Mexican Chicken

Hi gals,

Tried this recipe today - it's actually very nice (kids sapu habis) and easy to make (jenis campak2 and bake). Got it from a british cookbook - it also required tarragon vinegar and white wine which I conveniently omitted.

We had it with mashed potatoes and pasta salad.
75 gram butter
4 chicken joints
4 small whole onions
25 gram flour
2 tablespoon tomato puree
300 mls chicken stock
4 cloves
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 green pepper, deseeded and sliced
salt and pepper
100 g seedless raisins
12 stoned green olives (optional)

lightly fry the chicken in the melted buter
transfer to a large ovenproof casserole.
Toss the onion in the butter and add to chicken
Remove pan from heat, blend in the flour and then the puree, gradually add stock
Stir to keep free from lumps
Replace over heat, stir till thickened
Pour over chicken
Add cloves, garlic, pepper slices
Season with salt and pepper, cover, cook in moderate oven (180 deg c) for 1 to 1 ½ hours
Add raisins and olive for the last 15 mins

Serves 4 

Pancakes

Finally found a recipe that gives fluffy and thick pancakes, courtesy of Betty Crocker's. Lovely saturday morning breakfast. Once again, recipe to follow.

Pancakes (betty crocker’s – thick and fluffy)

1 large egg

1 cup all-purpose flour (if using self-raising omit baking powder and salt)

¾ cup milk

1 tablespoon granulated or packed brown sugar

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

butter, stick margarine or shortening

1. beat egg till fluffy, beat in remaining ingredients except butter just until smooth

2. for thinner pancakes stir in additional 1 to 2 tablespoon milk

3. heat griddle or skillet, grease if necessary

4. for each pancake, pour slightly less than ¼ cup batter, cook till bubbly on top, puffed and dry around edges, turn and cook other side until golden brown.

My version of the choc chippie

Quite ugly to look at and a bit too soft, but it's very yummy in the tum tum... ;o)

Maybe I'll put in more flour the next time around!

Shina's Cheesebuns

Decided to try making these cheese bun in a different bekas - so they expanded vertically since no space to go horizontally. Got this from mamafami cheesebun recipes. Had no grated cheese so slice cheese had to do (which, I discovered, is difficult to grate - it's lembiker than that solid block of cheese). Rating - thumbs up from the kids.With the breadmaker doing most of the work, I only had to put the mix into the breadpan, prepare the bekas, cut the dough into those ball shapes, and spread with milk/cheese. Baking time only 15 mins.

saturday nov 11th

Made Lala's cheesecake but it was only after we ate 3/4 of it that i remembered to take pics! Tonight we had a mat salleh dinner - cod, potatoes and beans. Plus i tried these buns i got from resipidiana.blogspot - superb.

Mixed fruit bun (resipidiana.blogspot.com)

A - mix all
350 gram bread flour
150 gram superfine flour (I used all bread flour)
100 gram sugar
1 teaspoon salt
30 gram milk powder
1 teaspoon bread improver (optional)
1 teaspoon bread softener (optional)
4 teaspoon dried yeast

B
Water
1 small egg – beat a bit
(mix till get 265 mls)

C
40 gram butter
40 gram shortening (or either one both)

add B to A and mix well
add C and knead till doesn’t stick to fingers
prove 30 – 40 mins
beat once
divide into 200 gram and add 50 grams of mixed fruit/raisin into each 200 gram dough;
make into balls

leave 30 – 40 mins
Roll dough thinly,
Cut strips with sharp knife dipped into flour onto one side
Roll from uncut side

Leave 30 mins
Brush with egg + fresh milk mixture
Oven – preheated 180 deg, for 20 mins
(if you want to see the process step by step, go the resipidiana site)

the smaller cut one was supposed to be red bean stollen, but had no red beans but used choc nutella - same princip of making it. 

hot cross buns

This morning i tried this. easy (with breakmaker which did all the uli uli work) and nice to eat when hot. bila sejuk tak sedap sangat.

recipe to follow later.

