sandwich bread

Method:

Put eggs in a bowl and mash with fork. Add the rest of the above ingredients and a dash of black pepper. Mix well.
Spread slices of bread thinly with margarine or butter.
Spread filling on 6 slices and cover with the other 6 slices.
Cut each sandwich into triangles or fingers.

Chilled Fish Soup

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:52:00 +0000

Serves 4

Ingredients:

500g (1lb) unpeeled cooked prawns
2 strips lemon peel
2 bay leaves
2 blades mace
salt and pepper
4 small squid, cleaned and gutted
2 spring onions, green parts only, chopped
4 tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
2 tbsp peeled and chopped cucumber

Method:

Peel prawns, putting shells, heads and tails into a saucepan. Reserve prawns. Cover with 3¾ cups (940ml) water and add lemon peel, bay leaves, mace and salt and pepper.
Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain stock through a muslin-lined sieve or coffee filter paper. Return stock to rinsed-out pan. Cut squid into thin rings and chop tentacles. Add to pan and cook for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Stir in spring onions, tomatoes, cucumber and reserved prawns. Season if necessary. Chill soup for at least 1 hour before serving.

Sothi

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 04:44:00 +0000

Ingredients:

450g grated coconut, add 2 cups water and extracct an equal amount of milk
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tbsp tamarind, mix with a little of the coconut milk and strain
½ tsp fenugreek
1 green chilli
1 tomato

for frying:
½ onion, slice thinly
1 small sprig curry leaves
3 dried chillies, break each into 3 pieces

2 tbsp oil

Method:

Combine coconut milk, turmeric powder, curry leaves, tamarind juice and fenugreek in a pot. Using your hand or a spoon, crush the tomato and the chilli in the coconut milk. Bring to the boil stirring all the time. When boiling remove from heat.
Heat oil, add ingredients for frying. When onions are brown, add the fried ingredients to the cooked Sothi and cover for a moment, then remove cover. Stir, then keep covered till ready to serve.

Lemon Grass Soup

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 04:56:00 +0000

Serves 4

Ingredients:

175-225g raw large prawns
2 tsp vegetable oil
2½ cups (625ml) light fish stock
2 thick stalks lemon grass, finely chopped
3 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp fish sauce
3 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
½ fresh red chilli, seeded and thinly sliced
½ fresh green chilli, seeded and thinly sliced
½ tsp crushed palm sugar
coriander leaves, to garnish

Method:

Peel prawns and remove dark veins running down their backs; reserve prawns.
In a wok, heat oil, add prawn shells and fry, stirring occasionally, until they change colour. Stir in stock, bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain stock and return to wok; discard shells. Add lemon grass, lime juice, fish sauce, lime leaves, chillies and sugar. Simmer for 2 minutes.
Add prawns and cook just below simmering point for 2-3 minutes until prawns are cooked. Serve in warmed bowls garnished with coriander.

Spicy Prawn Fritters

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 04:48:00 +0000

Ingredients:

600g medium sized prawns, remove shell but keep tails
3 slightly heaped tbsp rice flour
salt to taste
2½ tbsp water
oil for deep frying

For gravy:
1 clove garlic, grind to a fine paste
1 pc (size of almond) ginger, grind to a fine paste
15 dried chillies, soak beforehand, grind to a fine paste
4 tbsp oil
3 tsp sugar
salt to taste
2 tsp light soya sauce
2 tsp vinegar

Method:

Put flour and salt in a bowl and mix with water to make a batter.
Add prawns to mixture.
Heat oil, add prawns and fry. Remove as soon as fritters are lightly brown and set aside.
For gravy: Heat oil, add ground ingredients and fry. Add sugar and salt, stir, then add soya sauce and vinegar. Continue stirring until gravy is fairly thick, then add fried prawn fritters and stir, mixing well with chilli mixture. Remove from heat as soon as fritters are well covered with gravy.

Herb & Feta Balls

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 04:02:00 +0000

Makes 20

Ingredients:

225g (8oz) cream cheese
85g (3oz) feta cheese
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp sesame seeds
3 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley
3 tsp finely chopped fresh mint
vine leaves, to serve

Method:

In a bowl, mix together cream cheese and feta cheese until smooth. Stir in garlic, parsley and mint. Roll cheese into 20 balls. Chill for at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, toast sesame seeds for garnish. Put in a frying pan and heat until seeds are golden brown, stirring frequently. Leave to cool.
To serve, mix together chopped parsley and chopped mint for garnish. Roll half cheese balls in herbs and half in toasted sesame seeds. Serve on vine leaves.

