My Humble Kitchen

Kueh Qasidah

2021-10-10T16:33:00.001+10:00

Ingredients:

1 cup of wheat flour
2 1/2 cups of water
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of lime water to eat
1 tbsp of beef fat

Material for decoration:
6 cloves red onion
a pinch of salt

Preparation method:
Ways to cake:
In the pan, mix with flour with water, sugar, salt, lime water. Stir well.
Cook the mixing ingredients on a slow fire. Stir until the mixture becomes thick and shiny. Estimated time estimation is 15 minutes. Once concentrated, add the beef oil to add fat to the cake and make it shiny. Pour it into a bran that has been wiped with oil. Mix the dough and sift with fried onions with some oil from the fried onions. Cut off when it is cold.
How to decorate materials:
Remove the skin and slice thin onions. Mix with just a pinch of salt so that fried onions become more crispy and tasty. Do not over saline anymore. Fry until golden brown.

2020-03-22T08:08:00.001+10:00

Easy Roti Canai

I have been using this same recipe for the last decade since we have moved here, because I can't really find a good roti place anywhere., so I tested several recipes and decided this works best for me. #homecookedroticanai

So those staying at home who are missing their fave roti from the local mamak place, do give this a try.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
3/4 cups warm milk or water
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp each salt and sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder

More oil for cooking and prepping.

Method:

Mix in all the dry ingredients. Add the oil. Mix well.
Add the liquid (milk or water).

Knead dough for 5 minutes or until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Add enough oil to cover the dough and leave for 20 minutes. (cover with film or damp towel)

divide dough to 4-5 balls, flatten with rolling pin until the dough is almost transparent, add eggs and onions for roti telor/bawang variations, cook on a flat pan on medium heat. Enjoy with left over curry from last night :)

Happy trying!

Malaysian Chicken Satay with Satay Sauce and Nasi Impit

2019-06-06T16:21:00.004+10:00

Chicken Satay

Satay

2 kg chicken thigh fillets, skin removed (keep aside)

bamboo skewers, soaked for 1 hour

Marinade

4 lemongrass stalks, white part only, thinly sliced

2 tbsp minced garlic

10 small red Asian shallots or 2 medium Spanish onions, peeled and sliced

½ cup brown sugar

3 tsp salt

125 ml (½ cup) vegetable oil

2 tbsp ground fennel

2 tbsp ground cumin

2 tbsp turmeric powder

2 tbsp minced ginger

1 tbsp ground coriander

Satay prep

Cutting the meat for a satay is very difficult to describe because it’s not a straight slice or dice. What you want to achieve is something like an elongated triangle that is cut against the grain, no more than 2 cm wide, 1 cm thick and 3-4 cm long, irregular in shape but similar in size. Place the chicken pieces in a large zip-lock bag. Add the marinade and push all the air out of the bag, then seal the bag and massage the meat through the bag, making sure every piece of meat is coated with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight.

Following the length of each piece of meat, thread 3-4 pieces on each soaked bamboo skewer, making sure each piece is sitting flatly. The end appearance of each skewer will be a thin thread of meat which basically has 2 flat sides, making the satay easy to turn and cook. Cook the satay skewers on a preheated charcoal grill or barbecue flat plate for 2-3 minutes or until the meat is slightly charred and cooked through. For basting mix ½ cup coconut milk with 2 tbsp vegetable oil and baste on the chicken while grilling, so your satay is most and not dry…if there is something I hate is dry satay.

I would make the pressed rice first of you are going to add them to your tray of condiments along with sliced cucumber and chopped Red Onions.

Pressed Rice

400 g (2 cups) jasmine rice, washed and drained

1 tsp salt

To make the pressed rice, combine the rice, salt and 1 litre of water in a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Simmer for 10 minutes, then cover and simmer on medium heat for another 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and stand, covered, for another 15 minutes. Note that the rice is deliberately mushy, so it can be pressed easily. Spread the rice evenly into a foil-lined, 20 cm square baking tin, cover with foil, then press with an oven mitt to compress the rice evenly. Allow to cool completely to room temperature before cutting into 2 cm cubes.

Satay Sauce

Peanut sauce

20 long dried red chillies

1 tsp ginger

2 stalks lemongrass, inner white part only, thinly sliced

2 tsp minced garlic

1 cup chopped shallots or onions

200 ml vegetable oil

1-2 tbsp tamarind paste

¼ cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt, plus extra to taste

500 g, roasted and salted peanuts (I buy the planters dry roasted ones) processed in a food processor.

Break the dried chillies in half and shake out the seeds. Place them in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then simmer over low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and stand for 15 minutes. Place the chillies and soaking water, galangal, lemongrass, garlic and shallots in a blender and process until smooth. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a medium-large heavy based saucepan over medium heat. Add the blended spice paste, then cook, stirring continuously to prevent the bottom from catching and cook for 5-8 minutes or until there is very little steam rising from the sauce. At this stage, the oil will have split from the spice paste, caramelising into a lovely dark red and developing a beautiful fragrance. Add 1 litre of water and bring to the boil. Add the tamarind, sugar, salt and crushed peanuts. Bring to boil again, then remove from heat and set aside until required.

You can make a double batch of the satay sauce because you can use the same sauce for the gado gado.

Gado gado is a salad with a satay sauce dressing and blanched vegetables, so the choice is up to you what vegetable you want to use.

If available I would use long beans (French beans as substitute), bean sprouts, julienned carrots and cucumber, boiled potatoes (diced) and boiled eggs (cut into halves per serving), blanched kangkung (or water hyacinth is a nice leafy green addition), English spinach could be a substitute.

