Health Mix/Saatu Maavu Ragi Puttu

I made ragi puttu before and it's a hit among my family members even the girls adore ragi puttu. Few weeks ago, a friend if mine, gifter me with two jars of homemade saatu maavu or health mix. Eversince, i made saatu maavu sweet porridge for the girls as breakfast and wad looking forward to come out with new menu. That's when i decided to add them into making puttu. To enhance the flavor i added ragi flour as well. Health mix is a perfect way to boost your family with wholesome goodness of assorted nuts and lentils. For variation, you may turn them into iddiappam,thosai or idli which will be loved by kids and adults.

Ingredients

1/2 cup raagi flour

1/2 cup saatu maavu/health mix flour
1/4 cup freshly grated coconut
1/2 cup jaggery powder
1/2 cup water
1 tsp ghee/clarified butter,melted
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Methods

Boil the 1/2 cup water and add the salt. Stir well and keep aside

Over a medium-low heat, dry roast the raagi flour for 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

In the same pan, dry roast saatu maavu for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

In a large bowl dry roasted saatu maavu, ragi flour and cardamom powder.

Gradually, add the boiled salted water and mix well. To get the right consistency, take some of the wet flour and press with your palm. It should be like a ball and when put it back into the bowl, it shall fall loosely.

Heat water in a idli pan or steamer. Grease the idli pan with little oil and spread the wet puttu flour and steam for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the melted ghee, grated coconut and jaggery powder while it still hot.

Serve hot or warm with sliced bananas.

Turmeric Methi Poori

I have a jar of dried methi leaves or fenugreek leaves which used mostly in Indian gravies. For a change, i decided to add the pungent leaves into my poori with a little hint of turmeric. That's the story of birth turmeric methi poori in my humble kitchen. As the girls are not a fan of methi leaves, i was extra careful adding them into my poori dough. To release the flavor of the leaves, lightly crush them with your palm and savour the authentic taste of methi leaves. You may use fresh methi leaves but, i'm using dried leaves as, fresh leaves are not always available here. 

As we all know, tumeric is the best immune booster and something we need to includr in our daily diet. Adding them into poori dough gave it a beautiful golden hue and mild taste to the humble dough. I served turmeric methi poori with sweet potato gravy and it goes well with potato masala too.

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbsp rava/semolina
1/2 cup warm water

2 tbsp crushed dried methi leaves

1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp butter
Oil for deep frying


Methods

In a large bow, add flour,salt,sugar,semolina,methi leaves,turmeric powder and oil. Mix well.

Add little warm water at a time to knead the dough into a dough.

Smear 1 tsp butter on the dough and cover the bowl. Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes.

Knead the dough for 1 minute and roll the dough into equal sized balls.

Dust a clean working surface and your rolling pin with flour. Roll out the dough into medium thickness.

Over a medium flame, heat oil in a frying pan for deep fying. Gently slides the poori  from the sides of the pan to the hot oil.

Once the poori floats, gently press the ladle on one side for the poori to puff up. Flip the poori to cook on the other sides. Once the poori turns golden, drain the oil and place them on a plate lined with kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.

Continue the process with remaining dough.

Serve with gravy of your choice.

Notes

The oil shall not be too hot or too cold.

The dough should not be too soft. It shall be slightly stiff.

Do not roll the poori too thin this will prevent from the poori puffing up while frying.

French Toast Waffles With Cinnamon Sugar

I bought my waffle iron out of curiosity and eversince, i have been making varities of waffles till i decided to give some rest. After a good rest, i came up with waffle iron French toast. Instead of making waffle batter i opt for a short cut version with bread. Stale or 1 day old bread works wonder for making French toast as, it tends to soak as much as the wholesome goodness of the eggy custard. The rich custard coated bread toasted to perfection and are crispy on the outer yet, soft in the inside. The cinnamon sugar enhance the flavor and texture of the delicious French toast. Serve warm with maple syrup and berries.

Ingredients

8 pcs Brioche or thick sliced bread

1 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp cinnamon powder

1/4 cup soft brown sugar

1/3 tsp salt

1 tbsp butter

Methods

In a large bowl, whisk in eggs,milk,salt,cream and vanilla extract.

Preheat the waffle machine.

