Mango Salad

 

We have a big mango tree at our backyard planted by my late paternal grandfather. The tree are well nourish to bear suckling mangoes for years now.  I tried few mangoes recepi from the very tree and the fleshy mangoes goes very well with sweet and savoury dishes. The largest mango we have come across, fit almost the half of your arm.

We harvested the mangoes few weeks ago and after distributing to my neighbors and family members, I have a basket of it to consume. Knowing we all love mango salad or kerabu mangga known locally, I picked some raw mango to prepare the dish. It's tangy, sour,spicy and lightly sweetened with palm sugar to balance the flavor. The crunchiness of toasted peanut add texture to the gorgeous mango salad. As always, you may adjust the heat of the dish according to your preference. This humble mango salad goes well as a side with white rice and a gravy dish. 

Ingredients 

3 medium sized unripe mangoes 

5 bird eyes chilly,finely sliced 

3 shallots,finely sliced 

3 tbsp fish sauce

4 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp palm sugar

1/4 cup roasted peanuts 

Methods

Wash the mangoes, peeled off the skin shred using a shredder. You'll need a coarse shredded mango flesh. 

Add the shredded mango in a large bowl together with sliced shallots,chilly,lime juice and fish sauce. Mix well. 

Add the palm sugar and toss well to combine.

Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with the toasted peanuts.

Mutton Egg Masala

I'm someone who believe cooking is what you cook. It's all about personal preference and no one can say it's wrong as long as you know the right way to use the available ingredients and balance it well. End of the day the taste and nutritional values is the most important part of dishing out family dish. 

Egg is something I always stock up in my fridge and it's always available for "emergency". I have come up with different variations with eggs and this time I throw them into my mutton masala for an extra kick. What brought the dish to the next level is the masala. Mint and mutton goes really well together. By adding ground mint masala to the delicious mutton it's somehow like having a green chutney in your spicy mutton masala. Right now while typing this recepi, an idea kicking in for another yummy mutton recepi. Hope to try it soon. Meanwhile, try this awesome mutton recepi at your own kitchen and enjoy.

Ingredients

1 kg mutton,washed

1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

4 hard boiled eggs

1 large tomato, chopped 

1 large red onion,chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds 

1 + 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 

1/4 tsp peppercorns

2 cloves

2 cardamom pods

1 tsp coriander seeds

2 green chillies,chopped

1'inch cinnamon stick

1/2 tsp garam masala powder 

1 1/2 tsp ghee 

Salt to taste

1"inch ginger

5 cloves garlic,sliced

1/4 cup mint leaves

Water as needed 

Handful of chopped coriander leaves 

1 sprig curry leaves 

Methods

Add mutton, 1 tsp turmeric powder and ginger-garlic paste into a pressure cooker. Cook till the mutton tender. 

In a blender, add ginger, garlic, green chillies,coriander seeds, cumin seeds,mint leaves and peppercorns. Add a little water and grind to form a smooth paste. Keep aside. 

In a pan, melt ghee and fry the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, curry leaves and cloves till fragrant.

Add the onion and saute till turns translucent. Add the turmeric powder and garam masala. Cook till the raw smell leaves. 

Add chopped tomatoes and saute till turns soft. 

Add the pressure cooked mutton,salt and water as needed. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. 

Add the ground masala and cook for 10-12 minutes. 

Add hard boiled eggs and cook for another 5 minutes. 

Remove from heat and transfer to serving bowl. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. 

Omelette With Spicy Topping

I always make omelette at home be it for breakfast or as a side dish for lunch or dinner. I'm bored with ordinary omelette and was thinking to come up with some add on for the humble omelette. That's how I came up with this delicious omelette with spicy topping. I added mayonnaise to the omelette mixture to give a rich and creamy taste which will compliment the spicy topping.

