Pan Toast Semolina Bread

Easy to prepare snack for breakfast or teatime.  Simple and quick to prepare. I love upma, nei urunde (ghee balls) and kesari made of semolina.   

This is a bread filled with the goodness of vegetables and coated one part with semolina and buttermilk.  You may use yogurt but whisk well with some water to have a spreadable consistency.

PAN TOAST SEMOLINA BREAD

ingredients

1/3 cup of semolina flour (suji/rava/sooji)

180ml of buttermilk

4tbs of chopped carrot

4tbs of chopped red capsicum

1 chilly chopped

3tbs of chopped onion

2tbs of chopped coriander leaves

salt to taste

butter or ghee

bread slices 

method

1. in a bowl mix all ingredients except butter and bread.

2. mix thoroughly till well combined.

3.  heat a pan/tawa and add some ghee/butter

4. spread the batter over the bread and cook over the butter/ghee with the filling side down.

5.  remember to use low heat so as to ensure it is cooked properly.

6. apply some butter/ghee on the top and flip it downside to give a toast taste on the other side.

7. serve warm with tomato sauce or chutney.

Enjoy

Malaysian Style Green Bean Sweet Porridge @ Bubur Kacang Hijau

On a recent trip to a newly open supermarket, I found green bean which was split.  The first thing that came to my mind is my childhood tea time snack.

My mum used to prepare us on weekends and during school holidays many tea time snacks and one of it is Bubur Kacang Hijau.

She gets the whole green beans, dry roast over a pan till aromatic and give it a slight crush and removing the skins.

There are times she makes Ice Cream Malaysia - freezing the left overs or freshly made in long plastic case.  Sweet memories of our childhood.

This sweet porridge is so ideal especially during the hot season/summer for cooling down effect.

Picture courtesy of http://adishshida.blogspot.com/2012/03/mengimbau-kenangan-ais-krim-malaysia.html

Ingredients
1 cup of green bean
200gm palm sugar - adjust according to your likeness
300ml of coconut milk - I used canned coconut milk
3 tbs of sago - soaked for 1/2 hour
a pinch of salt
1 screw pine leave (daun pandan) - either knotted or cut into 3
1/2 tsp ginger grated - optional

Method
1.  Dry roast on slow fire the green beans and crushed it slightly. Dry roasting will enhance the flavour while cooking.  You can opt out if you do not wish the to crush the beans to split it.

2.  Soak overnight or at least 6 hours (I skipped this)

3.  Boil with water, salt, ginger and screw pine leave till the beans are soft and mushy.  Add in water accordingly till beans are cooked.

4.  In a separate pot, cook/dilute palm sugar with 1 cup of water.

5.  When the beans are ready, sieve in the diluted palm sugar.  Add in sago.  Stir well.  Cook till the sago turns translucent. Stir occasionally to avoid burning.  Adjust the thickness required by adding water little at a time.

6.  Add the coconut milk.  Cook till it boils.  Adjust the sweetness and the thickness required.

7.  Serve warm or cold.

Far Left - Green Bean Popsicle & Bubur Kacang Hijau

Enjoy

Sathiarani

Asian InspiredTaufoo Salad

Simple and easy, no fuss salad ala Thai.  No specific measurement just go with the flow.

Ingredients

Taufoo - cut bite size and deep fry.

Sliced Onions - slight crushed with your hands

Chilly - sliced small

Carrots - Shredded

Cucumber - Sliced finely

Roasted peanuts - removed skin in whole or crushed

Roasted white sesame 

Coriander - coarsely chopped 

Sweet & Spicy Sauce

Preparations

Mix all the ingredients nicely coated with the sauce and ready to serve.

Enjoy

** Sathiarani**

Deep Fried Banana Balls @ Cekodok Pisang @ Cucur Pisang

If you have over-ripe bananas what else can you do instead of cake.  Well this is what we used to have as tea time snack - Deep Fried Banana Balls.  Back home it is known as cucur pisang or cekodok pisang.

It is as easy as 1,2,3...

