tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7861320231772014832024-03-13T10:19:10.715-07:00The Baby Steps Of LifeFollow me as I take the neverending baby steps of lifeQarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.comBlogger352125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-58684284383354762582017-09-25T02:39:00.002-07:002017-09-25T02:46:02.372-07:00Puli Sadam aka Tamarind Rice Recipe<div style="text-align: justify;">
During my childhood in JB, our Friday evenings used to be our temple visitation at Sri Muniswarar Temple, Tampoi. Mom mostly went for prayers, I went for the yummy banana leaf dinner and other sweet and savoury offerings. Their banana leaf meal, despite being simple, is unparalleled even by the most famous banana leaf restaurants.</div>
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Sri Muniswarar Temple Tampoi is very famous and rich in history, <a href="http://www.malaysiantemples.com/2012/04/sri-muniswarar-temple-tampoi-johor.html">which you can watch here</a>. To this day, their Thaipusam celebration is the most grand in the southern part of our country.</div>
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One of my favourite and most fond memory of their offerings is what we used to call 'sour rice', which is actually called puli sadam in Tamil, loosely translated to tamarind rice. Some fun facts here, 'puli' also means tiger in Tamil, it is rather amusing to call it tiger rice, furthermore, it even boosts the colours of a tiger!</div>
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And coincidentally, this is also what most Indians would specially prepare for someone who is expecting, among other things of course, but this is extra special as it is sour in taste. Which means I have had good memories of stuffing myself with the sour goodness when I was carrying both the babies.</div>
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As the name suggests, it is basically plain rice flavoured with tamarind, and as anything Indian, accompanied by a cocktail of spices. I have not got the exact amount of spices here, but typically it is very small amount about 1 tsp. Usually you don't need a big amount of whole spices to get the taste, so yes, the small amount is sufficient. Here is:</div>
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<b>You Need:</b><br />
2 cups of cooked rice<br />
2 tsp tamarind paste<br />
some roasted peanuts<br />
some curry leaves<br />
some dry chilli<br />
salt<br />
jaggery (I used gula Melaka)<br />
some mustard seeds<br />
some fenugreek seeds<br />
some urad dhal<br />
some oil<br />
some asafoetida<br />
some channal dhal<br />
some turmeric powder<br />
3/4 cup water </blockquote>
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<b>Method:</b><br />
1) Heat some oil in a pan. Add fenugreek and mustard seeds. Let it splutter.<br />
2) Add the dry chilli, curry leaves, asafoetida, turmeric powder, urad dhal and channa dhal.<br />
3) Keep stirring till the channa dhal starts to brown.<br />
4) Add the tamarind paste, and add about 3/4 cup of water. If you are using regular tamarind which needs to be soaked first, you don't have to add extra water here.<br />
5) Give it a stir and let it simmer.<br />
6) Add jaggery or as I did, gula Melaka. Check for the taste, and add salt as needed.<br />
7) Simmer till the mixture reduces by half. Now you can add the rice and give a nice stir, halfway turning off the fire, add the roasted peanuts. Keep stirring to get it evenly coated. </blockquote>
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Serve with papadam and yogurt, or just on its own, there are multiple bursts of flavour in your mouth as you savour it. The roasted peanuts, channa dhal and urad dhal really give different experiences of crunch and munch, if there is even such a thing! And then bursts of mustard and fenugreek seeds keeps you rooted to the Indian taste.</div>
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Happy trying!QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-88880254008632601072017-09-21T09:06:00.000-07:002017-09-21T09:44:11.472-07:00Cake Indulgence at China House<div style="text-align: justify;">
The silver lining about moving to a new town is every outing is a new experience, and being in Penang, every outing for a meal is like a vacation. There are so many choices here. You want street food, food court, fine dining and franchise (although I do hold some grudge for them having only one McDonald's outlet in Seberang Jaya, and then there is no Burger King around here).</div>
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In conclusion, you want to eat, you have it. No questions asked!</div>
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Like a few months ago, Mr Hubby visited this cafe that served impressive array of menu, with thousand types of cakes. When he gloated to me about it, I thought to myself it is virtually impossible. And then he goes on and on how it takes from the front part through the back alley right into the row at the back. Again I was thinking, is Penang even that big to have something that sounds so well spread? And then I was told it is actually is a cafe, bar, wine bar, art gallery, has live bands, and like 101 other things.</div>
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Curiosity killed the cat, so although I ain't no cat, we had to visit the place right the next weekend, like pronto!</div>
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My, oh my! Was I in for a surprise, shock, amazement, whatever you call it, it is not enough to explain the feelings, especially when you love everything cakes. Yes, cake'S'. Here's how:</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ow8Omnqqqho/WcPOT9YeRBI/AAAAAAAAXS8/nuM6gP1slgwDJtJ96tY5_xuL3sFfMfHDQCKgBGAs/s1600/upload_-1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ow8Omnqqqho/WcPOT9YeRBI/AAAAAAAAXS8/nuM6gP1slgwDJtJ96tY5_xuL3sFfMfHDQCKgBGAs/s400/upload_-1" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is one section, another chilled section on the left, not in pic. And get this, they keep topping up the different cakes and goodies. It's like diabetes galore, diabetes that I want to embrace.</div>
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If that this point you are not amazed enough, feel free to leave this space. </div>
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Ok no, please wait, the fun does not stop here.</div>
