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.

APPLE & WALNUT CAKE

This moist cake is perfect for brunch or dessert. The apple walnut combination makes it perfect for fall or a small gathering.

It is really easy and simple to bake, you need not use your mixer or your hand blender. It's just mix and bake, using just two bowls eliminating the washing up all those utensils. I'm always on the look out for such an easy recipe but producing great results and this one is one of them!

Apple can be replaced with pear and for the nuts, you have a wider choice, they are pecan, cashew, peanut or hazel nut, just pick whatever you prefer but now have added what is available in my kitchen, a few tablespoons of  ground walnut that is hardly seen in the cake.

SAMOSA

One of famous snack available in South East Asian countries,  Central Asian, Arabian Peninsula, North/South Africa and throughout  Mediterranean. It consists of two parts, the pastry and the filling. The filling is varies from country to country, it can be vegetables such as potato, peas or ground meat. The size and the consistency of the pastry vary considerably but although it is mostly triangular in shape either deep fried or baked.  Samosa often serves with chutney or ketchup.

While traditionally samosa is normally fried but more people prefer to bake them  and now switching to  ready made puff pastry, wanton skin or tortilla which is more convenient and healthier.  But by far I still prefer made from scratch pastry, very crispy and truly delicious.

SAMOSA
Yield  :   14 Samosa

PASTRY
1 C all  purpose flour
1/2 C warm water (not all)
1/2 tsp salt
3  T cooking oil

METHOD

* Place flour, salt and oil in a mixing bowl. Gradually add water to form a dough.

* Knead for 2-3 minutes, keep covered at least 15 minutes

FILLING

2 large potato boiled  and mashed
2 small carrot peeled and grated
1 Big onion chopped
2 green chili chopped
2  T curry powder
1 tsp ginger paste
2 T cooking oil
1/2 tsp cumin seed
salt to taste
lemon juice

METHOD

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

* Pour in curry powder and little water, fry for a minute, add the potato and carrot, stir well. Sprinkle some water, add in salt, cook until almost dry.

* Squeeze lemon juice, remove from heat and cool.

MAKING THE SAMOSA

* Divide the dough into 7 balls. Roll out dough into 7 inch circle and cut into two.

* Apply water around the edges and fold into cone shape. Stuff each cone with 2 tablespoons of filling and close and pinch the top to seal. Repeat the same with the rest of the dough.

* Heat about 1 1/2 in deep cooking oil, when it is fully heated slide in the samosa, a few at a time, fry until golden brown. Remove and place on absorbent paper.

* Serve with chutney or ketchup.

CARROT & BANANA MUFFIN

Another light and tasty muffin but also nutritious. I have cut down the sugar and fat used and make them eggless. These are such a delight to bite into and safely consumed without guilt.

Despite of all the changes, you would never know the difference since it turns out moist and surprisingly yummy. Next time, I will use a cup of whole wheat flour to turn them into much healthier snack.

CARROT & BANANA MUFFIN

2 C all purpose flour
1/2 C melted butter/oil
1 C low fat milk
3/4 C sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 medium carrot grated
2 banana mashed
1 tsp vanilla essence

METHOD

*  Preheat oven @ 180 C. Line muffin pan with paper muffin cases.

*  Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl.

*  Combine together milk, melted butter, banana, vanilla and carrot in a separate bowl.

*  Now add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

* Pour into muffin cases about 3/4 full, bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

* Transfer onto rack to cool.

BAKED BANANA DONUTS

This weekend my sons requested me to bake a donut. We used to purchase the fried version from a nearby bakery some time ago.

After seeing my fully riped bananas, I was thinking why not bake up something yummy with this fruit. Glad I did, these are fluffy and a big hit with my kids. At least I have served them what they wanted, they really enjoyed having this healthy and low calories donuts compared with the full fat one.

If you found the dough too sticky to work with, add a tablespoon or two flour. When creating the hole, make it bigger otherwise it shrinks at the time of baking. You can also use your donut cutter if you want.

