Dutch Baby

There are times you feel the urge to prepare something different than usual. I shall say i the same thought when kids asking for pancake for the breakfast. I have tried so many varities of pancakes for them, till i lost count. When request came in for pancake again i was like "oh! Not again" and that's how i stumbled upon Dutch baby aka German pancake. Using the same ingredients like ordinary pancake and what making them unique is the method combining all those ingredients in creating a fluffy, soft and spongy pancake that collapsed the moments they are out of the hot oven. Yes! All those nicely puffed out Dutch baby will shrink after few seconds in front of your own eyes but, that's the beauty of it. Enjoy them hot or warm with dusted sugar,fruit jam,fruit coulis or simply drizzle with honey or maple syrup.

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup milk
4 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
8 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Confectioners sugar, for dusting

Methods

Preheat oven to 425'F or 220'C

In a blender, add milk,sugar,flour,eggs and vanilla extract. Blend into a frothy and smooth batter without no clumps.

Melt butter till bubbly in a 9"inch cast iron pan or skillet. Make sure the butter coats the bottom and sides of the pan.

Pour the batter into the pan and cook for a minute. Do not stir.

Bake the Dutch baby for 15 minutes till it's golden and fluffy.

Remove from oven and dust with confectioners sugar. Serve immediately.


Notes

• Once out from the oven the pancake tend to shrink/collapsed which is normal. 

Fu Chuk And Tang Hoon Soup

A simple soup with an easy base which is sure to keep you warm and refreshing. Dried beancurds and tang hoon can be found in Asian groceries. Allow ample time for the tang goon snd beancurd sticks to soften to avoid additional boiling time. Beancurd sticks and soft tang hoon compliment the broth very well. Light and warm comfort food for the gloomy day.

Ingredients

3 pcs fu chuk/dried beancurd sticks
2 tbsp anchovies, washed
2 tbsp dried prawns,washed
Handful of tang hoon/suhun
700ml water
1/4 tsp light soya sauce
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp chopped spring onion

Methods

Soak dried beancurds for 1 hour till soften. Cut into pieces

Soak tang hoon for 15-20 minutes

In a pan, heat oil and saute the anchovies & prawns till fragrant.

Add water and bring it to boil. Add the beancurd and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 6-8 minutes

Add the tanghoon and cook for 5 minutes

Season with light soy sauce. Taste for salt. Add salt if needed.

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot

Shamali Cake

When it comes to dessert, i'm a huge fan of celebrity chef Anna Olson and Paul Hollywood. This gorgeous shamali cake is an inspiration from Paul Hollywood's city bakes series on Cyprus's food adventure. I was hooked to the simple recepi and determined to give it a try. My only problem is where to find the mastic? Thank goodness found them in a Middle Eastern grocery. Mastic gum like in texture to enhance the flavor of the cake. Shamali reminds me of Basbousa, a Middle Eastern popular semolina cake. The preparations and ingredients are almost the same. Coarse and grainy texture, enhanced citrus flavor frm the orange infused syrup...Shamali is definitely easy to bake and light to the palette. Credit goes to chef Paul Hollywood for the beautiful recepi.

Ingredients

For The Cake

400g fine semolina
190g castor sugar
2 medium eggs, room temperature
1 tsp mastic
1 tbsp baking powder
170g natural yogurt
120ml sunflower oil
1 tbsp orange zest

For The Syrup

300ml water
250g castor sugar
Juice of an orange
2 tbsp chopped pistachios

Methods

Line a 20cm spring form cake pan with parchment paper.

Preheat oven at 190'C.

In a large bowl, add all the ingredients "For The Cake" and beat with wooden spoon till well combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake for 40 or till a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

For The Syrup

Add all the ingredients listed under "For The Syrup". Boil till sugar dissolved. Simmer the syrup for 3 minutes.

Remove cake from oven and place on the cooling rack. Pour over the hot syrup and sprinkle with chopped pistachios.

Cool the cake for 1 hour and cut into slices.

Stir Fry French Beans With Potato Crunch

Stir fry French beans with potato crush is definitely not your usual stir fry recepi. That's the reason why i gave it a try after watching cooking program by Molly Yeh. I was instantly hooked with the simplicity of the recepi and tons of flavours that goes into making them. What's more? Potato chips to sprinkle over on your vegetable which i hope made me a little guilty everytime getting a bite of it. The recepi calls for Allepo chilly but since, i don't have access to the fiery guy substited with chilly flakes instead which goes well in the recepi. The toasted almond,crushed potato chips,with a hint of chilly over simple stir fry French beans definitely brought it to the next level with a citrusy tang.


