Sunflower Seed Bread

I always love the smell of freshly baked bread and thought baking bread actually a tedious process and time consuming till i make one all by myself. The waiting hours for the dough to rise actually bothered me at first, not till i grabbed my novel only, to realize time flies fast. I enjoyed the whole process of bread making at the comfort of my little hut. While the girls are out for their curriculum classes on Saturday afternoon, i decided to surprise them with home baked bread. Recently, i bought one big packet of sunflower seeds mainly to munch at office but i decided to throw some into my bread making project.

The wonderful smell of yeast instantly surrounded my little kitchen while the bread happily baking in the oven. This is the smell that i adore during my childhood, when my dad brought me to the well known Ceylon bakery in KL and  i knew i have something really good baking in my very own oven. True enough, the result didn't let me down. The moment i took out the bread, i noticed the crusty top on the bread just like those loaves i have seen in the Ceylon bakery. I just can't wait to slice the bread to have a look at the interior. The inside of the bread proved to be fluffy with the right amount of air pockets created by the yeast. It's crusty on the outside, soft,fluffy and moist in the inside with added crunchiness of sunflower seeds and slightly sweetened with honey. This bread recreated my childhood memory and i'm in cloud nine.

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sunflower/canola oil
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tsp granulated white sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 egg white,beaten
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 tsp salt


For Garnishing

1 egg white,beaten
1 tbsp sunflower seeds


Methods

Grease a 9' inch loaf pan and set aside.

In a pan, lightly toast the sunflower seeds in a medium fire for 2-3 minutes. Keep aside

In a large bowl, add yeast,warm water and sugar. Stir and keep aside until foamy.

In another large bowl, combine flour,salt,honey, toasted sunflower seeds and oil and mix well. Knead about 10 minutes adding additional flour if needed to form a elastic dough.

Place the dough in a greased large bowl, cover with damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise for about 1 to 1 1/2 hour in a warm place

Dust a clean working surface with flour, and punch down the dough and knead for 1 minute and shape into a loaf.

Place in a prepared loaf pan, cover with kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for 30 minutes

Heat oven to 375' F or 190' Cel, place the baking rack in the middle of the oven. Brush the top of dough with beaten egg white and sprinkle with sunflower seeds.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack to cool completely

Slice and serve with butter, honey or marmalade

Mint Lemon Limeade

Simply superb summertime cooler. The lemon and lime with crushed fresh mint leaves indeed a refreshing combo to soothe the summer heat. Healthier option for all those canned or carbonated drinks that we always grab to chill down. I'm a water babe and i love to pile up on my daily water intake but, sometimes i get tired of plain water. Occasionally, i do drop few slices of lemon into my plain water yet, i'm craving for more.

 With my fridge wide open, i found beautiful yellow lemons, vibrant green lime and fresh mint leaves. Decided to put them all into making a refreshing drink, i started my mint lemon limeade project. Instead of settling for a simple sugar syrup i added crushed cardamom pods to enhance the flavor. Cardamom is such a versatile indian spice which is great into making sweet and savoury dishes and even drinks. I salt the rim of the serving glass for that extra kick. If this combination of refreshing lemon,lime and mint leaves concoction doesn't beat the heat i don't know what will.

Ingredients

3 limes, sliced
4 lemons, sliced
6 cups water
Handful fresh mint leaves
1 tsp sea salt
Extra salt for rim


For Sugar Syrup

3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup water
2 cardamom pods,crushed


Methods

In a pot, combine sugar,water and crushed cardamom pods. Stir till sugar completely dissolved. Keep aside to cool

Using a wooden spoon, gently mash the mint leaves with 1 tsp of salt

Extract juice of limes and lemons and strain the juice to discard the seeds.

In a tall pitcher, combine the mashed mint leaves, strained juice and prepared sugar syrup. Add cold water and stir well

Salt the rim of a serving glass, and pour the juice over ice and serve

Beetroot Chocolate Chip Cookies

Healthier beetroot cookies in the house. Beetroot in this recepi, provide a lovely pink tint to the beautiful cookies. As i shared before my two lovely angels adore chocolate chip cookies. Be it white or dark chips they just can't stop snacking on it. I tried to be a little creative by adding finely grated beets into the plain cookie dough and walla! I couldn't stop admiring the vibrant red dough, the natural dark velvet colur rendered by beet indeed, the safest option for food coluring. One of the best way to sneak beets into your kids diet too.