Step 1 : Mix all ingredients

Step 2 : Fry till golden brown

Step 3 Serve

Ingredients

4-5 over ripe bananas - any bananas will do I used the long type
1 cup of self raising flour
salt
sugar according to to your taste

Preparation

1.  Mashed the bananas well

2.  Mix all the flour, salt and sugar.

3.  Heat oil and and once it is hot, drop in dollops of mixture. I use a spoon to get almost same size balls.

4.  Fry till golden brown, remove and strain.  Make sure the oil is not too hot as it will turn brown fast but not cooked inside.

5.  Serve and enjoy.



** Sathiarani**

Medu Vada / உளுந்து வடை - 2nd & 3rd Attempt

My second and third attempt in making medu vada turn out to be good and it was soft til late night.

I sniffed around, looking for a way to making the vada with the hole in the centre and found some good tips from Chef Sanjay Thumma of www.vahrewah.com

His tips...

• fold and beat the grinded dhall beat well to ensure that the batter adds the air - in other words to aerate the batter.
• when trying to make the donut shape vada, get a bowl of water, dip you fingers into the water, then into the batter, get a small amount, using your thumb make a small hole and slowly drop it into the hot oil.  Becareful though when doing this - you do not want to be burnt with the hot oil splashing at you....

Enjoy the pictures and not so perfect hole with the medu vada..My daughter was enjoying the vadas with sambar...

1, 2,3 hands in action....

sizzling vadas...

vadas and sambar...

hope  this looks good...

 

Medu Vada / உளுந்து வடை- Failed Attempt

After the success of yesterday's masala vada (which is my favourite), I decided to make my hubby's favourite - ulende vada as we call it.  It is usually known as medu vadai due to its softer texture compared to the ones made of channa dhalls. 

Traditionally medu vada is served with sambar and or chutney - but I liked mine as it is, my daughter ate with chilli sauce!!!

However I did not get to make the right kind of vada with the hole in the middle.  Looks like i need more practice on this (or Amma where are you - I need  your help), so I just made mine like making bonda.

The taste was there though...well this is how they say practice makes perfect - have to try another time around.

Well all is not wasted, I still have a few left overs and plan to do Dahi Vada - a vada in yogurt based with spice.

Lets indulge on the making (despite the failed one)..

What you need..

• 1cup of urad dhall
• 1 big onion
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• 2 green chillies
• grated ginger - optional
• a dash of hing
• salt to taste
• oil for frying

How to do..

• Soak dhall at least 6 hours preferably overnight.
• Grind the dhall to a smooth paste without water.  Only if required add spoons of water to have ease of grinding.
• Chopped the onion, chillies and curry leaves.
• Mix with the grinded dough together with salt.
• Heat oil
• take a small quantity of the dough, ball it and make hole and drop in hot oil
• Let it fry for a few minutes before turning over
• Fry till it is golden brown, remove and drain
• Serve hot

p/s - need to do research for a perfect good one with the hole in the middle. better luck next time.


the soaked dhall

grinded dhall with chopped onions

 the vadas in hot oil...sizzling..

the frail looking medu vadas...

the only one that I manage to make a hole....

Masala Vadai/பருப்பு வடை/Channa Dhall Vada

Parripu vadai or masala vadai as it is famously known in Malaysia is my favourite.  Its a donut sort of like indian snack made of coarsely grinded channa dhal with chillies, onions and curry leaves.

What you need

• 2 cups of channa dhall(kadala parippu) soaked for atleast several hours.
• 1 big onions - chopped finely
• 1-2 green/red chilly - sliced
• 1-2 sprig of curry leaves
• salt to taste
• oil for frying

How to do...

• Grind coarsely the dhall with no water.
• Add in the chopped onions, chilly, curry leaves, salt and mix well
• Heat oil in a wok/pan
• Take a small ball of grinded dhall, pat on the palm of your hand, flatten it and slip slowly in the hot oil
• Make a few more of the same and fry the vadai.
• Turn on each side till golden brown.
• Serve hot

Enjoy...

New Year Tea Party......Kuih Bakar

As we are still in new year mood, a few of us decided to celebrate it with Tea Party.