Ingredients

250g French beans,washed
1/2 yellow onion,sliced
3 cloves garlic,sliced
1/3 cup crushed potato chips
1/4 almond flakes
1 tsp chilly flakes
1 tbsp sesame seeds
Salt to taste
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp coriander seeds
Pinch of black pepper powder
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp chopped parsley

Methods

Add olive oil in a frying pan over a low heat. Saute the onion and garlic till golden brown. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain excess oil. Reserve the garlic onion oil

In a skillet, over a low-medium heat toast almond, coriander seeds and sesame seeds till golden brown. Transfer to a bowl.

In a bowl, combine with potato chips,chilly flakes,fried garlic,onion,black pepper powder and salt.

Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat an saute the French beans with reserved garlic onion oil for 5-6 minutes. Add the lemon juice and zest. Stir to combine. Season with salt and stir. Remove from heat

Pile up on serving plate and sprinkle with prepared potato chips mixture and parsley

Serve hot or warm

Masala Chai

I'm a beverage lover, be it tea or coffee i simply love both. Recently, when i went to Kerala for year end holiday, managed to grabbed few packets of tea and coffee powder. Yes! That's me..whenever i travel to India i always bring back their beverage mixture home. Somehow, i feel India has the best tea and coffee powder especially when brewed with fresh milk. Vagamon in Kerala are known for their vast tea plantations. The lushiest green hills are perfect for a good quality tea. Tea shops are to be found in every hook and nook and they served the best tea. We had countless hot steaming milky cuppa throught our holiday. Since, i love the their tea so much, brought back few packets of their precious tea. Back home i boiled the tea leaves with assorted Indian spices to make a perfect cuppa of masala chai...most probably, one of the famous tea in the world. We all know spices are good or various health reason and most of us loath the taste of spices in our food but when it comes in the form of masala chai, no more refusal. Infused with aromatic spices with strong tea decoction and frothy fresh milk, there's no better way to enjoy your cuppa.



Ingredients

1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tbsp loose tea leaves
2 cups water
1"inch ginger,washed & peeled
1/2" inch cinnamon stick
5-6 pods cardamom
4 cloves
1 star anise
1 1/2 tbsp sugar

Methods

Using a spice grinder, grind cardamom pods,cinnamon stick,star anise and cloves into a fine powder

Using a mortar, crushed the ginger.

Boil water and add ground spices and crushed ginger. Boil for 2  minutes. Add the tea leaves and boil another minute. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer the concoction for 4-5 minutes.

Add milk and sugar. Stir till sugar dissolved. Increase heat and boil for 1 minute.

Using a strainer, strain the tea into a mug.

Serve hot immediately

Chicken Thighs in Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Chicken thighs in creamy mushroom sauce...the name itself,making me drooling. I made this chicken recepi for our Saturday dinner and it was a hit on our dinner table. My nephews visited us and the moment i brought the creamy chicken dish to the table, the kids were truly excited. Well seasoned and nicely seared thighs soaking in the delicious sauce. The rich and creamy sauce infused with aromatic herbs goes really well with the chicken. You may use fresh herbs in this recepi as well. The parmesan cheese enhanced the creaminess of the sauce. The chicken thighs itself are soft,tender and moist. We dunk Arabian bread in the sauce and enjoyed every bite of cheesy goodness. 

Ingredients

To Marinate

4 pcs chicken thighs, wash and cleaned

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried thymes

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

1/2 tsp salt

For The Sauce

1/3 cup slices button mushroom

1 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

1 tbsp minced garlic

Methods

Pat dry the chicken thighs. In a bowl combine all the ingredients listed under "To Marinate" except oil and mix well. Rub the chicken thighs with the mixture till well coated. Rest for 5-10 minutes.

Add 2 tbsp oil in a skillet ovet a medium-high heat and sear the thighs for approximately 6-8 minutes till brown on both sides. Keep aside.

Melt butter in a pan and saute mushroom for 2-3 minutes. Add the dried rosemary,thyme and garlic. Saute till fragrant. Add the chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper.