Note :

If you are not pressed for time. you can try cooking the peanut sauce in a slow cooker to reduce the constant stirring. You can saute your spice paste on the stove top and then transfer to the slow cooker...use the auto setting and add the blended roasted peanuts when the soup starts to simmer....leave for 4 hours. You can tell the sauce is ready when the oil is split and starts to appear on the top layer of the sauce.

Kueh Lopes - Rice Cakes with Palm Sugar Sauce

2019-06-02T12:29:00.001+10:00

3 cups glutinous rice
2 cups of coconut milk
1/2 cup of pandanus juice (extracted)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 tsp green coloring
grated coconut mixed with a little salt
Banana leaf

Ingredients for sugar sauce:
Pandan leaves
Gula Melaka akan palm sugar (can be found in Asian grocers in blocks)
Water

Method:

Wash rice. Soak for 1/2 hour.
Drain rice, then put the rice, liquid coconut milk and pandanus in a pot.
Simmer on medium heat until all water is absorbed. Turn heat on lowest setting and cook with lid closed for 10 minutes.
Prepare steamer.
Cut the banana leaves into 4 squares, wrap the cooked rice, roll it in a cylindrical form as compact as you can. Secure with a cling wrap. Steam for 15-20 minutes.
Remove from steamer and cool the rice. Slice with cheese cutter/knife. The pieces will look like rice cakes. Coat the slices with grated coconut.
Pour sugar sauce over the rice pieces and serve.

2019-06-02T12:18:00.002+10:00

Making Bread is Easy!

Its almost the end of February 2016 and I wasn't going to let a year go by without posting a recipe. Yes my last post was March last year, I know I take procrastinating very seriously ;)

The new year seems to be going too fast like the previous one. I have been learning up new recipes and there are loads out there, don't you just love the internet?!. Yup youtube is my favourite teacher!.

I came across this blog and tried a couple of the bread recipes. The challah is delicious and easy to make. Thank you Alexandra, you gave me confidence to make bread and I have been making plenty of them.

I tried making the peasant bread as well as found it easy to do and the result doesnt disappoint.

So head on over to alexandra cooks and try these recipes. Thanks Again Alexandra!

2015-03-27T09:07:00.001+10:00

Coconut Jam (Kaya)

My mother used to make everything from scratch, salted duck eggs, tempoyak (fermented durian), Chili Jeruk (pickled cili), pickled mangoes, serunding (beef floss) and the list goes on.

These days, its so much easier to buy something off the shelves and make do with the compromise in taste. If you were to make something from scratch, this breakfast favourite is a must have.

I have decided to keep up this tradition in our household because things taste way better home made!

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks

50 g palm sugar (jaggery)

*40 g raw sugar (demerara or muscovado are good optios)

250 ml Kara Brand coconut milk or any brand coconut cream

2 pandan leaves washed & knotted

*Note: learn about the differences in sugars and their flavours here

Method:

Chop up the palm sugar into finer pieces and add into a heavy based saucepan. I know some recipes actually uses the double boiler method but for me the simpler the cooking the better.

So add 200ml of the coconut milk into your saucepan, reserving the 50 ml to be mixed in with the egg yolks.

Beat yolks and coconut milk until well blended and set aside.

Add pandan leaves into the mixture on the stove, keeping the heat low. Keep stirring until the mixture simmers and switch off the heat. Be careful if you are using a convection top, you may still have a strong residual heat so take it off the heat completely otherwise you will end up with scrambled eggs in coconut milk.

Pour the egg (with the 50 ml coconut milk) mix into your saucepan and keep stirring.

Stir for a good two minutes and then switch your heat back on to low heat. Stir for another 6-8 minutes and your mixture will turn into a custard like consistency, may have to keep stirring longer depending on the heat settings of your stove.

Serve on chargrilled toast and butter and feel those warm memories of your childhood comes rushing back :) Enjoy!!

2015-03-18T14:05:00.003+10:00

Chicken dumplings (adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Foodtube)

Wantan Skin

300g plain flour

220ml boiling water

Pinch of salt

Filling

300g minced chicken or beef

1/2t baking soda

1t corn flour

1.5t salt

1t sugar

Pinch of white pepper

3T cold water

1t dark soy sauce

1t light soy sauce

2T sesame oil

2 spring onions, finely sliced

2t ginger, finely diced

1 clove garlic, finely diced

Sauce

1t sesame oil

2T light soy sauce

1t chilli oil

Method:

Mix the flour, salt and boiling water in a large bowl using a pair of chopsticks or fork. When the dough has come together into a rough ball shape, remove from bowl and knead for about 10 minutes knead until smooth. Divide the dough into two even pieces then use your thumbs to make a hole in the middle of each piece before stretching them out into bagel shapes with even thickness all around. Cover the ‘bagels’ with cling film and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

Mix baking soda and corn flour, seasonings, and all of the liquid ingredients into the mince. Stir vigorously in one direction until all the liquid is absorbed and the mince begins to bind to itself. Mix spring onions, ginger and garlic.

Lightly flour your work surface. Divide the each piece of rested wrapper dough into 16 even-sized pieces. The easiest way to do this is to cut the ‘bagel’ in half so you end up with two sausages of the same size. Give the sausages a quick roll so they are about even in thickness along their entire length. Line the two long sausages up lengthways and make a cut in the middle to create four mini sausages. Now line the four mini sausages lengthways to form a roughly square shape, before cutting through all four sausages three times to form 16 small pieces of dough. This will ensure that each piece of dough is a similar size, leading to equal-sized dumplings.

Lightly toss the dough pieces in plain flour. Place a piece onto the work surface with its cut side down, and flatten with a floured palm. Roll each piece of dough into a thin disc, roughly 8cm in diameter.

