Vege Noodles

This is one easy dish I make for dinner and it's healthy too ;)

I used :
air dried noodles (enough for 2) - boil some water and put in the noodles...drain it once it's soft (depends on the noodles you use)..you may even use wet noodles or egg noodles
1 onion, sliced
5 cloves garlic, minced
6 shittake mushrooms, sliced
1 carrots, sliced thinly
a bunch of mustard leaves, sliced abt 2 inch in length
1/2 tbsp thick soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
salt and white pepper powder to taste
boiled egg to serve 

Mix the sauces with pepper powder and salt. Keep aside
Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan and saute the onion. Add in the garlic and saute. Then add in the carrot and once carrot is 3/4 cooked, add in the mushroom and mustard leaves and cook for a few minutes.
Next add in the mixed sauces and noodles.Mix it till well combined.
Serve hot with sliced boiled egg.

Fried Kuay Teow

This is one delicious Malaysian dish...and its been my fav since I was small... This time I tried making it at home for dinner...a healthier, less oily one that is...

U need:
about 300gms of fresh kuay teow (i got it from the wet market)
about 7-8 prawns (peeled and deveined)
a handful of fresh beansprouts
a handful of mustard leaves (cut into 2 inch pieces)
1-2 eggs
1 onion (sliced)
1-2 tbsp chilli paste
 3-4 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
salt to taste

Heat oil in a wok and saute the onions..add the chilli paste and when its fragrant, add the garlic..
Later add in the beansprouts and prawns..Mix till combined and add in the kuay teow and mustard leaves. Add the soy sauces and salt..Mix well...Move the kuay teow to the side of the pan and heat some oil..Pour the beaten egg.Let it cook a little and mix it with the kuay teow till cooked well....serve hot...

Moist Carrot Cupcakes

This is one really easy carrot cupcake recipe to make....and tastes so moist and yummy too ;)

You need :
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup or lesser granulated brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 carrots, grated
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup milk

Combine all dry ingredients in a big bowl, and add in the carrots...Next combine all wet ingredients in another bowl...Add in wet ingredients to dry ingredients..mix well to combine...Spoon into cups and bake for 20-30 mins at 180 celcius...according to your oven as the batter is not very thick...

Pasta with Mackerel

When I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner, first he decided on pasta and later said make something with sardines, maybe a curry....so then I decided to try something new and made this spaghetti with mackerels...and he was truly surprised and enjoyed it very much ;)

Do give this a try if ur a mackerel fan....

You need :

1 medium can of mackerel in tomato sauce (drain and bones removed)

1 small red onion, sliced

four cloves garlic, minced

your fav pasta sauce - enough for two ( I used a sauce with mushroom and olives)

1 tsp of paprika (if u like it spicy)

salt to taste

dried oregano

cooked spaghetti (enough for 2)

Heat olive oil in a non stick pan...Saute the onion and minced garlic..Add the mackerels and cook a little..Add in pasta sauce, paprika and salt. You may add in a little water if sauce is too thick...Mix well to coat mackerels and cook till sauce boils and thickens.. Add oregano...Turn off heat and add in cooked spaghetti.. Coat well.. Serve hot with parmigiana and chopped coriander or parsley...;)

Sorry for the absence

Dear bloggers...It's been months since I last posted something on my site..well, the good news is that I'm having a baby!!! and during the first trimester..I could hardly bring myself to the kitchen and on those rare occasion that I cooked, it was always a simple meal for dinner...
And now on my 20th week..I'm back on track and started stocking my fridge and pantry...phew..wat a relief to feel like oneself again....
Well, hopefully I'll start posting some of my clicks here soon so do come back and to those who have any special advice on how I can get through this pregnancy in good health, do drop your comments..I will truly appreciate it ;)

Bake Along Challenge #5

Hi there....Thank you for dropping by...This month the Bake Along Challenge kicks off from 1st August till the 31st...

And the Theme for August is : BANANAS

Yup, this versatile fruit can be used to make awesome and delicious baked goodies...
So, do join in and make some yummy treats for breakfast and tea ;)

The simple rules are :
1. Follow my blog
2. Bake anything using Bananas
3.Add your post to the linky tool provided and also post a link of this on your page.
4. Usage of logo is mandatory.
5. Any number of entries are allowed.

Happy Baking ;)

Baking Partners

Glad to be a part of this group ;)

Baking Partners: A new Baking Group

A group of home bakers helping each other to achieve perfection.

Baking a home made Baking a homemade bread, cake or cookies will give the best outcome. However in order to achieve the best results, a perfect recipe and right techniques are required.

We are a small group of home baker friends, who love and want to learn more about the nook and corners of baking.  We are planning to try out recipes from books/magazines and cooking shows.  Every member gets a chance to present their choice of recipe and share important points with the rest of the group.