Dip the bread slices into the egg custard till the bread soak the custard completely.

Grease the waffle machine with butter and place the soaked bread. Cook till golden.

In a large plate, combine brown sugar and cinnamon powder.

Coat the cooked waffle French toast with cinnamon sugar.

Serve with maple syrup and berries.

Chinese Oil Stick/Crullers

Another popular Chinese snack which love by many despite of race or age group. Chinese oil stick or Youtiao is an light deep fried filled with air pockets. Thanks to the added yeast which rendered pillowy soft fried crullers. Since it's deep fried it's not for a weight watcher but definitely something everyone shall give it a try as and when. Once in awhile treat won't cause harm 😁. Youtiao used to be our childhood memory on weekends when my dad brought back freshly fried oil stick from the nearby wet market to be enjoyed with hot homemade soy milk. The oil stick absorp the sweet hot soy milk and tastes heavenly on every bite. Nowadays, my kids enjoying their crullers with a bowl of Chinese herbal soup or porridge. This is norm when you are visiting Chinese restaurant which serves Youtiao along soups or porridges.

Yeast Dough

1 tsp active yeast
100g all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
150ml warm water, 107'c temp

Flour Mixture

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda bicarbonate
150ml water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp alkaline water

Methods

In a bowl combine ingredients listed under "Yeast Dough". Stir and cover with cling film to rest for 2 hours in a warm place.

In a large bowl add flour,castor sugar,baking powder,salt and soda bicarbonate. Stir. Add alkaline water,vegetable oil and water. Stir to combine.

Add the yeast dough to the flour mixture and knead well.

Transfer dough to a clean working surface dusted generously with flour. Knead dough well to form a soft and smooth dough. Add more flour as needed while kneading to form a non sticky dough. Approximately 1/2 cup additional flour. Roll the dough into a log and cover with clean kitchen towel to proof for another 30 minutes.

Slightly dust a clean working surface with flour and shape the flour into a log. Using a rolling pin, roll the log into a rectangular. Cut the rolled dough into 3cm strips. Lay 1 strip over the other and using a chopstick or skewer press a mark in the center.

Heat oil in a pan over medium flame for deep frying. Hold both ends of the dough and slightly stretch the dough to 17-18cm long and pinch both ends to seal before dropping to the hot oil. 

Deep fry till both sides turns golden. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain excess oil.

Serve with a cup of hot black tea.

Chocolate Milk Bread Pudding

Chocolate, milk,bread and eggss what i always have in my kitchen. Eggs,bread and milk is the girls breakfast routine. Eventhough, unflavoured milk is what i always serve my girls, for a change grabbed a pint of chocolate milk to bake my scrumptious chocolate milk bread pudding. I used chocolate milk to enhance the chocolate flavour to the humble bread pudding. Stale bread or a day old bread works perfect for bread pudding as it tends to soak the delicious custard on every bit. The rich custard and added semi sweet chocolate chips is,  heaven on each bite. You may drizzle with chocolate sauce but, i prefer to keep it simple with a generous dusting of confectioners sugar. An awesome treat to eyes and palate.

Ingredients

6 pcs of stale bread, cut into bite sized chunks
2 large eggs
2 cups full cream chocolate milk
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Confectioners sugar, for dusting

Methods

Preheat oven to 350'F or 176'C. Lightly butter 2 medium sized ramekins and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat brown sugar,granulated white sugar,eggs,melted butter and vanilla extract. Stir in the chocolate milk and heavy cream.

Add the bread chunks and mix well until all the bread chunks are well coated with the custard. Let them mixture sit for 5-10 minutes.

Stir in the chocolate chips and fresh raspberries. Divide the mixture evenly to the prepared ramekins.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the bread pudding slightly browned on the top. Cool on wire rack.

Dust with confectioner's sugar and enjoy.

Deep Fried Red Bean Pastry

This is another Chinese pastry i was craving during the MCO moment. Deep fried pastry filled with sweetened red bean. The pastry commonly found on the street stalls that sells deep fried Chinese snacks. I have talked about such stall in my mother's housing community. I shall say there are some benefits that comes along with the MCO and one of it is ability to cook or bake stuffs that we always patron outside and never thought of giving it a try at home. This red bean pastry is one of them. Red bean paste can be easily found in shops selling baking ingredients. That save my time in preparing the paste from scratch 😊.  It's not too sweet for the palate and the pastry do not absorp much oil either. Serve along with a cup of hot black tea.

