WHITE AND RED PORRIDGE

This porridge is a traditional one prepared for special occasion such as the birth of a baby, passing an exam or promotion at work. It is made of rice or glutinous rice and had two different colors hence its name.

The white is obtained by adding the coconut milk and salt then separated. Palm or brown sugar is added to the balance of the porridge. When serving the white portion is dotted on top of the red. This tradition is almost forgotten since the younger generation prefer other dessert to mark their special moment.

INGREDIENTS

1 and 1/2 cups glutinous rice (soak 30 minutes)
1 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup palm sugar
1 pandan leaf knotted
salt to taste
water

METHOD

* Put the glutinous rice, water, pandan leaf and salt in a pot. Boil until rice turns soft.

* Now add the coconut milk, stir until boiling. Remove about 1/2 cup of the porridge.

* Boil palm sugar with some water, strain.Now add the sugar syrup to the balance and stir well. Remove from heat.

* Place a ladleful of red colored porridge and dot on top with the white portion.

SESAME AND OAT COOKIES AND BEAUTIFUL CARDS

Since we are nearing the end of the week, baked this melt in the mouth cookies which is not so sweet and tasted great. Added rolled oat and black sesame seed for this recipe, really perfect combo, contains goodness of oat and sesame seed.

The dough is too soft to handle but managed to roll them into small ball. You can refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to make it firmer.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 cup rolled oat
5 tablespoons black sesame

METHOD

* Sift flour and baking powder, add rolled oat and sesame seed, mix well.

* Cream butter and sugar until creamy, add vanilla essence.

* Now add butter mixture with flour and form into pliable dough.

* Shape the dough into small ball then flatten and place onto baking pan. Preheat oven @ 170 C.

* Bake for 10-15 minutes . Remove from pan after 5 minutes and cool on wire rack.

* Store in an airtight container once it is completely cool.

CARD

My blogger friend, Priya Prashanth has sent this beautiful card to mark her 250th post. Thanks for sharing this with me. Keep posting dear..



Thanks to Sanyukta Gour for sharing this on completing her first month of blogging, really admire your creativity!

BEST PIZZA DOUGH

Pizza is one of favorite foods loved by young and old. Today it is available around the clock in shopping malls and popular food joint including home delivery not to mention in supermarket too.

But nothing can beat home made pizza where you could add whatever topping, sauces and cheese tailored to our taste.

The recipe below yields 6 mini pizza, the crust is fantastic, much better than the store bought, really beautiful crust with perfect crunch. So far this is the best pizza base I ever cooked.

PULUT SERIKAYA

This is two layered traditional dessert from  Malaysia/Singapore made of glutinous rice and topped with green custard.

Instead of steaming the sticky rice, I used a rice cooker to do the job. For health reasons use only water but you could use coconut milk to cook the rice. For the top layer, blend pandan leaves with water to extract juice but if unavailable just add a drop of green food colouring. It's eggless too but you could add an egg to the custard if you wish.For more information about screwpine leaves, go through this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandanus_amaryllifolius

INGREDIENTS

1 and 1/2 cups glutinous rice soak 1 hour
1 and 1/2 cups water of coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon salt

CUSTARD

3/4 cup wheat flour
1/4 cup corn flour
8 tablespoons sugar
1 and 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup pandan juice (blend 3 pandan leaves with water)
1 egg (optional)
green food coloring
1/2 teaspoon salt

METHOD

* Wash and drain the rice. Put the rice, water and salt into the rice cooker and let it cook.

* Transfer the rice onto greased shallow 8 inches tray and press with spatula to level top.

* Heat the steamer and bring the water to boil. Heat the glutinous rice, scratch top with fork.

* Add all ingredients for custard and strain. Pour this on top of the cooked rice, steam for 20 minutes with medium heat. Recommended to cover the lid with clean towel to avoid water dripping.

* Cool for 3-4 hours before cutting.

CURRY BUN

I used to buy  Curry Bun from a nearby bakery. This is one of my son's favorite bread.

It is stuffed with potato but it could be too spicy and may not cater to those who can't take hot stuff.