BAKED BANANA DONUTS
Yield : 10 donuts

2 C  bread flour/ all purpose flour
2 T melted butter
1/4 C warm milk
2 tsp dry yeast
2 T sugar
2 mashed banana
1/2 tsp salt

COATING

3 T melted butter
1/4 cup sugar

METHOD

* In a small bowl, combine dry yeast, sugar and milk, leave for 10 minutes until frothy.

* Place flour, salt,  melted butter and mashed bananas in a mixing bowl, add in yeast mixture and forms into pliable dough.

* Transfer dough onto floured board, knead for 10 minutes until elastic. Place dough into oiled bowl, keep covered for 2 hours.

* Punch dough to release air, divide into 10 balls. Cut out the center of each dough round to make donuts and donut hole. Place them into pan and let rise for 60 minutes. Towards the end of raising time, preheat oven @ 190 C.

* Apply melted butter on top, bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

* Immediately after baking, brush again with butter and coat with fine sugar on top.

Linking to Yeastspotting 11-26-10
Linking to  Recipes using Flour

MOCHA BANANA CAKE

I love this  Eggless Mocha Banana Cake, it's quick ,easy and  delicious. It hardly takes a few minutes to prepare, doesn't require any mixer and the combinations are endless. With just a basic recipe, you can create another interesting and exotic cake such as strawberry mocha, pineapple lemon,  pumpkin chocolate and many more.

But now I'm using instant coffee, cocoa and mashed banana.  Mocha Banana Cake was  moist and  tasty, you can't stop eating just a piece. You should bake your own cake since home made one is much healthier, free from preservatives and excessive sugar, can easily freeze them too.

PEANUT PANCAKE

This is a Malaysia/Singapore version of pancake/crepe filled with peanut, sweet corn and sugar.It is available throughout the year from morning market or night market around the country. There are 2 types of pancake, the crispy and spongy  version.  Besides peanut, other popular filings are kaya, chocolate, red bean or sweet coconut.

The favorite dessert is prepared using yeast or baking powder and baking soda. But now I tried using active dry yeast. It turns out so soft and delicious. After fermented, the batter becomes very thick so you need to add extra water otherwise it was unable to spread. Once the bubbles appear, drizzle with butter, sprinkle with ground peanut and sugar, continue cooking until the bottom turns golden brown, fold in half.


PEANUT PANCAKE

2 C all purpose flour
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C warm water
2 C warm milk
2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 T melted butter
1/2 tsp salt

FILLING

1 C ground peanut
1/2  C sugar
1/2 C melted butter

METHOD

* Combine warm water with yeast and 2 tsp sugar, keep for 10 minutes or until frothy.

* Place flour in a mixing bowl, combine milk, sugar, soda, salt and melted butter in a small bowl and mix well.

* Gradually add the milk mixture and the yeast to the flour, stir until well combined. Leave to rise for 1 hour.

* Heat a non stick pan, pour a ladleful of batter,  cook until bubbles appear on top,  drizzle with melted butter, sprinkle with sugar and peanut. Continue cooking until the bottom turns  golden brown. Fold into half...

* Remove onto a plate, cut into wedges to serve. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Linking to Yeastspotting-11-19-10

EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

I never tried baking egg free  cake with condensed milk but tempted to try this recipe by a famous chef. Despite being egg free and butterless this cake turns out absolutely delicious, moist with  right amount of sweetness.

For special occasion you can decorate this cake with your favorite frosting and you cant't really tell such a marvellous cake is eggless, this totally change my mind that good chocolate need not to be eggy and heavy fat. This is now becomes one of my favorite cake.

BAKED VEGETABLE PUFF

Curry puff is an all time favorite snack of  Singapore/Malaysia, available  throughout the day. Normally this pastry is filled with potato, chicken or sardine and  is deep fried.