Place a heaped teaspoon of filling into the centre of each wrapper. Fold over into a half moon shape. Cradle the wrapper in one hand and use the other hand to create pleats along the edge furthest away from you, pinching the two edges together after each pleat as you go, to create a crescent shape. Avoid getting any filling on the edges and be sure to pinch firmly as you pleat to create a good seal.

Cook the dumplings in two batches of 16. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the dumplings flat side down for about 2 minutes until a golden crust forms on the bottom. Add the cold water and immediately cover with a lid (or a heavy plate if your pan doesn’t have a lid). Let the steam cook the dumplings for 8 minutes or until all the water has evaporated, before removing the lid and allowing the dumplings to cook for a further 1 minute until they lift off from the bottom of the pan easily. You might need a spatula to help them along if they are a little sticky, being careful not to break the wrapper. Repeat with the second batch.

While the dumplings are cooking, prepare the spicy soy sauce by mixing sesame oil, soy sauce, and chilli oil.

Serve the dumplings in a big pile, making sure to show off the golden bottoms. Drizzle the spicy soy sauce on top, or serve on the side for dipping.

2015-02-10T19:23:00.000+10:00

Steamed Bun with Minced Filling

I must admit I am not a fan of MKR but having lived in Texas after I graduated university, I had to watch Robert and Lindzey cook up those big Texas meals and I love Robert's Texas drawl...(who doesnt?)

Anyway last night highschool sweethearts Annie and Lloyd made steamed bun with Madras curry beef cheeks. Although theirs wasnt a big hit but it made me long for st.eamed buns from my childhood days...pau as we call it in Malay.

Off I go searching for an easy recipe on the net for the dough and I am going to use my usual curried mince recipe for the filling.

Thankfully my attempt was better that Annie's and Lloyd and I was happy with the results, I will surely try this again with another favourite filler - red bean paste!

So lets get down to the recipe, y'all!!

You will need:

Ingredients for the dough:

500 gm flour

1 1/4 teaspoons yeast

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 cup warm water

For the filling:

250 gm minced meat

1 stick cinnamon

1 star anise

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp minced ginger

2 small potatoes diced

1 onion, diced

80g curry powder

chopped coriander leaves

2 tbsp oil

1/2 cup water

Method:

For the filling:

Heat oil in a pan on medium heat

Add, onion, garlic and ginger and spices, saute until fragrant

add curry powder and saute for one minute

add minced meat & potatoes and water. and let cook until the potatoes are tender and fully.

Season with salt and add chopped coriander, simmer gently until the mixture is dry and let cool.

Now for the dough:

Dissolve the sugar in lukewarm water.

Mix flour and yeast in a bowl

Add vegetable oil

Pour sugar gradually into the flour dough and mix until dough leaves the sides of bowl

Remove dough and start kneading on a floured surface for 10 mins.

Divide dough into 15 pieces of 65 gm each and make into round balls.
With a rolling pin, flatten the ball and place a tbsp of filling onto the dough. Close the dough by pinching the ends, so you will end up with an enclosed bun.
Place these onto baking paper cut in squares brushed with a layer of oil
Leave these buns on the kitchen bench to prove for 30 minutes

Place in steamer for 15-17 minutes, (please dont remove the lid before the time is up)
Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.

Well I didn't really get a chance to let mine cool the whole 5 minutes, the family waited 5 seconds to devour these :)

2014-10-19T19:19:00.002+10:00

Cucur Jawa (Javanese Fritters)

Here's an old favourite snack called Cucur Jawa, cucur basically means fritters and Jawa is Javanese. It's a dish from the Island of Java, I can safely assume from the name. The Javanese came over to Malaysia or what was Tanah Melayu (the Land of the Malays) as early as the 7th century, you can read about this here . My late father loved this dish, maybe it had something to do with his Indonesian roots, although his ancestors were from the Acheh Islands not Java.

Regardless of its origin, this dish has become part of the Malaysian fabric of great comfort food. I am just happy to have been blessed with a recipe that literally landed on my lap yesterday, I just had to try it when I saw how easy it was.

Ingredients:

250 gm plain flour

50 gm rice flour

100 ml hot water + 225 ml cool water.

200 gm brown sugar

50 gm raw sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3 blades of Pandan leaves (screwpine leaves)

Directions:

1. Add 100 ml of water into a pot with brown sugar and raw sugar and with pandan leaves knotted.

2 When the sugar water has boiled, add 225 ml of cold water and mix thoroughly, leave for a while to cool.

3 Add in flour + rice flour and salt in a large bowl and strain the sugar water into it and stir until just blended.

4 Put in a sealed container and leave overnight on your kitchen bench.

5 Heat oil in a wok until 2/3 full until oil is hot, but not smoking.

6 Stir the mixture that was left overnight, spoon the mixture into a small ladle and pour in the middle to form a round cake.

7 The mixture will float and the oil will bubble, turn when the bubbling receeds (after about 40 seconds. You can tell the mixture and the heat is right when the middle of the fritter is raised and the lips are formed (see above picture).

8 Remove and drain.

9 Ready to be served.

Great snack for afternoon tea and we actually dip this in our hot tea or coffee. Enjoy!!

2014-10-19T14:53:00.000+10:00

Beignets

How time flew, and over a year has passed since my last post, we are now approaching the end of 2014. On a personal level, it has been a tough year as I have lost my dear Mom unexpectedly in July. May Allah bless her and grant her Jannatul Firdaus. Ameen.

I want to continue sharing recipes because I want to continue her food legacy and how she inspires me with her lovely cooking, and how it has nourished me while I was growing up. Food brings families and friends together, and sharing some of her recipes here hopefully will achieve that.