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Their best cake is the tiramisu, and you have the option to take alcoholic and non alcoholic. No prize for guessing which one I jumped upon. It is absolutely a must try! Soft cheesy layer in between soft spongy cakes, topped with icing and what tastes like granola. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NzpflZJyOQI/WcPLaAG7oHI/AAAAAAAAXR0/zW6DhMQUUHUJqEGRWN7DGnImEFIQ3SckwCKgBGAs/s1600/IMG20170617132608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NzpflZJyOQI/WcPLaAG7oHI/AAAAAAAAXR0/zW6DhMQUUHUJqEGRWN7DGnImEFIQ3SckwCKgBGAs/s400/IMG20170617132608.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Second best is the espresso walnut cake, the square shaped on the right.</div>
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Then there's moist buttermilk chocolate cake, again yummy!</div>
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On the top right corner is the salted caramel cheesecake. Too salty for my taste. On the top left is the gourmet hotdog with fries. Things we do to satisfy kids.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u9f2cAm2ZrA/WcPLaIXramI/AAAAAAAAXR0/d5_IZm8BPw88jqjnQGyBsLRh5xEms4ZBQCKgBGAs/s1600/IMG20170617132526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u9f2cAm2ZrA/WcPLaIXramI/AAAAAAAAXR0/d5_IZm8BPw88jqjnQGyBsLRh5xEms4ZBQCKgBGAs/s400/IMG20170617132526.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Some close ups, from top to bottom is salted caramel cheesecake, espresso walnut and moist buttermilk chocolate cake.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qZmNaeyQoIU/WcPLaNvMmVI/AAAAAAAAXR0/vJEYFVkCtRUBsCyjZ5dTtWkLfEAx_7mYACKgBGAs/s1600/IMG20170617132515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qZmNaeyQoIU/WcPLaNvMmVI/AAAAAAAAXR0/vJEYFVkCtRUBsCyjZ5dTtWkLfEAx_7mYACKgBGAs/s400/IMG20170617132515.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Hope you did not expect me to list out all their cakes, because no I am not doing it, but just mentioning my favourites. As we all are quick to jump onto our food when it arrives, you will notice I have very few candid shots. The more artistic ones are by My Hubby who takes pride in the Iphone6 skills.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xVC15rwfGjg/WcPNRfpqTcI/AAAAAAAAXSs/3S2MSecHTaoeGOkdH4Y6hrGujRiMfLqxwCKgBGAs/s1600/IMG20170624125202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xVC15rwfGjg/WcPNRfpqTcI/AAAAAAAAXSs/3S2MSecHTaoeGOkdH4Y6hrGujRiMfLqxwCKgBGAs/s400/IMG20170624125202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Also thanks to my non-photographic skills, the accounts and photos here are actually compiled from our multiple visits there. </div>
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If you noticed, our table came with square white papers, sophisticatedly known as 'mahjong papers', and every table is equipped with good amount of crayons. Basically they tap into your creativity as you see heaven in every bite of their God-sent cakes.</div>
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Thanks to our gastronomically superior experiences we've produced quite a few masterpieces while indulging, especially the kids, and oh, notice the red velvet cake as you immerse yourself into the art.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hPrA73unhWI/WcPYPcO5lxI/AAAAAAAAXTQ/EhlgkobelQE6awEwC3PbyYh8DmMDoI6BgCKgBGAs/s1600/IMG_20170723_223330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="1037" height="305" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hPrA73unhWI/WcPYPcO5lxI/AAAAAAAAXTQ/EhlgkobelQE6awEwC3PbyYh8DmMDoI6BgCKgBGAs/s400/IMG_20170723_223330.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Tiramisu, chocolate decadent and red velvet cakes, at your service!<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-462mouQ6I-8/WcPYPXabOVI/AAAAAAAAXTQ/HVjWcG-zZxceJfM6RyefIb-bYPXYu8o8ACKgBGAs/s1600/IMG20170723133533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-462mouQ6I-8/WcPYPXabOVI/AAAAAAAAXTQ/HVjWcG-zZxceJfM6RyefIb-bYPXYu8o8ACKgBGAs/s400/IMG20170723133533.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Art too.<br />
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See how all the hands get into producing art.<br />
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And the best art award has to go to the portrait My Hubby created, full credits to him, Iphone only took the picture. So that's me, as conceived by Mr Hubby.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M2HiclGMPUI/WcPOT_3utwI/AAAAAAAAXS8/pEym-e_ksXIh8g5_U39mPznIEltckMC8QCKgBGAs/s1600/upload_-1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M2HiclGMPUI/WcPOT_3utwI/AAAAAAAAXS8/pEym-e_ksXIh8g5_U39mPznIEltckMC8QCKgBGAs/s400/upload_-1" width="400" /></a></div>
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The selected artworks will be displayed at their cafe and also the art gallery, and seeing the collection they have there, people are pretty creative and arty after their cakexperiences. The last time we went there I tried to spot my portrait but couldn't find it. Looks like we need another trip to China House to indulge and submit another artwork!</div>
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Here's Mr Hubby pulling more Iphone6 tricks, an ariel view from the art gallery on the second floor. I am sitting on one side and there are cakes on the other side.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AE3rM5ZW-CY/WcPOTx2WvLI/AAAAAAAAXS8/XI7slgLg_DYSv4aytBM2aMsWV-8YE7NZACKgBGAs/s1600/upload_-1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AE3rM5ZW-CY/WcPOTx2WvLI/AAAAAAAAXS8/XI7slgLg_DYSv4aytBM2aMsWV-8YE7NZACKgBGAs/s400/upload_-1" width="300" /></a></div>
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Taking a walk from the front to the back is really an interesting experience because the deco, the setting, and the graffiti brings you into different moods, ambience, and that vintage feel that you forget for a short while that you are in the 21st century.<br />
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And here's some of our pics. My Hubby was doing the beard trend, till the cakes got into them. Not bad if you want to have some cakes to-go!<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Cy9HM-yb1BQ/WcPOT55qsTI/AAAAAAAAXS8/9SFEy_Ykihc3CdR4kUMUPqGEF9OcYjfUQCKgBGAs/s1600/upload_-1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Cy9HM-yb1BQ/WcPOT55qsTI/AAAAAAAAXS8/9SFEy_Ykihc3CdR4kUMUPqGEF9OcYjfUQCKgBGAs/s400/upload_-1" width="300" /></a></div>
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The boys and me, right before we leave the place. I can't tell if my eyes are opened or not, regardless, awesome cakes, I was probably high on cakes!<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w6OOTUD9axs/WcPOT52KB3I/AAAAAAAAXS8/Y2419DM6NHo2DtKhjwd52NM3r9TM9yycACKgBGAs/s1600/upload_-1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w6OOTUD9axs/WcPOT52KB3I/AAAAAAAAXS8/Y2419DM6NHo2DtKhjwd52NM3r9TM9yycACKgBGAs/s400/upload_-1" width="300" /></a></div>