Add the cream and stir, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer till the sauce slighy thickened. Once the chicken fully cooked, add the parmesan cheese and stir till the cheese melts. Turn off heat and sprinkle with chopped parsley

Serve immediately

Soft And Spongy Idly Batter

Idly is my favourite food in the world. I could survive with idly for thr rest of my life. I learnt how to make soft and spongy idly from my mother. They key is not to over steam the idly, which could land in rock hard idly. As much as the steaming, the measurent and grinding process are important too. Eventhough, it might look simple to prepare, but without proper technique and measurement, making idly has become a nightmare for many. Make sure you give ample time for the batter to ferment atleast, 8-12 hours for a beautiful texture. You may store the batter in an airtight container, refrigerate for 4-5 days and it will never turn into an usual sourish idly we tend to get in restaurants. The batter will stay as good as freshly ground. This idly batter is my fail proof recepi which yield perfect,beautiful,soft anf fluffy idly each time 😁.

Ingredients

4 cups idly rice
1 cup urad dhal
1/2 cup poha/aval
2 tbsp fenugreek seeds
2 tbsp salt

Methods

Wash and soak idly rice,urad dhal,poha and fenugreek separately for atleast 4 hours

Grind the fenugreek with little water to form a fine and smooth paste. Add the urad dhal. Slowly, add 1/2 cup of water and grind for 30 minutes till the mixture doubles in volume and fluffy. Transer the mixture to deep bottom pan to avoid the batter from overflowing during the fermentation.

Grind the soaked idly rice with just enough water for grinding and grind for 30 minutes. Pour the ground rice into the urad dhal batter and mix well to combine. Add salt and mix well.

Let the batter to ferment on room temperature atleast for 8-12 hours for the batter to doubles in size. Once fermented, mix the batter well.

Lightly grease an idly mould with vegetable or gingely oil and fill the mould with the prepared idly batter

Steam for 6-7 minutes. Remove from steamer and let the idly to rest on for 5 minutes. Use a spoon to unmould the idly by loosening the edges and bottom.

Serve with gravy of your choice and sambar.

Sizzling Tofu

Sizzling tofu is my elder daughter's favourite dish. Whenever we dine in in Chinese restaurant, sizzling tofu is a must. That's how much she love this simple dish. Eventhough, it's easy to prepare but, surely did not compromise with the taste. Egg tofu are extremely soft and fragile thus, be gentle in handling them and do not over fry. The tofu shall be soft and jiggly to taste. It's soft,well coated with flavored sauce and the hot plate ensure the dish stays hot for a very long time. With basic day-to-day ingredients you too can prepare restaurant worthy sizzling tofu at your own kitchen.

Ingredients

3 rolls egg tofu, cut into 1 inch thick
2 tbsp minced chicken
5-6 button mushroom, sliced
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp chopped spring onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp corn flour, diluted with 2 tbsp water
Oil for deep frying + 1 tbsp oil gor sauteeing

For The Sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil

Methods

In a frying pan, heat oil for deep frying and gently fry the tofu slices till golden on medium heat. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain excess oil.

For The Sauce

In an another pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and saute minced garlic on medium heat till fragrant.

Add minced chicken and mushroom. Saute for 1 minute. Add all the ingredients listed under "For The Sauce"

Add the diluted corn flour and stir. Turn off the heat.

Heat a hot plate and brush with oil. Once the plate hot, add beaten egg. Add the fried tofu and sauce.

Sprinkle with chopped spring onion and serve hot

Mocha Bun

For my blog followers, you might remember my post on Mexican coffee bun few years ago. Today, i'm sharing a similar bun with a twist in the form of mocha topping. Yes! It's coffee and cocoa topping for the extra kick in flavor. The butter filling compliment the slightly bitter sweetness of crispy topping. The bun itself are soft and fluffy with buttery filling owe to satisfy any coffee bun lovers. Nevertheless, to say the beautiful coffee aroma fills the whole house giving everyone the much needed instant perk 😉. Adore the sight of seeing little dark mountains  of buns baking happily in the oven. The girls absolutely love the delicious mocha topping and the rich buttery filling. Serrve with a cuppa for perfection.


Ingredients

For Bun Dough

2 1/3 cups bread flour
270 ml water
2 tbsp milk powder
1/3 cup castor sugar
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp butter,room temperature
1/8 tsp salt

For Filling

1/2 cup butter

For Mocha Topping

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup flour all purpose flour
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tbsp instant coffee powder
2 tbsp cocoa powder,sifted
1 tbsp water
Pinch of ground cinnamon


Methods

Using a stand mixer attached with dough hook. Add bread flour,salt,yeast and sugar to the mixing bowl. Add water and egg. Knead the dough for 10 minutes.