Hot cross buns (The bread book)

500 gram strong white flour (I used bread flour)

3 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoon caster sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg

1½ teaspoon fast=action dried yeast

1 egg , beaten

275 mls milk

125 raisins

for the crosses

125 gram strong white or plain flour

8 – 9 tablespoon water

to glaze

4 tablespoon milk

2 tablespoon caster sugar

with breadmaker – milk, egg, sugar, butter,flour, salt, spices, yeast set.

Tip onto lightly floured surface, knead well.

Cut into 12 even pieces, shape into balls. Put buns spaced well apart on to greased baking sheet.Cover loosely with oiled clingfilm, leave in warm place to rise 30 mins

Sift flour for crosses into small blow, gradually mix water to make smooth paste. Spoon onto piping bag – pipe crosses over buns, bake in preheated oven 200 deg c, 15 mins till golden brown.

Meanwhile put milk + sugar into small saucepan, heat gently till sugar dissolve, boil 2 – 3 mins till syrupy, brush hot glaze over buns.

Allow 5 mins, transfer onto wire rack to cool.

Lindek's Ayam Percik

Ingredients :
1.5 kg Chicken, cut into 6 pieces
100 ml Water
300 ml Thick coconut milk
50g Tamarind paste

Spices
6 Shallots
3 cloves Garlic
2cm Ginger piece
1 stalk Lemon grass
3 teaspoons Chili paste
1 teaspoon Cinnamon powder

Seasoning
2 teaspoons Salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Ground black pepper

Method :

Mix the tamarind paste with the 100 ml water and squeeze to obtain tamarind juice. Set aside.

Combine and ground the spice ingredients. Then add the tamarind juice and thick coconut milk.

Put the chicken pieces in a large mixing bowl.

Pour in the combined spices with coconut milk and tamarind juice before adding in the seasoning.

Mix well until the chicken is coated with the marinade.

Keep in the refrigerator for several hours or preferable overnight.

Remove and grill the marinated chicken pieces over a charcoal pit or bake in the oven until meat is cooked and slightly charred.

Ami's Lamb Cous Cous (as experimented by Lindek)

From North African cookbook (belum pernah try)

Sweet Lamb Cous Cous (Couscous T’Faya)
Serves 6-8

200g dried chickpeas
1kg lamb shoulder, on the bone, cut into 4 pieces, excess fat removed
½ tsp freshly ground ginger
1 stick cinnamon
¼ tsp saffron
1½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 small bunch fresh coriander
1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
8 Tbs olive oil
1kg large sweet onions
sea salt
125g dried raisins
1 Tbs clear honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
500g pre-cooked cous cous

Soak chickpeas in plenty of water for 24 hours. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the chickpeas and boil hard for 10 minutes then drain.

Place the meat in the bottom of the couscoussier (I don’t know what a couscoussier is! Try and find it on the internet). Add water to the ¾ level, bring to the boil and skim the scum from the surface. Add the chickpeas, ginger, cinnamon, saffron, ½ tsp of the pepper, the herbs tied together in a bunch and 3 Tbs of the olive oil. Grate 1 onion and add that to the pan. Simmer actively for 1 ½ hours.

Meanwhile peel the remaining onions and slice into fine half moons. Heat the remaining olive oil in a heavy pan over a low flame, add the onions and leave to cook slowly for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

When the meat and chickpeas have cooked for 1 ½ hours add the raisins and salt to the pot. Continue to simmer for another 30 minutes. Meanwhile steam the cous cous according to the instructions on the packet. Stir the honey, ground cinnamon and remaining black pepper into the caramelised onions and cook for a further 15 minutes.

Pile the cous cous onto a large plate and moisten with plenty of broth. Remove the meat from the broth, place on the cous cous and pile the onion and raisin mixture on top. Serve with additional broth.