Spicy Scrambled Egg Sandwich

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:51:00 +0000

Ingredients:

4 eggs, beat and add a little salt
2 red chillies, grind
1 clove garlic, grind
2 tbsp oil
cucumber and tomato slices
12 slices of sandwich bread

Method:

Heat a little oil, pour in eggs and cook, stirring to scramble it. When cooked but still moist, remove from heat.
Heat 2 tbsp oil, add ground ingredients. When fragrant, add scrambled egg. Mix well and remove from heat.
Spread filling on 6 slices of bread, cover with the other 6 slices. Cut into triangle or fingers.

Chicken & Ham Mousse

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 04:26:00 +0000

Serves 4

Ingredients:

175g cooked chicken, finely minced
115g cooked ham, finely minced
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
⅔ cup (150ml) mayonnaise
2 tsp powdered gelatine
3 tbsp chicken stock
⅔ cup (150ml) double thick cream

Method:

In a bowl, mix the chicken with the ham, lemon juice, chopped herbs and mayonnaise.
In a small pan, sprinkle the gelatine over the chicken stock and leave for 5 minutes to soften. Melt very gently over a low heat until gelatine dissolves, then cool and fold into the ham and chicken mixture.
Lightly beat the cream to form soft peaks and then carefully fold into the chicken and ham mixture. Pour the mixture into a 1 litre (4½ cup) mould and leave to set in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Unmould carefully and garnish with fresh herbs. Serve with hot crusty rolls.

Spicy Squids

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:53:00 +0000

Ingredients:

600g small to medium sized squids, clean well
2 tsp black peppercorns, grind fine
1½ tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
3 tsp water
8 tbsp oil

Method:

Mix black pepper, turmeric powder and water and fry in oil until fragrant.
Add squids and salt and fry for about 5 minutes.
Remove and drain.

Prawns with Garlic

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 04:36:00 +0000

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil
5 cloves garlic, chopped
0.5cm slice fresh root ginger, very finely chopped
14-16 large prawns, peeled, tails left on
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
freshly ground black pepper
lettuce leaves, lime juice and diced cucumber, to serve

Method:

In a wok, heat oil, add garlic and fry until browned. Stir in ginger, heat for 30 seconds, then add prawns and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until beginning to turn opaque. Stir in fish sauce, coriander, 1-2 tablespoons water and plenty of black pepper. Allow to bubble for 1-2 minutes.
Serve prawns on a bed of lettuce leaves with lime juice squeezed over and scattered with diced cucumber.

Kueh Lapis Beras

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 04:41:00 +0000

Ingredients:

450g sugar
2 cups water (for boiling sugar)
2 fragrant screwpine leaves (daun pandan)
900g grated coconut (remove skin), for 1st squeeze, add 1 cup water, using a fine tea towel or piece of muslin, extract 2 cups thick milk. For 2nd squeeze, add 1 cup water to coconut and extract equal amount of milk.
600g rice dough
4 heaped tbsp tapioca flour
pinch of salt
½ tsp cochineal

Method:

Boil water in steamer.
Put sugar, water and pandan leaves in a saucepan and heat till sugar dissolves.
Leave syrup until it is like warm, then add to coconut milk (1st squeeze). Combine rice dough with tapioca flour and salt. Add coconut milk (2nd squeeze) and mix to a smooth paste, then add coconut milk-syrup. Stir till smooth and well mixed then strain with fine mesh strainer. Grease a square or round (27cm diameter) sandwich tin. Heat tin in steamer for about 5 minutes.
Put 4 cups of mixture in a bowl and colour with cochineal. Leave the rest of the mixture white. Pour 1 cup of white mixture into the heated tray and steam for 6-8 minutes, then add ¾ cup red mixture over first layer, pouring it gently. Steam for 5 minutes.
Repeat process, steaming white and red layers alternately till all the mixture is used up. For the last layer, which should be red, pour 1 cup mixture and steam for 10-12 minutes.
Cut when thoroughly cool.

Potted Prawns

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 04:54:00 +0000

Serves 6

Ingredients:

350g peeled small prawns
salt
cayenne pepper, to taste
1 tsp lemon juice
½ tsp ground ginger
¾ cup (175g) butter
3 tsp finely chopped fresh chives
chives and lemon slices (optional), to garnish
French bread or buttered toast, to serve

Method:

If using thawed frozen prawns, pat dry with absorbent kitchen paper. Put prawns in a bowl with salt, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and ground ginger. Set aside in a cool place.
In a saucepan, melt butter over a very low heat. Pour the clear liquid into a bowl, leaving the milky residue in the pan. Stir in chopped chives. Leave to stand for 20 minutes.
Divide prawns between 6 small ramekin dishes. Spoon chive butter over, pressing prawns down until covered with butter. Chill until firm. Garnish with chives and lemon slices, if desired, and serve with French bread or toast.