But now I tried a baked version with vegetables, carrots and green peas stuffing. You can choose whatever veggies available at home for the filling.  Baked Vegetable Puff  is a much healthier choice than the fried one and great way to have your snack or finger food.

The pastry I used here is not puff pastry but lighter with less fat. If you want more rich and buttery taste feel free to add more butter to the dough and adjusting the quantity of water accordingly.

KAYA ROLL

I'm craving for kaya roll now. Kaya is a rich custard made of coconut milk, sugar and egg. It is very popular here and usually served in those coffee shops on top of white bread, or as a filling for bun or bao and also for topping of pulut serikaya, Malysian/Singapore dessert with glutinous rice.

What I have used here is the ready made kaya but you could also make your own. As requested by my son have also used red bean paste for few of the dough since that is his favorite filling.


KAYA ROLL

300g all purpose flour
2 T sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 T dry milk
1 1/2 tsp dry yeast
3 T softened butter
150 ml warm water
Kaya for the filling
Extra butter for glaze

METHOD

* Place 1/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon sugar and yeast in a small bowl. Leave for 10 minutes until frothy.

* In a mixing bowl, place 1/2 of flour, remaining sugar, salt dry milk, butter, water and yeast mixture and beat to combine, gradually add the rest of the flour, forms into soft dough.

* Take out dough from the bowl, knead for 10 minutes by hand or your stand mixer.

* Leave to rise in covered and oiled bowl for 1 1/2-2 hours.

* Punch out air and divide into 12 balls. Flatten the dough and stuff with kaya. See the photo
below.


Photo by Resepi Diana

* Cover and let rise for 60 minutes, brush top with butter, towards the end of rising time, preheat oven @ 190 C.

* Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Apply butter on top again.Remove and cool on rack.

Linking to Yeastspotting 11-12-10

APPLE MUFFIN

Apple muffin, anyone? Since we had plenty of apples in the fridge and my son asking me to bake a muffin, I choose to make his favorite muffin.  Not only it's so simple and easy but also ideal for lunch boxes, picnic or teatime treat.They are absolutely delicious and I bet you can't eat just one. The entire kitchen filled with amazing aroma when I'm baking them.

I'm adding only half a cup of sugar since using royal gala apples if not you can add a bit more depending on the tartness of the apple.

APPLE MUFFIN
2 C all purpose flour
1/2 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 C milk
1/2 C melted butter
2 apples peeled and chopped
1 tsp vanilla essence

METHOD

* Preheat oven @ 180 C. Line muffin pan with paper muffin cases.

* Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

* Combine melted butter and milk, pour onto dry ingredients, mix until just moistened, fold in the apple and vanilla, lightly stir.

* Pour into muffin cases 3/4 full, bake 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave on pan 5 minutes.

* Remove onto wire rack to cool.

Linking to Monthly Mingle With Fruits In Baking hosted by Deeba

OATMEAL NUT SQUARES

One of the easiest snack you can prepare when your're really hungry. It barely takes a few minutes to whip up. It is great served for your late night or afternoon snack or even breakfast.

These bars are much healthier than what you can easily find in the store but the best part is you are able to choose what to add in as per your preference or according to what's currently available in your pantry.

This time chopped almonds are used but next time shall try sunflower seed, sesame seed, cashew or peanut instead. They also smell great while baking. If you prefer sweeter bars use 3/4 cup of sugar.

OATMEAL NUT SQUARES

1 C rolled oat
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C melted butter
1/2 C chopped nut
1/4 C milk
1/2 C all purpose flour
pinch of salt
oil to grease the pan

METHOD

* Preheat oven @ 175 C, line 8 x 8 in baking sheet with parchment paper and coat with oil.

* In a mixing bowl, combine oat, sugar, salt, nut and flour.

* Gradually add milk and butter, stir well.

* Press evenly onto prepared pan , bake 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

* Remove from oven and cut into squares while still warm.

* Cool completely on wire rack.

BREAD PUDDING II

My new and innovative way to use leftover bread is not only simple to make but turns out great.. Adjust the sugar according to your preference.

