Egg Tomato Masala

A thick gravy ideal for rice and chapatis and puris, simple and easy to prepare dish.

6 hard boiled eggs, cleaned and pricked.
2 hard boiled potatoes, half or quartered depending on size (removed the skin onced it is boiled)
6-8 medium sized tomatoes - chopped small
1 big onions
1 cm of ginger - peeled
5 cloves of garlic
1 red chily - sliced
1 cup of cold water
1/2 cup of laaban (laaban is diluted yogurt, if not available use 1/2 cup of yogurt with 1/4 cup of water - it should not be too watery neither thick like yogurt)
1tsp of mustard seeds
1tsp of fenugreek seeds
2tsp of garam masala
1 tsp of red chilly powder
1/2 tsp of tumeric
1/2 tsp of white pepper powder

Method
1.  Heat oil
2.  Once hot,add in mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds, once it starts to pop (make sure not to burnt them as you will end up with a bitter taste), saute in onions till soft.  Add in chilly, ginger and garlic, stir. 
3.  Add in tomatoes, stir well and cooked cover for a few minutes till the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
4.  Add salt to taste, transfer to a blender with 1 cup of water and puree them (watch out as it can be steaming hot)
5.  Return the gravy back to the pan, add in the eggs and potatoes, add in the curry powders, mix well.
6.  Let it come to 1 boil, put on low fire 5 minutes.  Add chopped coriander leaves.

7.  Off the fire and add in the laaban, stir well and serve HOT

Beans with Garam Masala

simple and easy to prepare side dish

250gm Beans - cleaned and cut diagonally
1 big onions - chopped finely
1tsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
salt to taste
oil
2tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp tumeric powder

Method

Wash and cut diagonally beans.
chopped onions.
Heat oil, once hot add mustard seeds, once it starts to pop, add onions stir fry till soft and brown. 
Add ginger garlic paste and beans.  Add a little water and cook till done.
Add salt, tumeric and garam masala to the beans, mix well and cook a few more minutes till the raw smell of the powder disapperars.
Serve hot.

Mee Acheh

another noodle from my Indonesian friend, Nina...quiet like it and easy to do.  The usual me asked her how to prepare the noodle and this is roughly my version to suit my taste bud

1 kg of fresh noodle (home made from another indonesian friend, Nor Hanafiah)
2-3 cardamon pods - dry roast slightly
1tbs of fennel - dry roast slightly
1-2 tbs of chilli flakes or dry chilies
a little ginger
a little garlic
1 onion - quartered
1 tomato- quartered
Fresh prawns - cleaned ( I used dried shrimps instead - )
Chicken breast - cut small pieces
carrots - juliene
cabbage - juliene
spring onions- chopped
Dark Soya Sauce
Salt to taste

Method
1.  Dry roast slightly both fennel and cardamon
2.  Grind/blend roasted cardamons, fennel, dried shrimps, dry chillies, ginger, garlic, onions and tomato.  Blend to fine paste
3.  Heat oil and fry the paste for a few minutes till fragrant.  Make sure to keep stirring.
4.  Add chicken and prawns, fry till cook
5.  Add vegetables, mix well, add soya sauce and salt.
6.  Add noodles to the wok, stir till well mix and serve hot.

Chicken with Tomatoes and Garam Masala

This is a recipe that I found when browsing thru Qatar's Food and Beverage Special Magazine called Bilhana (Issue 13, April 2011).  Not spicy, kind of thick gravy and suitable for chapatis, pooris and alikes....although we had ours simply with hot steaming rice, rasam and stir fry beans with garam masala....

Ingredients
6 large Chicken thighs (I used about 900gm of chicken cut into bite size with skins removed)
ground pepper to season the chickens
salt to taste
4 cloves of garlic
50gm piece of ginger
1 small to medium size of onion
2small red chillies - the fiery ones.
3tsp groundnut or vegetable oil
1 tsp of brown mustard seeds
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1/2 tsp of ground tumeric powder
1 tbsp of ground coriander lightly heaped
5 medium sized tomatoes (600gm)
100ml of water
3tsp of garam masala
juice from 1 lime
1 small bunch of coriander leaves

