Affogato-Drowned Vanilla Ice Cream

Affogato means "drowned" in Italian. Affogato is a coffee based dessert whereby a scoop of vanilla gelato drown in a shot of espresso. Now you know why the dessert called drowned in Italian. There are some variations of affogato which includes a shot of amaretto. Being a non-alcoholic, i opted for the basic recepi without compromising on the taste. .

Creamy vanilla ice cream drowned in a strong espresso coffee is something i can't resist. The hot coffee and cool ice cream just melt in my mouth.  Serve with a cookie or wafer.

Ingredients

1 cup strong brewed espresso (hot or room temperature)
1 big scoop of vanilla gelato/ice cream


Methods

Put a scoop of vanilla ice cream into a bowl or dessert cup

Fill the bowl or dessert cup with a shot of espresso.

Garnish with cookie or wafer.

Serve immediately

French Toast Roll-Ups

French toast roll-ups are a regular breakfast in my household especially for the kids lunch box. Even though i made them few times before, but i didn't get a chance to snap them with the ever busy morning chores. Somehow, i managed to clicked them this time around and thanks to my elder daughter for the click. Not bad for a 12 years old i guess.

Ok let's talk about French toast roll-ups. Not like their main counterpart this beauty doesn't require fork and knives which means you can simply enjoy them with your hands. Just grab the rolls and bite into awesome goodness of French toast. Easy and quick breakfast recepi and even easier to enjoy. Th creative breakfast idea you can pack for your kids lunch box. Simply switch to nutella,cheese,marmalade or jam for different fillings. Roll them in a cinnamon sugar for the additional crunch and and texture. Enjoy them as their own or serve with maple syrup.

Ingredients

5 slices white bread
5 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
1/4 cup whole milk
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp granulated white sugar

For Cinnamon Sugar

3 tbsp granulated white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon


Methods

In a bowl, whisk together milk,egg and sugar. Set aside.

In a plate, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Mix well. Keep aside

With a rolling pin, roll the bread slices into 1/8 inch thick. Spread each bread slices with peanut butter.

Gently roll up the bread. Continue with the remaining bread slices.

Heat a frying pan and melt the butter. Dip the bread rolls with the prepared milk mixture. Place on a frying pan and cook 1-2 minutes on both sides until golden.

Remove from pan and gently roll the fried bread rolls in a cinnamon sugar mixture.

Transfer into a serving plate

Greens With Walnut & Cranberries

Salad is the ultimately easy to prepare and this greens with walnut and cranberries is definitely one of the easiest. Crispy,juicy,crunchy all combined in a one wholesome goodness salad bowl. The balsamic vinaigrette add flavour and some kind of perk-me-up after taste to the salad. Easy to prepare and light to the palette without compromising in taste.

Ingredients

2 bunches green coral leaves,cleaned
1 cup whole walnuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt to taste
Dash of ground black pepper


Methods

In a big bowl, roughly tear the green coral leaves . Add walnuts and dried cranberries

Combine olive oil,balsamic vinegar,black pepper and salt in a bowl and whisk.

Pour the the mixture over the coral leaves and toss well.

Serve immediately.

Egg Kurma

Rich and creamy egg kurma can be done in this easy to follow recipe. I always made this delicious egg kurma when i'm overloaded with eggs in my fridge. Saucy and full of flavour egg kurma goes well with plain white rice,roti,paratha or briyani. Infused with assorted spices and to mellow down the spiciness, the creamy fresh coconut balances the flavours well. This amazing egg kurma is definitely a great choice for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

3 hard boiled eggs, scored
1 large onion
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilly powder
1 tsp coriander powder
2 medium sized tomatoes
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
2 tbsp oil
2 cups water
Salt to taste

For Tempering

1 star anise
3 cloves
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1 inch cinnamon stick

For Grinding

1/4 cup grated fresh coconut
1/2 inch fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic
2 green chillies
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4-5 cashew nuts
2 tbsp water


Methods

In a grinder, grind all the ingredients listed under "For Grinding" with 2 tbsp water. Grind into a fine paste.

Heat oil in a pan and add the fennel seeds. Once crackle, add star anise,cinnamon stick and cloves. Add chopped onion and curry leaves. Saute until the onion turns translucent.

Add chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes soft and mushy.

Add the ground coconut mixture and cook until the raw smell leaves. Add the coriander powder,chilly powder and turmeric powder. Stir well.

Add the 2 cups water and season with salt. Stir well. Boil the gravy until the raw smells of the spices leaves. Add  the scored eggs and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Sprinkle with chopped coriander and turn off  the heat.