Harissa Sauce

8 large dried red chilli peppers Water
6 cloves garlic, peeled 1 tsp coarse salt
2 tsp ground coriander seeds 1 tsp ground cumin seeds

Remove the seeds and tops from the chillies and leave to soak in just enough water to cover. Meanwhile crush the peeled garlic cloves with the salt. After 1 hour remove the chillies from the soaking liquid and process them with the garlic and salt to a slightly crunchy paste, adding just enough of the soaking water to achieve the right consistency. Stir in the spices and refrigerate. Serve with cous cous.

The Mat Salleh version (this is actually the one I use)

Moroccan Lamb (serves 8)

1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1.5kg boneless shoulder of lamb, cut into chunky strips
2 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
200g ready-to-eat dried apricots, halved
200g ready-to-eat stoned prunes, halved
700 ml hot lamb stock
6 tomatoes, roughly chopped
grated rind & juice of 1 lemon
4 Tbs roughly chopped coriander
1-2 tsp harissa
salt, black pepper

Preheat oven to 180C/fan oven 170C/Gas Mk 4. Mix the spices with salt & pepper, then rub them into the lamb. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole & cook the lamb for 2-3 minutes, stirring until beginning to brown.

Stir in the onion & garlic & cook for 1-2 minutes until just starting to soften. Stir in the apricots, prunes, hot stock & tomatoes, bring to the boil. Cover & transfer to the oven for 1 ½ - 2 hours until meat is tender. Serve with cous cous or saffron rice.


Harissa Sauce

Blend 6 seeded fresh chillies & 4 garlic cloves. Stir 3 Tbs olive oil (need just enough to make a paste). Add 2 tsp of white wine vinegar, 2 tsp of ground coriander & salt & pepper.

Kalau malas nak buat Harissa Sauce, beli kat Sainsbury. They have Harissa Sauce made by Belazu in their Special Selection, and it is pretty good. I always keep a small jar in the fridge for emergencies.

Note: kalau sesiapa dah try (or Lindek herself maybe) boleh lah tolong post a pix, ye? '-)

29th Ramadhan

First picture - entourage baru a few hours sampai, so chief cook (MIL) tak dibenarkan masak lagi. But she unpacked her made-in-KL sambal belacan, sambal tempoyak ikan bilis and karipaps! that victoria sponge cake is easy to make - 110 grams butter beat with 110 grams sugar, slowly add 2 eggs, then 110 grams flour. add esen. bake in 2 greased sandwich pan 190 deg for 20-25 mins. Wow- i dah hafal!!! i put strawberry jam in between and dust with icing sugar. can prepare in less than 1/2 hour if your butter dah lembut.


The 2nd picture was the result of me saying "okay Mak, hari ni Mak nak masak apa-apa, masaklah..." so the result is - tak muat meja!! Saya langsung tak masuk dapur :) The other 2 pictures were taken just this evening along Oxford Road. Deserted on a saturday afternoon. I love the autumn colours, so I thought I'd share it with you guys. OH, and it's confirmed we are raya-ing on monday, so tomorrow will be last buka puasa this Ramadhan.
Selamat Hari raya to you all!



 

Mee Jawa Malindo

We had mee jawa yesday. Everything the maid masak kat rumah di gelar "Malindo" coz she's Indon and usually masak Malaysian, esp Trg, dishes. Tapi since this is memang mee jawa, tak payah lah Malindo kot...

The pix doesn't look as good as it tasted. Guess I shoulda taken the pix of the mee without the kuah, that was more appetising looking. Don't ask me how to make the kuah, but there were prawns, chicken strips, boiled egg, and mee hoon for me, mee kuning for the rest of them. No togeh for me either. Then of course, the sprinkly green things (whatever they are, daun bawang mebe?) and bawang goreng and the little baby limau for squeezing.

I also took a pix of the goreng pisang we had but it didn't turn out well. Looked worse than the mee jawa pix, so I left it out, in the interest of not making everyone else sick ;o)

Anyone nak post gambar raya cookies they made? Kalau tak, nanti I'll post gambar the raya cookies I bought pulak! Ha ha ha!

My buka @ Chillis BSC

Since I don't cook, I thought I'd post pix of the food I had for buka.