If you want you can add raisin or other fruit to the batter, it 's so delicious and fragrant because of the coconut milk. My family really enjoyed having this with a cup of  coffee.

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFIN

I came across this recipe while hunting for perfect chocolate chip cookies. On going through the recipe I noticed it uses less oil and not too heavy dose of sugar so this is my ultimate choice for chocolate chip muffin. It's really quick and easy to prepare.

It turns out absolutely delightful with the right amount of sugar, moist and full chocolate flavor. These muffins aren't just for breakfast, they're good for anytime. I sprinkled with toasted chopped almond instead of chocolate chip and omit the egg but added 3 tablespoons yogurt. With these changes they still turn out great.

CARROT STIR FRY

This is pretty simple to prepare and does not involved grinding. Despite its easy method, this is truly delicious and healthy stir fry. Moong dhal is added along with carrot. The dhal is soaked then boiled until soft but still retains its shape.

Besides moong dhal you could substitute with grated coconut, using the same method.This vegetable dish is great if served with rice, capati or roti as the side dish.

CARROT STIR FRY

4 Medium carrot
1 Big onion
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp split black gram (urad dhal)
1 tsp cumin seed
2 green chili
2 dry chili
1/2 C moong dhal (soaked and boiled)
2 T cooking oil
salt to taste
curry leaves

METHOD

* Scrap the outer skin of the carrot, cut into small pieces. Slice the onion and green chili.

* Heat the oil, add the mustard seed, when it pops up, add urad dhal, cumin seed , stir until urad dhal turns light brown.

* Now add the onion, green chili, dry chili and curry leaves, cook until the onion is translucent.

* Add the carrot and salt, stir and add a few spoons of water, cook until carrot turns soft using medium heat and close the lid.

* Now add the cooked moong dhal, stir well and remove.

OATMEAL BREAD

For a change we baked this Oatmeal Bread, most of the time I did sweet bread on a regular basis. I need new and healthier ways to bake bread. This seems a perfect recipe to add to my collection.

After going through various sources, I re-create them since most recipes called for molasses, soaking the oat for several hours and using bread machine. I opt for brown sugar and used butter instead of shortening, done it manually.

When heating the milk and the rest of ingredients you could use microwave but make sure they are not piping hot. If not cool down to lukewarm before proceeding.

This recipe is still among my absolute favorite yeast bread recipes. It turns out great with nutty flavor of oat, right amount of salt and lightly sweetened. It's my hearty breakfast of the day!

OATMEAL BREAD
Yield  :   One loaf

2 1/2 C all purpose flour
1/4 C warm water
2 1/4 tsp dry yeast
3/4 C milk
1 C rolled oat
1 tsp salt
3 T brown sugar
2 T shortening
1 tsp sugar

METHOD

* Combine water, 1tsp sugar and yeast in a small bowl, let stand for 15 minutes until frothy.

* In a glass bowl, combine milk, oat, salt, brown sugar and shortening, heat until lukewarm using microwave oven.

* In a mixing bowl, combine milk mixture and yeast, gradually add the flour until stiff dough is formed.

* Knead by hand for 10 minutes or use stand mixer until elastic.

* Transfer dough onto oiled and covered bowl, let rise for 1 1/2-2 hours.

* Punch the dough, flatten into rectangle then fold into 3. Shape into loaf.

* Place the dough into greased 9 x 5 loaf pan, covered and let sit for 60 minutes. Towards the end of rising time, preheat the oven @ 190 C.

* Bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove and cool on rack.

Linking to  Yeastspotting 10-29-10
                 Bread Baking Day 34 : Bread With Grains
                 Bakers Sunday 4 

HOT & SPICY FRIED CHICKEN

Any time of the day, fried chicken sounds great and appetizing snack for chicken lovers especially the aroma at the time you're frying them. It is a great appetizer or side dish to serve along with main course. It is quite easy to prepare, just require time for marinating, the longer time it takes will make them more tastier.