Anyone who has been to New Orleans must have had the sublime beignets of Cafe Du Monde. Those who plan of going there please do not skip the oportunity to taste these soft, melt in your mouth pillow shaped doughnuts. You can read about them here. Notice even Wikipedia uses Cafe Du Monde's beignet as a reference for with this french dessert.

So I did my search on the net as usual for recipes and tried this one out, I halved the original measurements and an important tip to note is the punching of the dough after it has risen.

Do try this out for a nice morning or afternoon snack, and trust me it is not that hard of an attempt for any amateur cook like me to master. Happy Trying!

Ingredients

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon yeast

1/4 cup shortening (I use Western Star salted butter)

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 egg, beaten

3 3/4 cups flour

1/2 quart vegetable oil for frying

1 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt, eggs, evaporated milk, and blend well. Mix in 4 cups of the flour and beat until smooth. Add the shortening, and then the remaining 3 cups of flour. Cover and chill for up to 24 hours.

Take out dough after about 2 hours and punch the dough to give it another chance to rise again. This way the beignet will turn out fluffier.

Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 2 1/2 inch squares. Fry in 360 degree F (180 degrees C) hot oil. If beignets do not pop up, oil is not hot enough. Drain onto paper towels.

Shake confectioners' sugar on hot beignets. Serve warm with a cup of black coffee!

2013-08-18T19:25:00.000+10:00

Honey Chicken

Ramadhan came and went, we celebrated Eid more than a week ago. I am knee deep in packing boxes as we prepare for our move in 2 weeks..frantic!

Sabrina turned 19 yesterday, time flies and they grow up too fast. It was only yesterday I stayed up nights watching the Lion King with her because she couldnt sleep, turned out my mum has been letting her have long afternoon naps..lol. No complains from me, I love spending time with my little munchkin.

Ok back to the recipe now. My kids are my inspiration to cook and here is a dish that for a long time I would not attempt despite it being my kids favourite. Only because I get mine cheap and delicious from a Chinese restaurant in town run by a lovely Malaysian lady, unfortunately they had closed down a year ago.

So I am now without a place to get my Honey Chicken fix, until recently a friend on FB posted a simple "how-to-cook-honey-chicken" recipe..so simple I thought I might give this a go.

My first attempt was for Iftar, cooking "blind" without the ability to taste or smell...just followed the recipe to a tee. I was quite nervous, I may ruin the dish, but thanks to a tried and tested recipe, it was a personal triumph! Thanks Maizura Ishak, I am forever indebted to you for this smashing recipe and I hope you dont mind me sharing it on my blog, ( I have adapted the recipe with measurements)

So here we go:

Ingredients:

250 gm chicken breast, diced (1 inch cube) cleaned and drained

1 cup rice flour

1/2 cup all purpose(plain) flour

salt & white pepper to taste.

1 tbsp ginger paste

Oil for frying

Coating:

3 tbsp Honey

1 tbsp oyster sauce

Sesame seeds

Method:

Marinade chicken in salt & pepper & ginger paste for 20 minutes (you can leave this overnight for a stonger flavour)

Mix the 2 flour with water to form a thick batter ( 1/2 to 3/4 water will do the trick), if batter is too runny, just add more plain flour. Add salt & pepper to this mix as well.

Heat oil in a deep wok until smoky ( I used coconut oil because it has a high heat point, so its the best oil for deep frying). Dip 1 chicken piece in batter and drop slowly into the hot oil, repeat until your enough pieces fit in your wok with oil covering all pieces. You dont want to end up with too many chicken pieces and too little oil.

Turn once and fry until golden brown. Put aside on absorbent paper and start on the glazing.

Add honey and oyster sauce in a clean pan and heat on medium heat until mix becomes bubbly. Add the chicken pieces and take off the heat. Sprinkle sesame seed and serve with rice.

Bismillah and enjoy!

2013-06-10T07:32:00.001+10:00

Easy Butter Cake Recipe

An easy butter cake recipe is good to have not only for the no-fuss, easy way to make it but for the versality of this recipe. It can be adapted to make cupcakes or just add lemon or orange zest and you will have an amazingly fluffy and buttery cake for tea.

On any given day, you will more often than not have these basic ingredients in the pantry, for those not wanting to use sugar, replace the 1 cup of sugar with 3/4 cup natvia or any sugar substitute of your choice (natvia is the best tasting and its 100% natural non aspartame product)

Ingredients:

2 eggs
125 butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
2 cups self raising flour
*2/3 (150 ml)cups milk
1tsp vanilla

Method:

Preheat oven to 170-180 C
Grease and line base of a 9 in (20cm) pan with greaseproof paper
Combine all in a bowl of your electric mixer
Mix on low until all ingredients are blended well and then on high for 3 minutes
Bake for 35-40 minutes

*Note: when mixing for an orange cake, replace 1/3 cup milk with juice from an orange and fold in orange zest just before pouring mix in the pan.

You can vary this cake with lemon zest/juice and ice with icing of your choice. Also can be used for cupcake recipes, for medium cupcakes (12 cup tin) bake at 200C for 15 mins.

2013-04-21T07:00:00.001+10:00

No Egg Easy Chocolate Cake

My quest for an easy chocolate cake may be over when I stumbled on this no egg, no butter recipe! Alhamdulillah! The recipe is easy and the result did not disappoint, the cake is moist. I did reduce the sugar from 2 cups to 1.5 cups only because I dont like overly sweet desserts and I was planning on adding bananas on my slice, so that will lend the required amount of sweetnes. And best of all there is no need to use the electric mixer, just a bit of elbow grease will do the trick :)

I am happy to share this with those who may have allergies to eggs or dairy. This recipe calls for vegetable oil but I ended using my favourite; coconut oil. You may experiment with oilve oil too, that should work as I have baked with oilve oil and it does not influence the taste at all.