Yeast Dough

1 tsp active yeast
100g all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
150ml warm water, 107'c temp

Flour Mixture

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda bicarbonate
150ml water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp alkaline 

Red Bean Filling

1 cup red bean paste

Methods

In a bowl combine ingredients listed under "Yeast Dough". Stir and cover with cling film to rest for 2 hours in a warm place.

In a large bowl add flour,castor sugar,baking powder,salt and soda bicarbonate. Stir. Add alkaline water,vegetable oil and water. Stir to combine.

Add the yeast dough to the flour mixture and knead well.

Transfer dough to a clean working surface dusted generously with flour. Knead dough well to form a soft and smooth dough. Add more flour as needed while kneading to form a non sticky dough. Approximately 1/2 cup additional flour. Roll the dough into a log and cover with clean kitchen towel to proof for another 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into equal sized balls, flatten the dough to form a disc and fill with 1 tablespoon of red bean paste. Seal the edges and roll into ball. Flatten the dough into disc and place it on baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Heat oil in a pan over medium flame for deep frying. Deep fry till both sides turns golden. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain excess oil.

Serve with a cup of hot black tea

Tandoori Masala Briyani

I came across of tandoori masala powder in Haniffa store and bought it on impulse ☺️. Back home the masala took place in my pantry shelf till one fine Sunday i made a decision to put them for a good use and that's how i came up with my very own tandoori masala briyani. Yes! U heard me rite...today's recepi no usage of usual briyani masala powder. Don't het taken aback with the vibrant colur of the rice which, contributed by the tandoori masala powder. Thanks to the Kashmiri chilly powder added in the masala.

The briyani rice itself full of flavour and each grain coated well with the delicious masala. Mild spiciness,fragrant spices and beautiful colur is a crowd puller. This is definitely "one of a kind" briyani for a perfect Sunday lunch. I used prawns for my briyani other than prawns, squids,chicken,mutton or fish goes well too. Serve with raita and yoy are good to go.

To Marinate

1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 kg prawns, cleaned & deveined
1 tbsp garlic paste
1/4 cup fried onion
6 black peppercorns
3 cardamoms
3 cloves
1/2" inch cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 pcs mace
3 pcs green chillies,slitted
1 tbsp ginger paste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tbsp Kashmiri chilly powder

1 tbsp tandoori masala powder
4 tbsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil

For Prawns

1 large tomato, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
4 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
2 1/2 tbsp oil

For Rice

2 cups Basmathi rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes

2 tbsp ghee
1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 1/2 tbsp tandoori masala powder
1 bay leaf
1/2"inch cinnamon stick
4-5 peppercorns
2 cardamom pods
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
Water as required

For Layering

4 tbsp ghee, divided
1/4 cup coriander leaves
1/4 cup mint leaves
Pinch of saffron soaked in tbsp milk

Handful of cashews and almond flakes

Methods

Heat 2 tbsp ghee and fry the cashews and almond flakes till golden. Keep aside.

In a large pot, add remaining 2 tbsp ghee and saute all ingredients listed under "For Rice" except the rice. Cook on medium low hit for 30 seconds and add the rice. Stir gently till the rice well combine with the fragrant masala. Add water and cook till the rice are 70% done. Strain the rice and spread on a large tray.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients listed under marination and refrigerate for 30 minutes

Heat 2 1/2 tbsp oil in a heavy bottom pan. Saute sliced onion till slightly brown

Add sliced tomatoes and bay leaf for 1 minute. Add marinated prawns and cook on medium heat for 4-6 minutes. Add chopped coriander and mint leaves.  Turn off the heat.

Sprinkle fried onion on cooked prawn masala. Top with par boiled rice.

Drizzle with saffron milk,fried cashews,almond flakes and ghee. Cover with lid.

Place the pot on a heavy bottom tawa or dosa pan over a medium-low heat and place a heavy object like a motar. Cook for 12-15 minutes. Turn off flame and leave it for 8-10 minutes. Unlid and serve hot.