Main purpose of this group is to learn the techniques, critic the procedure if there are ways to improve, and to eat a delicious food.

Rules are simple, we will choose one recipe and send it out to the group by 16th of every month and the reveal date will be 15th of the next month. On that day we will blog about it. A linky tool will be open during that time and each member can link their post.

First month we are going to do a recipe, 2nd and 3rd month will be a theme and the 4th month we will be back at a recipe. By doing in between recipes, we will able to learn more.

All enthusiastic bloggers interested in baking are welcome, please email Swathi  at favoriterecipes12@gmail.com.

We will appreciate the use of logo or worded link that will help to spread the word.  A bunch of thanks to Tina for designing this beautiful logo

If you   want to make it a gluten or vegan free diet, you can do those modifications also.

.

Baking Partners are

1.    Reeni (Cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice)

2.    Julie Erivum Puliyumm

3.    Tina  ( Pinay in Texas Cooking Corner)

4.    Priya (Priya's Versatile Recipes)  

5.    Suja ( Kitchen Corner Try It)

6.    Archana  ( Tangy Minds)

7.    Reshmi  ( EasY Cook)

8.    Prathibha ( Cook Ezee)  

9.    Priya R ( Cook Like Priya)

10.  Sweatha ( Tasty Curry leaf)

11.  Vidhya (  A Portion to Share)

12.  Usha Rao ( My Spicy Kitchen)

13.  Divya Prakash( Divya’s Culinary Journey)

14.  Swasthi Blank ( Swasthi The Health Freak)

15.  Sanoli Ghosh ( Sanoli’s Kitchen)

16.  Jayasiri ( Samayalarai )

17.  Pam Capone ( Live Ranch Delux)

18.  Jenny ( Mad ranting of  Andrew’s Mom)

19.  Mirellie( Gourmet Global Creations)

20.  Nicole ( The girl who ate at Boston)  

21.   Joythi( This and That of food and life)

22.  Nandita ( Nan’s-Yum Yum)

23.  Reshwani ( Daily Cuppa)

And

Swathi ( Zesty South Indian Kitchen)    Creator and Owner of the group

Flourless Choc Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

This is a very easy recipe...yummy cookies ;)


All you need :

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup brown castor sugar
1/2 cup semisweet choc chips
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder

All you need to do :
Combine all ingredients together...Drop spoonfulls on a tray lined with baking paper and press it down lightly...

Bake for 15-18 mins at 180C.....

Linking to :
Favorite Recipes Event : Cookies

Bake Fest

Let's Party : Go Bake It

Eggless Choc Walnut Cake

I made this to bring to a friend's house when she invited us over for dinner....we had it for dessert...served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream...it was moist, chocolatey and everyone loved it ;)

U need :

1 cup cake flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp Nescafe powder
1 cup yogurt
3/4 cup brown castor sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/2 cup sunflower / canola oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

for the topping :
chopped walnuts
1 tbsp castor sugar
2 -3 tbsp semi sweet chocolate chips

Mix together flour, cocoa powder, coffee powder and keep aside.
In another bowl, beat together sugar and yogurt till creamy. Add in the baking powder, soda, vanilla and mix together...leave for a few minutes till there are bubbles on the surface...Add in the oil, flour mixture and mix till smooth but do not overmix it..
Pour batter into a greased pan...
Arrange walnuts on top and sprinkle with choc chips and sugar.
Bake at 200C for 10 mins and reduce to 170C for 30 mins or till cake it done.

Cool on a wire rack...Serve warm with vanilla ice cream...

Linked this to :

Let's Party : Go Bake It

Bake Fest

Roti Jala

This is a Malaysian lacy pancake recipe...an awesome treat for breakfast, tea or dinner...it's easy to make..tastes awesome with curries....














Ingredients :

1 cup wheat flour + 1 tbsp rice flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water (adjust to the pouring consistency)
1 egg
1/3 tsp salt
yellow colouring (if needed)
butter or ghee to grease pan

mix all the above ingredients to a consistency that's not too watery or too thick as you need to pour it through the mould,....using a whisk helps..

Heat a tava till hot..grease with ghee or butter...Take some batter using roti jala mould and pour in circles on the heated tava...turn once the bottom part is not sticking..cook for few minutes and transfer it to a plate and fold into a triangle...continue with the remaining mixture...