The coconut in the topping add texture to the yummy topping. You may reduce the heat level according to your preference by adjusting the amount of chillies in the dish. Red chilly goes well with the dish too instead of dried chilly.  I used banana leaf to enhance the flavor of the omelette and I simply love it. The topping can be served as a side by it's own with white rice or roti. 

Ingredients 

For The Omelette 

4 large eggs

Handful of chopped coriander leaves 

4 tbsp chopped scallions 

1 red onion, finely chopped 

1 red chilly, finely chopped

Salt to season 

1/2 tsp ground black pepper 

1 tbsp mayonnaise 

Banana leaf, washed 

For The Spicy Topping

1/4 cup freshly grated coconut 

2 dry chillies, torn

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 shallots, peeled

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp lime juice

Methods

For The Topping

Heat oil in a pan and saute shallot, dry chillies and garlic for 1 minute.

Add the sauteed ingredients to a mortar with grated coconut and pound to form a coarse mixture. Season with salt and lime juice. 

For The Omelette

In a bowl add all the ingredients listed under "For Omelette" and stir well. 

Heat a frying pan over medium flame and place the banana leaf. Drizzle with oil for frying.

Pour a laddeful of the egg mixture and cover with lid. Cook till the bottom turns golden and the egg are well done.  

Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with the spicy coconut topping.

Multi Grain Ragi Puttu

 

A friend of mine are kind enough to pass me couple of jars of multi grains or saatu maavu flour. It's homemade by him and a traditional recepi of saatu maavu, by carefully choosen grains and legumes. Perfectly roasted and grind into fine powder to provide the wholesome goodness of mixture. 

Saatu maavu are great as booster for kids and adults. It's easy to digest, filling and packed with tons of health benefits. It's so versatile, you may add them to make sweet or savoury porridge, thosai,idli,poori,chapati and the list goes on. One of such is my multi grain puttu with added ragi flour. Ragi is another wonderful millet for health. With the combination of saatu maavu and ragi, indeed this multi grain puttu will make a healthier breakfast or dinner. 

Ingredients 

1 cup multi grains flour

1 cup ragi flour 

Water as needed

Salt to season 

1/2 cup freshly shredded coconut

Jaggery powder, for serving

Methods

Roast the multi grain flour over a medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes. Becareful not to burn the flour. Transfer to a bowl. 

Roast the ragi flour for 3-4 minutes and transfer to the same bowl with multi grain flour. Add salt and mix well. 

Gradually, sprinkle water little by little. The right consistency of the flour is it's shall hold the shape when you press and shall easily crumble when drop to the bowl. 

Add the shredded coconut mix with fork to combine. The flour shall be crumbly.

Using a putu maker or simply place the prepared flour mixture into a tray and steam for 7-10 minutes. 

Remove from steamer and serve hot with jaggery powder and a cup of coffee.

Tawa Paneer Fry

Paneer tawa fry is one of the easiest and simple recipe which I prepare quite frequently at home. A delicious treat to serve as an appetizer or even as a side dish for your roti or rice. 

This humble recepi can be prepared with the everyday ingredients find in the kitchen. It's my Dandelions favourite snack bite after their tiring online classes. It's healthy,filling,tasty and fun to have dish. As I always make my own paneer at home this tawa paneer fry has become almost twice a week feast for our household.

Mildly coated with aromatic masala and shallow fried to perfect texture whereby, the crispy outer and firm inside. It makes a perfect appetizer with a squeeze of lime.

Ingredients 

500g paneer, cut into cubes 

3 tbsp Greek yogurt 

1 tsp cumin powder 

1 tsp garam masala 

1 tsp coriander powder 

1/4 tsp turmeric powder 

Salt to season

Cooking oil for shallow frying 

Methods 

In a bowl add yogurt, salt, garam masala, cumin powder,turmeric powder and coriander powder.  Mix well to combine. 

Add the pander cubes and gently mix for the masala to coat the paneer cubes. 

Cover and marinate in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. 

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-low flame and shallow fry the marinated pander cubes in batches.