Apparently the coffee granules enhances the chocolate flavour and no, the coffee taste is not recflected in the final product, not that it would be a bad thing in my book.

Chocolate Cake
Adapted from Cuisine at Home

3 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 cups sugar or 2 cups if you like it sweet
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
2 cups hot water
3/4 cup coconut oil or ant vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
1 Tablespoon instant coffee granules
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350^o F with rack in the center. Spray two 8" round cake pans with nonstick spray. MIx dry ingredients (except the coffee) together in a mixing bowl, sifting everything to remove lumps.

Combine water, oil, vinegar, instant coffee and vanilla in a large measuring cup. Add to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined - a few lumps are okay. Divide batter among pans (3 cups in each), then bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes.

Remove and leave to cool on a cooling rack for 20 minutes while you work on the ganache.

You will need:

4 oz semi sweet chocolate (by weight)

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Warm the cream in a saucepan and while thats heating, add the choc chips in a glass bowl. When the cream is heated through add to the bowl and mix until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Allow to thicken and cool. (Note: you can whip this mixture and use for a filling or frosting) . You dont need to add bananas or any fruit when you assemble the cake, but if you did, make sure you slice your bananas about the same size.

Spread the ganache on top of the first layer and top the second cake on. Top with more ganache and let run on the sides. Allow to set in the fridge for 30 minutes. If your ganache is too runny, you can add a tbs of icing sugar at a time until the texture is more manageable.

Chocolate Coconut Dates

2013-03-03T23:13:00.001+10:00

Chocolate Coconut Dates

In our quest to free ourselves from sugar dependency, we try to substitute our sugar laden lives with healthier alternatives. I love this particular one because these bites are quick and easy to make. It only took me 10 minutes to prepare.

It's main ingredients are dates, nuts and coconut flakes. Not only it is healthy, but they are tasty and a hit with the kids.

Ingredients:

1 cup dates (you can pre-soak in water to soften then drain)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup almonds or macadamia nuts
2 tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. coconut oil
dash sea salt

Directions:

In a food processor add all of your ingredients.
Pulse your ingredients until well blended. About 2-3 minutes. They will be a bit chunky still.
Roll your mixture into balls.
Lastly dust with coconut flakes
Refrigerate to store.

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Pandan Cake

2013-03-03T21:10:00.000+10:00

Pandan (Screwpine Leaves) Cake

It has been called the Asian Vanilla, the green leaves of the screwpine emits a sweet flavour, mostly used in Asian desserts or even some savoury dishes. It grows in a low bush in tropical and subtropical weather ( here's more on pandan on wikipedia).

Most households in Malaysia will have a pandan bush as it grows almost unassisted without much fuss.

The Malays use them to flavour their Nasi Lemak, Sweets and the perennial favourite the KEK Pandan or Pandan Cake.

In case you do not have access to pandan leaves you may used pandan flavouring.

Ingredients

250 gms butter (softened to room temp)

150 gms castor sugar

4 eggs

60 ml coconut cream with a pinch of salt

10-15 pandan leaves blended with 1/2 cup water (strained and discard pulp)

2-3 drops green coloring

30g coconut flakes

240 gm self raising flour

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Oil/butter then place baking paper on a 9 inch baking pan. Pre heat oven to

170 C.

Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs one by one and mix well each

time. Add vanilla essence, coconut flakes and green colouring.

Add pandan juice to the coconut cream.

Fold in flour and the coconut cream alternately mixing well each time. Pour

into pan and bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes

out clean.

Dust with icing sugar for decoration.

Cream puffs

2013-01-29T16:31:00.000+10:00

Cream Puffs aka Profiterole

I have a long-standing fear of choux pastry but today I conquered that fear, alhamdulillah. My cream puffs turned out beautifully, puffy and light and when I cut through the baked shell, there is an actual crater ready to receive the custard filling.

There are many variations of this popular dessert, especially when it comes to the filling. One can fill these puffs with Chantilly cream, vanilla custard of plain vanilla ice-cream.

Recipe for choux pastry:

1 cup water

1 cup flour

1/2 cup butter (115g)

1/4 tsp salt

4 eggs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon or stand mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Centers should be dry.
When the shells are cool, either split and fill them with the pudding mixture, or use a pastry bag to pipe the pudding into the shells.

Filling:

If you are pressed for time just use any instant pudding mix or vanilla ice cream. For today's recipe we will try the chantilly cream

300ml heavy cream
1/2 cup natvia or 100 g icing sugar
1 vanilla bean
Whip in a mixing bowl and use a piping bag to pipe into the shells.

For the Chocolate Sauce

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 pound semisweet chocolate, cut in chunks
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp honey
1/2 cup skim milk

Combine the milk and butter in a small heavy bottomed sauced pan over medium heat. Heat the mixture until bubbles appear around the sides of the pot, but do not allow the milk to boil. Mix in the chocolate and vanilla; remove from the heat and stir until the chocolate melts and the sauce is smooth and add honey.

Drizzle on your cream puffs and serve. Alternatively you can use icing sugar to drizzle on the puffs.

2012-10-30T19:23:00.001+10:00

Eid Ul Haj

It is customary for Muslims to offer sacrifice on Eid-ul-Haj or Eid Ul Adha. So this year we perform the Qurban as usual and ordered a lamb through the butcher.

The purpose of this sacrifice is to mirror the sacrifice of a ram by Prophet Ibrahim A.S in place of his son. One may consume the meat and utilize the skin of their sacrificial animals and/ or give it away as charity.