This is a chewy cookie dough recepi, the moist grated beets keep the cookies soft and chewy. My first time baking with beets and no matter how scared my kids with vegetables, they loves the gorgeous pink/red colur. Who can blame them, girls will always be girls and they got excited when their favourite cookies dressed up with their favourite pink and guess what they hardly noticed the beets in their cookies. Store in an airtight container and it will last for a month or two personally, i don't have to wait till then.

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup beetroot, peeled and finely grated
1 cup butter,room temperature
1 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tbsp fresh milk
Pinch of salt


Methods

Heat oven at 375'F or 190' Cel and place the baking rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift together flour,cocoa powder,baking powder and salt

Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat for 1 minute.

Add sifted flour mixture,grated beets and milk. Beat till well combined. Using a spatula, stir in the dark and white chocolate chips.

With an tablespoon, drop in the cookie dough onto the prepared baking tray, arrange more chocolate chips on the top and bake for 12-14 minute.

Cool in a wire rack for couple of minutes

Serve with a glass of milk


Notes

• This is a little sticky cookie dough. i flattened the dough a bit with a back of spoon before baking for a good finishing

Hong Kong Egg Tart

Hong Kong egg tart can be found easily in bakeries especially in chinese bakeries and Dim Sum restaurants.
Hong Kong egg tarts differs from Portugese tart which the later have a scorched, caramelized filling whereas the Hong Kong egg tart known for their smooth and shiny custard. Buttery pastry crust filled with sweet,smooth egg custard is sure a winner.

The aroma of freshly baked egg tart filled my kitchen and when i took the first bite, that's it...i'm in heaven. The soft egg custard melt in my mouth and the cookie dough pastry compliment the tart very well. Match made in heaven i should say. My nephew loves egg tarts. He could finish a dozen of it in one go and this egg tart is his favourite. He loves the crumble pastry crust and the smooth texture of the custard. This guy really knows his egg tart well



Ingredients

For Pastry Crust

1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup butter
1 egg yolk
1/2 egg white
1 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp butter(to grease the tart shells)


For Custard

3/4 cup confectioners/icing sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
2 large eggs
1/3 cup hot water
1/2 cup fresh milk
Pinch of salt

For Pastry

Preheat oven at 350'F or 180' Cel and place the baking rack in the middle of the oven.

Grease the tart shells with butter, making sure every corner and sides are well greased

Using a hand or stand mixer, beat butter,confectioners sugar,egg yolk and egg white.

Add in flour and beat till well combined. Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and knead for 1 minute. Do not over knead the dough. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in a clingwrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes

Remove the dough from fridge and divide the dough into 6 equal portion. Approximately 38 grams each. Roll the dough into a ball and press to fit the prepared tart cases from bottom to the sides. Arrange the tart shells on a baking tray and chill the pastries in the fridge for another 30 minutes

For Custard

In a clean bowl, mix sugar with hot water. Stir well till the sugar dissolved and set aside to cool

In a large bowl, whisk together milk,eggs,vanilla essence and salt. Pour in the sugar water and mix well.

Strain the egg mixture with fine strainer to get a smooth custard.

Fill the chilled pastry crust with the custard and bake for 23-25 minutes or till the custard set and the pastry turns golden.

Cool it on wire rack for a couple of minutes

Enjoy warm with a cup of tea



Notes

• Its important when you fill your pastry crust with custard no bubbles form in the surface to get a smooth, glassy finishing. Just poke off the bubbles using a fork.

• Do not over bake the tarts. The perfectly baked tarts is when the custard in the centre wobbles slightly

Lacy Crepe/Roti Jala

The nation is celebrating 57th independence day today thus, i'm sharing one of Malaysian's favourite...roti jala. Malaysia have so many varities of delicacies to offer and one of them is roti jala or lacy crepe. Roti jala is easy to make with basic ingredients you can find in your kitchen. An ideal alternative to rice and usually served with chicken curry but you can serve it with any gravy of your choice.When i make this crepe at home i prefer to dip it into anchovies or prawn sambal (grounded chilly based spicy gravy).