Serve with briyani or white rice

Dragon Fruit & Chaat Masala Juice

Dragon fruits aka pitaya are loaded with vitamins and minerals which makes it an ideal choice to include in your fruits diet. Vitamin C,B1,B2,B3 and minerals such as iron,calcium and phosphorus. White and pink flesh dragon fruits are easily available in the market and i always get mine from my usual fruit vendor. My girls loves fruits and pink dragon fruits are one of their favourite. Most probably for its gorgeous shocking pink colour i guess.

Other than eating it as its own i try to feed the girls with their favourite pinky in the form smoothies,juice or as jelly. I made this beautiful pink juice with a dash of spiciness from chaat masala. Truly an Indian flavor to introduce for a tropical fruit and to my surprise the duo goes really well. This is an amazing juice when you need to perk up your mood. The chaat masala gives a beautiful hint of flavor to the juice and instantly makes me alive. A savoury note to the ordinary pink dragon fruit juice.

Ingredients

1 medium sized pink dragon fruit, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups soda water
3 tbsp granulated white sugar
1/4 tsp chaat masala
3-4 ice cubes


Methods

Add all the ingredients in a smoothie maker or blender. Blend for 1-2 minutes.

Pour into serving glass and sprinkle with pinch of chaat masala

Serve immediately.

Stir Fry Long Beans With Garlic

This is a very simple stir fry long beans recipe that even  a bachelor can whip up in their kitchen. When i saw a beautiful bunch of fresh green long beans in the market, i knew i wanted to go for a     simple and easy stir fry infused with a full flavor of garlic. I prefer my vegetables al-dente which is firm to a bite. Nothing is worst than an over cooked mushy vegetables on your dinner table. 

Love the crunchiness of the perfectly cooked long beans laced with the saltiness of soy sauce and the boost of sliced garlic. I love a bit spiciness thus, i added one dried chilly which, is truly optional. This long beans recipe is sort of what we usually order whenever we dine in Chinese restaurant. With few simple everyday ingredients that you can find in your kitchen now, you too can be a Chinese master chef of your own. Delicious stir fry longs beans with garlic ready to be served with white rice. Indeed a vegetarian favourite.

Ingredients

1 bunch of long beans, washed and cut into 2 inches
2 cloves garlic,sliced
1 small onion,chopped
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 dried chilly, cut into 2 inches
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp water
Salt to taste


Methods

Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Saute onion till soft and add sliced garlic. Once garlic slightly browned, add the beans. Stir well.

Add the water and cover the pan with lid. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Season with soy sauce and salt. Stir.

Cook for another 1 minute and turn off the heat

Transfer to a serving plate

Steamed Fish With Hot Peanut Oil

Steamed fish with hot peanut oil known as Cantonese style steamed fish is a popular steamed fish usually served in restaurants or in Chinese wedding banquet to go with white rice. You can come across of this simple steamed fish on most of Chinese family's dinner table too. Its so simple that you can prepare them at the comfort of your home without visiting a posh restaurant to taste them. Using a whole fish is a must in a steamed fish recepi but a good white flesh fish fillet will be a good choice as well. Tilapia and silver pomfret is my ideal choice whereas some prefer red snapper for the steam.

The fish was steamed with generous amount of fresh ginger and scallions that lends a beautiful aroma and flavor. The julienned carrot adds texture to the delicious fish. Some prefer to drizzle the soy sauce mixture after steaming their fish just before drizzling the hot oil but, i prefer to steam my fish with the sauce so that the flavor will steam into the fish for a great taste.

Ingredients

2 medium silver Pomfret or Tilapia
1 small carrot, julienned
2 inches fresh ginger,julienned
2 small bunches of cilantro,roughly chopped
4 sprig scallions,julienned
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tbsp water
1/8 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
4 tbsp peanut oil


Methods

In a small bowl combine the dark soy sauce,light soy sauce,sugar,salt and water. Mix well and keep aside.

Fill an inch of water in a steamer, and bring it to a boil. Meanwhile, place the fish in a plate and layer half of the the julienned carrot,fresh ginger and scallions. Top the fish with remaining of the julienned vegetables.

Drizzle the fish with the prepared soy sauce mixture. Cover and steam the fish for about 10 minutes.

Turn of the heat and remove the fish immediately from the steamer.

Heat peanut oil in a saucepan over a medium high heat. Once the oil smoking hot, drizzle the hot oil on the steamed fish.

Garnish with cilantro.

Serve with plain white rice.

Pineapple Jam Tart

Pineapple jam tart is my all time family favourite cookies and i guess for many Malaysians as well. Be it on special occasions or just for a tea time snacks we all love this crumbly, melt in mouth. pineapple jam tart. Eventhough, ready made pineapple jam filling readily available in most baking stores, i prefer to make my own pineapple filling. No added preservatives or colouring goes into my filling which ensure me the freshness and safeness of home made product. In  making pineapple jam tart the pastry is another important part to be considered. A super flaky,crumbly,buttery pastry is what makes a good delicious rich pineapple tarts that most Malaysians crave for. The corn flour  and cold butter gives you that much sought crumble and melt in mouth texture to the pastry.