Do not over crowd the pan. Fry on both sides till golden. 

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

Serve with wedges of lime.

Fiery Pineapple Fish

 

The idea of this recepi came while I saw a small cute pineapple sitting on my kitchen table. We had some on its own and decided to make use the rest in cooking. Pineapple foes really well in cooking with fish, prawn or even chicken. The sweet, tangy fresh tasty of pineapple compliments any sweet and sour dishes. 

Instead of making sweet and sour gravy, I wanted to go with fiery pineapple sauce instead. The heat from bird eye chilly, red chilly and black peppercorns to go with juicy pineapple and drizzle over crispy fried fish. Nyummmmm...

If you're not someone who can tolerate heat like me, pease adjust the chillies according your preference. The palm sugar somehow,balance the spiciness of this delicious fish. Serve immediately with white rice and enjoy. 

Ingredients 

1/3 pineapple, cut into bite sized pieces

1 kg sea bass or any white flesh fish,cut into pieces

4 tbsp corn flour 

2 tbsp all purpose flour 

1/2 tsp ground black pepper 

Salt to season

1/2 tsp palm sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup coconut milk 

Oil for deep frying 

2 tbsp cooking oil

For Chilly Paste

1"inch shrimp paste, toasted

3 red bird eye chilly

3 red chilly

5 shallots, sliced

3 garlic, chopped

1"inch ginger, sliced

1 lemongrass, sliced

1 tsp turmeric 

1/2 tsp black peppercorn

Methods 

In a blender, add all the ingredients listed under "For Chilly Paste". Grind into smooth and fine paste. Keep aside

Heat oil in a work, rub salt and ground black pepper to the fish. Sprinkle with corn flour and all purpose flour. Coat the fish well with flour and deep fry till crispy on both sides. Keep aside.

In a separate pan, heat 2 tbsp oil and saute the ground chilly paste over medium heat till oil started to appear on the surface and the raw smell leaves. 

Add the pineapple slices and water. Stir, season with salt and palm sugar.

Add the coconut milk and cook for 5 minutes. 

Pour the gravy over the fried fish and serve immediately.

Betel leaves/Vethalai Rasam

 

This is the first time I'm trying vethalai or betel leaves rasam. As we all know betel leaves has many health benefits especially in curing cold and flu. The special properties in betel leaves assist to ease respiratory system to remove phlegm for kids and adults.

Especially during this pandemic season, self protection is important with all this beautiful natural herbs. I brought back some betel leaves with the intention of making this healthy rasam and made it for our Saturday lunch to serve with white rice and a side dish. Like all the other rasam, do not over boiled the concoction and adjust water as your preference but not to much to retain the essence of it. You could hardly taste the raw smell of betel leaves in the rasam. It's peppery, a little note  of spiciness and tanginess and with lots of healing properties.

Ingredients 

3 betel leaves,stem removed & torn into pieces 

1/4 tsp turmeric powder 

1/4 tsp asafoetida

1 tsp black peppercorn 

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 medium sized tomato, chopped

1 gooseberry sized tamarind

4 cloves garlic

1 sprig curry leaves

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves 

Salt to taste 

To Temper 

1/3 tsp mustard seeds 

3 red chillies,torn

1 tbsp ghee 

Methods

In a bowl add water and soak the tamarind. Extract the juice and discard seeds. Keep aside.

In a mortar, add peppercorns,cumin seeds and garlic. Lightly crushed and keep aside. 

Grind the betel leaves to smooth puree. 

Heat a pan add tamarind juice,salt,tomato,crushed garlic mixture, turmeric powder and curry leaves. Cook till the raw smell goes off.

Add the ground betel leaves and stir. Boil for 2 minutes. Add water as needed and cook till a frothy layer forms. With off the heat.

In a saucepan, heat ghee and fry mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once splutters add torn chilly and fry for few seconds.

Add the tempered mixture to the radar and stir. 

Serve with white rice. 