It was superb, from Egg Noodle Stir Fry, Fish ball soup,Dates and Banana Cake, Roti John and many more... I made a traditional Malaysian dish called Kuih Bakar, literally it means that Bake Cake...its made of flour, coconut milk, juice of screwpine leaves (daun pandan, see note on screw pine leaves) and roasted sesame seeds (I was generous with the sesame).  Staying away means that you do not some of the ingredients like screwpine leaves.  so I subsituted it with green color and I used fresh milk instead of coconut milk.

Kuih Bakar

Ingredients

1 cup of sugar
2 cups of all purpose flour
2 1/4 cups of coconut milk (450ml)
1 cup of screw pine juice (blend and sieve a few pieces of screwpine leaves with 1 cup of water)
2 tbs of butter
3 eggs
1/2 tsp of salt
food coloring - green
roasted sesame seeds.

Lets see how to make this simple kuih.

1.  Whisk sugar, egg, coconut milk/milk, salt, coloring and flour. Blend it to get a smooth consistency, if any lump, sieve them.

2.  Pour into a greased pan and bake at 180C for an hour or so, till it is well done and brown.  Remove from the heat, loosen the cake around the pan with a knife and let it cool.

3.  Once cooled remove from the pan and serve.

about screw pine leaves http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandanus

Sweet Potato Fritters

Sweet Potato Fritters  @ Keledek Goreng

What you need:
Sweet potato - washed, peeled and sliced slantly.

Batter
2 cups of besan flour (tepung kuda, chickpea flour)
1 cup of rice flour
2-3 tbs of corn flour
10-15 cubes of rock sugar (diluted in 1/4 cup hot water)
salt to taste

How to do:
Whisk well all of the flours together with salt and sugar water and enough water.  The consistency should not be too watery nor too thick. 

Heat oil.  Dip the sliced pieces into the batter and fry till golden in color.
Serve hot...

Onion Pakora

Pakora or fritters is made of besan flour (chickpea flour/tepung kacang kuda), a generous amounts of onions and corianders, some chillies, mixed together and fried in hot oil. Serve hot with chutneys, chilli sauce or just as it is....


Onion Pakora

1 cup of besan flour
1 big onions - sliced finely
1 green chilli - finely chopped
a handful of coriander leaves - finely chopped.
1 tsp of cumin powder
salt to taste
enough water to make batter

Method

Add in flour, salt, cumin powder, onions, chilly and coriander leaves. Stir well. Add in water little by little. The batter should not be too thin or too thick.

Heat oil in a frying pan. Once the oil is hot, spoon the batter into the hot oil. Fry the pakoras till golden in color. Once the pakoras are cooked, drain the excess oil on a kitchen towel.

Serve hot with chutney.

Sweet Potato Doughnut @ Kuih Keria

Kuih keria or sweet potato doughnut is one of the many local tradisional snacks in Malaysia. It is usually served at breakfast as well at tea time. Its simple and yet delicious. I prefer coating the doughnuts with icing sugar instead of sugar syrup.


Ingredients

500gm of sweet potato( I used the purplish colored sweet potato)
1 cup of wheat flour
salt to tast
Icing sugar for dusting

Method

Wash the sweet potatoes and boil with some salt.
Once soft, remove from water and remove skin. Mashed it soft while still hot. Leave aside to cool.
Once cooled, mix together with flour, knead well.
Take a small portion, round it and make a hole in the centre.
Heat a wok. Fry the doughnuts till golden brown, remove and mix well with icing sugar.
Serve

Minty Chicken Nuggets

This is a recipe that I found while watching one of the cooking shows aired on the satelite tv. I manage to write down the ingredients and not the title of the recipe and I took the liberty to name it as Minty Chicken Nuggets.

Ingredients.
1kg of boneless chicken - bite size
Marinate
a handful of curry leaves
a handful of mint leaves
a handful of coriander leaves
2 green chillies - deseeded
1 tbs of fennel
salt to taste

1 egg
breadcrumbs

Method
Wash, drain and cut the chicken in bite sizes.
Blend the herbs with chillies, fennel and salt into a thick paste and marinate the chicken for a few hours.
Whisk the egg, coat the chicken with the egg and breadcrumbs.
Heat oil and deep fry till golden brown.
Serve hot with green chutney or tomato ketchup.