Egg Kurma

I've never been a fan of  using kurma powder to make kurma and have always wanted to try making it from scratch. So, tried out this recipe...turned out really yummy and we loved it. Do give it a try ;)

Original recipe from :

http://www.naliniscooking.com/2014/02/egg-kurma-muttai-kurma.html


The changes I made :

1. I omitted the ginger since I didn't have any.
2. I replaced chilli powder with dry chilli flakes.
3. I used 3 eggs as there wasn't too much gravy.

Overall a delicious recipe that I will surely try again.

Mamak Style Mee Goreng using Peanut Butter

My New Year Resolution for next year started early, last week actually with my aim to cook dinner 6 days a week. I realize eating out is an easier option but finding quality food for a good price is difficult. This will also be a good reason to browse through my ever growing number of cookbooks and making good use of them.
So far I managed to achieve my aim last week and going strong this week....do hope the enthusiasm lasts through the coming months.... :)

I made this fried noodles yesterday and it was really tasty, enjoyed by my 2.5 years old too. The added Peanut Butter enhances the flavour, giving it a yummy nutty taste.

Serves : 3 persons

1 small pack of  Yellow wet noodles, washed and drained
1 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced / pounded
chilli paste

Combine together:
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp bottled chilli sauce
3 tbsp bottled tomato sauce
some salt and white pepper powder to taste
1 tbsp creamy peanut butter

some sliced fishcakes / slightly fried beancurd
1 large tomato, sliced
a handful of mustard leaves (sawi), cut into 1 inch pieces
a handful of beansprouts

1 egg, beaten with a little salt

Method :

Heat oil in a wok, fry onion, garlic till fragrant. Add in chilli paste and cook till fragrant,
Add in fishcakes/ tofu, mix well. Add in the combined sauces and fry for a few seconds.
Add in tomato, noodles and mustard leaves, mix well to combine. Add in beansprouts.
Add a little water in needed. Cook covered for a few minutes.
Now move the noodles to a side, add some oil and pour in egg. After 30 seconds, combine egg with the noodles. Mix well. Add salt if needed.

Serve hot with some sliced red chilli, lime and mint leaves. YUMMM

Winning Her World Best Home Cook Contest 2015

 

It was one of those proud moments in life.. I came across this contest which was organized by HerWorld Malaysia few months ago whereby you cook/bake using one or more of the ingredients featured. There was Golden Churn Butter there and noticed that the deadline was near so I baked a quick cake (a fav recipe of mine), frosted it, took pics and sent it in.

Little did I know that I will be one of the 12 chosen finalists and was asked to join a cook-off session in Starhill Culinary Studio, Bukit Bintang. I knew that meant big but the shock came when I learnt I needed to recreate my cake from scratch in an hour!!! Wow, that to me sounded impossible and I had to bring all the needed items as I will only be given the butter, cake mixer and oven. The worse part was when I was told that I will be the only one making a cake...hmm..can things get any worse..

The day was one of the most stressful ones where the clock kept ticking and I was willing my hands n mind to move as fast as possible, also being careful not to forget any ingredients.
It took me 1 hr 15 mins to complete as the cake needed 15 mins to cool off a little before frosting. It was then whisked away to the judging room and I was hoping that it will stay in shape and not collapse.

At last I could sigh with relief and felt totally famished. Next came lunch break while the judges were tasting the dishes and choosing the winners. Soon the speeches started followed by the announcement of winners. I really thought that I did not win anything when they called out the second and first runner up and was shocked beyond words when my name was announced as the Grand Prize winner. Wow....that was unbelievable. My cake actually won the Grand Prize! It was a great moment to be cherished.

Starhill Culinary Studio

Baking at the event



My winning cake, after tasting session

With my prize

With thr other winners

Daphne Iking

https://www.facebook.com/reshwani/videos/10153304188018897/?l=3695705020230928943 

Gobi Manchurian

Here's a yummy recipe I tried for dinner yesterday. It turned out perfect, served with chapatti n dhall.

Serves : 3

Ingredients:

1 small cauliflower, cut into small florets, soaked in hot water with some salt
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup corn flour
black pepper powder n salt to taste

3 tbsp tomato sauce
3 tbsp chilli sauce
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp vinegar
1 big onion, sliced thinly
1 green chilli, cut small
4 garlic cloves, grated
1 tsp corn flour, mixer with some water
salt to taste
some spring onion for garnishing

Method :
Drain cauliflower. Set aside.
Mix plain flour, corn flour, salt, ground pepper with some water to make a medium thick batter.