Jelebi

When it comes to preparing Indian sweet at home I shall say I'm very skeptical. I always have the thought it's hard labour and tedious to make them at home. I always get my Indian sweets fix at a North Indian shop near my office. The restaurant serves varieties of ghee oozing colourful sweetmeat. One glance over the glass display rack is enough to make me salivating over the delicious sinful sweets. 

One of my most sought out sweets are the vibrant looking jelebi. Thin, crispy and glistened with sugar syrup the beautiful soaked jelebi are must have whenever I visit the restaurant. One bite and the sugar syrup started to ooze out in your mouth for the fulfilling taste.

Back at home, I gathered my courage to make my own homemade jelebi. After much persuasion, here you go my ghee fried scented sugar syrup soaked jelebi. I used piping bag without nozzle to pipe out the batter into the heating ghee. You may use sauce dispensing bottle as well for easy handling. Frying with ghee enhance the taste of the jelebi but, oil fried jelebi are as good too. It's easy yet,  a little tricky which can be mastered with few tips and tricks. Trust me the first swirl will always screw up eventually, you'll get handy with the second and third swirl of making the right circles of jelebis. Do have fun as much as I did by making your very own jelebis.

Ingredients 

2 cups all purpose flour 

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

1/4 cup chickpea flour

1 tbsp corn starch 

Pinch of yellow food coloring 

1/2 tsp baking powder 

Water as needed 

Oil or ghee for frying

For Sugar Syrup

1 cup granulated white sugar

1/2 cup water

5-6 cardamom pods, crushed

Pinch of saffron strands 

Pinch of yellow food coloring 

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp rose water

Methods 

In a large bowl add all purpose flour,corn starch, chickpea flour, yogurt and yellow food coloring. Stir to combine.

Gradually,  add water to form a not too runny or not too thick batter. The batter shall resemble idli batter. 

Cover with lid and leave it overnight to ferment. Approximately 8 hours. 

After 8 hours, add the baking powder and stir.  Check the consistency of the batter. If it's thick add little water to loosen up. Not too much as the batter shall resemble idli batter. Rest the batter for 5 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a saucepan add water,cardamom pods and sugar. Boil for 10 minutes. Once the sugar syrup reach one string consistency, reduce heat to low and saffron strands,yellow food coloring,rose water. Simmer for 2 minutes. 

Off the heat and add the lemon juice. Stir.

Heat oil/or ghee in a flat surface frying pan over medium flame. 

Fill the batter into a sauce dispensing bottle or piping bag without nozzle. Snip the tip of the piping bag and pipe into circular motion. As for the sauce dispenser, tighten the cap and squeeze the batter in circles into the ghee/oil. 

The jelebi will start to float after awhile. Flip and cook on both sides till light golden. 

Drain the oil completely and drench into the prepared sugar syrup. 

Soak for 40-45 minutes.

Repeat the process with remaining batter by frying in batches. Do not overcrowd the pan.

Enjoy your homemade jelebi.

Notes

• For even cooking and to retain the crispiness of the jelebi, do not overcrowd the pan while frying. Fry in batches.
• Always use flat surface frying pan to fry your jelebi.
• Adjust water accordingly to form a flowing batter. The batter shouldn't be to runny neither too thick. 
• Let the jelebi soak in sugar syrup at least 40-45 minutes. 
• Always fry on medium flame. High flame will easily burn the jelebi and low heat will result in soggy jelebi.
• The sugar syrup shall be hot or warm to soak the jelebi. Cold sugar syrup is a big no. 

Tandoori Chicken Nasi Lemak

 

Nasi lemak as we all know are Malaysian all time favorite dish. Be it for breakfast,lunch,dinner or even supper we Malaysians are in for nasi lemak. I will have my nasi lemak fix atleast once in a week and whenever the craving comes 🤣. There's too many nasi lemak vendors around my office area with varieties of condiments and side dishes to choose from. I'm spoilt with choices but,  there's this one particular old couple selling aromatic nasi lemak with typical olden days sambal which I always look for my nasi lemak day. 