Serve with kurma or curry....;)



Linking this to :
 Flavours of Malaysia

Gobi Manchurian

Ive always wanted to give this a try and managed to do it over the weekend...turned out delicious ;)

Ingredients :

For frying:
cauliflower florets (I used 1/2  a cauliflower)
7 tbsp plain flour
4 tbsp cornflour
1/2 tsp chilli powder or paprika
2 garlic cloves (pounded)
a bit of salt
enough water

For the sauce :
1 big onion (sliced)
2 green chillies (sliced lengthwise)
2 1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 1/2 tsp chilli sauce or 1 tsp green chilli sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp cornflour (mixed with some water)
salt to taste

Method :

Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Fry onion and chilli till onions are soft and chilli turns colour. Add in garlic and fry for a couple of minutes.
The add in the ketchup, sauces and mix well. Later add in the vinegar. Mix for about 10 seconds and all in the cornflour mixture and cook till sauce thickens. Add salt if needed.

Next make the batter by combining all the frying ingredients with water. Heat oil. Dip cauliflower florets in the batter and fry till golden brown.

Once the cauliflower is fried, mix it all with the sauce till well coated. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Linked this to :

Kitchen Chronicles : Only Vegan

Eggless Strawberry Brown Sugar Ice Cream

Since my fridge has been filled with strawberries this past week...I made this yummilicious, easy ice cream using brown sugar...
I have never been a fan using eggs and making custard for ice creams..so this recipe is a keeper for me....

U need :

8 ounces of fresh, sweet strawberries
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix strawberries with sugar and salt in a nonstick pan....Heat till sugar dissolves...mix well..Take it off heat and let it cool...Then puree the mixture in your blender....Heat it in a pan for about 3-5 minutes...Leave it to cool again, add cream, milk and vanilla...mix well and refrigerate overnight (do not freeze).

The next day, switch on the ice cream maker , pour the strawberry mixture and freeze according to manufacturer's instruction...mine took less than 30 mins...Serve immediately with fresh strawberries or freeze overnight....;)

No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Cups

All you need for 2 cups :

4 digestive biscuits (or more)
3 tbsp melted butter
100 gm cream cheese (room temperature)
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp icing sugar (or more)
1 1/2 tbsp orange rind
2 tbsp orange juice

fresh strawberries (for topping)
1 tbsp castor sugar

Method :

Crush digestive biscuits, mix with butter, divide and press into 2 serving cups.
Beat cream cheese and cream. Add icing sugar, vanilla extract, orange juice and orange rind and mix it together. Spoon it into the cups. Close cups with cling wrap and leave it in the refrigerator.

Cut strawberries and mix it well with castor sugar and keep it in the refrigerator.

When ur ready to serve, bring out the cups, top it with the strawberries and that's it..dessert is served ;)

Note : u may add some dissolved gelatine powder (in warm water) to the cream cheese mixture before refrigerating if u prefer a firmer consistency..

Bake Along Challenge # 3 Round-Up

The theme for Bake Along Challenge # 3 was Berries....and got some lovely entries from my blogger frens....here's the round-up and do visit their blogs and try out their recipes ;)

Those who baked with Blueberries :

Sugar n Spice : Eggless Blueberry Muffin / Cake

Zesty South Indian Kitchen :  Blueberry Oatmeal Sour Cream Coffee cake with Oats Pecan Streusel

Taste Buds : Blueberry Cake with Blueberry Syrup

Now for those who baked with strawberries :

Simple Baking : Pear and Balsamic Strawberries Tart with Frangipane

Taste Buds : Strawberry Bars

Divya's Culinary Journey : Strawberry Muffins

 

My own Rustic Strawberry Cake

And those who baked with mixed Berries ;)

Tangy Minds : Rainbow Fruits Cake

Taste Buds : Triple Berry Cheesecake

Lastly...with Cranberries...

Recipesmine : Wheat Banana Cake

Thanks for all those who joined...do take part in the next challenge using Peanut Butter ;)

Bake Along Challenge # 4

It's July and time for another Challenge..thanks for all those who participated in the 3rd Challenge with the main ingredient : Berries...I will post the round-up soon...

Well, for this month, it's hosted by Divya from Divya's Culinary Journey....and she has chosen Peanut Butter as the key ingredient in this month's challenge...I'm already thinking of all the wonderful things I can make with Peanut Butter...hmmm...time to try out something new.....so, do check out her page for the rules and hoping to see some yummy entries...Happy Baking, folks !

Orange Glow Chiffon Cake

I have never been a fan of chiffon cake as Ive always found it dry and lack of flavour....maybe Ive been trying the wrong ones....Ive never baked a chiffon cake before yet Ive always wondered...can a chiffon cake made to be moist and light yet flavourful.....

Eventually I got a tube pan but it has been lying in the drawer for months till this weekend when I decided to make something with oranges in the fridge...so I was looking for a moist orange chiffon cake and I came upon Cakes and More....a lovely blog with the cake I wanted.....and what she had was a very detailed version of Rosy Levy Beranbaum's Orange Glow Chiffon Cake Recipe....though I didnt read thru the whole post, I knew immediately, this was what I was looking for....