The moist and slightly sweet and juicy homemade pineapple jam compliment the buttery pastry well. This is a open faced pineapple jam tart recipe one of the many way to prepare the classic tart which you may come across in many olden Chinese bakeries those days. Nowadays, the delicious pineapple tart comes in many shapes to attract their new age customers yet, i do still prefer the classic way when it comes to my pineapple tart. Good to go with a hot cup of tea.

Ingredients

For The Pineapple Jam

2 cups fresh pineapple, peeled,cored and shredded
2 inch cinnamon stick
1 egg,beaten
1 1/2 cups fine white sugar
2 cloves
1 star anise
1 tbsp lime juice

For Pastry

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp corn flour
10 tbsp cold butter
1 egg yolk,beaten
2 tbsp cold water
1/2 tsp salt


Methods

For The Pineapple Jam

In a saucepan, add all the ingredients mentioned under "For The Pineapple Jam'

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for 30 minutes by stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens

Remove from heat and cool the filling completely

For The Pastry

In a large bowl, sieve all purpose flour,corn flour and salt.

Rub in the cold butter into the sifted flour to resemble coarse crumbs

Add the beaten egg yolk and water. Mix the till combined.  Do not over mixed.

Shape dough into a disk and cover with cling wrap. Refrigerate for 40-35 minutes.

Dust a clean working surface with little flour and using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a 1/4 inch thick.

Cut out the dough using a pineapple jam cookie cutter. Place the cookies onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper.

Put a spoonful of the prepared pineapple jam in the centre of each cookies.

Brush the cookies with beaten egg.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.


Cool on baking sheet for 4 minutes before transferring onto a cooling rack to cool completely

Store in an airtight container.

Notes

• You can use a 2 inch fluted cookie cutter if the special pineapple jam cookie cutter not available in your nearby stores. 

Masala Egg Dum Briyani

This is the first time i'm making masala egg dum briyani and i shall say it was a great success. With much expectation, i brave myself to give the briyani a try and was immensely thrilled over the superb tasty briyani. I made the fluffy delicious briyani for a special Sunday lunch and it was a hit on our dining table.

The briyani was fluffy and grainy...thanks to the basmati rice. The briyani was packed with aromatic spices which lends a beautiful flavor to the grains. Made rich with ghee and curd which stabilise the spiciness in the dish.  The masala coated eggs compliment the briyani in such a way that no one can resist. If you notice, i didn't use briyani masala powder in my egg dum briyani mainly because all the spices used in the dish is what you can find in store bought briyani masala. It feels good to make briyani from scratch and by knowing what goes into your homemade briyani.

Ingredients

For The Rice

4 cups Basmati rice
3 tbsp ghee
1 bay leaf
1/2 inch cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
2 cloves
Salt as needed

For The Eggs

3 boiled eggs, scored
1 tsp besan flour
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Little water
Salt needed
1-1/2 tsp oil

For Seasoning

1 large onion,sliced
3/4 cup fried onions
4 tbsp curd
1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
10-12 cashew nuts
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1/3 cup chopped mint leaves
2 green chillies,slitted
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp chilly powder
1/2 tsp black cumin seeds
2 black cardamom pod
1 tsp javeri mace/kadal pasi
1/2 inch cinnamon stick
2 cloves
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp ghee
2 tbsp oil

For Garnishing

1 tsp ghee
1/3 cup chopped coriander leaves
1/3 cup chopped mint leaves
1 tbsp fried onions
4 strands saffron
1 tbsp milk


Methods

For  The Rice

Wash and soak basmati rice in water for 30 minutes. Drain and keep aside

In large pot, over a medium flame heat ghee. Add the cumin,cloves,cinnamon stick,bay leaves and cardamom. Saute till fragrant.

Add 5-6 cups of water and salt. Once the water starts boiling, add the drained basmati rice and mix well. Cover and cook in high heat till the rice are 60% done.

Remove from heat and drained the water immediately.

For The Eggs

In a bowl, add the besan flour,salt and red chilly powder. Add little water to make a thick paste.

In a pan, heat oil and fry the masala coated eggs for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and keep aside.

For The Seasoning

Heat ghee and oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add the cloves,cardamom,cumin,cinnamon stick,javeri mace and cashews. Once splutter, add the sliced onion and fry till golden. Saute ginger garlic paste till the raw smell leaves.