Roti jala mostly sold in hawker stalls for breakfast or as tea time snack. Rolled to form a spring roll look alike, and sometimes stuffed with cubed curried potatoes. In this case, you can enjoy the roti jala without dipping it into any gravy. An ideal snack on the go for all those busy office workers. Will share the stuffed roti jala version soon and as of now "selamat hari merdeka" to all my fellow Malaysians indeed i'm proud to be 1.


Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup water
Pinch of turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Cooking oil to grease the pan


Methods

In a large bowl, whisk egg,salt and turmeric powder.

Sift the flour into the egg mixture and add water. Stir well till a thin "crepe like batter" is achieved

Pour the mixture into a blender and blend for 1 minute.

Heat a griddle and grease lightly with oil.

Pour a ladle full of batter into a roti jala mould and in circular motion, form a thin lacy pattern in the pan. Approximately 7-8 inch in diameter

Cook for 1 to 1/2 minutes and turn over onto a plate. Do not flip over the roti jala as there is no need to cook the other side. Fold each crepe into quarters or roll into a spring roll. Repeat the process with the remaining batter

Serve hot or warm with chicken curry


Notes

Roti Jala mould can be found in any Asian marts. Cup like mould made of plastic or metal with holes in the bottom

You can make your own mould. Get a clean empty tin, using a hammer and nail make 5 holes evenly spaced on the bottom of the can. Your roti jala mould is ready

Malaysian Satay Peanut Sauce

Typically, peanut sauce served with satay which is cubed meat marinated with spice mix and grill to perfection. Satay dipped into a thick sweet and spicy sauce made of peanut as a basic ingredient. In Asia, Thai,Vietnam and Indonesia have their own satay peanut sauce and they are different from our Malaysian version. Malaysian peanut sauce is thicker,sweeter and richly infused with spices. Kajang in Malaysia are known for serving the best satay and delicious peanut sauce to go with it.

The use of lemongrass in this peanut sauce gives an authentic fresh taste to the rich sauce. The sauce is well balanced with sweet and spicy ingredients. Make in large batches,store in an airtight container and it stays well up to 1 month in refrigerator. When i make mine, i always store one or two container which comes handy as a dipping sauce for chicken nuggets,compressed rice cake or any fried stuffs. Goes well as dipping for spring rolls and samosas too. After all, this is the taste of Malaysia that i grew up with


Ingredients


1  cup raw peanuts
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
1 tbsp tamarind pulp, dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water and sieved. Discard the seeds
3 tbsp oil
4 stalks lemongrass, bruised
1 tbsp sugar
2 inches galangal
1 tbsp palm sugar/brown sugar

To Blend

1 cups dried chillies
2 medium red onions
2 inches ginger
6 cloves garlic
1/3 cup water


Methods

In a frying pan, dry roast the peanuts for over a medium fire for 10-15 minutes. Be careful not to burn the peanuts. Remove from fire and let the peanuts to cool before removing the skin. Grind the peanut coarsely and keep aside

Soak the dried chillies in hot water for 30 minutes. In a mixer, blend together soaked dried chillies,onion,ginger and garlic to a smooth paste by adding 1/3 cup water

In a heavy bottom pot over a medium flame, heat oil and saute the blended ingredients till fragrant approximately for 5-6 minutes.

Add the lemongrass,galangal and stir. Add the coconut milk,sugar,tamarind juice,palm sugar and salt. Stir well to combined

Once the mixture begins to boil, add the roasted peanut and give a good stir. Reduce flame to low heat and let the sauce cook for 10 minutes. Kill the fire

Serve the sauce with satay or any grilled meat


Notes

To remove the peanuts skin, just roughly squeeze or crush the peanuts with your hands. The skin will peel off easily.

Channa Dhal Modakam-Vinayagar Chaturthi Special

Happy Ganesha Chaturthi all. Happy birthday Ganesha.  Today is an auspicious day for Lord Ganesha thus, i'm making His all time favourite sweet....modakam. Sweet dumpling made of rice flour and stuffed with channa dhal paste. Modakam is an ideal neiveidhyam for Lord Ganesha.