Today we went to Chillis. I had the grilled salmon with garlic and herbs stuff on it, with rice (not so crazy about the rice coz it was berempah semacam) and steamed veggies. Very healthy food for once. Unfortunately we were too starved and I forgot to take a pix of that. But I didn't forget to take a pix of the dessert.

So for those of you yg rindu kat hi and mighty pie from Chillis... here's the pix! Twas yummy in the tummy...

23rd ramadhan

Today we had bubur with help-yourself-extras plus a little bit of chicken meat from yesterday's roast. Quite a refreshing change. Ikan bilis was the ones yg lindek bawak :)

Found recipe for that pasta in a '3-ingredient book' - tapi dia ngelat - they don't count pepper/salt/oil as ingredients. quite easy - prepare pasta in usual way. Heat 2/3 cup of olive (supposed to be garlic-infused oil so i hentam letak garlic sikit), diced pieces of capsicum (actually it's supposed to be red chili - none in the fridge so capsicum will do) , season with pepper/salt (i added black pepper) then mix it into the pasta. Nice when hot. 

22nd Ramadhan

Today being saturday and the fact that I've submitted my report yesterday, I went on a cooking spree. Roast chicken - it's been de-legged but nonetheless.... easy one - clean chicken, sapu with garam and pepper (go under the skin) - inside put in 1/2 lemon and 1/2 garlic - (seketul besar tu slice horizontally with skin on) , bake in preheated oven, on a rack on a pan around 180 - 200, put a piece of foil on top to cover. after about 30 - 45 mins depending on chicken size, remove foil, coat with honey, put under grill sekejap. We all kerjakan sampai tinggal tulang and it's really a no-fuss-chicken-roast.
AND.... guess what???? First time buat laksa kelantan. tapi tak cukup ulam - tak kisahlah. others can correct me if i'm wrong - rebus ikan (i found mackerel at the market today) with asam jawa, let cool. prepare kuah - blend bawang merah, lada hitam, halia, serai. boil santan in the air rebus ikan + asam jawa, add the blended stuff and ikan, stir, boil. garam, belacan, cili. Ulam can do with bunga kantan, kacang panjang etc.

And then - apple cake. scrumptious. Fun for the kids too - they helped in preparing. Took us less than 1/2 hour to prepare just in time for buka puasa, then had it for dessert.

Apple cake (Betty Crocker’s) 14/10/06 .

1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped tart apples (3 medium)
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts
Cream cheese frosting (pg 111) if desired

Heat oven to 350.grease bottom and sides of rectangular pans, 13x9x2 inches, or 2 round pans, 8x1 ½ or 9x1 ½ inches, with Shortening, lightly flour
beat sugar, oil, eggs – low speed 30 seconds or till blended
add remaining ingredients expect carrot, nuts n frosting – beat low speed 1 min.
stir in carrots and nuts
put in pan
bake rectangle 40 – 45 mins, rounds 30 – 35 mins
cool rectangles in pan on wire racks; cool rounds 10 mins, rmove to wire rack. Cool completely 1 hour
apply frosting if desired 

autumn colours

Leaves are starting to change colour now.. lovely.
Tried making puding jagung - 2 questions (1) is the surface supposed to be smooth or not - mine was like Mars surface (2) why jagung tak lekat - i had no corn in cream, so used corn in salt water. And - finally found recipe for chewy and thick choc chip cookies. i'll post it once i type it out.



Sheen, I hope you don't mind that I put the choc chip cookie recipe here... senang nak cari nanti. http://www.sunset.com/sunset/Premium/Food/1995/12-Dec/Cookies1295/ChocChip1295.html#1

Thick, Soft, and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cooking time: About 7 minutes per pan
Prep time: About 10 minutes
Makes: About 18 cookies1

1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) butter or margarine, at room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 package (6 oz.) or 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla with a mixer on medium speed until well blended. Beat in egg, mixing well. Add flour mixture, and beat slowly to incorporate, then beat to blend well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
3. Drop batter in 2-tablespoon portions about 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
4. Bake in a 400° oven until edges of cookies are brown but an area about 1 inch wide in the center is still pale, 6 to 7 minutes. If using 2 pans in 1 oven, switch positions at half-time.
5. Let cookies cool on pan about 5 minutes, then transfer to racks with a spatula. Serve warm or cool. Store airtight up to 8 hours, or freeze for longer storage.