When baking this, I made sure they turn out extra spicy. My son really loved this  Curry Bun and I would be baking more often for his sake. Besides potato, you could use chicken or meat for a change.

WAJIK

I'm craving for wajik (sweetened palm sugar glutinous rice pudding) now. This is a traditional festival sweet my mum used to make.

The process of making this kuih, first you have to cook the glutinous rice either by steaming or use rice cooker which is simplest and safest method, can't go wrong, just dump the rice in the cooker it will do the rest.

 Secondly prepare the sugar and coconut milk syrup until it thickens, and that requires constant stirring. Only then the cooked glutinous rice is added. What I have used here is low fat coconut milk but feel free to use normal ones.

Another item is screwpine leaves that was used but if unavailable you could omit this since the leaves are for fragrance only.

RED BEAN BUNS

After successful attempts with bread making, love to share this beautiful Red Bean Buns  which is stuffed with red bean paste. Other fillings such as chocolate, custard or kaya would be the best alternative.

The method of preparation is almost the same as my earlier post except the dough is rolled into oval shaped, stuffing the filling on one end while the other end is cut into thin strips then roll it up and bend upwards. To get the idea how this forms, please look at the photo below.

VERMICELLI KESARI

This is the famous North/South Indian dessert using vermicelli. For those unfamiliar with this, please see the attached photo below which is easily obtainable from any Indian shop. I have made it with milk for a creamier and richer taste but it could be done with just water. Another adjustment is the amount of sugar used, do add more if you have sweet tooth and fry the nuts and raisin in cooking oil not ghee (clarified butter). It tasted excellent with just right amount of sweetness. This recipe is a keeper, would definitely cook again.



INGREDIENTS

1 cup vermicelli
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup evaporated milk
1 tablespoon butter
i tablespoon broken cashew or almond
1 tablespoon raisin
a pinch of cardamom powder
yellow food coloring



METHOD

* Heat the oil and fry the nuts and raisin, remove and keep aside. With same oil fry the vermicelli until light brown, remove.

* In the same pan, add water and milk, bring to a boil then add the vermicelli, keep stirring until vermicelli turns soft.

* Add coloring, cardamom and sugar, stir until thicken. Put in the raisin and nut.

* Transfer onto shallow tray to set. Serve warm.

WFMW
Real Food Wednesday
We Did It Wednesday
Whatever Goes Wednesday
Whats Cooking Wednesday
Show And Tell
Creative Share Wednesdays
Sugar & Spice
Link Up
Cheap Thrills Thursday
Pennywise Platter Thursday
Ultimate Recipe Swap
Simple Lives Thursday/
Motivate Me Monday
Market Yourself Monday 

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE COOKIES

After repeated requests by my son, I'm going to show how to bake this healthy cookies using vegetable oil and not overly sweet like other recipes found on net. They are really great to work with and turn out chewy and marvelous, you can's stop eating them, very addictive indeed.

Grind half of the rolled oat and the balance used as it is, next time would try with other combination such as dried cranberries, coconut and fruit. Do not over bake, once it turns light brown, remove from the oven and let the cookies sit in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack.

SPICY FISH IN COCONUT MILK

Fish is always my family's favorite food, especially if it is simmered in hot and spicy gravy like this one. For a long time I have not cooked this dish, so my son requested to prepare the fish using bird's eye chili. Preferably selecting less bony fish if you are feeding small children and it turns out very spicy but delicious. One could fry the fish first or simply cook in gravy - either way it is superb.

INGREDIENTS

4-5 slices fish
15 bird's eye chili (adjust to your taste)
1 cup coconut milk
1 and 1/2 cup water
1 inch fresh turmeric root
1 medium lime obtain the juice
2 lemon grass bruised
salt

METHOD

1. Wash the fish with lemon juice, drain.

2. Blend together bird's eye chili and turmeric with some water.

3. Pour water, coconut milk, blended ingredients, lemon grass and salt in a pot. Stir until boiling.

4. Slide in the fish and bring to boil until fish is cooked.

5. Remove from heat, add lime juice and it is ready to eat.

RAISIN AND OATMEAL BUN

Back in action,  playing  with my dough again, this time around using oat and raisin, can't believe my eyes how this Raisin and Oatmeal Bun  really swelled from the original size once I have baked them. 