Heat oil in a pan, deep cauliflower florets in batter and fry till light golder colour.
Keep aside.

Sauce :

Heat a non stick pan with some oil. Saute the onion till soft. Add in garlic and green chilli. Mix well.
Next add in all the sauces and season with salt. Mix well.

Add in vinegar. Mix to combine.

Add in cornflour mixture, mix well and add in the fried cauliflower florets. Coat well with sauce and cook about 5 mins and turn off heat.

Garnish with spring onion and serve hot.

Old Fashioned Banana Cake

This is one cake I have been saving to do for some time now...and ya, at last I tried it out and regretted waiting for so long. It is so soft and yummy, practically melts in the mouth. You just got to try this out to see. It is so easy to put together and the recipe's a keeper.

You need :

3 large ripe bananas, mashed
170 gm butter
160 gm castor sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp yogurt
227 gm cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method :

Preheat oven to 170C. Grease and line a 8x8 inch square pan.

Beat butter and sugar till fluffy. Add one egg at a time and beat well between additions. Add in vanilla and yougurt. Beat.
In a bowl, combine flour, soda and baking powder.
Add in mashed bananas and flour mixture into the mixer and beat in slow speed.
Once combined, pour into prepare pan and bake for about 40-50 mins (depending on your oven). Check occasionally after 35 minutes to avoid over baking.

Chicken Mushroom Pasta in Creamy Tomato Sauce

I tried out this yummy recipe for our weekly pasta night and it turned out great, even my little one loved it. It's a tomato based sauce with added cream and parmigiano reggiano ;).

It's an easy meal to make and perfect for weeknight dinners. Do give it a try.

You need :

Olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1/2 chicken breast, boneless, skinless (cut into small pieces)
10 button mushrooms , sliced
1 big onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, grated (I love to grate garlic as it gives more flavour)
1 small can tomato basil pasta sauce
dried italian herbs, salt, black pepper powder, dried chilli flakes (use according to your flavour needs as I did not measure)
1/2 cup thickened / cooking cream
parmigiano reggiano ( about 1/4 cup)

spaghetti / pasta of choice (cooked al dente) - I used angel hair pasta - for 3 persons

Method :

Heat some olive oil in a pan and add butter. Once it melts, add in onion and grated garlic, saute.
When onion turns brown, add in chicken pieces and mushrooms.

Mix well. and let it cook. Once chicken is nearly cooked, add in the pasta sauce and let it come to a simmer. Add in herbs, chilli flakes, salt, black pepper powder, Mix well and close with a lid, cook for about 10 minutes on low heat. You may add in a little hot water if too thick. Turn off heat. Add in the cream and parmigiano reggiano and mix.

You can now add in the pasta, mix it all together and serve it hot,

Deepavali Cookies 2015

Deepavali is just around the corner and as usual, I've been busy baking, shopping n thinking on what else need to be done.. and the house cleaning of coz.

So, this year so far me n my sis baked a few cookies and made murukku...Here's what we've made so far..will update this post once we've done all the baking ;)

Belgian Choc Almond Cookies

Semperit or Custard Cookies

Coconut Butter Cookies

Murukku

My collection of cookies magazine

Birthday Outing 2015

October has always been a special month for me and we usually plan a vacation around my birthday. This year being a long one with the husband's Masters exams, moving to a new house (that reminds me that I still have a 3rd floor to decorate) and all the other things between, we decided to do something simple. So, we stayed a night in KL city and made the most out of it.

We started off the day with a drive to PJ BluInc Media office to collect my cheque for HerWorld Best Home Cook 2015 (will post soon on that) and headed to Jaya One which was just nearby. Parking was so easy as it was Fri, no crowd at the mall and the little one was so happy as we went about shopping for new toys and clothes for her (hmm..it's supposed to be my birthday).

We then had lunch at this Mexican place : http://www.fronterabar.com/
Review : Awesome food. We loved the Chicken Tortilla Soup which was so flavourful, grilled salmon, chicken burrito and of coz, my margarita ;).

Tummies filled, we drove to Sheraton Imperial KL and checked-in. The little one was so excited that she was practically jumping up and down and started enjoying her mini vacation.

Quill City Mall is just opposite Sheraton though you have to cross a very busy road. We took a walk and eventually got stuck in the rain that evening and somehow managed to cross over with a little help from a KTM officer.

