Ragi/Finger Millet Idli

Today's recepi is a simple and healthy ragi idli which can be served as a satisfying breakfast or a for a simple light dinner. Soft and fluffy ragi idlis are easy to make at home without much fuss. You can turn plain idli into this brown beauty just by adding ready made ragi flour which is easily available in groceries selling Asian or Indian goods.

Ragi have been known for ages in promoting good health for all age groups. The humble ragi rich in fiber and iron. Known in promoting weight loss,cancer prevention and aids in digestion. Ragi is one of the staple food in India and slowly gaining popularity all over the world for its health benefits. This ragi idli is one of the way to enjoy the health benefit of ragi which can be included in daily diet. Enjoy the soft, flavourful and spongy idli along side of sambar and coconut chutney.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup ragi flour
1 cup urad dhal
2 cups water
2 tbsp poha/beaten rice/aval
3/4 tsp salt
Gingely oil/vegetable oil for greasing


Methods

Wash poha and urad dhal. Soak both ingredients in 1 1/2 cups water for 4-5 hours

In a blender, grind both ingredients into fine paste. Transfer to a deep bottom container/pot.

Add ragi flour. salt and remaining 1/2 cup water. Mix well and cover with lid. Let the batter sit in a room  temperature for 6-7 hours or overnight.

Grease idli moulds with gingely oil or vegetable oil.

Using a ladle, stir the batter well and spoon over the batter into greased idli moulds.

Steam the idlis for 12-15 minutes. Once the idlis are done, remove from steamer and let it cool for 3-4 minutes.

Using a spoon, gently remove the idlis from the mould and serve chutney and sambar or gravy you desire.


Notes

The batter consistency should not be too thick or too thin.

Simply circle a spoon along each idli moulds to remove idli from the pan after steaming.

Blue Pea Flower Agar-Agar

My friend passed me a packet of home grown sun dried blue pea flowers to include in my cooking. Blue pea flowers usually used in famous Kelantanese/Terengganu ever famous nasi kerabu (rice dyed with blue pea flowers extract garnish with fresh herbs and served with assorted side dishes). I'm not ready to try nasi kerabu yet thus, tried to dye my agar-agar naturally with this humble flowers. This is 100% natural food coloring which you can trust. Blue pea flowers known for many health benefits...a great source of antioxidants which fight against cancer. The flower helps to reduce inflammation and good for skin health.

The brilliant blue color from the flower was amazingly beautiful. The colour does not change the taste of the agar-agar. I love the colour and taste of this easy and simple to make jelly. I still have some leftover flowers and can't wait to venture into more recipes with blue pea flowers. I have grown my own blue pea flower seeds which i got from my friend and hoping to see some shoot coming up soon.

Ingredients

1 packet konyuku jelly powder
1600ml water
4 screwpine/pandan leaves, tied into knots
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
Pinch of salt
20-25 pcs blue pea flowers,rinsed
250ml water


Methods

In a medium heat, boil 200ml water and add blue pea flowers. Boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Strain the water and discard the flowers.

Boil 1600ml water and add knotted screwpine/pandan leaves. Leave to boil and add pinch of salt.

Add the blue pea flower water and stir. Add the konyuku jelly powder and stir well. Add the granulated white sugar and simmer for 5-7 minutes.

Remove from heat and discard the screwpine leaves. Let the mixture to cool for 3-4 minutes and pour it into jelly moulds.

Cool the jelly in room temperature before refrigerate for atleast 2-3 hours to set.

Demould the jelly and serve chilled.

Flaxseed Chutney

I have a packet of flaxseeds sitting in my pantry which i used for my smoothies or simply throw into my morning cereal. This time i'm making chutney with them. Yes, flaxseed chutney to go with my Sunday classical Indian breakfast...idli. Flaxseed known to fight against heart disease,breast cancer and diabetes which one shall include in their daily diet. In this chutney recepi, i found out the flaxseed helps to thicken the chutney and taste absolutely wonderful. Goes well with idli,dosa or even masala paniyaram. Try this simple and healthy chutney to enjoy the goodness.

Ingredients

2 large tomatoes,chopped
4 tbsp flaxseeds
6 cloves garlic
4-6 dry red chilly
1 tsp tamarind paste
1 tbsp vegetable/gingely oil
Salt to taste

For Tempering

1 tbsp vegetable/gingely oil
1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds


Methods

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and dry chillies,garlic and flaxseeds. Saute for 1-2 minute. Add chopped tomatoes and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool completely.

Add the sauteed ingredients into a blender together with tamarind paste and salt. Grind to a smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl.

Heat oil in a saucepan, and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter, pour the mustard mustard seeds onto the chutney and mix well.