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So now you know, if you are in Penang where are the best cakes. In fact, once you've had China House cakes, everything else just pales in comparison. One might feel the pricing in on the higher side, but the pieces are oh-my-big-enough-to-drown.</div>
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China House is addictive like that. Try it, if you dare!QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-43533395513443668742017-09-21T06:04:00.000-07:002017-09-21T06:56:22.511-07:00Chicken Butter Masala RecipeHere's me finally updating the Chicken butter masala recipe from 2 weeks ago. It goes awesome with homemade naan or just some plain basmati or regular rice.<br />
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<b>Ingredients</b></div>
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<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount">500g </span><span itemprop="name">chicken breast</span></span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount">100g </span><span itemprop="name">yogurt</span></span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount">2 tsp </span><span itemprop="name">garam masala</span></span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount">4 tsp </span><span itemprop="name">ginger garlic paste</span></span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount">2 tsp </span><span itemprop="name">chilli powder</span></span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount">2 tsp </span><span itemprop="name">cumin</span></span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount">2 tsp </span><span itemprop="name">coriander</span></span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount">2 tsp </span><span itemprop="name">turmeric</span></span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount">50g </span><span itemprop="name">butter</span></span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount">1 tbsp </span><span itemprop="name">tomato puree</span></span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount">one, diced </span><span itemprop="name">onion</span></span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount">6 </span><span itemprop="name">cardamom pods</span></span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount">1tsp </span><span itemprop="name">ground cloves</span></span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount">1 cup </span><span itemprop="name">milk</span></span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount">handful </span><span itemprop="name">chopped coriander</span></span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount">to taste </span><span itemprop="name">salt</span></span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredient" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient"><span itemprop="amount"></span><span itemprop="name">some cooking oil</span></span></li>
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<div class="subtitle">
<b>Method</b></div>
<div itemprop="instructions">
<span class="instruction">1. Cut the chicken breast in bite-sizes.</span><br />
<span class="instruction">2. Add the 100g yogurt, 1 tsp garam masala, 2 tsp ginger and garlic paste, 2 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp turmeric and some salt. Mix well and marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.</span><br />
<span class="instruction">3. Add cooking oil into a skillet, and pan fry the marinated chicken breast pieces. Set aside.</span><br />
<span class="instruction">4. In the same skillet, add the 50g butter. Add the diced onion and let it sautee. </span><br />
<span class="instruction">5. Add the 1 tbsp tomato puree, 2 tsp ginger and garlic paste, cardamom pods, 1 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, and 1 tsp turmeric.</span><br />
<span class="instruction">6. Add about 1 cup of water and let it simmer. Add salt to taste.</span><br />
<span class="instruction">7. Add 1 cup of milk and simmer it till it thickens. You can add more water and/or milk to get tour desired consistency and amount of gravy.</span><br />
<span class="instruction">8. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and serve.</span><br />
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<span class="instruction"><br /></span>
<span class="instruction">I gotta warn you, the moment you are done pan frying the pieces of meat, you can try some, and after that you will not be able to stop yourself. In this case, it is really wise to prepare a little extra to ensure you have enough for the dish later.</span><br />
<span class="instruction"><br /></span>
<span class="instruction">Happy trying!</span></div>
QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-53290934696466433112017-09-10T23:51:00.000-07:002017-09-10T23:51:09.483-07:00Cheese Garlic Naan Stovetop Recipe<div style="text-align: justify;">
I love to eat roti or pratha. Naan and even kulcha for that matter. And no, it is not the same as the regular roti canai you get locally in Malaysia. Even most of the capatis found locally is not the real deal, so you get what I mean.</div>
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It was a while since I cooked on a Sunday, and that butter chicken recipe I found online was calling out to me, so it was the perfect way to spend my Sunday morning with. Also I was craving for a real good naan. Most of the naan we get outside are either overpriced or too dry. I wondered what it took make naan at home.</div>
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I'd like to emphasize that this time I was wondering how to make naan at home, for real, and not from accidental dough that did not rise. In case you are wondering what am I talking about, 3 years ago, my yeast failed me, and the cinnamon roll dough did not rise, so I made 'em into naan, <a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2014/06/the-maverick-dough.html">blog link here</a>.</div>
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Thanks to that mishap I learnt that I should always always and always activate my yeast before kneading, <a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2014/04/honey-buns-baking-again.html">blog link here</a>. Secondly I also learnt that those dough can work so well as stove top flatbreads.</div>
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It was definitely something that can be done. I took a while searching recipes and methods online. Mostly used baking method with hot cast iron or baking tray for the 'tandoor' effect, however it did not seem very convenient with the steps, and I was also vary of burning my hands with the constant 'turning' over of the naan, and I have a good amount of previous scars from the oven already.</div>