So last weekend was a lamb cooking marathon for me. I divided a third of the meat from the 15 kg lamb for our own consumption and the other 2/3 to be given away to friends.

So off I go cooking 2 kg of Red lamb curry (recipe here) and 2 pots of Afghan Rice (carrot rice). I gave away the remaining uncooked portions and the lamb curry to the local community here.

While thinking of what to cook next, my thoughts drifted to my uncle's (my mum's older brother) yummy Lamb Dalca. It is a type of traditional Malay style one pot dish of lamb curry pieces cooked in coconut milk with lentils (usually dhal), carrots, eggplant, potatoes, beans, okra and tomatoes.

My uncle was a cook in the Royal Malaysian Army and his Lamb Dalca was so popular that even after he retired, his friends and neighbours will enlist his help to cook at their wedding functions or any large gatherings. Come to think of it, everyone in my family on my mother's side are great cooks, my eldest aunty used to cook 4 large pots of Nasi Lemak for the huge crowd at all Soccer games played at the National Stadium 30 years ago. She is now 80 yrs old and I long for her beautifully cooked food. Mak Ngah's Nasi Lemak Kukus is legendary.

So here I am wishing I had my uncle's original Lamb Dalca recipe. From memory I could remember the way my mother would cook her version, it actually taste pretty good, alhamdulillah. So here it is:

Ingredients:

200gm dhal (soaked overnight)

500gm lamb curry pieces (washed and drained)

1 large onion

3 garlic cloves

2 cm ginger

3 tbsp curry powder (I used Baba's Kari Daging- available at any Asian Grocer)

3-4 curry leaves

1 stick of cinnamon

2 star anise

3 cardamons

1 can coconut milk (I used Kara brand)

4 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp tamarind paste or juice of half a lemon

Salt to taste (1 -2 tsp)

Chop these into similar sized pieces:

Potatoes

Carrots

Eggplant

Tomatoes

Okra

Beans

Fresh Green or Red Chili as a garnish

Method:

1.Process onion, garlic and ginger in a processor or pound in a mortar and pestle and form into a paste.

2. Heat oil in a Dutch Oven or any pot with a cover and saute the paste until caramelized ( a thin layer of oil rises to the top)

3. Add cinnamon, cardamon, star anise and curry leaves.

4. Continue to stir and add the lamb pieces, and seal the meat until browned.

5. Add dhal that had been soaked and drained

5. Add coconut milk with a cup of water and tamarind paste or lemon juice

6. Bring mixture to a boil and add potatoes, carrots, and celery and eggplants

7. Once potatoes are soft, add tomatoes and beans (I didnt have any okra)

8. Simmer for another 5 minutes

9 . Serve with Plain Rice/Tomato Rice or a piece of Tosai or Paratha.

Tepung Pelita

2012-08-05T18:17:00.002+10:00

Yes I admit, I have been slacking off...have not been updating my blog much. So here I am halfway into the most Holy month in the Hijri Calender; Ramadhan and I must have thought about an old favorite of my late father's. He loves to have this dessert for breaking of fast or known as iftar. It's a 2 layered pudding, with the bottom half flavored with pandan leaves topped with the creaminess of lightly salted of coconut milk. This dessert is easy to make but the tricky part may be fashioning the banana leaf casing.

I could use a ramekin dish but trust me you don't get the same flavour and aroma from the banana leaf. So I have actually created a pictorial on how to create this simple origami. Before you set off to do this, the banana leaf needs to be softened (so they don't break when you fold them) by blanching it in hot water or leave in the pre-heated oven for 5 minutes or so. Another method is to leave it in the hot sun or use the BBQ grill.

Now for the recipe.

For the bottom layer:

1 cup rice flour

1/2 cup sugar

4 cups water

4 pandan leaves blended with 1 cup water

Mix flour, water, sugar and pandan extract until well blended.

Cook over medium heat and stir constantly until the mixture thickens and shiny. Remove from heat and you can spoon mixture into the banana leaf casing. There is a reason why we spoon the mixture while it is still hot. See note*

*Optional:

The traditional recipe is quite sweet as 1/2 tsp of sugar is add to each casing before adding the bottom layer. Hence a hot mixture will melt the sugar.

Top Layer:

1/4 cup rice flour

2 cups coconut milk (I use Kara brand)

pinch of salt

Mix flour and coconut milk and cook over medium heat and stir until mixture thickens.

Spoon the coconut mix above the pandan layer that has now set..

Let cool and store in the fridge to chill.

Enjoy your iftar or Selamat Berbuka Puasa !

2012-06-25T08:36:00.001+10:00

Sticky Buns (Cinnamon Rolls II)

My quest for the closest thing to the perfect cinnamon rolls has ended! All the while I have been using this recipe from the net for my cinnamon rolls and the results are ok but not fantastic.

I came across a new magazine with a gorgeous picture of these delicious finger licking dessert and I had to have it. I went home straight away to try out the recipe, how excited was I with that photo ;) I know food excites me that much....its scary!.

So I followed the recipe to a T and the results does not disappoint. I have this habit of tweaking recipes to make it simpler but I would not change this one except maybe, reduce the cooking time to 40 mins from the original 45mins as the buns were slightly overcooked on the top but thankfully the bread was still moist and melt in your mouth goodness!

I didn't have any pecans in my pantry so I omitted it for now but would love to add them the next time I make this, insyaallah. Please also note that all butter are to at room temperature (unless otherwise noted)

Ingredients:

7g sachet dry yeast
125 ml warm milk
75 g caster sugar
3 eggs
375g plain flour, extra for dusting
135 unsalted butter (cut into 2cm cubes)

Caramel
125g unsalted butter
75g firmly packed brown sugar
125 ml thickened cream
60ml maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
180g pecans toasted, chopped

Filling
125g unsalted butter
165g firmly packed brown sugar
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Glace Icing
160g icing sugar
15g unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp milk

1. To make dough, place yeast, 1 tbs sugar and milk in a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside in a warm place for 5 min or until mixture bubbles. Lightly beat 2 eggs and combine into yeast mixture.