That night we decided to go for Chinese food and after searching through Trip Advisor, we checked out Hakka Restaurant. It's opposite Pavilion, ample of parking, child friendly and full of people. The waiters were attentive and the food was yummy. There' s outdoor and indoor seating available too.

The next day we enjoyed the hotel breakfast and checked out their pool. At 12pm we checked out and headed to Levain Boulangerie to check out the place and get some pastries. The place was bustling with people enjoying a lazy Saturday afternoon and we joined in.

Check out the strawberry lover who could't wait to get her hands on it :

Feeling satisfed, we headed to Klang and had to stop to collect this awesome birthday cake the husband ordered for me from a fellow homebaker. The strawberry lover was in fruity heaven looking at the cake topped with her fav fruit. It was indeed a lovely celebration and I had too much outside food for 2 days that I couldn't wait to start cooking ;).

  

Lemon Blueberry Loaf Cake

It has been some time since I baked something special for dessert. So when I was out grocery shopping yesterday I bought a pack of fresh blueberries, a couple of lemons and a pack of edible flowers (I've been hunting for this for some time now and was too happy that I couldn't resist not buying them).

I started prepping the dessert the minute I came home after work and in 30 mins, it was in the oven, filling the house with that lovely smell...then I started on dinner which was Tofu and Vege Jalfrezi (I'll update that recipe later). The cake was cool by the time we finished dinner and I whipped up a simple lemon glaze and decorated it with the edible flowers...and it looked so LOVELY ;)

Do give this yummy, moist and easily impressive dessert a try. Feedbacks are welcome.

Ingredients :

1/3 cup unsalted butter (soft)
1 cup castor sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 1/2 cup Cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
lemon zest from 2 lemons
1 cup fresh blueberries, coated with some cake flour

Method :

Preheat oven to 170C.
Prepare a loaf pan by greasing and lining the bottom and sides with baking paper.

Beat butter and sugar using electric mixer and then add in the eggs one by one.Add in vanilla. Beat well.
In a bowl, mix together flour and baking powder. Add this to the egg mixture alternately with milk.
Now using a spatula, fold in the blueberries and lemon zest.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 40-45 mins or till skewer comes out clean.

Lemon glaze :

1/2 cup icing sugar
Juice of half a lemon

Whisk both ingredients using a hand whisk till sugar dissolved.

Pour or drizzle glaze on cool cake.
Top with edible flowers.

Ready to serve.

Asian Style Orange Chicken

Hi everyone! Yesterday I made this yummy orange chicken recipe, something you can whip up for a quick weeknight dinner. Do give it a try ya.

                            

Here's the recipe :

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed, 

seasoned with some sea salt and ground garlic and pepper. Set aside.

Mix together:

rind and juice from 2 small oranges

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1/2 tbsp distilled white vinegar

2 tsp cornstarch

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp garlic powder

some freshly ground pepper

2 stalks spring onion, sliced

Method :

Heat some oil in a non-stick pan and pan fry chicken pieces till lightly brown and keep aside.

In now empty pan, add the orange sauce mixture . Cook and stir in medium heat till thickened. add in the chicken pieces, coat well, cover and let it cook in the heat.

Turn off fire, dish out and sprinkle spring onion. Serve hot with rice.

Lemongrass Pepper Chicken Masala

It's been a huge relief after settling down in my new place and having the freedom to cook whatever I want, whenever I want.
I do hope I could keep the posts coming ...

Here's a chicken dish I made yesterday. It's an Indian based dish with a hint of Asian flavour. I would say it turned out pretty good. Do give it a try and leave ur feedback here.

Now for the recipe..

You need :
1/2 kilo chicken, cleaned and cut to pieces
1 big tomato, sliced

Blend together:
1 1/2 tbsp cracked black pepper
2 lemongrass (white part cut into small pieces)
1 big onion, sliced
6 cloves garlic
3 cm ginger, sliced
1/4-1/3 cup water

Keep aside.

1 tsp black pepper ground
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt

2 cardamons
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
1 tsp aniseed, pounded
2 sprigs curry leaves

salt to taste
some dark soy sauce

Method :

Mix blended ingredients with turmeric, ground pepper, coriander powder, chilli powder and turmeric powder. Add this to the chicken pieces, rub all over and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or longer.

Heat oil in a pan and add cinnamon, cloves and aniseed. When fragrant, add onion slices and curry leaves. Once onion turns lightly brown, add in the chicken pieces and tomato slices and mix well to combine.