Serve with raita of your choice

Banana Chocolate Chip Bars

I had few over riped bananas in my fruit basket. Thought of making some banana fritters but, my younger daughter been requesting something chocolatey. She is one chocolate fanatic in the house. Anything and everything with chocolate you name it, she'll be excited. As such, i came up with a combination of banana and chocolate in the form of bar. The girls love the design on melted chocolate chunks on the bar. Credit goes to the finely chopped chunks. The sweetness of banana and the chocolate goes very well in this gorgeous looking bar. This is one of the good way to use up over riped bananas and stop wasteage. Serve alobg a cup of hot coffee.

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp whole milk

1 egg, beaten

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1/4 semi sweet chocolate chunks

Methods

Preheat oven at 350'F or 180'C and linr a 8"inch baking tray with parchment paper.

In a bowl, add mashed banana,melted butter,brown sugar,milk,egg and vanilla extract. Stir.

Add flour,baking powder,cinnamon powder and salt. Stir.

Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into prepared baking tray. Sprinkle with chocolate chunks.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the bar comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack to cool completely.

Slice and enjoy.

Sweet Potato Masala Dosa

For a change, i came up with sweet potato masala dosa for our Sunday breakfast. Merely because, i has few beautiful orange sweet potatoes thru my online purchase. Do not judge me, i find it easier and safer to purchase my groceries online to avoid the crowd and maintain social distancing due to the Corona season. I have shared ordinary masala dosa with potato masala stuffing in my blog. The method are similar, just replace them with sweet potato. I find sweet potatoes tend to have an extra kick with a hint of sweetness..not to much which goes well as dosa stuffing. 

By adding fenugreek to the dosa batter,the end result is a crispy,golden dosa. The girls love the mild sweet stuffed crispy dosa as it's own meanwhile, i enjoyed my delicious dosa with curry,chutney and piping hot filter coffee.

Ingredient

1 cup par boiled rice
1/4 cup urad dhal
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
Salt taste

For The Masala

3 medium sized sweet potatoes, washed,boiled and mashed
1 sprig coriander leaves,chopped
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 onions,chopped
1 green chilly,chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 sprig curry leaves
1 tomato,chopped
1/3 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste
Oil

Methods

For The Dosa Batter

Soak all the ingredients except salt for atleast 4 hours or overnight.

Grind the soaked ingredients with little water. The batter should not be too thin or too thick.

Pour he batter into a large pot or vessel and add salt. Mix well. Let  the batter ferment for 7-8 hours

For The Sweet Potato Masala

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutters Add chopped onions and curry leaves. Saute till thee onions turns translucent

Add the ginger garlic paste and saute for 30 seconds. Add the chopped tomato and saute till soft.

Add the mashed sweet potato and turmeric powder. Mix well.

Add coriander leaves and season with salt. Stir to combine.

Transfer to a bowl.

Prepare Dosa

Heat dosa tawa and drizzle with little oil. Take a ladleful of dosa batter and spread into a circle.

Sprinkle little oil along the edges of the dosa.

Smear the sweet potato masala and cook til the dosa turns golden and crispy.

Fold and serve hot with chutney

Seafood Tom Yum

Tom yum is one of my favourite dish to cook when i need to declutter my fridge 😁. It is so versatile as i could throw in anything and everything from vegetables to poultry to seafood in a simple broth and the outcome is a heartwarming bowl of soup. It's tangy and spicy one pot meal by itself. Nam prik pao is a Thai chilly paste which can be found in Asian groceries or hypermarket. The added aromatic herbs such as galangal,kafir lime leaves and lemon grass enhance the flavour of the delicious broth. I love the slight hint of creaminess from the evaporated milk which balances the spiciness of the Tom Yum. Goes very well with fragrant white rice.