Using dry chili but chili powder works well too, adjust to suit your taste. If you're using wet blender, kindly add some water to grind. In case the lemon grass is not available at your place, do omit them, this is for fragrance only.

This is my favorite recipe, do you believe that one of my sons can complete them in one sitting. What you need are:

HOT FRIED CHICKEN

12 pieces chicken drumstick/breast
salt to taste
oil for shallow frying

GRIND

1 in ginger
4 cloves garlic
2 stalk lemon grass
15 dry chili - soak to soften
1 tsp turmeric powder

METHOD

* Place cleaned chicken, ground ingredients and salt in a bowl. Mix well.

* Marinate for at least 1 hour in a refrigerator.

* Heat the oil, shallow fry the marinated chicken until both sides turn golden brown. Transfer onto plate lined with kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.

* Serve hot.

BAKED POTATO WEDGES

Once a while, my kids love to eat western food and instead of buying from popular fast food joint, I cook my own, not only cost effective but healthier and delicious.

For the potato, you could leave the skin on but I peeled them, first half the potato, then cut into wedges. If possible cut almost all the same size to ensure even baking. Do adjust the chili used according to your taste. These tasted great even without any chili or tomato sauce, just eat on its own.

MILK ROLLS

As you all know the aroma of homemade roll is irresistible. These are really easy to prepare and the taste is far superior from the store bought. These could easily serve as a snack, lunch or party food and you can decide how big or small you want them to be.

Kneading is essential for bread making in order to develop gluten, you need about 10 minutes to do this which help rolls to retain the shape and accumulate a volume of carbon dioxide gas while rising. Try not the add too much flour during shaping and rolling. This makes the dough tougher.

Rising or proofing brings out flavor especially from the yeast. If your kitchen is on cool side, leave the dough in the oven with pilot light on.

EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

I'd been searching for perfect and low fat chocolate chip cookies which are chewy but soft inside. This recipe really fits my taste. This is good for those who are egg-allergic

You could use 2 cups of all purpose flour but I used only one and half cup of flour, the balance is half cup of rolled oat, just run them in a mixie.

The texture of the dough is great, easily shape and with this dough I got about 45 cookies. It's all depend on the size you've made.

Used milk to combine but you could add water if you prefer. My family loves this cookies so it will be regular on our dining table.

EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 and 1/2 C all purpose flour
1/2 C rolled oat (grind)
1/2 C sugar (if you want it sweeter use 3/4 C)
1/2 C melted butter or oil
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 C chocolate chip
1/2 C milk/water
1 tsp vanilla essence

METHOD

* Sift flour and baking powder.

* Combine flour, oat, salt, chocolate chip and baking powder in a mixing bowl.

* In a small bowl, beat butter, vanilla with sugar until well blended.

* Pour butter mixture onto flour and mix until pliable dough is formed. Preheat oven @ 180 C.

* Drop teaspoonful of dough onto non greased baking sheet, bake about 8-10 minutes until light brown.

* Cool on pan 5 minutes, transfer onto wire rack to cool.

* When completely cool, store into airtight container.

BEST COCOA BROWNIES

I'm looking for brownies that is healthy and eggless but unfortunately can't find any that suit my taste, either high in sugar or fat.

So I came up with this recipe after going through various sources and so glad I did, I can assure you, this is seriously good. It is really remarkable that with mere cocoa powder it turns out great. It is very healthy, guilt free as a dessert or afternoon snack that does not hurt your diet.

Since most brownies called for eggs but now I use buttermilk. To make your own add a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of milk, let sit for 5 minutes or until curdled, now it is ready to be used in your cooking. Next time I need to double up this Best Cocoa Brownies  recipe since it is a huge hit with my family.

KERANG GORENG CILI / SPICY FRIED COCKLES

Do you know that cockles has a high content of selenium, a cancer-fighting antioxidant, iron and Vitamin B12 but I seldom cook them since my children not keen to eat cockles.

