Tuesday 15 November 2016

Coriander and Mint Paste

Mom has always  kept a batch of this paste in the freezer. It is a great paste to add flavor in any dish including mutton curry, perattal or even chicken perattal.

The recipe is easy enough and can be made in big batches so it can be stored away in the freezer for a quick and easy dinner.

Ingredients
1 cup of coriander leaves
1 cup of mint leaves
1 small piece of cinnamon stick
3cloves
1tsp of coriander seeds
1 tsp of fennel
2tsp of grated coconut
2 starnise

Method
1. Sautee all the spices together. Add in the fennel and grated coconut, stir then finally add in the greens. Stir it and remove from heat to ensure leaves do not wilt too much. Grind into a paste and store

Rice Cooker Prawn Biryani

The past few weeks has been taxing since Mom and I have been busy cooking for my brother who is suffering from Gastritis. He needs to have non oily, non spicy food everyday and since he gets  hungry really fast, he prefers having rice.

So Mom and I have gotten pretty creative and are trying to cook one pot meals. While this recipe requires two pots, it is pretty quick especially if you already have the coriander and mint paste in the freezer.

Here goes.

Main ingredients
1/2 kg prawns (cleaned and deveined)
3 cups of  biryani rice (rice cooker cup)

Marinade
2 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp chillie powder (reduce if  you do  not want it too spicy)
2tsp cumin powder
1tsp salt
1tsp turmeric powder
2tsp Garam masala
2 tsp Biryani masala
1 tblspn coriander and mint paste
1tblspn yogurt

Sauce
3 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
3 cardamoms
2 bay  leafs
2 star anise
1/2tsp fennel seeds
1 large onion sliced
1 green chillie sliced (deseed if too spicy)
1tomato diced
a handful of  coriander
a handful of mint
3tblspn Biryani masala powder (add more according to taste)
2 tblspn Garam masala
2 tspsn chillie powder
1tblspn ginger garlic paste
1tblspn coriander and mint paste
3tblspn of yogurt
salt to taste
ghee and oil


Method
1. First clean the prawns and marinade it with the ingredients above. Start with the dry ingredients first then add in the wet ones like ginger garlic paste, yogurt and the mint and coriander paste. Let it marinate for 30 to 40mins. The longer the better.
2. Wash the rice and soak it for 30mins
3. Heat a wok and add in a little bit of ghee and if needed top up with oil. Sautee the spices including, star anise, clove, bay leaves, fennel, cinnamon, cardamom.
4. Add in onions and sautee until pink or translucent.
5. Add in ginger garlic paste and sautee until fragrant.
6. Throw in tomatoes, cook until soft and add chillies
7. Ensure fire is on medium flame and then put in masala powder, biryani powder, chillie powder, stir and let it fry until fragrant.
8. Add in wet ingredients like mint and coriander paste as well as yogurt, chopped mind and coriander, add 1 cup of water and let it simmer until the sauce thickens slightly.
9. Once almost thick, add in prawns and cook till it turns pink. DO NOT overcook and let prawns shrivel up. Add salt to taste. Make sure slightly salty.
10. After the prawns are nice and pink remove from stove.
11.Drain rice and add in the sauce and prawns into rice cooker with the  drained rice.  Stir the ingredients until rice is well coated with Sauce/Masala.
12.Add in necessary water according to rice cooker instructions. Check and see for salt. Ensure the concoction is slightly salty (not too much) so that the rice will absorb the taste.
13. On rice cooker and wait for the magic to happen.

Took me an hour to get it all done (including cleaning and deveining the prawns).

Serve hot with Raita and Pappads if possible.
Did not think it would turn out the way it did so I did not take better pic. Next time I will

My entire house smelled amazing after cooking this delectable Prawn Biryani.

Saturday 25 June 2016

Awesome Bak Kut Teh in Jalan Ipoh!

I love my Bak Kut Teh, especially the one from my favourite Restoran Son In Bak Kut Teh in Jalan Ipoh. After  moving away from Sentul, I haven't had the opportunity to savour the dishes as frequently as I did back then. In fact, I miss having it so much that I decided to write about the place again.

Located along Jalan Ipoh (heading towards Chow Kit), the restaurant is in the row of shops after the Damai Hospital block. The second shop from the right to be exact, you cant miss it.


Don't be fooled by looks. Although the place is a little old and needs a bit of renovation, the place is clean and the food is good.


Ok so this is a half eaten bowl, was too hungry to take photos before eating!

The soup for one is amazing, full of flavour and the smell of herbs will definitely get your tummy rumbling. The meat is tender and if you love mushrooms and vegetables you can add them in your soup for added taste or just order them on the side.

Do not, I mean DO NOT forget the Yau Char Kuey. Dip the little babies in the soup and swallow them whole with rice and you're in heaven.
Then you have the Black Sauce Pork, a bowl of pure sin with a mildly spicy sauce that is perfect for the Garlic Rice. Each mouthful is  sinful with the tender pork bits literarily melting in your mouth.


If that is not enough, order some Salad leaves to complete your meal. The Salad leaves might be a little bland for some. It is blanched in hot water, drizzled with some onion oil and oyster sauce.

So if you are a fan of Bak Kut The, try the Son In Bak Kut The. It's different but tasty. Trust me!! Happy eating folks....


Sorry for the bad quality, was taken a few years ago


Tuesday 3 May 2016

Ikan Bilis Goreng dengan Cili

 
 
 
 
 
I love my anchovies and there are days when I can just sit down with my laptop, browse through hundreds of recipes, drooling over each one.
Well today was one of those days, but today I decided to do something about it and made my own version of  Fried Anchovies, the not-so-spicy version.
The thing is, there are so many versions but mine has six ingredients only and three easy steps. So here goes.
 
 
Ingredients
Ikan Bilis (anchovies) washed  - two handfuls (was a little greedy)
Onions - 2 Medium sized ones sliced
Garlic - two cloves diced
Green chillie - 2 sliced vertically (add in chili padi  if you want extra heat)
Oil
Salt to taste
 
 
Method
1. Fill a wok with oil (I used a non stick pan), add in anchovies and fry till golden brown
2.Remove the anchovies and add in the other ingredients in the same oil,
3. Stir until the onions are nice and soft and drop the anchovies and give it a quick stir. Add a dash of salt for extra flavor. (not too much because the anchovies are already salty)
                                 
 
 
Note: If you want nice and soft onions then take it out as quickly as possible or if you want yours nice and crispy keep it on the stove for a few extra mins.
 
The end result with my favourite crispy onions