Ondeh Ondeh Keledek (Sweet Potato Balls)

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 04:47:00 +0000

Ingredients:

600g sweet potatoes, boil in water to which 2 fragrant screwpine leaves have been added, peel then mash while still warm
4 fragrant screwpine leaves (daun pandan), pound to extract juice
4 heaped tbsp plain flour
1 block palm sugar (gula Melaka), cut into little slivers
230g grated coconut, (remove skin) steam with a little salt to prevent the coconut from going sour

Method:

Squeeze juice from crushed pandan leaves into mashed sweet potatoes. Add flour and a pinch of salt and mix. Take a small lump of dough, flatten it, put a few slivers of gula Melaka in the middle and roll into a ball. Repeat till all the dough is used up.
Boil a pan of water. Drop sweet potato balls into boiling water.
Remove when they rise to the surface, drain and roll in steamed coconut.

Rice Pudding with White Syrup

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:53:00 +0000

Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour
450g grated coconut, add 2 cups water and extract 4 cups milk
1 level tbsp tapioca flour
1 tsp salt
2-3 fragrant screwpine leaves (daun pandan)

For syrup:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups water
1 fragrant screwpine leaf (daun pandan)

Method:

Combine rice flour, coconut milk, tapioca flour and salt.
Stir and strain into a saucepan.
Add pandan leaves and cook, stirring all the time.
When thick, remove from heat, put into individual moulds or into a tray and chill.
When serving, pour syrup over pudding.
For syrup: Combine ingredients for syrup in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cool before pouring over pudding.

Serikaya Beras (Steamed Rice-Custard Cake)

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:57:00 +0000

Ingredients:

5 eggs
230g sugar
450g grated coconut, without adding water, squeeze coconut to obtain 1 cup thick milk
2 slightly heaped tbsp rice flour
3-4 fragrant screwpine leaves (daun pandan)
pinch of salt
2 drops green food colouring
pinch of vanillin crystals, or drop of vanilla essence (optional)

Method:

Boil water in steamer.
Beat eggs and sugar in a bowl till sugar dissolves, then add coconut milk and stir. Add rice flour, stir, add juice of pandan leaves, salt, colouring and vanilla. Mix well and strain mixture into a sandwich tin. Steam for 10 minutes then stir. Cover and steam for another 20 minutes.
Allow to cool before cutting.

Badam Halwa (Almond Sweet)

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 04:02:00 +0000

Ingredients:

230g sugar
6 tbsp water
180g ground almonds
180g butter or ghee
2 tsp rose water
6 cardamoms, remove seeds from pod and crush them
pinch of salt

Method:

Dissolve sugar in water over low heat, then bring to the boil.
Add almonds, rose water, butter or ghee and salt, then keep stirring.
When mixture thickens, pour into a shallow dish and sprinkle the crushed cardamom seeds on top.
Leave to cool before cutting into squares or diamond shapes.
Decorate with cherries.

Gulab Jamun (Milk Sweets in Syrup)

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:09:00 +0000

Ingredients:

4 cups milk powder
1 cup self-raising flour
4 tbsp ghee
1 cup (250ml) fresh milk
ghee for deep frying

For syrup:
3 cups sugar
3 cups water
1 stick (3cm long) cinnamon
5 cloves
5 cardamoms

Method:

Combine milk powder, flour, ghee and fresh milk in a bowl. Make little balls the size of walnuts.
Heat ghee then fry milk balls over low heat till dark brown. Drain, cool a little, then put milk balls into syrup.
Serve when cold.
For syrup: Put all ingredients in a saucepan and boil till sugar dissolves. Remove and cool a little before putting in the milk balls.

Magic Jelly

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:28:00 +0000

Ingredients:

1 packet agar-agar strands
450g granulated sugar
200ml fresh milk
2 fragrant screwpine leaves (daun pandan), wash and tie into a knot
6 cups water
1 tsp rose essence
yellow, green, red and blue food colouring

Method:

Soak agar-agar for 1 hour then drain.
Pur agar-agar, pandan leaves and water in a large pot. Bring to the boil, then continue boiling till agar-agar dissolves. Add sugar, stir and when sugar dissolves, strain jelly into a large bowl. Add milk and essence to jelly and stir. Put 2 large ladles of jelly in each of four small shallow bowls, leaving rest in large bowl. Add a different colour to each small bowl and chill coloured jelly in fridge. Leave the white mixture at room temperature to prevent it setting before coloured jellies. When the bowl of coloured jelly have set, cut them into small cubes, add to the white mixture and stir to mix. Pour into jelly moulds and chill.