Add butter and beat for 5 minutes until soft and elastic dough forms.

Divide dough into small balls weigh at 30 g each. Flatten the balls into a small circle and place 1 tbsp butter in the center of the dough.

Lightly dust a clean working surface with flour. Transfer the dough to the work surface and punch down the dough to release the air.

Flatten the balls and place 1 tbsp of  butter into the center of the dough. Gather the edges and pinch to seal. With your palms roll the dough into balls. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Place the balls on a prepared baking tray and cover the dough with damp kitchen towel. Set aside in a warm place for 45 minutes for the dough to rise.

Meanwhile, prepare the coffee topping by dissolving instant coffee and cocoa powder with water. Set aside

In a mixing bowl using stand/hand mixer, beat together butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add in the dissolved coffee mixture. Gradually add in the flour and ground cinnamon. Beat well till combined. Refrigerate the mixture for easy piping for 25-30 minutes.

Preheat oven at 200'C or 400'F

Place the mocha topping into a piping bag and pipe the topping onto the buns in a spiral pattern.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or till the buns are lightly brown.

Remove from oven and serve warm

Besan Burfi

Besan burfi or chakki burfi is a traditional Indian sweets loved by kids and adults. Flavored with cardamom this sweet meat is often serve for special occasions and festivals. Made of gram flour this beautul sweet cake are one of the famoone of the famous among countless burfi varities. Smooth,rich,aromatic and decadent homemade burfi recepi as below. Do give it a try and u'll love it for sure 😉😁

Ingredients

3 cups besan/gram flour
1 cup ghee
1 3/4 cups granulated white sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
4 tbsp chopped almonds and pistachio

Methods

Line a 9"inch baking pan with parchment paper and keep aside.

Sift the besan flour. Melt ghee on low-heat and roast the besan for 13-15 minutes.

With constant stirring the besan will turn into smooth paste after 23-25 minutes.

Add cardamom powder and stir for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it to cool.

In another pan,  boil sugar and water on medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Lower the heat and simmer the sugar syrup for 6 minutes till reach 1 strinh consistency. Turn off the heat.

Add sugar syrup into the besan mixture and stir till well combined for 1-2 minutes.

Tramser the mixture into a prepared baking pan. Tap the pan to release air and bubbles.

Sprinkle with chopped nuts and press lightly for the nuts to stick on the burfi.

Rest the mixture to set for 1 to 1 1/5 hours and slice using a sharp knife. Transer to a serving plate.

Notes:

• Besan burfi stays good for 8-10 days stored in an airtight container.

• Make sure the heat is off when adding sugar syrup into the besan mixture.

Vanilla Cream Cheese

Officially, this is the 35th time i'm making this humble snow beauty. Without a complicated taste and metgods it's a gorgeous cake can be prepare in jiffy. The only drawback ik the refrigeration time which need an absolute patient 😉. Beautiful whitish just like snow flakes with a beautiful hint of vanilla. Vanilla extract or vanilla beans works perfect for this recepi. Vanilla cheesecake is always a hit on my coffee table and that explaint why i'm making it so many times. Rich,creamy,soft and smooth in texture and what i love most is, the beautiful slices i get each time.

For Crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling

1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
680g cream cheese,room temperature
1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt

Methods

Line a 9"inch spring form pan with parchment paper. Keep aside

In a food processor, blitz cookie crumb with butter till combine.

Using a bottom of flat mug, press the cookie mixture on the bottom and sides (approximately an inch) of the prepared baking pan. Let it set in the freezer.

Filling

Using a stand and hand mixer, beat the cream cheese till soft & creamy for 2-3 minutes

Reduce speed to low and add the confectioners sugar till combine. Increase speed to high and beat for another 1 minute.

Add the vanilla extract,lemon juice and salt and beat on medium speed for about a minute.

Add the cold heavy whipping cream into the cheese mixture and beat on low till well mix. Increase speed to high on and beat till a stiff peak formed.

Pour the filling onto the prepared crust till edges of the baking pan. Refrigerate atleast 8 hours or overnight.

Gently unmould and slice using sharp knife dipped in a hot water. Dip knife in hot water for each slicing

Notes:

Use cold heavy whipping cream. Heavy whipping cream helps to hold the filling.