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I decided to use my capati cast iron flat pan, or as we call it, the 'tawa'.</div>
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Here's the recipe I finally used, with awesome results! My recipe is for breadmaker kneading, as much as I hate manually kneading, I also don't fancy the detailed write-ups of manual kneading. Luckily for me the BM does it till it rises the first time.</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
You need:<br />For dough<br />4 cup of all purpose flour<br />1.5 cups of warm water<br />1.5 tsp yeast<br />some salt<br />1 tbsp sugar<br />3 tbsp plain yogurt<br />2 tbsp butter<br />For filling and topping<br />mozzarella cheese, shredded, or cut into small blocks<br />chopped coriander<br />chopped garlic<br />2 tbsp butter, melted<br />Method:<br />1) Activate your yeast by mixing it with warm water and 1 tbsp sugar. Let it sit for 10 minutes and if it foams, it is ready to go.<br />2) Add the activated yeast with the rest of the ingredients (except butter) into the breadmaker and start it on kneading mode.<br />3) Once its incorporated, add in the butter and let it continue kneading till the machine stops for first proof.<br />4) Let it proof for 1 hour.<br />5) In the mean time, melt the 2 tbsp butter. Mix chopped garlic and coriander into it and set aside.<br />6) Once the first proof is over, oil a flat dish to store individual dough.<br />7) With an oiled hand, start forming smaller dough about 3 inches wide each, fill the dough with mozzarella cheese and seal it into a nice round ball. Place the dough balls onto the oiled flat dish.<br />8) Start to heat up the cast iron pan. Oil the surface slightly to avoid the first dough from sticking.<br />9) On an oiled surface, place individual dough press down with your palm to form into flat circles. You may notice it tears up creating holes, it is fine to leave it so.<br />10) Place the flat circle gently on the hot pan, and let it toast for 1 mins plus.<br />11) You will notice bubbles forming, this is good sign.<br />12) Turn it over and brush the butter/garlic/coriander mixture on top of it.<br />13) This time cover the naan with a small cover right for it's size. Let it toast for 2-3 minutes.<br />14) Repeat steps 9-13 for every dough ball.</blockquote>
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It is rather lengthy but it actually is very simple, just the few extra steps from making capati, one reason why I enjoyed making it so much and will do again next time!</div>
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We had the naans with butter chicken masala, mint coriander chutney and sliced raw onions. At the risk of sound immodest I have to say that these are the best naans I had, even better than chewy and dry ones you get at most restaurants. I am surprised with the soft outcome of this pan toasted naan. The earlier accidental dough that I made into naans were more fluffy thanks to the egg content.</div>
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I had kept aside some of the dough, and had some leftover butter chicken, which later in the evening I upscaled them into pizza naans! I had also included the butter herb mixture into the pizza base.</div>
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Happy trying!QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-63096832638676446712017-06-20T23:45:00.002-07:002017-06-20T23:45:44.111-07:00Indian White Mee Hoon Recipe<div style="text-align: justify;">
During my childhood I had the opportunity to know this wonderful and kind neighbour who was almost like a grandmother to me and my siblings. She lived two doors away and would come rushing to the house if either one of us was sick. Being a former nurse, she knew lots of remedies. On top of that she was a wonderful cook, the type that creates memories of countless comfort foods.</div>
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Both our illness season and birthday memories were filled with 'Aunty' bringing lots of gifts, and food so good that even the lack of appetite would give in to.</div>
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One of the fondest memories of her cooking is her <a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2016/03/wajik-sweet-sticky-rice-recipe.html">wajik</a>. Since she knew I loved it so much, she would make big batches just for me. I would just chill it in the fridge, and eat as I please. I did try to make it at home, but really never got any close to how she made it.</div>
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Another memory of her speciality is her Indian white mee hoon. This is very different from the regular mee hoon that is seasoned with all kinds of sauces that makes it reddish brown. Over here you get the flavour from spices, curry leaves and dried chilli. When recently I was searching for the best recipe for this, I also discovered that dried anchovies and prawns also make among the sautee, that gives it the rich aroma and flavour.</div>
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Since then, I make it regularly, and with reasonable vegetables added, it is very much a balanced meal on its own. Usually for the white mee hoon we use vegetables that can cook with the sautee, and nothing that gives crunch like beansprouts or bak choy. I am not sure quite why but I just have a feeling soft cooked vegetables is the essence for this mee hoon.</div>
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<b>You need:</b><br />
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dried anchovies and shrimp, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes.<br />
1 large onion, sliced<br />
4-6 cloves of garlic, chopped<br />
some ginger<br />
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mee hoon<br />
carrot, sliced thin<br />
chinese cabbage, sliced thin<br />
mustard seeds<br />
dried chilli<br />
curry leaves<br />
coconut oil<br />
salt to taste<br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
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1) Once the dried seafood is soaked well, drain the water and pound it together with ginger. Leave a aside.</div>
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2) Soak the mee hoon in tap water.</div>
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3) In a pan, heat up some coconut oil.</div>
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4) Once it is hot, you can add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and dried chilli. Also add the onion, let it sautee and spices pop a while.</div>