Ingredients

300g prawns,washed & deveined

100g squid, washed & cleaned

100g chicken flesh, washed & diced

1/3 cup cauliflower, sliced

1/3 cup carrots, sliced

1 holland onion,sliced

2 cloves garlic,sliced

3 tbsp nam prik pao

7 bird eyes chilly,bruised

Handful chopped coriander leaves

2 stalks lemon grass,bruised

3 kafir lime leaves,torn

4 tbsp evaporated molk

4 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp fish sauce

2"inch galangal,sliced

2 large tomatoes, sliced into 4

1 cup button mushroom,halved

1 tsp sugar

4 cups water

1 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

Methods

In a wok, add oil and saute onion till translucent. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Add chicken pieces and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add water,kafir lime leaves,galangal and lemon grass. Bring it to boil and reduce heat to medium low to simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Add squids,prawns,chilly,mushroom

carrot,cauliflower and tomatoes. 

Add nam prik pao,salt,sugar and evaporated milk. Stir. Cook till the prawns and squids done.

Turn off heat and stir in lemon juice and fish sauce.

Add chopped coriander before serving. 

Serve hot with fragrant white rice.

Semiya/Vermicelli Pakora

This is a great idea of using left over semiya or trying to finish the last bit of semiya packet. Semiya or also known as vermicelli is, widely use in Indian desserts. For a change you can make a savoury snack out of it. I have some semiya waiting to be used sitting quite sometime on my pantry shelf. Since, no mood for making payasam or other sweets, decided to make a simple and easy tea time snack for the girls. Nothing is as easy as pakora ☺️. Added few ingredients with the boiled semiya and there you go crispy,crunchy,savoury snack which can be prepared in a jiffy. Goes well with a dipping and i served them with sweet and tangy mango chutney.

Ingredients

1 cup vermicelli/semiya, broken
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup gram/besan flour
1/4 tsp turmeri powder
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
1 onion,sliced
1 green chilly,chopped
2 sprig curry leaves
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Methods

In a bowl, add rice flour,gram flour and broken semiya. Mix well.

Add turmeric powder,chilly powder and salt. Stir well.

Add sliced onion,chilly and curry leaves. Mix to combine

Heat oil in a frying pan and sprinkle the semiya mixture. Fry till golden.

Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen towel to absorp excess oil.

Serve hot with a cup of tea or coffee.

Kuih Tutu

My first encounter with kuih tutu is in a night market or known as pasar malam locally. There's an elderly couple sells this beautiful kuih or sweet treat. Can be found easily in region of Perak a lavish state in Malaysia, kuih tutu resembles putu piring or Indian puttu which comes in almost the same method of preparation. There's a speacial mould use for making kuih tutu which can be found in shop supplying baking ingredients but, you may use tart mould to get the same end result.

The consistency of the flour mixture is very important to avoid the kuih tutu from breaking or become hard while steaming. The bland outer texture and sweet coconut filling lightly scented with aroma pandan leaves is match made in heaven. Serve immediately to enjoy the deliciousness of the kuih.

Ingredients

2 cups rice flour
2 pandan leaves,knotted
170ml hot water
1 tsp castor sugar
3/4 tsp salt

For Coconut Filling

1/2 cup grated coconut
1/4 palm sugar
1 pandan leaves, knotted

Methods

For Coconut Filling

In a pan over medium heat, melt palm sugar and add grated coconut. Cook till the mixture well combine and dry. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

For Rice Flour

Dry roast the rice flour with pandan leaves on medium heat for 2 minutes by stirring continiously. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Combine salt and sugar in hot water. Stir till dissolved.

Gradually, sprinkle the mixture to the rice flour. Work with a fork to combine the mixture. The flour shall not be too wet or too dry. The right consistency shall be a sand like texture which holds shape when press with hand. Sieve the mixture to get a fine sandy texture.

Prepare steamer to steam the kuih.

Fill half the kuih tutu mould with prepared rice flour and and add 1 teaspoon of the coconut filling. Top with flour mixture and place a cut banana leaf, cover with small muslin cloth.

Turn it over on a steamer rack and lightly knock to release the mixture from the mould. Repeat with remaining flour and filling.

Steam on medium heat for 7-8 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Cherry Blossoms Nasi Lemak

Nasi lemak is one of Malaysian favourite dish love by many across race and age group. Be it for breakfast,lunch,dinner or even as late night supper. You may find street stalls and restaurants serving delicious nasi lemak across the country. The mouth watering nasi lemak comes with, humble condiments like sambal (chilly paste),fried anchovies,fried peanuts,sliced cucumber and hard boiled eggs. Thruout the years, many additional side dishes added to the basic nasi lemak condiments. Fried eggs,varieties of sambal,stir fry vegetables,cockles,squid,prawns and etc.