2 Combine yeast mixture and remaining sugar, flour and salt into the bowl of electric mixer using the dough hook, mix on low speed until a soft sticky dough forms. With mixer running add 125g of chopped butter one cube at a time. Ensure each cube is mixed well before adding the next one.

3. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl. Melt remaining 10 g of butter and brush over top of dough. Cover with plastic wrap and put aside in a warm area until it doubles in size (around 1.5 hrs)

4. To make caramel, stir butter, brown sugar, cream, maple syrup, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan over high heat until combined. Reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes until mixture is glossy. Pour 2/3 of this mixture into a 35cm x 21cm x 5cm baking dish coating bottom and sides. Sprinkle 1/3 of the toasted pecans and set aside.

5. To make filling, using an electric mixer beat butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt on medium speed for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.Stir through half the remaining pecans.

6. Punch down dough, then turn onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out to a 1/2 cm thick 30cm x 40 cm rectangle. Spread filling evenly over dough, leaving a 2cm border. Roll tightly like a Swiss Roll and cut evenly into 12 pieces and arrange cut side up on top of caramel prepared baking dish.

7. Loosely cover dish with wrap and leave to rise for another 1.5 hours.

8. Preheat oven to 180C. Whisk remaining egg with 1/2 tsp water in a small bowl and brush over the top of buns. Bale for 40-45 minutes until buns are golden brown. Keep an eye on the buns, if they brown too quickly, cover with foil. Cool for 5 minutes, then spoon over remaining caramel. Scatter remaining pecan and cool for 5 minutes.

9. Lastly, combine all ingredients for icing until smooth. Drizzle on cooled buns and stand 10minutes to set before serving.

I skipped step 9 because I didn't want this to be overly sweet but in retrospect I would try it next time because the rolls are not super sweet at all.

Good Luck and Bismillah!

Spanish Baked Eggs

2012-06-16T15:43:00.003+10:00

Breakfast is my most favourite meal of the day. You are eager to start the day off right and your tummy is crying out for food. And it is the only main meal that can be either savoury or sweet! How good is that?

Well if you feel like having breakfast fit for a king, but dont really want to make a big effort, then you must try making this dish. It is easy to prepare, tasty, have an almost gourmet feel to it.

Once you dig into the perfectly cooked eggs with its runny middle and taste that lovely caramelized chutney on the bottom, you will think you are having breakfast in a 5 star establishment....no kidding!

Well you would't know until you tried it for yourself. So here you go:

Spanish baked egg

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

2 tsp Olive oil
4 free range eggs (large)
100 gm mushrooms (diced)
1 small capsicum (diced)
1 large onion (diced)
flat leaf parsley ( a few sprigs)
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 can of chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
Grated parmesan
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method:

Pre heat oven to 325F. Add onions and garlic into Olive Oil in a medium heated pan. Sautee until onions becomes translucent. Add parsley, capsicum and mushrooms and stir until caramelized. Add chopped tomatoes and spices. Mix well and remove from heat. Spoon mixture into ovenproof single serve dish and make a well in the middle of mixture and break egg in the middle of well.

Bake in the pre heated oven for 5-8 minutes until egg whites are set. Less time if you want your yolk runny. Remove from the oven and sprinkle grated parmesan and sprinkle the Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Serve with garlic toast or french baguette to scoop up the lovely gooey egg/veg mixture!

Bon Apetit!

Easy Chili Crab

2012-05-11T14:11:00.002+10:00

Who does not like a good finger lickin Chili Crab on a bed of hot steaming rice...or soft fluffy bread to scoop up that tasty sauce.

Fresh crab is a must for a a good chili crab dish, and thankfully there are plenty here in sunny Queensland. Alhamdulillah.

This recipe was handed down to me by my mother in law....I feel very lucky that both my mother and MIL are great cooks. I figured the best way to keep hubby happy is to know how to cook his fave dish from the best person that know how!

Ingredients

Serves: 4

1kg fresh crab (cleaned) and halved, separate claws
5 cm fresh ginger (cleaned and sliced)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
250ml water
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
6 fresh red chillies (deseeded)
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic

Preparation method

Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: 15 minutes

Sambal Tumis Jering

2012-04-27T15:11:00.001+10:00

If you look up Jering or its scientific name Archidendron Jiringa, you will find that the medicinal values are many, namely aids in hypertension and diabetic patients.

Now I love this fruit for its bitter, meaty, and rich texture, especially cooked with caramelized onions and chili and crispy anchovies. Aaah, warm memories of childhood in my mothers kitchen.

So finding this fruit in the Vietnam market is a godsend, and here is the result.

Sambal Tumis Jering

Ingredients

1 bottled Jering (Dahendi) - drained and washed

5 fresh red chilies

1 large onion (half sliced and half pounded with the chilies)

1 tsp salt

1 tsb sugar

1 piece of tamarind skin (asam gelugor)

200g dried anchovies

Oil to fry the anchovies

Method

Boil jering pieces until soft (around 10minutes), drain and roughly pound to break the pieces up - set aside.

Pound chilies and half of onion until fine, add salt.

Wash anchovies and drain.

Heat oil in a pan and fry anchovies until crispy - (set aside)

Remove oil from the pan, leaving about 2 tbsp. Add jering pieces and fry for 3 minutes. Add chili/onion paste and sliced onions and stir fry on medium heat until caramelized for about 4-5 minutes - (careful not to burn), mix in the sugar. Add tamarind piece and stir to mix the flavours for another 2 minutes.

