Bubur Lambuk (Savoury porridge in coconut milk)

This porridge is quite easy to make and very delicious. It's one of my family's favourite dish and a dish I love to cook during the holy month of Ramadan. I hope you and your loved ones will enjoy this dish as much as we do.

Ingredients;

3 cups of rice

some water to cook the rice

1/2 kg of sliced beef

1 packet of coconut milk

sea-salt to taste

a few cloves and star anise

some olive oil 

For paste;

3-4 large red onions

7-8 cloves of garlic

1-2 tablespoon of black pepper 

1 tablespoon of corriander seeds

a handful of raw anchovies (ikan bilis)

For garnishing:

Some chopped parsley and spring onions

Some fried shallots

fried anchovies (ikan bilis)

sliced omelette

Methods;

1) Rinse the rice, drain and set aside. Blend onions, garlic, black pepper and corriander seeds with some water till it turns into a smooth paste. 

2) In a boiling pot, heat up some olive oil, add the cloves and star anise and fry for a few seconds. Next, add the paste. Fry the paste for a few minutes till fragrant then add the meat. Continue to fry till the meat changes colour. Add water, about 2 litres and boil for half an hour.

3) Next add the rice and cook till the rice turn to porridge. Lastly, add the coconut milk and sea salt to taste. Keep adding water to the porridge until you get the right consistency.

4) Serve hot in a bowl and garnish as shown in the pix shown below.

Ayam Percik Perak

 Ayam Percik Perak

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (cur into 12 parts, remove skin and wash thoroughly)
20 dried chillies ( cut and soak in warm water for a few minutes, wash and drain)
5-7 green birds' eye chillies
1 lemongrass
3 large onions
5 cloves garlic
an inch of galangal ( lengkuas)
1 1/2 inch garlic
few lime leaves (daun limau purut- 3-4 for blending, 3-4 slice thinly)
100 ml coconut milk ( I used 1/2 pkt Kara coconut milk)
some water
some sea salt to taste
some olive oil


Methods:

1) Blend dried chillies, green birds' eye chillies, onions, garlic, lime leaves, lemongrass, ginger and garlic with some water in a food processor till into a thick paste. Add coconut milk and mix well.

2) Marinate the chicken parts with the chilli paste for half an hour. Heat a non-stick pan with some olive oil and pour the marinated chicken into the pan and cook for about 15 minutes till the paste thickens. Add salt to taste and cook for about 5 more minutes.

3) Next, transfer into a baking tray, sprnkle the sliced lime leaves

and bake at a pre-heated oven at 180 Degrees Celcius for about 45 minutes. Spinkle, chopped spring onion, parsley and fried shallots (optional). Enjoy with hot piping rice. Happy trying!

Rosemary Baked Chicken

This baked chicken dish is so simple and hasssle-free. Hope you'll enjoy this dish as much as we did.

Ingredients

• A dozen chicken parts ( I used upper thigh parts, skin removed, you can also use a whole chicken )
• 12 cloves of garlic (remove skin, no need to chop)
• some baby potatoes (with skin on,cut into half)
• some cherry tomatoes
• 1 large chopped yellow onion
• 3-4 sprigs of rosemary (strip of the leaves)
• some coarse black pepper
• sea salt
• some paprika
• some cumin powder
• juice of 1 lemon
• olive oil

Methods;

1) Pre-heat oven at 180 Degrees Celcius. Using a large bowl, marinate the chicken parts with paprika, cumin powder, seasalt, black pepper and lemon juice. Marinate for 10-15 minutes.

2) Using a large baking dish, place the marinated chicken in it together with the potatoes. Sprinkle the rosemary leaves over the chicken and potatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven for half an hour. Remove the pan and throw in the cherry tomatoes and bake for another 15 more minutes.

3) We had it with side salad as shown in the picture below. Spread the creamy baked garlic over the chicken to make the chicken even tastier.  Enjoy!

Cinnamon Pumpkin & Walnut Muffin

I love pumpkin. Pumpkin is full of nutrients and is a storehouse of many anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin-A, vitamin-C and vitamin-E. I usually have them boiled/steamed or make soupy dessert out of them. Today I tried something different. I made Pumpkin muffins and it turned out delicious and the smell is oh so heavenly. Hope you'll love this muffin recipe.

Makes 12 muffins


Ingredients

200 grams pumpkin flesh, cut into cubes, boil till soft but firm for about 10 minutes and mash it.
100 grams salted butter
170 grams soft brown sugar
2 large egss- beaten
1 tbspn vanilla essense
240 grams self-raising flour
1 tbspn baking powder
100 roasted chopped walnuts
100 ml milk- add 2-3 drops of yellow food colouring (optional)
1 tbspn cinnamon powder - add to the milk

Methods

1) Pre-heat oven to 190 degrees celcius. Sift the flour with baking powder and set aside.

2) Beat the butter with sugar till fluffy and creamy. Then add the beaten eggs and vanilla essense and beat for a while. Next add the walnut and pumpkin flesh. Using a spatula, mix the ingredients gently. Next, fold in half the flour and pour in half the milk. Fold in the rest of the flour and the milk. Mix well.