Serve with idli or dosa

Jackfruit Paniyaram

This jackfruit paniyaram or jackfruit appam is a sweet version appam which is easy and simple to prepare at home. All you need is a special paniyaram pan which easily found in Indian stores. I bough few packets of jackfruit flesh from my wet market. The honey sweet bright yellow jackfruit were in season and I can's resist the taste and sweet fragrance of the jackfruit.

After consuming packets and packets of fleshy jackfruit, i decided to make the famous jackfruit paniyaram for tea time. This jackfruit paniyaram is simply delicious with soft and fluffy texture. I love the natural sweetness from the jackfruit in this gorgeous paniyaram. If you noticed, i didn't add any sugar or sweetener to the batter and the sweetness purely derived from the jackfruit. You can fry the paniyaram with vegetable oil but i do feel frying with ghee enhance the flavour of the paniyaram. Do give it a try when you have an access to jackfruit next time.

Ingredients

1 cup raw rice
1 cup jackfruit flesh
1//2 cup grated coconut
3/4 cup jaggery
Ghee for frying
Pinch of cardamom


Ingredients

Soak the raw rice in water for 4 hours and drain excess water.

Grind the rice to a smooth paste with little water to form not too thin or too thick batter. Transfer to a large bowl.

Grind the jackfruit and coconut. Add the jackfruit mixture into rice paste. Stir until well combined.

Store the mixture for 4-5 hours to ferment.

In a saucepan, add little water and dissolve the jaggery. Strain to remove impurities and add the jaggery to the rice batter. Add cardamom powder and mix well.

Heat panniyaram pan on a low-medium heat and drop ghee as needed (approximately 1/2 tsp in each hole)

Fill each hole till 2/3 full, cover and cook for 1-2 minutes or till golden brown. Using a skewer, flip the panniyaram and cook on the other side till golden brown.

Transfer to a serving plate and serve hot with a cup of chai or coffee.

Deep Fried Crab Cakes

Deep fried crab cakes can be served as an appetizer or as a side dish along rice or rotis. Fuss fee recipe with simple ingredients which is easily available around us. I had crab meat in my fridge and was too lazy to think anything complicated dish to dish out and decided to make this easy deep fried crab cakes. Make sure to use fresh crab meat to get the best result. Fresh crab meat always has a sweet taste and absolutely wonderful to make this delicious crab cakes. Mayonnaise add richness and creaminess to this beautiful dish. The nuttiness from the mustard and fresh spring onions add taste and texture to this little beauties. I served my crab cakes by squeezing some lemon wedges and thousand island sauce as dipping.

Ingredients

2 cups crab meat
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 eggs,beaten
1 tbsp mustard
2  tbsp mayonnaise
3 tbsp chopped spring onion
1/3 tsp ground pepper
Salt to taste
Vegetable or sunflower oil for frying


Methods

In a bowl, add crab meat,mustard,mayonnaise,eggs,spring onion,pepper and salt. Mix well.

Shape into small patties and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll the prepared crab meat patties in the panko bread crumbs till well coated.

Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the patties in batches.

Transfer onto a plate lined with kitchen towel to remove excess oil.

Serve with your favourite dipping sauce and lemon wedges.

Caramel Cornbread Pudding

This is my third recipe with cornbread. I'm using day old cornbread in this recipe as i have some left over corn bread in my kitchen. Day old cornbread works amazingly wonderful to soak the creamy custard and stays firm without becoming mushy. This delicious caramel cornbread pudding just like butter bread pudding easy to make and can be made ahead to serve as dessert for a fantastic barbecue dinner.

The sweet caramel topping works really well in this simple dessert. This recipe is absolutely delicious with the perfect amount of sweetness, creamy and rich custard and a nutty flavor from the caramel.The added cinnamon and nutmeg filled the house with beautiful aroma and lends tons of flavor to the humble caramel cornbread pudding.

Ingredients

5-6 thick slices of left over cornbread
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
3 eggs
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder

For Caramel Sauce

1 tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda


Methods

Torn or cut the cornbread into bite sized . Fill a pie dish with the torn cornbread.

In a large bowl, add cream,milk,sugar,eggs,cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk well.

Pour the custard over the cornbread and bake at 325'F or 160'C for 50-55 minutes.

For Caramel Sauce

In a saucepan, over a medium flame, heat the brown sugar,corn syrup and butter. Stir till the mixture starts to boil.

Boil the mixture for 1 minute without stirring.

Remove from heat and add baking soda and salt. Stir well and pour the caramel sauce over the cornbread.

Serve warm.