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5) You can add the pounded dried goods, and give it a nice sautee till brown and aromatic.<br />
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6) Add the carrot and cabbage and let it cook for 10 minutes.<br />
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7) Soon after you can add the drained mee hoon, and the chopped garlic. Season with little salt, as the dried seafood is already salty. Give it a nice stir and let it incorporate for about 10 minutes of stirring and cooking.</div>
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I had also fried some eggs separately and added into the mee hoon dish. I like this way that it does not coat the mee hoon strands. Do not be afraid to use more curry leaves, I was being gentle to my plant as it is picking up from a recent infection. Happy trying!</div>
QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-28281834346662257122017-06-20T17:41:00.004-07:002017-06-20T17:41:48.006-07:00Journey To Pantai Kerachut<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last school holidays the boys had a trip to Pantai Kerachut with their taekwando team. At first it sounded all so fun with the sun and sand, only later we got to know that Pantai Kerachut is deep inside the National Park of Penang. It also turned out that Pantai Kerachut is actually a secluded beach with jungle terrain and is actually famous for wildlife viewing, including seasonal nesting turtles.</div>
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The boys followed their group that left earlier in the morning. It was a first experience for them travelling somewhere without us parents, just by themselves, and we were glad to let them have it, while we followed behind in our car, taking our time, grabbing some local delight on the way.</div>
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We had our speedy date, having breakfast 2 times, yes you read it right, acting all touristy in Georgetown. We first had some dimsum, and later we had some local toast at <a href="http://www.kenhuntfood.com/2015/12/lollipop-ropitiam-campbell-street.html">Lollipop Ropitiam</a>. And yes we were free enough to take a few selfies, wefies, whatchacallit.</div>
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Soon after that we got to driving towards the National Park. It took a while, passing Tanjung Bungah, Batu Ferringi, practically everything, till we reached end of the world, really, it was End of The World Seafood that we saw, right before reaching the fishing village that later led to the National Park of Penang.</div>
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Just as we were registering at the office, we were warned that the path to Pantai Kerachut is not simple, and we ought to be properly dressed and equipped with water. and luckily we were so.</div>
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And off we went.<br />
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And went.<br />
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And went. Yes, the trekking path was like never ending, with challenging terrains and all kinds of scary jungle paths that I wouldn't know to name.</div>
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The first 15 minutes I almost lost my breath. What I initially thought was 40 minutes walk, turned out to be a very challenging 2 hour path!</div>
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We passed a dug out hill, some pit stops, sign boards with facts that made our pit stops informative, a few clear water creeks, and somewhere before the beach there's a meromictic lake, which is pretty rare due to its two layers of salt and fresh water that do not mix. This is one of the useful information that you will find among the signages.</div>
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Really, we were not prepared to this, no we did not sign up for this either!<br />
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As we struggled, I kept thinking how did the kids make it through this path with their group. Then again, recalling back the amount of energy they usually have, this path seemed very fun for them. Also they were in a large group, so it won't feel as taxing as us two tired souls felt. And oh, it was a good thing we ate breakfast like there is no tomorrow, because, while the kids will have food provided by their group, we won't have any eating options at Pantai Kerachut.</div>
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Throughout the way, there were also distant markers, which were informative, but somehow the real time taken felt much longer than indicated there. Those were the longest 1 hour 20 minutes, 30 minutes, and 5 minutes of my life. Oh wait, maybe that is not true, I might have had more agonizing times in my life, like going through 14 hours of labour.</div>
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After what felt like 10 hours of walking, 2 bottles of water, and being drenched with sweat, we reached our destination. Super yeay!</div>
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And yes, Pantai Kerachut is an amazing sight indeed. Clean beach, clear water, and to think we were at the other side of the island that we always view from our place, it was just fulfilling. I must mention that there is no phone signal through most of the jungle trekking, and zero at the beach!</div>
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Soon after we decided, we are not trekking back. No Sir, we are not. Luckily there were motorboat operators who hover that area for potential passengers, so we booked one motorboat ride back.</div>
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We left soon after the kids were done with the activities. As beautiful as it was there, we were totally dying to be back to land where there's convenience and 4G.</div>
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See the t-shirt wordings, 'Spirit to practice, more than just self-defense'. Indeed, so much of spirit to practice when going through the path to reach here. Taekwando is not just about self defense. This event proved it right!</div>
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As we were all ready to just end this trip and be back to the jetty and head to the car, the motorboat operator made it more memorable for us. He took several stops to show us some famous rocks by the shores. Here, you can see a rabbit resting, can you see the eyes and ears pulled back on the right side?</div>
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And then there's this flat rock that looks like a turtle, head on the right.<br />
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And the finale, crocodile rock, which looked more like a dinosaur head to me.<br />