3) Spoon the batter into muffin cups 3/4 full and bake in the oven for 20 minutes till the muffins turned golden brown. Enjoy!

                                       The mashed pumpkin should look like the above picture.

 

                                Cinnamon Pumpkin & Walnut Muffins. Great for breakfast or for tea break.

Baked Tandoori Chicken

This is one of my family's favorite dish. It can be eaten with hot Basmati rice or even good on its own. I find this recipe quite hassle-free. Hope you'll love it!

Ingredients;

1 whole chicken ( cut into 10-12 parts) - I prefer to remove skin for a healthier version

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup yogurt

Juice of 1 lemon 

2 onions

1 inch ginger

3 cloves of garlic

1 tbspn tandoori masala

1/2 cup chilli paste and about 2 tbspn chilli powder

sea salt to taste

For garnishing,

some chopped corriander leaves/chopped lettuce
1 lemon- slice

1 tomato- slice

Methods,

1) Rub lemon juice on chicken parts. 

2) Blend onion, ginger and garlic with a little water into thick paste. Then mix the masala, chilli paste, chilli powder, sea salt and yogurt into the blended paste. Marinate the chicken with the tandoori paste for about an hour.

3) Heat the pan with olive oil and pan fry the chicken for a few minutes and transfer to a baking tray and bake at 180 degrees celcius for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Keep turning the chicken to make sure all sides are well cooked. Garnish as shown on the pix below. 

Baked Salmon Patties with Sour Cream Sauce

I had a heavy breakfast with my firstborn yesterday so I made salmon patties for lunch coz I wanted to have something light. They're quite easy to make and tasted so delicious. I simply love salmon with sour cream. I think sour cream compliments salmon perfectly. Below are the ingredients. Hope you'll love it!

Ingredients;

300 gm salmon fillet - poached.
4 cups of breadcrumbs - I substitute with nestum cereal instead coz I have ran out of breadcrumbs
3 eggs
some chopped parsley & spring onions
sea salt to taste
some black pepper/white pepper
3 tbspn some melted butter
4 large potatoes- peel of the skin, boil & mash them.

Sour cream sauce:

200 mls sour cream
2 cloves of garlic - Chopped
sea salt to taste & white pepper
some chopped spring onion
1 tspn of olive oil

Methods;

1) Preheat oven at 180 degrees Celsius.

2) In a large bowl, add in the mashed potatoes, salmon, 1 egg, chopped parsley & spring onions, 1 cup of breadcrumbs, season with sea salt & pepper & mix well. If the texture is too soft, add in more breadcrumbs. Form mixture into patties.

3) In a smaller bowl beat 2 eggs & set aside.  Next, pour the rest of the breadcrumbs in a medium sized bowl. Dip the patties into the beaten eggs & coat with breadcrumbs & place it on a baking tray which was already brushed with melted butter. Arrange the patties on the baking tray & lastly brush some melted butter over the patties gently.

4) Bake for about 15 minutes till the patties turned golden brown. Set aside.


For sour cream sauce:

- Heat a small pan with olive oil, sautee the chopped garlic for a while then pour in the sour cream. Season with a lil seasalt & pepper. Turn off the heat after a few minute them lastly throw in the spring onions.

Prepare the dish as shown in the picture below. Don't forget to add side salad for a wholesome meal. Happy trying!

Asam Pedas Ikan Duri. ( Sour & Spicy Catfish)

Asam Pedas Ikan Duri. ( Sour & Spicy Catfish )

Ingredients;

-  1 medium sized catfish ( cut, clean & wash)
-  1 small bowl of dried chillies ( cut & soak in water for 1/2 hr & drain)
-  2 stalks of lemongrass ( hit a lil using a pounder)
-  3 large red onions
-  4 cloves of garlic
-  11/2 inch ginger
-  1 1/2 inch tumeric
-  1 tbspn course black pepper
-  abt 1 tbspn belacan  (shrimp paste)
-  a bowl of concentrated tamarind juice
-  2 ltrs water
-  a cup of laksa leaves (daun kesum)
-  seasalt & sugar to taste
-  2 large tomatoes - quartered.
-  1/2 cup pure olive oil

Methods;

1) In a food processor,  blend the dried chillies for a few minutes. Next, add the onions, garlic, ginger, tumeric & black pepper and blend for abt 2-3 minutes till it turn into a smooth paste.

2) Heat a cooking pot with olive oil for a minute then add the lemongrass. Next add the chilli paste and fry till fragrant for a few minutes. Add the tamarind juice and water and boil for 10-15 minutes. Then add seasalt & a lil sugar to taste.  You can add more water if the gravy is too thick. Lastly add the slices of fish slowly and cook for a few more minutes.

3) Turn off the heat and slowly throw in the tomatoes & laksa leaves and cover the pot. You can have it with rice or with bread.

P.S. You can substitute other kinds of fish for this dish. I also love using stingray or tenggiri.