Although you could use the yeast mixture after 10 minutes, I let the yeast sit for an hour then mix the dough. Another tip is to let the dough ferment longer and by doing that the bread turns softer and fluffier.

Trust me, it's worth making, Raisin Oatmeal Bun turns out wonderful and great to dip with a cuppa.  What you need are:

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN BEAUTY PRODUCTS AND SPECIAL CARDS

We spend a enormous amount of money on beauty products just to look pretty. How many of us know that there are simple homemade solutions that are available from your own kitchen. Give it a try religiously but one can't expect changes just by trying it out once but definitely you will see miracles if you apply it daily.

The most significant advantages of using the homemade products are that they are inexpensive, easily obtainable from your kitchen and allergy free, made from natural resources, totally no chemical is used and fresh, no worries about the shelf life of the product. There are several commercially-made beauty products that often do more harm than good, causing allergic reaction.

You'll find more details about how to make your own beauty products from this video. Will share a lot more beauty secrets in my next entry. If you want to know more about candle nut, check out this link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candle_nut

CARD

Happy Mother's Day to all and have a great weekend to celebrate this special occasion. Thanks to ELLY for sending this beautiful card for Mother's Day.



Another one received from Love2Cook, thanks dear..

Hookin Up With HoH 46
Fantabulous Friday
Friday Flair
Show And Share Day
FFA Friday
You Like Me

CHOCOLATE RICE CAKE

My hand is really itching to bake since we had nothing for teatime. Normally would prefer baking rather than frying snack thus cut down unnecessary fat in our diet. Baked this simple cake, really easy and delicious. Since my family love to eat cake and cookies regularly so I need to choose one that is not very rich, used less fat and this one falls into the category. Let's bake...

YEAST PANCAKE

Hello everyone how do you do? Hope all is fine....

Really don't know what to serve for breakfast, suddenly my heart says how about pancake, it's very simple and fulfilling too. Next step is to check whether I have all ingredients on hand. Lucky for me, shortly after entering the kitchen I whipped up this fluffy pancake.  Although it takes a longer time to prepare because of fermentation it is worth the waiting - turns out wonderful.

This time used red bean paste bought from the store for the filling but you could use chocolate, kaya or even fruits or simply drizzle with honey, all are up to you. Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1 and 1/2 cup warm milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons melted butter
oil to grease the pan



METHOD

* Combine yeast, sugar and warm water in a small bowl. Keep 10 minutes or until frothy.

* In a mixing bowl combine flour, salt, butter and milk. Stir until no lumps.

* Add yeast mixture to the flour and stir well. Keep covered for one hour.

* Lightly grease the pan, pour 1/2 cupful of batter and turn when bubbles appear on top and cook the other side.

* Repeat the process until batter is used up. Place a piece of pancake on a plate, stuff with desired filling and fold into half. Enjoy..

SNS 69
Fresh Clean And Pure
Friendly Friday
Everything But Kitchen Sink
Hookin Up With HoH
Crafty Friday
Fat Camp Friday
Fun w/ Food Friday
GCC Recipe Swap
Friday Link Party
Sweet Tooth Friday
Whats Cookin' In Kitchen
Show and Tell
Check Me Out Saturday
Saturday Swap
Decidedly Healthy Or Horridly Decadent

BAKED PAKODA

This Baked Pakoda  is one of the most mouth watering and delicious Indian snacks normally deep fried in oil until crispy.

 Made of besan (chickpeas flour) which is rich in protein, carbohydrates but gluten free. It is more flavorful thickener than wheat flour. The same flour is used to make bonda, pakora, papadum, bhaji and many more in Indian cooking.

 I too love to eat this but hesitant since it is fried. So tried the baked version,  Baked  Pakoda  turns out amazing minus the oil, we enjoyed having it with a cup of tea.