The nasi lemak i'm sharing today, is a flavoured nasi lemak unlike the traditional version. I used cherry blosssom or Sakura powder and dried flowers for cooking my coconut milk rice. The girls love the sweet pink colur of the rice (thanks to the sakura powder). There's not much of flavor of the blossoms, in a way it's something like adding blue pea extract to the rice. Cherry blossoms are great antioxidant and anti inflammatory. It's anti aging property helps to fight wrinkles and promote a soft and supple skin. Cherry blossoms powder and dried flowers can be found in shops supplying bakinh essentials. Now there's a plenty of reasons to add cherry blossom in our baking and cooking ya 😁

Ingredients

For The Rice

2 cups rice, washed and drained
2 cups coconut milk, divided
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
2"inches ginger, sliced
2 screwpine/pandan leaves, washed & knotted
1/3 tsp cherry blossom powder
3 pcs dried cherry blossoms

For The Sambal

12-15 dried chilly, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
3 shallots
1 yellow onion,sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp belacan/dried shrimp paste
1 tsp tamarind paste dilute with 1 tbsp water
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp palm sugar

Other Condiments

Fried anchovies
Hard boiled eggs/fried eggs
Fried peanuts
Sliced cucumbers

Methods

For The Rice

In a rice cooker, add rice,salt,sliced ginger,pandan leaves,coconut milk,water, dried cherry blossoms and cherry blossoms powder. Stir to combine and cook the rice till done.

For The Sambal

In a blender, grind together soaked dry chilly,belacan,shallots and garlic till fine.

Heat oil in a pan and saute sliced yellow onion till translucent,add bruised lemon grass and cook for another 30 seconds.

Add the ground chilly paste mixture and cook till oil started to separate and the raw smell leaves.

Add the tamarind water and season with salt and palm sugar. Stir well to combine.

Reduce heat to medium low and simmer till the mixture thickened.

For Peanuts

Add oil in a frying pan and fry peanuts for 2-3 minutes by stirring continiuosly to prevent the nuts from burning. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain excess oil.

For Anchovies

Washed and drain the anchovies and fry till crispy by continiously stirring. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen towel.

For Hard Boil Eggs

In a pot, add water and boil eggs for 8-10 minutes. Drain water and peel of the shell.

For Frying Eggs

In a frying pan, add oil and fried egg till done. Transfer to a plate

Egg Sambal

Too many things can be done with humble eggs but, eggs are considered as one of the trickiest ingredient to work with. Be it scrambling,poaching,soft boiled,hard boiled,fried eggs you name it. Eggs is one of the ingredients that never went low in my fridge be, it for baking or cooking. Eggs stays good in refrigerator up to 2-3 weeks even longer depending on it's freshness but not for months. Egg sambal is one of Malaysian favourite egg recepi which often make it's way to dining table for lunch or dinner as side dish. I prefer to lightlt fried the hard boiled egg to get a nice crispiness when added into the spicy sambal sauce. You may adjust the amount of chilly according to your heat tolerance.

Ingredients

12 eggs
12 dried chilly,soaked with hot water
2 onions, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2" inch ginger
1 candle nut
1 tbsp dried shrimp, soak for 30 minutes
2 onions, sliced
1/2 tbsp tamarind paste (dilute with 1 tbsp water)
2 kafir lime leaves, torn (optional)
1/2 tbsp palm sugar
1 tsp salt
Cooking oil

Methods

Grind candle nut,dried shrimp, 2 chopped onions,garlic and ginger with little water into a smooth paste.

Wash and hard boiled eggs. Peel off the shell and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan to shallow fry the eggs. Fry eggs for 1 minute till the skin crispy. Keep aside.

In a pan, heat oil and saute sliced onion till translucent. Add the ground chilly paste mixture.

Cook on medium heat till raw smell leaves and oil separated.

Add tamarind juice,kafir lime leaves and season with salt and palm sugar. Add water if the sauce is too thick. Do not add too much of water.

Add eggs and gently stir so that the sambal coat the eggs evenly. Turn off heat.

Transfer to a serving plate.