Take off heat and serve on hot steamed rice. Enjoy :)

Chicken pie in filo pastry

2012-03-28T22:00:00.000+10:00

If you wanted a different twist to your regular chicken pie, try using a filo pastry instead of your regular shortcrust. The result is a delightfully crunchy and light meal. If you have not used a filo pastry before, not to worry because following the instructions on the package should set you up nicely.

Also using the black seed provide a nice flavour and texture to the dish, not to mention the health benefits of this amazing herb.

You will need:

2 tbsp Olive oil

700 g chicken breast (diced)

30 g butter

1 tsp plain flour

4 potatoes (peeled and boiled)

1 cup mushroom (sliced)

1 large onion (diced)

1 tsp salt

pepper to taste

1 cup frozen peas and carrots (thawed)

1 cup cream

1 package filo pastry (from the frozen section in the supermarket)

1 tsp black seed

Preparation:

Pre-heat Oven to 400 F/200 C
Heat oil in a pan and cook the onion until soft, add the flour and sautee until brown (careful not to burn).
Add mushroom and cook until softened, add chicken pieces and cook for 3 minutes.
Mix in peas and carrots, and stir in the cream and salt.
Add in the cooked potato and combine well. Set aside.
Spray a rectangle baking pan.
Unpack the filo pastry and place the first layer onto the baking pan. Continue to layer the pastry , brushing with the melted butter every time a new layer is placed.
After 6 layers, add the filling and distribute evenly.
Place a layer of filo pastry onto the filling and repeat the process until all 6-7 layers are placed.
Brush the top layer with milk and sprinkle the black seed.
Place into oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown
Cool and serve.

Labneh in Olive Oil and spices

2012-02-01T05:48:00.001+10:00

If there was a tasty and healthy option to cheese, I would vote for this. Labneh or laban is a popular middle eastern snack made from strained yogurt.

Plain yogurt is strained to remove the whey using muslin cloth over a period of 24-48 hours to form a soft cheese which will then formed into balls and serve with extra virgin Olive Oil and sprinkled with spices and black seed.

If you dont already have muslin cloth, you can actually use coffee filter for the same effect. I prefer using the muslin as it is easy to handle and can be reuse over and over again.....after all muslin are cheap and readily available.

So lets get to the ingredients:

You will need :

1 kg plain yogurt
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
Muslin cloth (about 2 feet square)
String
Extra virgin Olive Oil
Black Seed (Habbatussawda/Sativa seeds)
Spice mix (I used Harissa spice mix)

Mix yogurt with salt and sugar in a bowl. Place muslin cloth in another bowl and pour yogurt mix onto the cloth. You can immediately see the whey (a clear liquid) dripping into the catcher bowl. Tie the muslin over the yogurt into a neat and tight pouch with plenty of string to hang this pouch in your refrigerator.

Tie the package together with a rubberband and hang it from a hook, placing your bowl beneath to catch any dripping whey.

After the 24 hours is up, you will find your catcher bowl is filled with whey. This whey is rich in beneficial bacteria and as such is slightly acidic. Don’t throw it away, the thin faintly green-looking liquid is quite valuable. You can use it to soak grains to render them more digestible, in bread baking, as a starter for fermented foods and in smoothies for extra protein and probiotics. Whey should keep, refrigerated, for up to six months.

You will find your cheese is now formed and you can store them in a container and make them into a cream cheese frosting for your cupcakes or use in cooking pasta, salads, dips and many other variety of dishes.

soft cheese is formed with similar texture to cream cheese

For this recipe, you will shape them into bite size balls and serve in a bowl filled with extra virgin oil and topped with spices and black seeds.

This snack is packed full of goodness from all the sunnah foods, milk, extra virgin olive oil and black seed (habbatussawda).

Mangomisu (liquer free)

2012-01-29T14:58:00.001+10:00

Our family loves mangoes, who doesn't? So if you are like us, here is another way to enjoy this delicious fruit and there is no baking required. I got the recipe from the net and as usual adapted it to my own version. The original recipe actually uses 2 egg yolks but I will not use raw eggs for my dessert and risk a salmonella infection. The desert is perfectly fine without it.

Also if you cannot find Mascarporne cheese, you can actually substitute half cream cheese and half ricotta cheese, I have not actually tried it this way but it should be fine since both are similar in texture with ricotta being on the thin side which can be compensated with the thickness of the cream cheese.

As for the savoiardi biscuits, just in case your local supermarket don't stock them here is a recipe to make your own.

So what are you waiting for, get busy and within 2 hours you and your family can enjoy this delicious and fruity dessert.

Bismillah and enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 6)

500g mascarpone cheese
600ml thickened cream
1/3 cup (50g) icing sugar
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped (or 1 tsp vanilla essence)
Juice of 2 oranges
300g savoiardi (sponge finger biscuits)
3 mangoes, flesh sliced 1cm thick

Method

Line the base of a 22cm springform cake pan with plastic wrap or baking paper. Place the mascarpone, thickened cream, icing sugar, vanilla seeds in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high speed until thick and well combined.

Dip half the sponge fingers into the juice mixture and layer in the base of the cake pan. Spread with one-third of the mascarpone mixture, and top with one-third of the mango slices. Repeat the process, then top with the remaining mascarpone mixture, reserving the remaining mango slices to serve. Cover the cake and chill for 2 hours or until firm.

To serve, carefully remove the sides and base of the cake pan and transfer the mangomisu to a platter. Decorate with curls of the reserved mango, then slice and serve.