Cornbread French Toast

One thing to make sure when making cornbread french toast is that your cornbread a re firm and not crumbly to be able to dunk into the egg custard. I'm using leftover cornbread from last night dinner as a day old cornbread has the firmness to hold the shape and easily absorb the goodness of the eggy custard. Furthermore, this cornbread french toast recipe is a great way to make use of your left over cornbread and transform them into irresistible breakfast.

Instead of using white bread for making french toast, cornbread french toast loaded with flavor and super moist. Easy to prepare even on weekdays breakfast for your kids lunch box. I served my cornbread french toast sprinkle with confectioners sugar along with butter and raspberry jam. Drizzle with maple syrup or honey or simply dust them with confectioners sugar and enjoy with a hot piping cup of coffee.

Ingredients

5 slices cornbread
3 large eggs
2/3 cup whole milk
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp nutmeg powder
1/2 tsp dried ginger powder
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Butter for frying
Pinch of salt

Methods

In a large bowl, whisk eggs and add milk,cinnamon powder,nutmeg powder,ginger powder,vanilla extract and salt.

Dunk the sliced cornbread into in the egg mixture and let it sit for 10-12 minutes.

Melt butter in a non stick pan over a medium heat and fry the custard soaked cornbread for 2-3 minutes or till golden on both sides. Remove from heat.

Transfer to a serving plate and dust with confectioner sugar.

Sweet Cornbread

I have one big jar of yellow cornmeal stocked for few weeks on my shelf. When i came across of sweet cornbread recepi from a recepi book i immediately give it a try. The beauty of this recepi lies in its simplicity of the method and ingredients. Using easily available ingredients, one could whip up this delicious sweet cornbread in jiffy.

I love the soft,moist and crumble texture of this gorgeous cornbread. With the right amount of sweetness, this tender cornbread goes well with honey,maple syrup or slather generously with butter. Once you try this recepi, you'll never look further. Try it for yourself and enjoy with family and friends.

Ingredients

1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 1/3 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup butter,room temperature
1 2/3 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 tbsp  baking powder
1 tsp salt

Methods

Grease a 13'inch baking pan and preheat oven at 204'C or 400'F.

In a bowl, stir milk and egg together. Keep aside. In another bowl, combine cornmeal,flour,baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl,beat butter and sugar till pale and fluffy.

Add the milk mixture alternate with flour mixture into the beaten butter mixture. Beat just to combine.

Pour the mixture into the greased baking pan and bake for 25-28 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes

• Serve warm with butter and drizzle of maple syrup

Sri Lankan Crab Curry

My little girl was down with dengue last month and crab is what everyone insist me to feed her to increase her blood platelet. Thank goodness, crabs are easily available here and almost all seafood vendors have few varities of crab to offer to buyers. I got abundance supply of crab from my family be it grandparents,uncles,aunties all came dropping kilos of crabs to feed my sweet girl. I made crab rasam loaded with spices,mild soup with herbs and feeding her every single day hoping her blood counting increase. Miracle it was, with proper medical treatment and liters of crab soup my girl recovered well and back to her routine. We came home to few more carbs sitting in our freezer when she asked for a spicy crab curry (guess all the mild soups are more than enough)

This spicy Si Lankan crab curry loaded with spices however, coconut milk in the recepi helps to mellow down the heat from the spices. I used mud crabs in this dish, if you can't get your hands on mud crab, feel free to use flower crabs. Coconut oil lends a beautiful aroma and unique taste to this awesome crab dish. Serve hot with white rice.

Ingredients

3 mud crabs,shelled & cleaned
1 red onion,sliced
1 medium tomato, cut into 4
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tsp tamarind paste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp coriander powder
1 1/2 tbsp black pepper powder
1/4 tsp fenugreek
1/2 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp chilly powders
1 1/4 cup water
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 tbsp coconut/vegertable oil
Salt to taste

Methods

Heat oil in a wok and add the mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the cumin seeds and onion. Saute for a minute and add curry leaves, ginger-garlic paste, Saute till fragrant.

Add the turmeric paste,coriander powder,black pepper powder and chilly powder. Add 1/4 cup of water and let it cook till raw smell from the spices leaves.

Add the crab and tomato. Stir and add remaining 1 cup of water. Season with salt and stir well.

Add the tamarind paste and coconut milk. Stir to coat the crabs.. Cover with lid and cook on medium for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Serve with white rice.

Hokkaido Milk Bread

As the name suggests, Japanese or Hokkaido milk bread invented in Japan and a staple in Asian bakery. Tangzhong method which known as roux a mixture of water and flour cooked to thickens added to the dough to render a soft,pillowy texture to the delicious bread. Once you tried the tangzhong technique, you,ll never make bread without it.