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What an expectedly and amazingly fun trip it was. Sure it was tiring as hell, testing our physical and mental strength, and once over, we only felt grateful for having this wonderful experience.</div>
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On the way back we saw this other famous beach called Monkey Beach, it has some water sports, food and drinks all available. We will surely make a trip here next time, by motorboat that is! No more jungle trekking!</div>
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QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-550721044475712112017-05-21T06:08:00.000-07:002017-05-21T06:08:10.310-07:00Dry Chilli Sambal Recipe<div style="text-align: justify;">
We all love pan mee at home. Specifically the chilli powder that comes along with the pan mee dish. It's always been a wonder for me how they make the dry chilli sambal that is crunchy and so flavourful. Little did I know that instead of just the glorified chilli in the name, dried shrimps play a huge role in making it.</div>
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Lately I also began to see online sellers marketing the dry sambal, advertising how it is perfect to be eaten with virtually anything, even plain rice. Now this is when I started making connections with the pan mee chilli, and yes, that is the one. Without realising I have turned into this aunty who can make anything at home, and was determined to make this at home from scratch.</div>
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I asked Mr Google for some recipes, and I found out it is actually a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peranakan">Nyonya</a> delicacy 'hae bee hiam'. I felt somewhat proud to be able to attempt this. After comparing a few recipes, I came to the conclusion that this is indeed the usual chilli paste that we make for sambal, with added dried shrimps to the kick. All it needs is some good seasoning and cooked from its liquid form till it dries into fine particles of its original ingredients. Sounds like a lot of hard work. Surprisingly, it is not. And on top of that, you get a very wonderful treat the end of it. I must warn you though, it is so delicious, you can eat it on its own, but the spoonfuls!</div>
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I decided to make this dry chilli sambal inspired from my own sambal paste, that is with turmeric and lemongrass.</div>
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<b>Here's what you need:</b><br />A handful of dried chilli, soaked<br />
3 fresh red chilli<br />
6-8 shallots<br />
3 cloves of garlic<br />
a handful of dried shrimp, soaked<br />
3cm fresh turmeric<br />
1 stalk of lemongrass<br />
some oil<br />
salt<br />
2 tbsp brown sugar<br />
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<b>What you need to do:</b></div>
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1) The soaked ingredients works best with warm/hot water. </div>
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2) Once you have soaked the dried shrimps and chilli for 15 minutes, you can strain the water, and move all ingredients (except salt/sugar/oil) into the blender, add some water and blend it fine. </div>
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3) Pour the blended paste onto a hot pan and start cooking. Add the sugar and salt at this point.</div>
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4) Keep stirring as it cooks. I did take random breaks in between from stirring, especially if there is still some liquid form, it takes a while to evaporate. But once it has dried up, you can't take break from stirring, otherwise it might burn right there and then. Also frequent stirring ensure it is evenly cooked.</div>
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5) Halfway there, you can add the oil. I like to add this point because it helps in browning the paste into nice crunchy powder.</div>
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6) And yes, keep stirring, till you get this. And you are done!<br />
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Once it has coolest down, you can transfer it to your desired container, or just start eating right away!<br />
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I must confess, halfway as I was stirring it, I did think to myself 'ok, so this is not working out' because I did not see it drying up as quick as I thought it would, but patience really pays off handsomely. At the end of it you will tell yourself, it was so easy I'd do it again and again!</div>
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The very next day I got plan pan mee into work, and this is how we had our chilli sambal, with spinach noodles, minced meat, and homemade kimchi soup!</div>
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As I bit into the noodles with the minced meat, the crunchy bits of chilli sambal reminded me, yes I did it! Something tells me this is going to be a must-have condiment in the house! Happy trying!</div>
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<br />QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-75302857701673080502017-05-21T02:14:00.000-07:002017-05-21T02:14:31.643-07:00Taiping Zoo Trip For The Family<div style="text-align: justify;">
Every time we drove up and down between Butterworth and KL we would see the Taiping Zoo signboards. We would remind each other to make a trip there, especially for Jeev who is a total animal lover. He talks, draw, and plays everything animal, and the last zoo trip we had to the National Zoo in KL was a total hit!<br />
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A few months ago, when we were feeling the need for a quick break, it was Zoo Taiping we went after! For the first time ever, we planned a little picnic and prepared some nuggets and sandwiches from home. There was a creek by the carpark, so we decided to 'unfold' our picnic right there. Although a short one, it definitely was very memorable as it was a first.<br />
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The boys were happy to pose by the creek, under our supervision, because it was rather steep.<br />
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The moment we entered, we had a family photo taken, and not missing the memories, we had to make a print of it. Coincidentally, we all wore shades of blue.<br />
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I've got some odd shots of the boys and hubby, generally the zoo of boys in a real zoo. Jokes aside, it was a good time to visit as it was not any holiday season, so there was lesser crowd. The zoo is simple yet well managed and clean. The tram ride can take you around the zoo in less than 30 minutes, after which we decided to take a walk for the kids to take closer and better look.</div>