Per cookie: 160 cal., 46% (73 cal.) from fat; 1.7 g protein; 8.1 g fat (4.8 g sat.); 22 g carbo.; 124 mg sodium; 26 mg chol.

18th ramadhan

epal with rojak sauce - easy and very yummy (tak ada jambulah...). And possible the best dish - BUDU with ikan bakar! some vegetarian sandwiches from department lunch and finally, lepat pisang without the daun pisang!


 

16 and 17th Ramadhan

Gtote's marble pudding for sunday, lasagna today. 

Curried Carrot Soup ala Lynn Roffey

Sheen – here’s my contribution to your 5 ingredient or less recipe. Easy to make especially if you have a hand blender, and nutritious. Don’t know whether appropriate for bulan puasa, but definitely will heat you up in winter.

Ingredients:

1 lb/600 grams carrots – peeled and cut up into sticks – doesn’t really matter which shape, just need to cut up so that cepat sikit masak. Or buy prepackaged cut-up carrots lagi senang.
2 cans vegetable or chicken broth (about 30 ounces or ..75 liter total)
1 medium bawang besar coarsely chopped
2 ulas bawang putih, coarsely chopped
Curry powder to taste (I guna half pack serbuk kari daging Adabi – this makes it really hot, which I like – so ikut suka seleralah).

Cara:

Panaskan sikit minyak, goreng bawang besar and bawang puteh sampai lembut, tapi jangan garing. Masukkan serbuk kari, tumis sikit (if too dry, add a little broth). Masukkan cut carrots, saute a few minutes on medium heat. Masukkan broth, bring to boil, then simmer 30 minutes. Cool slightly and blend. Kalau pakai hand blender, can blend directly in the pot. Otherwise, blend in a few batches in a regular blender. Garnish with what ever you like when serving – bawang goreng or kucai or sour cream.

Kalau pakai half a pack of curry powder, sure berpeluh bila makan.

Lynn, 8 Oct 2006

15th Ramadhan

We (Ami and us) had a scrumptious Indian meal just now - Tandoori chicken, pompadum + mango chutney + raitha (?spelling), fish curry, fried eggplants... siap try masala vadai which turned out fairly okay. The yellow drink you see is mango lassi - Mira's attempt .... sodap....

Tandoori chicken was from Chef Wan's book, fish curry was an attempt to follow Jamie Oliver's curry sauce, vadai came from our recipe book, lassi was from Hanieliza's website.  

Lala's Decadent Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake

Before I lose it, I'd better paste it here, so senang nak cari later. Kalau ada orang dah try buat, please post a pix. Lala's cake recipe goes like this...

18 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
3 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
3 eggs
12 squares (1-1/2 pkg. [8 squares each]) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, divided
1/2 cup whipping cream

PREHEAT oven to 350°F/180C if using a 9-in. silver springform pan (or to 325°F if using a 9-in. dark nonstick springform pan.) Combine crumbs and butter. Press firmly onto bottom of pan.

BEAT cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until blended. Chop 8 of the squares of chocolate; stir into batter. Pour over crust.

BAKE 45 to 50 min. or until center is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around side of pan to loosen cake. Cool completely.

CHOP remaining 4 squares of chocolate. Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan on low heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; stir until completely melted. Cool slightly. Pour over cheesecake. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight. Remove side of pan before serving.

Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

For the chocolate I use Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa Dark extra fine.

1 1/2 bars to put in the cheesecake and the remaining 1/2 for the topping. Sour cream pun apa yang ada dekat supermarket.

14th Ramadhan

this is the pulut pagi we were talking about. Now i know why Gtote said not to rendam - bit soft. Would be nicer and sweeter if I had used all nise. Still, 2 out 3 kids liked it, so kira okaylah.