New England Clam Chowder

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 04:59:00 +0000

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 cans (2x300g) clams
85g back bacon, rinded and diced
1 onion, finely chopped
500g potatoes, diced
1¼ cups (300ml) fish stock
1¼ cups (300ml) milk
⅔ cup (150ml) single light cream
pinch dried thyme
salt and pepper
fresh thyme leaves or paprika, to garnish

Method:

Drain clams, reserving liquid, then chop and set aside. Put bacon into a saucepan and fry over high heat until fat runs and bacon is lightly browned. Add onion and cook until soft, then add potatoes, liquid from clams, fish stock and milk. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
Stir in cream, clams, thyme and salt and pepper, then reheat for a few minutes: do not boil. Serve garnished with thyme or paprika.

Cheese Straws

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 04:27:00 +0000

Makes 24-30

Ingredients:

1 cup (115g) plain flour
pinch salt
½ tsp curry powder
¼ cup (55g) butter
½ cup (55g) grated Cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten
poppy and cumin seeds, to finish

Method:

Sift flour, salt and curry powder into a bowl. Rub in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add cheese and half the egg and mix to form a dough. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Butter several baking sheets. Roll out dough on a floured surface to 0.5cm thickness. Cut into 7.5x1cm strips. Twist and place on baking sheets.
Brush straws with remaining egg. Sprinkle half the straws with poppy seeds and half with cumin seeds. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until golden.

Hot Mussels with Cumin

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:33:00 +0000

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1.5kg (3lb) mussels
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2.5cm (1in) piece fresh root ginger, grated
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 fresh green chillies, seeded and finely chopped
½ tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground cumin
85g (3oz) shredded fresh coconut
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
coriander sprigs, to garnish

Method:

Scrub mussels clean in several changes of fresh cold water and pull off beards. Discard any mussels that are cracked or do not close tightly when tapped. Set aside.
Heat oil in a large saucepan and add onion. Fry, stirring, for 5 minutes, until soft, then add ginger, garlic, chillies, turmeric and cumin. Fry 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add mussels, coconut and 250ml (8fl oz) water and bring to the boil. Cover and cook over a high heat, shaking pan frequently, for about 5 minutes until almost all shells have opened. Discard any that do not open.
Spoon mussels into a serving dish, pour over cooking liquid and sprinkle with chopped coriander. Garnish with coriander sprigs and serve at once.

Smoked Salmon Parcels

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:29:00 +0000

Serves 4

Ingredients:

225g (8oz) smoked salmon
175g (6oz) cream cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp lime juice
3 tbsp finely chopped dill
black pepper, to taste
4 tsp horseradish cream
lime slices and dill sprigs, to garnish

Method:

Slightly oil four 100ml (3½fl) ramekin dishes. Line each with smoked salmon, moulding it to fit dish and leaving a little extra to fold over top of dish.
Blend cream cheese with oil and lime juice. Add chopped dill, black pepper and any extra smoked salmon, chopped. Spoon in horseradish but do not mix in thoroughly; it should be distributed in hot ribbons throughout cream cheese mixture.
Place 4-5 teaspoons cream cheese mixture in each ramekin, then fold smoked salmon over top to make a neat parcel. Chill for 3-4 hours.
To serve, turn out onto a plate. Garnish with lime slices and dill.

Smoked Fish Platter

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:53:00 +0000

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 smoked trout fillets
2 peppered smoked mackerel fillets
3 slices bread, toasted
6 tsp (25g) butter
1 tsp lemon juice
1 can (100g) smoked oysters, drained
small lettuce leaves, lemon slices and parsley or dill, to garnish

For Horseradish Sauce:
3 tbsp Greek strained yogurt
2 tsp horseradish relish
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
pepper

Method:

Skin trout and mackerel fillets and carefully cut them into small even-sized pieces. Set them aside.
Using a small fancy cutter, cut out 4 rounds from each toast. Beat butter and lemon juice together. Spread a little on the toast rounds. Place a smoked oyster on each buttered toast round.
Arrange the pieces of smoked fish and the oysters on toast on 4 plates. Garnish each plate with a few lettuce leaves, lemon slices and sprigs of parsley or dill.
Make sauce by mixing ingredients together in a bowl. Spoon into a serving dish and serve with salads.

Five-spice Salmon Steaks

noreply@blogger.com (jo) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:13:00 +0000

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 x 175g (6oz) salmon steaks
2 tsp five-spice powder
freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp groundnut (peanut) oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
pared rind 1 lemon, cut into fine strips

Method:

Wash salmon steaks and pat dry with kitchen paper. Rub both sides with five-spice powder and freshly ground black pepper.
Heat oil in a non-stick or well seasoned wok, add the garlic and gently fry the salmon for 1-2 minutes on each side until salmon is lightly browned. Add the rice wine, soy sauce and sesame oil and simmer gently for 3-4 minutes until the salmon is just cooked through. Stir in lemon rind.
Remove salmon with a slotted spoon and remove and discard skin. Serve with wedges of lemon and steamed vegetables.