Back at home,  I made nasi lemak for our weekend lunch with a twist of Indian element by adding tandoori chicken as a sides along with the usual complete condiments. The lightly charred deep red tandoori chicken goes really well with the rich and tasty rice. I'm not into food coloring thus, I added beetroot juice for the natural color of the tandoori and trust me, you'll never have to taste the raw taste of beetroot in your chicken. I baked the chicken you may grill it as well. An easy way of making tandoori chicken at home without tandoor oven. With a little squeeze of lemon,  walla your tandoori chicken nasi lemak is ready to serve. 

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
6-8 pcs fresh/dried blue pea flowers 

1/4 cup hot water

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

For The Tandoori Chicken 

1 kg chicken, washed and cleaned 

1/2 cup mint leaves 

4 tbsp ready made tandoori masala 

4 cloves garlic

1 cup plain Greek yogurt 

2 tbsp beetroot juice 

2 green chillies 

1/3 tsp black peppercorns

Juice of 1/2 lemon 

1"inch ginger

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,water,coconut milk and blue pea flower water. 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 The Tandoori Chicken 

Remove skin from the chicken and cut slits for the marination to absorb.

In a blender add ginger, garlic, Greek yogurt,coriander leaves, mint leaves,salt and green chillies. Blend till fine and smooth.

Add the mixture into a large bowl and add lemon juice,beetroot juice and tandoori masala. Mix well. 

Pour the mixture over the chicken and mix well to cost the chicken pieces. Cover with lid and refrigerate to marinate at 4 hours. 

Preheat oven at 180'C and line a baking tray with parchment paper. 

Place the marinated chicken on the baking tray and bake for 45-50 minutes or till the chicken are done with slight charred marks. 

Remove from oven and serve with the rice,sambal,fried eggs, hard boiled eggs, fried anchovies,sliced cucumber and a wedge of lemon for extra kick. 

Gothumai Kanji/Wheat Porridge

Gothumai kanji or wheat flour porridge is a healthy porridge which is suitable for all age be it adults or children. It's easy to digest and make a perfect meal for children. There are days I prepare this delicious porridge for myself if I need a light dinner. It's filling and nourishes the body. 

The coconut and ghee fried cashews add texture to the simple porridge. Avoid using granulated white sugar in the dish as jaggery enhance the flavor and give the porridge rich taste. I will call this yummy porridge as a comfort food that soothe the mind and warm the soul.

Ingredients

3 tbsp wheat flour

3 tbsp jaggery

Salt to season 

2 tbsp freshly shredded coconut 

2 tbsp chopped cashews

Pinch of cardamom powder 

1 + 1 tbsp ghee

1 + 1/2 cup water

Methods

In a pan, heat 1 tbsp ghee over medium-low flame and fry cashews till golden. Keep aside.

In another saucepan, add 1/2 cup water and jaggery. Boiled the jaggery till completely dissolved. Strain and keep aside.

In a pot,  add remaining 1 tbsp ghee and fry the wheat flour on medium-low flame with constant stirring till the raw flavor leaves. Becareful not to burn the flour. 

Add water and using a whisker,  whisk till no lumps.

Add the jaggery water, cardamom powder,the remaining 1 cup water and salt. Stir to combine.

Add the grated coconut and cashews. Bring it to a boil and add the remaining 1 tbsp ghee. Stir and turn off the heat. 

Serve hot or warm. 

Braised Egg With Tau Pok

One of the weekend,  I decided to go Chinese for our lunch and came up with this braised egg and tau pok. Reason being, I want to clear my tau pok stock which taking up the space in my fridge. My impulse buying landed me with two big packets of fried tau pok. That's how the Chinese lunch happened with braised egg and taught pok which we usually order whenever we dine out in Chinese restaurant.