This is the first time i'm making modakam and for the first timer i should say it comes out well. I'm very much excited to try my hand  on modakam as it's my beloved Ganesha's favourite prasadam(offering) so, its customary to make modakam on this special day. May Lord Ganesha bestow all of us with wisdom,prosperity and good health




Ingredients

For Dough

1 cup rice flour
1 tsp sesame oil
1 1/4 cup water
A pinch of salt

For Filling

1/2 cup grated coconut
1/2 cup channa dhal
3/4 jaggery
1/4 tsp ghee
A pinch of cardamom powder


Methods

Boil water with salt and sesame oil.

In a bowl add flour. Mix the boiling water to the flour and stir with a spoon. Cover it with damp clothes for 2 minutes. While it still warm, grease hand with sesame oil and knead the flour mixture into a dough. Take a lemon size of dough, with you hand make a small dough cup and place the prepared filling into the center. Cover it and shape it into modakam.

Boil water in a steamer, grease a steaming pan with little oil and place the modakam on it. Steam for 10-12 minutes. Let it cool for 2 minutes and transfer to a serving pan

For Filling

Soak the channa dhal for 30 minutes. In a frying pan, dry roast the channa dhal for 4-5 minutes over a medium flame. Boil the channa dhal till soft.

Grind the channa dhal with coconut and cardamom powder. Grind to a smooth paste and add jaggery. Pulse twice. Transfer to a plate and divide the filling to an equal parts.

Ganesha's neiveidhyam is ready

Pottukadalai Vadai/Gram Dhal Patties

Ganesha Chaturthi is around the corner. This year the grand celebration for the elephant headed God will be celebrated on 29 August 2014. Being the most famous Hindu God all over the world, Ganesha are my personal favourite idol. Well known  as God of wisdom and obstacle remover, Ganesha always have a special place in my heart and life. I guessed i give importance for Ganesha Chaturthi more than grand celebration of Diwali. During Ganesha Chaturthi, in all hindu households cooking will take an important place.

As past years i'll be busy cooking a feast for my beloved Ganesha. This is the day in a year that i always look forward. Nothing beats the feeling of serving varieties of His favourite delicacies on His special day. I made pottukadalai vadai few months ago to offer as neiveidhyam. The crispy vadai turns out very well at first trial itself. I reserved 1/3 cup of gram dhal to add to the powdered dhal mixture. This gives the vadai the crispyness and a beautiful texture.With the right amount of spicyness, pottukadalai vadai indeed a great choice of neiveidhyam to try for this year's Ganesha Chaturthi.


Ingredients

2 1/3 cups pottukadalai/gram dhal
2 green chillies,chopped
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 onions,chopped
3 springs curry leaves,chopped
1/3 cup chopped coriander leaves
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying
Water for sprinkling


Methods

In a frying pan, dry roast 2 cups gram dhal for 3 minutes over a medium heat. Remove from flame and let it cool. Grind it to a coarse powder.

Transfer the powdered gram dhal into a large bowl and add chopped green chillies,onion,the remaining 1/3 cup gram dhal,cumin seeds,curry leaves,coriander leaves and salt. Mix well.

Sprinkle little water to make a thick dough

Heat oil in a frying pan/wok over a medium flame. Make small palm sized patties and gently drop the vadas in batches into the oil

Deep fry the vadas till both sides are golden approximately 4-5 minutes. Drain on a kitchen towel to remove excess oil

Serve hot with coconut chutney or as it own

Bread Pizza

Stale breads are great for bread pudding and it's great for making  bread pizza too. Bread is one thing that i always store at home. My little daughter Jeevana loves her bread and she can have her bread everyday without complaints. Being a mom, i decided to be a little creative to serve her usual bread with a twist which she enjoyed it so much

Bread topped with assorted colurful vegetables, sausage and topped with gooey mozarella cheese is wholesome breakfast idea for kids. Since i have left over bolognese sauce from last night dinner, it becomes handy with this bread pizza. You can use crushed tomato or tomato paste instead and top with any vegetables of your choice. Creativity has no boundries thus, try to play with ingredients you can easily find in your fridge. You can serve this bread pizza for breakfast or as tea time snack and i guarantee your kids gonna love it.