So, here goes...my Orange Glow Chiffon Cake...moist, airy, baked to perfection, smells awesome and tastes delicious......I admit that I did not follow every single helpful tip that she has given in the blog as I always like to keep it simple....so for those who wants to know more about the cake and the tips, do check out the blog...im sure it's very helpful....;)

Ingredients :

All purpose flour    190 gms
Corn Flour               34 grms
Superfine sugar       1 1/4 cups - keep aside 2 tbsps

Baking powder        2 tsps
Salt                          1/4 tsp
 Sunflower/canola oil    1/2 cup



Egg whites -    1 1/4 cup (I needed 8 eggs)
Egg yolks   -  1/2 cup ( I needed 7 eggs)
Orange juice - 3/4 cup
Grated orange zest - 2 tbsp


Vanilla extract    - 1 tsp
Cream of tartar  - 1 1/4 tsp

Method :
Preheat oven 160 degrees....do not grease ur tube pan as the cake has to cling to the pan to rise...

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornflour, baking powder all but 2 tablespoons of sugar and salt. Set aside.

Now to beat the egg whites, start with your hand mixer or pour into the bowl of your stand mixer and mix on low speed. When it starts foaming well, add the cream of tartar and continue beating using a balloon whisk. Continue to beat gradually increasing the speed to medium high. When the beater show soft peaks form, add the 2 tablespoons of sugar you have reserved. Continue beating in medium high till the whites form stiff peaks. Mine took a few minutes....keep monitoring...To check, stop your mixer, lift the beaters from the whites, you should be able to see peaks which stand straight. If they droop right away and fall back, you have to beat a little more. Do not want to beat the egg whites till they dry out. Once the whites are whipped to the right consistency, keep the bowl aside.

Now, with the dry ingredients. I just used a big spatula and mixed it all together for 1 minute to mix and aerate the mixture. Make a well in the center, add the orange juice, yolks, oil, orange zest and vanilla extract. Mix it all together till smooth. Do not overmix. Now fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the flour mixture. Mix to lighten the batter. Then add in the rest. Fold in quickly, gently, but thoroughly. The batter is neither thick nor thin. Try to incorporate it together but do not overmix as it will not be airy then.
Do not do it the other way around : mixing the dry ingredients to the egg whites....!

Pour the batter into the tube pan. The batter must be about 1 inch from the top.. Run a sharp knife or metal spatula through the batter to prevent air pockets. Wipe away any batter from the tube or the sides of the pan. Bake for 55 minutes or till a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean .Mine took 60 minutes. It all depends on your oven...do keep checking after 55 minutes till it's done....



Once out of the oven, turn the cake upside down to cool it....It helps it your tube pan has feet so the top of the cake wont touch your cooling rack...The cake will take 1 1/2 hours to cool.

After 1 1/2 hours, keep your serving platter nearby, loosen the sides of the cake with a long metal spatula or a knife. Run it along the sides of the core tube as well.. Place the serving plate on top of the pan, put the plate on the table and invert the cake. Then slowly remove the core...u may need to use a knife for this....

I watched this video by Rose and it really helped .....do watch it....

Part 1
Part 2

Now for more pics ;)

Linked this to :

Favorite Cake Recipes

Asam Pedas Fish

This is a famous Malaysian dish....a very flavourful one...I got the original version from Rasa Malaysia blog and made some changes according to my taste....turned out well ;)

Ingredients:

1 black pomfret (cleaned and cut to 3 pieces)
handful of small okras
1 tomato (cut into slices)
1 1/2 teaspoon of fish curry powder
3 sprigs of daun kesum
1 tablespoon of palm sugar/sugar
Salt to taste

oil

Spice Paste:

3 clove garlic
2 stalk of lemon grass (white part only) - sliced
4 shallots
5-7 dried chillies (depends on how spicy you like)
1/2 tablespoon of belacan (prawn paste)

Tamarind Juice:

1 1/4 cup of water
Tamarind pulp (size of a small ping pong ball)

Method:

1.     Grind the spice paste and set aside.

2.     Soak the tamarind pulp in warm water for 15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind pulp  to extract the flavor into the water. Drain the pulp and save the tamarind juice.

3.     Heat oil and fry the spice paste for 2 minutes or until fragrant.

4.     Add the tamarind juice, fish curry powder and bring to boil.

5.     Add the tomato wedges and okras and bring to boil.

6.     Add the fish, salt, daun kesum and palm sugar/sugar.

7.     Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked.

8.     Serve with white rice