This Hokkaido milk bread lives to its name with soft,spongy and fluffiest texture and enriched with creaminess of the milk and whipping cream. We seldom come across of whipping cream in bread recipe but, in this gorgeous bread the rich cream enhance the texture and the taste of the bread. The only devastating part in making this beauty is the waiting to for it to cool completely before i could slice them of (i'm not good in patient department). Slather generously with butter and enjoy with a cuppa.

Ingredients

For The Tangzhong

2 tbsp bread flour
6 tbsp water

For The Bread Dough

2 3/4 cups bread flour
1/4 cup full cream milk
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp milk powder
1 tbsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp butter,room temperature
1 egg,room temperature
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 tsp salt
Egg wash (1 egg lightly beaten with 1 tbsp water)

Methods

For The Tangzhong

In a small bowl, combine ingredients listed under :For The Tangzhong" and whisk without no lumps. Heat the mixture in a saucepan over medium-low heat for 1-2 minutes or till the mixture thickens by whisking consistently. Once the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and form a mass on the pan, remove from heat and transfer to a bowl to cool completely.

For The Bread Dough

Heat milk in the microwave for 10-12 seconds to lukewarm to touch. Add yeast to the milk and set aside for 5-7 minutes to bloom.

Sieve together,bread flour,milk powder and salt. Add granulated white sugar and whisk to combine.

In a bowl, beat egg and add full cream milk,whipping cream and yeast mixture. Whisk to mixture.

Using a kitchen aid attached with hook paddle, add the dry ingredients to the bowl. Make a well and add the wet ingredients. Knead for 5 minutes and add butter. Continue kneading for another 15-20 minutes or till the dough soft and smooth.

Lightly dust a clean working surface with flour and knead the dough with you hands for 3-4 minutes.

Transfer the dough into a large bowl lightly greased with oil. Cover the bowl with kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 90 minutes in a warm place to rise.

Punch the dough to release air pocket and divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Using a rolling pin, roll each pieces into oval, fold the oval into thirds width wise and flatten the dough with rolling pin. Using you hand, roll the dough lenght wise and place into a greased loaf pan. Repeat with the remaining dough. Cover the dough with clean kitchen towel and place in a warm place for the dough to rise again for 30-40 minutes.

Preheat oven at 350'F or 180'C. Brush the dough egg wash and bake in the middle tray of the oven for 30 minutes or till the bread turns dark golden.

Remove from oven and cool on the pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely o wire rack before slicing.

Slather generously with butter and enjoy.

Notes

• Do not let the bread to cool completely in the pan as, it will turn soggy. 

Sesame Seed Balls With Red Bean Fillings

Sesame seeds balls or known as Jian Dui in Chinese usually served at Dim Sum restaurant and very popular among Chinese community. A must in Dim Sum restaurant which comes with red bean,mung bean or lotus seed paste fillings. This Chinese pastry made of glutinous rice flour is a common sight in South East Asia and make a special treat during Chinese New Year.

I have a bag of leftover red bean paste from my red bean bread and decided to make this delicious pastry. With easy and simple ingredients one can prepare this beautiful deep fried delicacy in jiffy. Crispy exterior, soft and chewy interior with sweet red bean filling makes an ideal tea time snack. I love the way the sesame balls expands during the frying process but the trickiest part is not to burn the sesame seeds and keep turning the balls while frying but the taste worth the effort.

Ingredients

2 cups glutinous rice flour
1 1/4 cup water
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup red bean filling
1/2 cup white sesame seeds
1 bowl of water
Vegetable oil,for deep frying

Methods

Boil 1 1/4 cup water in a pan. In a large bowl add glutinous rice flour,baking powder and salt. Whisk all together to combine.

Add the boiling water and knead to form a soft and smooth dough. Divide dough into 12-14 equal portions.

Flatten the ball into a disc with your palm and place 1 tsp red bean filling in the middle. Wrap dough to seal the edges and roll the dough to form a ball.

Dip the ball in the 1 bowl of water carefully removing excess water and roll the ball onto white sesame seeds. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.

Heat oil in a pan over a medium flame and deep fry till the sesame balls approximately 3 minutes or until golden.

Remove from heat and transfer to a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain excess oil.

Serve warm with a cup of hot sweet tea

Notes

• The amount of water depends on the brand of glutinous rice flour. Different brand requires different amount of water. Add water little by little to form a non sticky and smooth dough.

• Always fry in medium or medium-low heat for even cooking. 

• Make sure during the wrapping of the dough, the edges flatten to pretty thin so that no uncooked sealed edges.

• Remove excess water after dipping the balls in a bowl of water and the balls fully coated with sesame seeds to avoid the balls bursting while frying
• Keep turning the balls while frying to prevent the sesame seeds from burning 

• Fry 4 balls at a time and avoid over crowding the frying pan.