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Luckily we had prepared our picnic supplies because unlike the National Zoo, Taiping Zoo did not have much options of food at the stalls. We had ice cream instead, it was an off day for the kids after all, so everything is allowed.</div>
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And here's the boys (including biggest boy) with Alex the lion from Madagascar. Despite being a huge fan, Jeev is still afraid to go close to any kinds of large mascots.</div>
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Notice the GI Joe haircuts on the kids? Well it was a hairstylist debacle which happened one night before, well it is history now. They are back with their stylo mylo hairstyles.</div>
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We had enough time to drive around in Taiping town, it is remarkably well kept, well manicured landscaping, and not to mention the natural greens everywhere. Historical old buildings are well preserved while adequate development is concentrated in the newer areas.</div>
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At night we had plans of having the much celebrated seafood in Kuala Sepetang, and indeed we did! Kuala Sepetang is about 30 minutes drive from Taiping town. Thanks to blog reviews, we decided on Restoran Tepi Sungai. It is indeed 'tepi sungai', by the river, with the view of the fishing village.<br /><br />While waiting for the food, we had the chance to catch a few eagles flying about, and this is without even the eagle watching. I reckon the eagle watching activity provided there must be really interesting to see them closer.</div>
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As usual, I am not quick enough to catch good photos of the food, but I must say, the food was so delicious, and very very reasonable. We had some fried prawns, baby crabs, sweet sour prawn, and steamed fish.</div>
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All in all, the next morning was another foodie journey. We went to a local food area near the King Edward VII school. It was another adventure trying the curry mee totally different from how we get at other places. We also tried the Bismillah Cendol, which was very disappointing, especially for us ex-Klangites living in Penang, it does not even make it to the list. Please avoid!</div>
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Since moving to Penang, our short trips to PD were something we missed, but hey, this trip to Taiping, totally nailed it!</div>
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<br />QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-80942144147953882372017-05-15T23:44:00.001-07:002017-05-15T23:50:09.875-07:00Nasi Lemak Kunyit Recipe<div style="text-align: justify;">
Nasi Lemak, or coconut rice, is a Malaysian staple and favourite, or rather Malaysian staple favourite, and it won't be even wrong to say favourite staple. And of course, we at home, love nasi lemak. Even more the kids especially when in Klang we used to get this awesome fried chicken together with it at the Shanmuga restaurant. It is definitely a must-have, must-eat, must-savour.</div>
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For the whole of my life I have never made nasi lemak at home, simply because it is easily available everywhere, any time. However, recently as I have been at home, cooking almost daily, I decided I should try making nasi lemak at home, giving some variety to the home menu. The same time I can prepare different types of sambal and curry to go with it.</div>
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I must admit though, the first time I was really nervous about not getting it right. Rightly so, the first time I had used only thick coconut milk and the outcome was not that pleasant. As I went on, I learnt the tricks and ingredients that help give a more fragrant coconut rice.</div>
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Over the last weekend, I was watching this cooking show, and they made this coconut rice, but with a sautee of turmeric with onion and ginger. I was delighted to watch them cook, and couldn't wait to try it on my own.</div>
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Over the last few months I have grown this new obsession with fresh turmeric since hubby has been taking them in his morning smoothies. It's been an experience of a kind discovering how much more fragrant and vibrant natural colour you get with turmeric in the recipe. And now I do not leave home (cook) without it.</div>
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So how do you make turmeric coconut rice, or nasi lemak kunyit?</div>
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It is pretty much the standard nasi lemak recipe. Some people cook rice in coconut milk, pandan leaves and ginger slices. Some people prefer to sautee the spices before cooking the rice. I do the latter.</div>
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Firstly take like 3-4cm of turmeric, and 4-5cm of ginger, and give it a nice grind or crushing (I am totally lost for words here) on the mortar and pestle. You could use a food processor if you like. Grind it slightly less than fine. Sautee chopped onion with the grinded turmeric and ginger, it can take about 10-15 minutes to give a nice fragrance. In the meantime, measure and wash your rice. Once the sautee is ready, pour in washed rice (minus water) and give it a nice stir to coat the grains of rice with the oil, flavour and colour. In about 10 minutes time, you can turn off the heat and transfer everything into the rice cooker. Add coconut milk diluted with water. Also add some fenugreek seeds, season with salt and cook like normal.</div>
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I decided to do away with pandan leaves, because I want the turmeric to be the master of the rice, The result, extremely fragrant and appetizing nasi lemak, not to mention the vibrant natural colour. Some recipes I checked online used turmeric powder, in which case you would need to give it adequate time on the flame to get off the raw powder taste. I must say, fresh turmeric just works best.</div>
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For us mothers, sometimes we are concerned over dietary factors of every meal we put on the table. I must admit I was always a tad bit skeptical making nasi lemak due to the lack of fiber content. The boys would just gobble the coconut rice without complaining. Now with nasi lemak kunyit, together with loads of raw cucumber, I think it works just perfect for taste and diet wise. Next round I am gonna use more turmeric and see how it turns out, because I can do with more natural vibrant yellow!</div>