Add the coriander powder, turmeric powder,chilly powder,garam masala powder and salt. Mix well.

Add the curd and cook till oil separates. Transfer 3/4 of the mixture to another bowl.

For The Layering

Soak the saffron in 1 tbsp milk. Keep aside.

Top 1/2 cooked basmati rice on the remaining 3/4 masala mixture in the pot. Sprinkle with 1/2 of fried onions,chopped mint leaves and coriander leaves.

Repeat the layers until you are done with all the rice and masala.

Add in the fried masala eggs, drizzle with saffron soaked milk.

Heat a tawa on a low heat and place the prepared briyani pot on top. Cover and add weight by placing heavy object such as stone morsel or a brick.

Cook for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and let the steam to settle down for at least 8-10 minutes.

Fluff the rice with fork.

Serve hot with eggplant ghostu and raita.

Mango Shrikand

It's a mango season here in Malaysia and i'm over excited. I bought mangoes almost alternate days and my fridge are too full to store for another bag full of mangoes. My kids are bored with eating fresh mangoes everyday and that put mom to crack her head what to do next with all those golden mangoes. That's when mango shrikand trigger me. Absolutely rich and creamy Indian dessert perfect to beat the summer heat.

This no cook mango shrikand is absolutely divine and loaded with goodness of mangoes and yogurt. A guilt free dessert for all those weight watchers and furthermore, its easy peasy to dish out. Some mango shrikand recipes call for the usage of saffron but, i prefer the ultimate flavor of mango in mine thus, i omitted saffron in my preparation. Sometimes, instead of using hung curd for my shrikand, i opt for a shortcut method by using the thick and creamy plain Greek yogurt which, works wonder. The traditional way of preparing mango shrikand is, to mix well the curd and pureed mango mixture. This time around i decided to layer them instead. You can easily mix them just before consuming or dig your spoon till the bottom of the serving glass and enjoy the layer of two different flavor of sweet mango and the chilled creamy yogurt. Do try the recipe and enjoy the wholesome goodness of summer.

Ingredients

1/2 cup hung curd
2 tbsp granulated white sugar
1/4 cup mango pulp
Dash of cardamom powder

Garnishing

Cubed mango pulps


Methods

In a blender, puree the mango without adding water.

Hung the curd in a muslin cloth for 30 minutes making sure all the water are completely drained.

Transfer the thick curd into a medium bowl and whisk.

In another bowl, add the pureed mango,sugar and cardamom powder.

Scoop the whisked curd into a serving glass and top with pureed mango mixture.

Garnish with cubed mango pulps.

Refrigerate for an hour

Serve chill


Notes

Adjust sugar according to your preference

If using Greek yogurt, hangging the yogurt in muslin cloth is not necessary as the Greek yogurt are thick enough to use straight from the tub.

If adding saffron, crushed the saffron and add them in the pureed mango mixture.

Instead of topping the curd with pureed mango, you can mix them with the curd which is a more traditional way of preparing mango shrikand.

Chopped mixed nuts such as almonds and pistachios can be used for garnishing as well

Bread Rasmalai

This is one of the easiest rasmalai recipe i came across recently.This milk based Indian sweets are too good to resist. This rich and creamy dessert is an ideal way to finish off your weekdays or weekend lunch. I prefer to slightly toast my bread with ghee for the beautiful aroma and flour. You can omit the step if you are not a fan of ghee. I usually make a quite large portion of the rabri and store in the fridge and enjoy them on my breakfast toast or waffle. The rabri will stay good for 3-4 days in a fridge. Overall, bread rasmalai is a quick fix for any desperate sweet tooth out there

Ingredients

4 slices white bread
2 tbsp condensed milk
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 tbsp tsp ghee
3-4 strands saffron
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
2 tbsp chopped nuts(almonds and pistachios)


Methods

Cut off the brown edges of the white bread. You can use cookie cutter to cut off the white part

Melt ghee in a non stick pan, fry the chopped nuts. On the same frying pan, fry bread with the remaining ghee until golden approximately 20-25 seconds on each side.

In a wide heavy bottomed vessel, bring the milk and condensed milk to a boil. Reduce flame to medium and keep stirring until the milk reduced to half of the original quantity.

Soak saffron in a small bowl with 1 tbsp warm milk. Add the saffron milk into the reduced milk and. Stir. Add the granulated white sugar and continue to stir. This is call rabri.

Reduce heat to medium-low and keep stirring till the milk thickens. Add the cardamom powder and stir.

Remove from heat. Let it to cool completely and refrigerate.

Just before serving, arrange the ghee toasted bread on a serving plate and drizzle a generous amount of rabri and sprinkle with fry nuts


Notes

• Spoon the rabri over the bread just before serving to avoid the bread from becoming soggy.