Method

1. Season the chicken with salt and ground coriander and set aside.
2. Peel and crush garlic, peel and grate ginger and mix together
3. Peel and finely chop the onion.
4. Warm oil in a wok or frying pan, add the cicken and fry on both sides until the skis is pale gold.
5. Lower the heat, cover and leave to cook for 10-12 mins until it is almost cooked through.
6. Pierce the thickest part with a metal skewer; if the jices are clear then it is ready. 
7. If there is any of blood, continue cooking for a few more minutes.
8. Remove the chicken to a plate and discard the oil (though I skip this part,) but do not wash the pan (as there is much flavour stuck to the bottom)
9. Return the pan to the heat and add the garlic and ginger paste, stirring to prevent burning and to mix the pan-stickings. 
10. Add the mustard and cumin seeds, finely chopped chillies, tumeric, tumeric and coriander and fry briefly, then add the chopped onions and leave to cook over a moderate heat with the occasional stir, for 5 minutes or so.
11. Finely choped the tomatoes, losing as little of their jice as you can.  (note from the article chef: I find cutting them one at a time, putting each one into the pan immediately it is cut, helps) 
12. Add the chooped tomatoes to the pan, simmering over amoderate heat and stirring from time to to time. 
13. leave for 5 minutes before puring in the water, the garam masala and alittle salt.
14. Bring to the boil, stir, and leave to simmer for a couple of minutes before returning the chicken to the pan.
15. Simmer for 5 minutes or so until the cicken is hot and then add the lime juice and chopped coriander and serve.

Black Pepper Crab

I usually make curries out of crab and wanted to try something different and thought of Black Pepper Crab and found one at http://www.rasamalaysia.com/  The recipe calls for mud crab, instead I use sea crab and being a fan of dried prawns I had use a handful and did not ground them, I just gave a few knocks with a pestle just to loosen the dried prawns.

Black Pepper Crab
Ingredients

1 kg crabs
oil for deep frying
2 tbs of butter
2 shallots - finely sliced
2 garlic - chopped finely
1 tbs of salted black beans - mashed (I did not add this)
2 tbs of dried prawns - roasted and ground
2 tbs of black pepper - coarsely ground (I use ready made ones)
1/2 cup of curry leaves
10 bird's eye-chillies, red or green (I used red ones and real fiery ones)
2 tbs of soya sauce
3 tbs of sugar
2 tbs of oyster sauce

Method


Clean the crabs, half them, give a slight knock to the claws.  Heat oil ( I did not deep fry like it was suggested- I use oil just nice to cover and fry them).  Fry the crab about 3/4 cooked. 


In a different wok, heat butter and saute shallots, garlic, black beans, dried prawns, black pepper, curry leaves and chopped chillies.

Saute till aromatic, add crab and the rest of seasoning and stir till mix well.  Cook for a few more minutes till the crabs are done.  Serve

Roti Jala

Roti jala or literally translated will be bread net.   It is a made of flour batter, and using a mould with to allow the batter to flow, it is cook on flat pan and then roll.   The batter has to be at a correct consistency, if it is thin it will not form the net, too thick it will not flow continously dow the mould.  It has to be just nice and you have to rotate or turn the mould with the batter in on the pan a few rounds...to get the net kind effect of the crepe....

You can usually eat with any curries - the kids like theirs with chicken curry.

Roti Jala

What you require.....
2 cup of all purpose flour
3 cups of water/fresh milk/coconut milk
a pinch of turmeric
salt

How to prepare...........

1. Mix all the ingredients in a blender and blend till well mix with no lumps.  (Note - do not add the liquid all at once - leave some to attain the right consistency).
2. Heat a girdle/flat pan. 
3. Spray/glaze the pan with some butter/oil.
4. Once hot, pour the batter inthe mould, over to the pan, swirl around the mould till you get the right net effect and cook over medium heat.
5. When it is done, remove from the pan onto a plate and roll immediately.

Watermelon Blaster

A great juice for coming summer and my lovely daughter made this.  A recipe from Martha Stewart.

Watermelon Blaster

3 cups of deseeded watermelon
1 1/2 cups of strawberries
3 tbs of lime juice (we used lemon juice instead)
1 cup of ice cubes
sugar to taste

Method
Give a whiz to all for a 15seconds, stir and another whiz and ready to serve with garnishing.

Enjoy...