Cockles will taste better if eaten fresh after boiling them with a hot spicy dip. Now I'm cooking them with shallot, ginger, garlic and the most important ingredient, bird's eye chili which makes this dish really good to eat with hot steaming rice. It is so simple to cook without much spices yet tasted great.


INGREDIENTS

500g boiled cockles
4 shallots sliced
3 cloves garlic smashed
7 bird's eye chili sliced
1/2 inch ginger sliced
1 lemon grass bruised
1/2 cup water
2 T cooking oil
salt and sugar to taste

METHOD

* Heat the oil, fry the onion until light brown, add ginger, garlic, bird's eye chili and lemon grass, fry until fragrant.

* Add cockles, sugar, salt and water, bring to boil.

* Remove from heat, serve hot.

RAISIN BREAD

Since my previous attempts of making bread are successful, today I'd love to share with you another favorite recipe, Raisin Bread. Used to buy them from the bakery but now trying to bake it myself.

Baking bread is so exciting, such a challenging and rewarding task and you'll be proud of yourselves once you've baked them.

This is quite simple and the result is very satisfying, full of flavor and has great texture. This Raisin Bread  is really worth baking.

Soak the raisin for 30 minutes then drain before adding to the dough but some recipes called for adding the raisin directly without soaking, may be I'll try this method next time.

OAT & ONION PARATHA

Looking for some healthy and easy to cook dish? You have came to the right place. I'm sharing with you this absolutely oil free and packed with goodness of oat and milk, all in one flat bread.

This bread uses whole wheat flour and ground rolled oat. Adding of green chili or chili powder to the dough is up to your preference. When mixing the dough, care to be taken that you don't pour the milk at one go, add a little at a time until pliable dough is formed.

Oat and Onion Paratha is great to be served during dinner, breakfast or as brunch together with your spicy non vegetarian curry and for vegetarian dishes such as chick peas/rajma masala or other spicy vegetable gravy.

Oat & Onion Paratha
Yield : 4

3/4 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C rolled oat (ground)
1 onion chopped fine
1/2 C milk (do not use all)
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 green chili chopped or
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp chopped coriander leveas
1/2 tsp salt

METHOD

* Place all ingredients except milk in a mixing bowl.

* Gradually add milk until pliable dough is formed. Keep 30 minutes.

* Divide dough into 4 balls. Roll out each ball into round on floured board. Complete the rest of the dough.

* Heat the cast iron flat pan, the fry each paratha until bubbles appear on top, flip and cook the other side.

* Serve hot with your favorite gravy.

Connect with me:

FACEBOOK /     YOU TUBE /     YOU TUBE   /      RSS    /     EMAIL   /  GOOGLE+ 

BREAD CRUMB COOKIES (REPOST)

Don't know what to do with leftover bread? This is my idea, toast or bake the bread without oil until crispy, break into small pieces and grind it. Your bread crumb is ready to be used as a coating, topping or thickener, money saver too. It is easily turned into a crunchy and irresistible cookies enjoyed by whole family.

DATES BREAD

I had plenty of dates lying around in my kitchen. My son suggested to bake a bread/cake to clear my pantry. Yes, it is indeed a great idea.

After going through my old collection of recipes, this one attracted me since it is pretty simple to whip up and use all the ingredients I have in hand.

Oh my goodness, this bread is damn yummy with right balance of sweetness came from the dates. This is a keeper, will bake this often.

DATES BREAD

2 and 1/4 C all purpose flour
1 C pitted dates chopped
1/2 C melted butter
1 C milk
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C hot water
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

METHOD

* Soak chopped dated in hot water for 30 minutes. Preheat oven @ 180 C. Lightly grease the 8 in pan or loaf pan.

* Combine together butter, sugar, milk, salt and baking powder until well mixed. Mix in the dates.

* Gradually add flour, mix until just combined.

* Spoon mixture into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes of until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

* Cool on wire rack.