Add some water if too dry and cover to cook, stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked through. Add a few dashes of dark soy sauce. Mix well and turn off heat.
Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.

Quick Sambar Rice

At last we have settled down in our new nest and the best part is the huge kitchen. My very own kitchen after 2 yrs of moving about. Yup it's big, more than 20 feet long and I just love it..haha...so you can see me doing more cooking n more yummy posts ;)

Now, to the dish of the day... a quick Sambar Rice cooked using the rice cooker. It tasted great and a great option for a quick dinner fix on weeknights. Since I've been doing more weeknight dinners lately, I thought of compiling it all in a category for easy referral in the future. So you can check out the tab 'Weeknight Dinners' for other yummy recipes.

 I used :

1 cup ponni rice
1/2 cup toor dhal (soaked)
1 large onion, sliced thinly
1 small carrot, sliced
a handful of french beans, sliced
2 tsp sambar powder
1/4 tsp asoefatida
2 stalks curry leaves
oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
some tamarind, dissolved in some water

Method :

Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add mustard seeds and cumin. Saute and add onion and curry leaves. Once onion is soft and fragrant, add beans, carrot and cook.
When vegetables are half cooked, add in sambar powder, asoefatida, and season with salt. Mix well and let it cook. You may add a little water here if needed. Once vege is 3/4 cooked, turn off heat.
In a rice cooker pot, add in washed rice with enough water according to the rice you choose.
Now add in the soaked dhall, cooked vegetable, tamarind extract and some salt.
Mix it and press or choose setting to cook. ( I used a digital rice cooker and chose White Rice setting).

Garnish cooked sambar rice with fresh coriander leaves and serve it with your favourite side dishes and raita.

Strawberry Overnight Oats

Gd morning!! Today I'm sharing with you My breakfast for today : Strawberry Overnight Oats.
Let me tell you..This was GOOD..I mean, really really good..you'll love it even if you're not a fan of oats. Like me...haha..

Super easy and yummy...

All you need to do is blend together 1/2 cup of plain or strawberry greek yogurt with a handful of fresh strawberries (sliced) and 1/2 cup of milk.

Pour this into a bowl, Add rolled oats, abt 1/2 a cup (can add more or less according to your liking). Mix it and pour it equally into 2 glass jars. Top it with a tbsp of pure honey and sliced strawberries. Cover and refrigerate overnight. You may also add nuts, sliced bananas and chia seeds...YUMMMM

That's it....Strawberries Overnight Oats ready to be eaten! Do give it a try.

One Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta

I never thought cooking a one pot pasta meal will be much easier than easy pasta cooking...no draining, no messiness and tasted even better. This is gonna be my go-to method for weeknight pasta meals. My 2yo is a pasta lover and she really liked this dish, so did the husband. Why don't you give this a try and let me know how it turned out for you ;).

Method:

- 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces, add a tbsp of dried italian herbs, salt, ground   black pepper (to taste) and 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese. Mix well. Set aside.

- In a medium sized non-stick pot, add 1 1/4 cup water and bring to a simmer. Add in the contents of a medium sized bottle of  traditional pasta sauce to the water and bring to a boil.
 Once it starts to boil, add in spaghetti enough for 3 people (broken into half). Let it cook.

- Meanwhile heat a pan with some olive oil, and cook the chicken pieces till cook through, about 5 mins.

- When pasta is tender, add in 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese and the cooked chicken pieces. Mix well and serve hot.

Easy one pot pasta meal is ready!

Ayam Paprik

This is a recipe which combines chicken, prawns and vegetables all in one dish, kind of like a one pot meal.
Best served white white rice or fried rice.

Ingredients :

1 skinless, boneless chicken breast - cut into pieces
10 prawns - cleaned
1 big onion, sliced
3 garlic gloves, minced
2 red chillies, sliced
10 button mushrooms, sliced
1 carrot, cut thinly
a handful of beans, sliced thinly

3 kaffir lime leaves
1-2 tsp chilli paste
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp tomato sauce
salt to taste

Method :

Heat oil in a wok and saute onion, garlic and red chillies. Add chilli paste and saute. Add in chicken pieces and carrot. Once partially cooked, add beans, mushrooms and mix well. Let it cook. Add a little water if needed.
Then add prawns and all the sauces and seasonings. Add kaffir lime leaves. Mix well till cooked.
If not thick enough can add a tbsp of cornflour mixed in water. This will thicken the dish but I did not add this.
Adjust salt according to taste.