I simply love the dark hue on all the ingredients. The sauces added to the broth coated well to all the ingredients to infuse the sweet and salty flavor. And the tau pok burst in your mouth with oozing broth of the flavorful gravy is indeed a pleasure. You may add Chinese rice wine to the dish but,  I added rice vinegar instead since we are not into adding alcohol to our food (to tell the truth,  none of us consume one) so,  there's no wine or other spirit to be added. The girl's simply love the crunch peanuts in the yummy dishes and the hint of sweetness from the vibrant wolf berries. Serve immediately with white rice to enjoy the taste of home cooked braised broth. 

Ingredients 

3 hard boiled eggs, peeled

6 pcs tau pok, halved 

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp sweet soy sauce

1 tbsp Chinese rice vinegar 

1 tsp sesame oil

600ml water

1 tsp all spice powder

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

2 shallots,sliced

4 slices galangal

4 slices ginger

4 cloves garlic, smashed

1 lemongrass,bruised

1/3 cup raw peanuts, boiled

1 tsp brown sugar 

2 tbsp goji berries 

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp ground black pepper 

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tbsp mushroom seasoning 

2 tbsp cooking oil 

Methods

Heat oil in a pan over medium flame and add cinnamon stick, star anise and shallots. 

Saute for 5 seconds and add garlic, galangal, ginger and lemongrass till fragrant.

Add water and add dark soy, light soy, sweet soy, oyster sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil. Stir and add the tau pok.

Season with salt, pepper,all spice powder,goji berries and mushroom seasoning.

Add boiled peanuts,hard boiled eggs and brown sugar. Stir. 

Bring to boil and reduce heat to medium to simmer for 20-25 minutes or till the gravy reduce by stirring every now and then. 

Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Ghee Pilaf

Who doesn't love ghee pilaf?? Everyone in my household devour or anything made with ghee..be it sweets, puddings or even on rice. My nephew are ardent fan of ghee and his love for ghee is tremendous to the extend ghee are more than his dhal for rice or chapati. Having him on mind, I cooked this delicious ghee pilaf for Sunday lunch. 

Without much word his happiness shown in his eyes the very moment he has his first bite. When I say ghee, please do use pure ghee and not a blend.  Ghee also known as clarified butter and make sure you get a genuine product for this recepi to savour the best. 

Stir frying of the Basmathi rice is important step in making this pilaf. The idea is to coat the grains as much possible with the spices scented ghee. Do this gently without breaking the grains for a fluffy pilaf. Serve with gravy of your choice and side of raita for a perfect weekend lunch. 

Ingredients 

2 cups Basmathi rice

3 cups water 

1 cinnamon stick

1 red onion,sliced

3 cardamom pods

5-7 cloves

1 star anise

1 bay leaf

Salt to season 

2 +1 1/2 tbsp ghee

1/4 cup almonds 

Pinch of saffron strands

Methods 

Heat a small pan and add 1/2 tablespoon ghee. Fry the almonds till golden. Keep aside.

Wash and soak the Basmathi rice for 30 minutes. Drain the water and keep aside.

Soak the saffron with little hot water.

Over a medium-low flame, heat ghee in a large wok.

Add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, star anise, bay leaf and cloves. Fry for 30 seconds. 

Add the slices onion and fry till the onion turns translucent.

Add the soaked Basmathi rice and gently stir to coat the ghee well making sure not to break the grains. 

Stir for 1 minute and transfer to a rice cooker. 

Add 3 cups of water, season with salt and the soaked saffron. Stir gently to combine and cook till the rice are done. 

Once the rice are cooked, add the remaining 1 tbsp of ghee and fried almonds. (Do add the remaining ghee used to fry the almonds into the rice as well). 

Using a fork, gently fluff up the rice. 

Serve with gravy of your choice.