Creative Bloggers Party Hop
Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays
This Weeks Cravings
M.M.M, Day
Just Another- Meatless Monday
Market Yourself Monday
Made With Love
Amaze Me- Monday
Mingle Monday
M.M.M. Day

SWEET & SAVORY BEE HOON PLUS AN AWARD

CHOCOLATE ROLLS

This chocolate roll is a favorite among my kids since it is filled with chocolate. One can easily buy this gorgeous bread from your neighbourhood bakery but nothing compared to the satisfaction you get after your family tasted the bread you've baked. Another benefit of baking your own is that you could customize to your taste, you decide what to add and or omit.

Actually baking bread isn't that tough but the only disadvantage is time consuming. If you plan well, like mixing the dough at night, shape and leave to rise in a refrigerator then bake them the next day so your family could enjoy this fresh from the oven. It is also great for serving unexpected guest.

At the time of shaping, sprinkle generous amount of butter, sugar and chocolate chip after you rolled up into rectangle, this will make the rolls look better and tastier.

CHOCOLATE ROLLS

3 cups plain flour
2 tsp active dry yeast
4 T sugar
5 T melted butter
1/2 C warm water
1/2 C plus 4 T warm milk
1 tsp salt

FILLING

4 T butter
6 T chocolate chip
3 T brown sugar

METHOD

* Combine yeast, warm water and 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Leave for 15 minutes or until frothy.

* In a mixing bowl, place flour, sugar, butter, salt and yeast mixture. Gradually add warm milk and forms into pliable dough. Knead by hand 10 minutes or use your stand mixture.

* Let rise for 2 hours in a covered and greased bowl. Towards the end of raising time, preheat oven @ 180 C.

* Punch out the air from the dough. Roll out into rectangle 14 x 12 in on floured board.

* Spread butter leaving 1/2 inch around the corner, sprinkle with chocolate chip and sugar..

* Roll up, jelly roll style starting from the long side. Slice 1 in thick and place onto baking sheet which is lined with baking paper.

* Bake 15 minutes @ 180 C until golden brown.

* Cool on wire rack.

Linking to  Yeastspotting 10-1-10

FISH CUTLET

For ages we didn't had this  Fish  Cutlet, there are various ways to prepare this dish but mine differs from the usual method of frying the ingredients before shaping then re-fry again after dipping with egg and bread crumbs.

My preparation does not involve cooking before hand. What I did are mixing all the ingredients together, turn them into round shape then flatten. Before shallow frying, I coated the cutlet with rice flour and fried until golden color. It came out perfect, flavorful and yummy, great as an appetizer or side dish.

MUNG BEAN JELLY

My kids really love to have cold dessert especially during hot spell now. You can really felt the intense heat outdoors. Lucky for those work in an air conditioned environment.

This Mung Bean Jelly is pretty simple to prepare. What needs to prepare is the green bean aka mung bean before hand. Just boil the cleaned mung bean with water and salt until it is really soft and almost dry. Either mash or blend the bean but I just mash them with a spoon.

Added evaporated milk but you can also use coconut milk for real tasty dessert. It tasted divine on hot summer days!

PINEAPPLE TART

This melt in the mouth Pineapple Tart is a must during festive season in most South East Asian homes. It consists of two parts, the pastry and the filling. It is such a delight to bite into one, just can't stop eating them, so damn yummy.

Best to prepare the filling ahead before you start baking this tart. Most suitable to choose ripe pineapple that will produce better tasting filling came from the pineapple thus adding less sugar. The grated pineapple along with its juice is cooked until thick along with sugar using low heat and constant stirring if not it sticks to the bottom of the pan. Once cooked, leave to cool and refrigerate. This way the filling is quite easy to handle and easily shaped into small balls before stuffing into the pastry.

If the dough is too soft, you can add about 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour and refrigerate for 30 minutes in a covered bowl. Apart from using the fluted tart cutter, if you have time and patience, do pinch the sides of tart using tart pincer, look pretty but time consuming.