HOMEMADE BUN

Baking bread is a long process but it gives me more drive after it turns out beautifully. Apart from normal sweet bun, baked this with sardine and chili filling. You can adjust the spices used as per your preference. These are so flavorful and soft.

They are great served during breakfast or as a tea time snack. You can use chicken instead  if you're allergic to sardine.

MUNG BEAN PAYASAM

Easy and healthy dessert you can whip up for the whole family to enjoy.  Using mung bean  and milk as its ingredient. There are various way to prepare this dessert but I soaked the bean for an hour to speed up the cooking process.

Quantity of sugar can be adjusted to your taste, if you prefer it sweeter add more sugar.

MUNG BEAN PAYASAM

150g mung bean soaked 1 hour
3/4 C palm sugar or to taste
1 1/2 C milk
1 1/2 C water
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 T ghee
2 T raisin
6 cashew

METHOD

 *  Place mung bean in a deep pot, boil until soft.

*   In a separate pot, boil water and sugar, strain.

*  Now add sugar syrup and milk to the mung bean, bring to boil again. Add in cardamom powder.

* Heat ghee, fry cashew and raisin then pour this into mung bean pot. Stir well.

* Ready to serve.

CHOCOLATE & CONDENSED MILK TRUFFLES

Truffles may taste rich and decadent but they are surprisingly easy to make at home. There are various variety to choose from. Try your hand at these truffles, it is super easy. It is perfect snack for any chocolate lover.

So I hope you give them a try. They are great for holiday table too, most importantly we enjoyed having them!

CHOCOLATE & CONDENSED MILK TRUFFLES
Yield    :   10 truffles

140g semi sweet biscuit crushed
10 T condensed milk
2 T toasted chopped nut
1 T cocoa powder
extra nuts for rolling or
icing sugar to roll

METHOD

*  Place biscuit in a plastic bag, crush them using rolling pin.

* Place biscuit, cocoa and nuts in a bowl.

* Gradually add condensed milk till a soft dough is form.

* Shape into balls and coat with toasted nuts or icing sugar.

* Chill for 30 minutes.

BAKED PUMPKIN BREAD

This is standard quick bread using pumpkin. I used fresh pumpkin but for easy way you can opt for canned pumpkin puree.

This is so far the most healthiest quick bread I've baked! Just imagine it uses only two tablespoons of butter and yields a moist and spongy bread.

Baked Pumpkin Bread freezes well and  make great gifts for holidays!

SWEET SESAME BREAD

I'd been requested by my son to bake a bread again.  Since I had black sesame seed on hand so thought better to incorporate them in my recipe.

After going through the net, I found great recipes but either it is made using bread maker or not to my liking. Since I love my bread to be on the sweet side, I have added more sugar in this recipe. You can also use brown sugar instead of white ones.

Despite of heavy sugar, it tasted just right and very soft. Immediately after baking my son can't resist to have a bite of this lovely bread and I too follow suit. We all love this fantastic bread, this will be regular on our menu.

SWEET SESAME BREAD

2 C all purpose flour
1 1/2 active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
2 T melted butter
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C black sesame toasted
3/4 C warm milk

METHOD

*  Dry roast the sesame seeds. In a small bowl add dry yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar and 3 tablespoons water, keep for 10 minutes or until frothy.

* Place flour, sugar, salt, yeast mixture  and sesame seed  in a mixing bowl. Using stand mixer or by hand, gradually add the milk and forms into stiff dough.

* Remove dough from the bowl, knead 10 minutes on floured board.

* Place dough into oiled bowl, keep covered under double about 1 1/2 hours.

* Punch the air out from the dough, divide into 10 portion.. Shape into ball and place onto greased pan and let rise for 45 minutes. Towards the end of raising time preheat oven @ 190 C.

* Brush tops with butter and bake for 25-30 minutes. Immediately after baking, remove and brush again with butter. Cool on rack.

Linking to Yeastspotting 12-24-10

BANDUNG (ROSE SYRUP MILK DRINK)

Most popular drink in Malaysia and Singapore, made of rose flavored syrup and milk.  Bandung (Rose Syrup Milk Drink)  is normally serves during the wedding or special occasion  This combination gives the drink its distinctive taste

While most of the time we used to buy a ready made rose syrup from the supermarket but now I make my own syrup by boiling the sugar and water then added a food coloring and rose water.  Bandung (Rose Syrup Milk Drink)  is later combines with milk and basil seeds (optional) to prepare the drink. .

SAVORY DIAMOND CUTS

Crispy, flaky and delicious deep fried snack comes in various names, some named  it as mathri, nimki, namak paare or pottiappam. What ever you called them, it is most popular snack throughout India.

This salty fried snack can be eaten anytime of the day with a cup of tea of as finger food. It is a great make ahead snack and to retain its crunchiness, do store them in airtight container. The key of making perfect diamond cuts is to fry them using medium heat so they cook evenly and you get that beautiful golden color. Adding pepper is optional, you can also add other spices if you want.

DIAMOND CUTS

1 C all purpose flour
2 T oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1/2 C water (not all)
oil for deep frying

METHOD

* Place all the ingredients except water and oil in a mixing bowl.

* Gradually add water to form a pliable dough. Knead for 5 minutes. Form into a ball. Keep 30 minutes.

* Dust enough flour on your board, roll out into round. Poke the surface with a fork.