Greek Orange Semolina Cake With Orange Syrup

 

I'm in for any type of semolina cake be it Asian or Mediterranean. I love the fine grainy texture of semolina cake which burst into tiny little seeds on every bite. Quite fun right? I had few sweet oranges in my fruit basket when the idea of orange semolina cake hit the back of my mind and walla here you go Greek Semolina orange cake drizzled with orange syrup. Double orangy goodness in one delicious cake.

It's a gluten free cake and and with the sugar syrup I won't call it healthy desserts but,  once in awhile there's no harm ya. Semolina works as sponge to absorb all the delicious sweet orange syrup.

The cake itself is moist, crumbly and don't taken back with the sugar syrup as it's not too sweet for a dessert. Always let the cake rest for at least an hour to soak in the syrup for a yummiest cake. Scented with orange in the cake and the sugar syrup, my whole house filled with citrusy fragrance.

Ingredients 

2 3/4 cups semolina 

3 eggs, room temperature 

3/4 cup castor sugar 

1 tsp baking soda 

1 tbsp baking powder 

2/3 cup olive oil

2/3 cup whole milk, room temperature 

1 1/2 tbsp orange zest

1/4 tsp salt 

For The Orange Sugar Syrup

1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar 

1 1/2 cups water

1 cinnamon sticks

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp orange blossom water 

Methods 

Preheat oven at 180'C and line a 8"inch rectangular.

In a large bowl, combine semolina,salt,baking soda and baking powder.

In a mixing bowl,  add sugar and orange zest. Rub the orange zest into the sugar till turns orange in color. 

In another bowl, separate egg yolks and white. 

Using a hand or stand mixer,  beat the egg whites to form a firm peak. Keep aside.

Add eggs yolks into the sugar and orange zest mixture and beat till fluffy. Gradually, add the milk and olive oil. 

Add the semolina flour mixture and beat for 1 minute. 

Switch to a spatula, slowly fold in the whipped egg whites till  combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 25-27 minutes or till golden. 

Remove from oven and cool completely on the pan. 

For The Syrup. 

Add all the ingredients listed under "For The Orange Sugar Syrup" into a pot and bring it to boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer the syrup for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let it to cool down. The syrup need to be warm. 

Pour the warm sugar syrup into the cool cake and let the syrup soak the for at least 1 hour before slicing. 

Serve with a cup of coffee or tea.

Blue Pea Onde Onde

My mother gave me few seeds of blue pea flowers or what we Malaysians call as Bunga Telang. I planted the seeds months ago and eversince, the plant are bearing abundance beautiful blue colored flowers which I happily use in my drinks, cooking and baking. Blue pea are one of the nature's 
best dye like beets, carrots or pandan leaves. Unlike pandan leaves, blue pea doesn't not have any fragrance of its own. 

The flowers are packed with antioxidants, fighting free radicals and good for blood circulation. You may make blue pea tea by simply seep some buds with hot water. Today,  I used this nature's gift to make Onde Onde or buah Melaka. 

Cute little balls made with glutinous rice, dyed with blue pea flower's extract from and filled with palm sugar. It's chewy, soft and the sweetness from palm sugar will burst into your mouth on else very first bite. It's one of Malaysian's favorite kuih or snack.

Ingredients

2 cups glutinous rice flour

18-20 pcs blue pea flowers 

1 cup hot water

 1 cup palm sugar,chopped into an inch pieces size

1 cup freshly grated coconut, added with a pinch of salt

Water as needed 

Methods

Wash and soak the blue pea flowers in hot water for 15-20 minutes or till the colour completely derived from the flowers. Strain and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour with extract of blue pea flowers and knead into a soft and non sticky dough.

Pinch a small piece of the dough about an 1 inch diameter. Make a hole in the center of the ball and fill with a small piece of palm sugar. Roll to form a small ball. Repeat the process with remaining dough and palm sugar. 

Bring a pot of water to boil, drop in the prepared dough 4-5 at a times. Remove the balls when they starts to float to the surface of the water. Drain the excess water and roll into grated coconut mixture till the onde onde well coated.

Serve with a cuppa.