Ingredients

8 bread slices
8 chicken sausages, fried and cut into desired lenght
1 onion,diced
1 tomato,diced
1/4 cup frozen corn,thawed
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup bolognese sauce/pizza sauce
1/2 cup mozarella cheese
Salt to taste


Methods

Preheat oven at 250'F or 120'C

Arrange the bread slices in a greased square baking tray

Spread a generous amount of butter and bolognese or pizza sauce on the bread slices

Arrange the bread sliced with onion,tomato,frozen corn, and fried sausage and sprinkle with salt

Top with mozarella cheese and bake for 13-15 minutes or till the cheese starts to melting

Serve warm

Paneer Soda/Rose Flavoured Soda Water

I first discovered paneer soda from an old indian uncle shop near my working place. That is the shop that i always get my copy of monthly magazines. Everytime i passed by his shop, few old uncles will be ordering "goli soda"...Yes! dat is how they order their paneer soda. With zero knowledge of what is goli soda is all about, i started to engage in a conversation with the shop owner. As the uncle knows me well he started to explain to me about this well known drink in India. In Malaysia i wonder how many of us really tastes or heard about it.

The combination of soda water with simple sugar syrup infused with rose essence made me craving for it. On the very same day i bought a can of soda water and rose essence and in no time my very own homemade paneer soda is ready to gulp. Refreshing summer drink

Ingredients

1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/3 cup water
1 can club soda/soda water
2 drops rose essence


Methods

In a pot over a medium heat, boil water and sugar. Boil till sugar completely dissolved

Remove from heat and let the sugar syrup to cool. Add rose essence and stir.

In a serving glass, add ice cubes. Pour in the soda water and stir in about 2 tbsp of  the sugar syrup

Serve immediately


Notes

• Once the sugar syrup cools down you can store the syrup in the refrigerator for up to 1-2 weeks

• Stir in the sugar syrup into the soda water to your liking. Approximately 2 tbsp for a medium serving glass should be good enough you

• Rose water can be added as subsitute of rose essence. Add 2 tbsp of rose water to the sugar syrup and stir well.

Courgette/Zucchini Pakoras(Fritters)

Pakoras are such a versatile snack to munch on. You can make pakoras with almost all the vegetables you can find in the farmer's market. Potatoes,cauliflower,cilantro,beetroot,carrots are some of the usual vegetables that goes into a pakora batter. I'm making my pakoras with zucchini and scallions for a change of taste and it came out amazingly delicious. Pakoras are most indians favourite tea time snack. Right here in Malaysia, you can easily indentify a pakora stall by their crowds. One of the most hot selling item during festive seasons.

During Thaipusam in Batu Caves(celebration for Lord Muruga), shops selling food,drinks and textiles will be allocated for the public convenience. Every corner of the street you can find people with large wok frying pakoras in batches day and night. Piping hot pakoras served with hot chilly sauce, is an on go snack. Crispy on the outside and spongy in the inside with assorted chopped vegetables mixed with chickpeas flour and dropped into hot oil is a must to try dish. Now you don't have to wait for festive seasons to enjoy your pakoras. Get into your kitchen and fry some of this yummy snack and enjoy


Ingredients

4-5 courgettes/zucchini, coarsely grated
1 onion,finely chopped
1 cup scallions/spring onions,finely chopped
2 red chillies,finely chopped
1 cup chickpeas flour
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds, roughly crushed
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt


Methods

Squeeze 90% water out from shredded zucchini. In a large bowl, combine the zucchini, ,chopped chillies,onion,scallions,cumin seeds,coriander seeds,chickpeas flour and salt. Mix well. Stir in the water and mix till all the ingredients well incorporated.

Heat oil in a wok or frying pan over a medium heat. With a tablespoon, spoon in the batter into the oil and cook the pakoras till golden brown, approximately 2-3 minutes on each side. Drain the pakoras on a paper towel to remove excess oil

Garnish with chopped chillies and serve with hot sauce or dip into mint chutney