Baked Fish In Banana Leaf

Baked Fish Masala in Banana Leaf is an Indian style fish dish, very flavourful and keeps the fish moist and soft. I made this as one of the dished for Father's Day dinner and it was enjoyed by all. I saved this recipe from online some time ago and only now managed to try it out.

Ingredients:

1 large pomfret, cut into big slices - I used 6 slices, baked in 2 batches
2 banana leaf and aluminium foil to wrap

- Rub fish slices with some turmeric, salt, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice and set aside.

Masala:

2 big onions, sliced thinly
2 big tomatoes, sliced thinly
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1/3 cup grated coconut
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
3 tsp garam masala
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves
1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
olive oil for cooking
salt to taste
mustard seeds and curry leaves

Heat olive oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Next add onion and grated coconut. Saute till onion become soft. Then add ginger-garlic paste, tomatoes and cook till tomatoes are soft.
Add chilli powder, garam masala, black pepper, cook well. Then add mint and coriander leaves and salt to taste. Cook covered with some water sprinkled (if needed) till no raw smell. Turn off fire. Let it cool.
Once cool blend the masala to a paste.


- Heat oven to 200C.
- Take a banana leaf and heat it a bit over direct flame so it doesn;'t tear.

Now place masala in a layer on the leaf, arrange 3 fish slices on top of masala and cover the fish with more masala. Fold leaf to form a parcel and now cover the parcel with a layer of aluminium foil.

Bake for about 30 mins at 200C.

Meanwhile make another parcel using the balance masala and fish slices.

This dish best to be served hot with white rice.

Aglio Olio with Mushrooms, Tomatoes and Salmon

I've been a fan of angel hair pasta since the first time I tried it and it's also super quick to cook with unlike spaghetti or fettuccine. I choose to cook with it for quick weeknight dinners. This is one recipe I tried yesterday for dinner, as I had this pack of Italian spices from a dear friend of mine who visited Italy recently and I was eager to try it out.

Verdict : The spice was fragrant, smelled spicy ;) and went well to give a great flavour to the pasta. I was careful on the amount I added as I don't want it to be too spicy and inedible.
Overall a lovely meal which even my 2yo enjoyed despite it being spicy. She's a fan of anything noodles / pasta. Only change I would make in the future will be doubling the amount of mushrooms and tomatoes.
I have edited the recipe with more mushrooms and tomatoes so you can follow as it is.

The dish

Spices from Italy

A:
Angel hair pasta (cooked al dente in a pot of boiling water with a dash of olive oil) - enough for 3 persons
This pasta cooks in less than 5 minutes so you need to watch it while it cooks to get the perfect texture.

Drain and set aside.

B:
1 big salmon fillet, cut into bite size pieces
4 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
ground black pepper
salt
dried oregano / italian herbs

Heat oil in a non-stick pan, saute the garlic, then add the salmon and seasonings, mix and once salmon is cooked, take and keep aside.

C:
5 garlic cloves, minced
10 button mushrooms, sliced
10 cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
5-6 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp Dried mixed Italian herbs
Dry chilli flakes (according to level of spiciness you prefer)
salt

In a big pan, heat olive oil and saute the garlic, add in the mushrooms and tomatoes.
Add herbs, chilli flakes, salt.
Combine well till mushrooms cooked. Adjust seasonings to taste if needed.
Now, add in the cooked pasta to the pan and mix it all together till pasta coated well.

Serve hot topped with the cooked salmon.

Potato Pancakes

Hi. I made these yummy pancakes for Mother's Day dinner following a recipe from GoodFood Magazine Asia May edition.
It was served with sour cream with pan fried salmon n mango salsa.
It was delicious, enjoyed by everyone at home and added to my go-to recipes list.

Potato Pancakes

Pan fried salmon, mango salsa, potato pancakes n sour cream

Recipe :

4 medium sized potatoes, boiled n mashed well
85 gm plain flour
1tsp baking powder
1 egg
125 ml milk
1 tbsp finely chopper chives
some oil / butter
sour cream to serve

Add flour and baking powder to cooled mashed potatoes. Whisk egg and milk together in another bowl.
Then add to the potato mash with the chives, salt and pepper. Whisk till batter is smooth. You can add more milk if too thick or more flour if too thin.
Heat a non-stick pan/ tawa and add some butter. Pour pancake batter using a small ladle. Cook till both sides are golden.
Ready to serve.

This joins the May Week 3 Cooking from Cookbook Challenge Group.