* Cut into 1 in strip then cut into diamond shape.

* Heat sufficient oil for deep frying. Slide the diamond cuts and fry until golden brown using medium heat.

* Transfer onto absorbent paper and cool.

* Store into airtight container.

OPEN POTATO TOAST

If you're bored taking bread with your usual butter and jam, you should try this one. It is fast and easy to prepare what you need is to boil and mash the potato then combine the rest of the ingredients. I have used bird's eye chili but do adjust according to your taste.

It is wonderfully tasty, my children already given a green light to make it again. I'm very sure this will be your favorite too if you try this.

OPEN POTATO TOAST

1 C mashed potato
8 bread slices
1 onion chopped
2-3 green chili chopped
chopped coriander leaves
salt to taste
water to bind
cooking oil/butter

METHOD

* Combine potato, green chili, coriander leaves and salt in a bowl. Add 1-2 tablespoons of water just to bind the potato, mix well.

* Spread the potato on the bread slices, place the bread, potato side down on a flat pan and drizzle some oil. Fry until light brown. Flip and cook the other side.

* Transfer onto plate and complete the rest of the bread slices.

* Serve hot.

Linking to  Yeastspotting 12-17-10

LONTONG GORENG

A popular South East Asian dish, made of lontong (compressed rice cake) either home made or store bought. The preparation is pretty similar to mee goreng (fried noodle). They are cubed and fried together with blended dry chili, onion and sauces. Prawn, chicken or mince meat are added together with eggs to further enhance its taste.

This dish is almost a complete meal by itself. The key to make this really fast is to get ready all the ingredients before your turn on the heat for cooking. The following merely a guide, you can substitute or add according to your preference..

LONTONG GORENG

500g lontong (rice cake) cubed
2-3 T chili paste
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp ginger paste
250g prawns shell removed
2 tomato chopped
2 T tomato sauce
1 T sweet soy sauce
2 T oyster sauce
2-4 eggs beat lightly
3 T cooking oil
Scallion for garnish

METHOD

* Heat oil, fry onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add blended chili, tomato, salt and the sauces, stir for 2 minutes.

* Add the prawn and fry until prawn is cooked. Add the cubed rice cake.

* Push ingredients to the side of pan, add more oil if needed, pour the eggs into the middle and let eggs cook.

* Mix with the other ingredients, stir well. Remove from heat.

* Garnish with scallion at the time of service.

BANANA CHOCOLATE BREAD, MARBLED

A classic favorite, chocolate and banana. It's an  easy recipe that anyone can attempt. For healthier version,  you can use whole wheat flour and brown sugar.

This bread will keep for a couple of days in an airtight container and can also be frozen, It is a great companion with a cup of tea/coffee or a glass of milk. You can easily turns this into a delectable dessert when paired with  chocolate sauce or vanilla ice cream.

CHOCOLATE MARBLE BREAD

All along I've baked rolls and bun with different filling but this time trying my hand to bake something different. Using sweet bread dough, this Chocolate Marble Bread  is born.

I halved the recipe but I suggest you follow the recipe below since my experiment yields a thin loaf, it only fills half of the loaf pan. You can also use ring pan.

Though they turned out not so perfect but Chocolate Marble Bread  tasted incredibly wonderful. Hope my next attempt will be better that this one.

CAULIFLOWER MASALA

This is a simple and easy side dish to go along with steaming white rice or flat bread. Although my son is not a big fan of this veggie but this one is an exception. Using sliced onion, tomato and right balance of spices, this turns out incredibly delicious.

CAULIFLOWER MASALA

300g cauliflower cut into bite size piece
2 Onions chopped
2 Tomato chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp ginger paste
3 garlic chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 T coconut milk
2 T cooking oil
1/4 tsp mustard seed
salt to taste
1 sprig curry leaves
1/4 C water

METHOD

* Soak cut cauliflower in hot salty water for 10 minutes, drain.

* Heat the oil, fry the cumin seed and mustard seed until fragrant, add in the onion, cook until light brown.

* Add in ginger,  garlic, salt and tomato, cook until tomato turns soft.

* Now add the chili powder, coriander powder and turmeric, cook until raw smell goes.

* Add the cauliflower,  coconut milk and  1/4 cup of  water,  stir then cover the pan and cook until cauliflower turns soft.

* Sprinkle curry leaves and check the salt. Remove from heat.

PUMPKIN PAYASAM

This is a sweet dessert of South  Asian.  They have different varieties which is made with semolina, rice, sago, vermicelli, carrot, almond,  chana dhal and many more normally boiled in milk,  sweetened with sugar and flavored with cardamom, raisin, pistachio or almond. It varies from region to region.

But now I used fresh pumpkin, first boil then mash them. Quantity of sugar is entirely up to you. This is so creamy and light, best taken after completion your main meal. Cashew and raisin can be fried in ghee (clarified butter) but I just roasted my cashew without them.

PUMPKIN PAYASAM
250g pumpkin mashed
1 C milk
1 C water
1/2-3/4 C sugar
1 tsp cardamom powder
2 T raisin
2 T cashew roasted

METHOD

* Place water and milk in a deep pot, bring to boil.

* Add in sugar and mashed pumpkin, stir until sugar is dissolved.

* Now add the cardamom, stir and remove from heat.

* At the time of serving garnish with raisin and cashew.