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QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-38700437129941326852017-05-05T05:16:00.002-07:002017-05-05T05:16:36.013-07:00Sitiawan Weekend Getaway<div style="text-align: justify;">
A few weekends ago we had an impromptu weekend getaway to Sitiawan, Perak, and it has got to be one of the very short and most fulfilling getaways we ever had.</div>
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One thing I researched most about Sitiawan, naturally, is the food. And thanks for the modern day technology, it is not rocket science to find great food online for every destination. And luckily for us Sitiawan is a relatively small town, so most of the hot spots are pretty close to each other.</div>
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The drive there took us 2.5 hours from Butterworth, and half the way we were driving through trunk road where you see nothing but jungle. Initially hubby thought I was bringing him through the wrong road, but eventually we realised it was what it was. </div>
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First thing we did once reaching there was drive straight to the famous stall near Kampung Koh wet market that serves the kon lou mee. I read so much about it, and it felt so wrong to miss it for anything. Luckily we arrived there a little before their closing time at 1pm.</div>
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Jeev definitely enjoyed it as it was pretty similar to his favourite wantan noodles.<br />
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He has this special talent where he eats noodles strand by strand. True story.<br />
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And then we have the self-learner elder kid who picked up eating with chop sticks while I blinked. He is the food lover on par with hubby, and no one else comes close.</div>
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The kon lou mee was definitely worth the trip, perfect seasonings with slices of barbecued pork. We also tried the loh mee, but found it rather sour and strong for our liking. And the icing on the cake is that the pricing was very cheap compared to the city.</div>
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Later we took a drive around town to find a place to stay. After several checks online, we narrowed down to Mornington Hotel Sitiawan, and a quick check into the room confirmed our stay. The family deluxe was a tad bit pricey but spacious and perfect to stay with kids who like to run, roll, play and monkey around the room. And oh, it also had a nice bath tub, again, a plus point for the kids for little pool time.</div>
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By tea time, I was determined to get these Sitiawan famous biscuits at<a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com.my/ShowUserReviews-g1588148-d8666376-r387805220-Cheong_Cia_Gong_Pian-Sitiawan_Manjung_District_Perak.html"> Cheong Cia Gong Pian</a>. In the beginning it was a little tricky to find the shop, which later turned out to be just a small portion of a corner shop. Not only that, I turned out to be just a short walking distance from the hotel.</div>
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The very aroma of the biscuit is so familiar, till I got my hands on it. They are tandoor oven baked biscuits, that is the clay oven. It is crispy on the outside, with sweet and soft chopped onion on the inside, and a layer of what felt like pork fat. Then it hit me, it tasted just like the<a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2013/04/bacon-and-onion-bun-with-perfect-dough.html"> bacon and onion buns</a> I used to make. The bacon and onion content gave it that aroma.</div>
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The biscuits are so famous that once the shop opens in the morning, the biscuits just get booked and disappear into hands of biscuit hungry people. In fact there is another shop that sells it, and it is no surprise people there never get enough of it.</div>
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In the evening we planned for some seafood, but before that we made a compulsory trip to the Teluk Batik beach. It is touted as one of the hidden treasures at Lumut, and since we did not go to the Pangkor Island, it was just perfect we get some dose of sand and sea in Lumut itself.</div>
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Apart from pleasure, we also completed some business, we managed to get the kids' passports done in less than an hour, with just a handful of people in the queue. It was record of sorts, and felt so relaxing getting pictures taken, papers done, without any rush or hassle. We went off for some breakfast and came back to passports ready to be picked up! How does it get any better than that!</div>
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<br />QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-55152575280937487182017-04-19T20:36:00.003-07:002017-04-19T20:36:58.174-07:00Calamansi Juice With A Twist<div style="text-align: justify;">
Recently together with all the home cooking and home baking I have found a new frontier, making my own drinks/juices! It's been fun brewing and mixing different concoctions for drinking pleasure with the meals, especially with our hot weather, there is nothing like downing some fresh minty drink.</div>
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However, I had noticed that in the last 2 weeks, I had finished a significant amount of brown sugar. The amount that usually stays untouched for a while, unless I am making cinnamon rolls, was gone in just two weeks. </div>
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Then it hit me, in all the fun and juice bottoms-up we have been consuming a lot of sugar. So I got determined to try out other drinks that require minimal sugar, or at least just honey. For this, I also had to make sure I ordered 1kg of commercial honey. True story, grocery bills are so high when you make everything at home.</div>
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From my last week's <a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2017/04/tomato-sambal-recipe.html">Tesco order</a>, I had a good amount of calamansi limes, and what better time to make some calamansi juice. And no, this is not the bottled calamansi juice.</div>
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I squeezed juice from 7-8 pieces of calamansi lime. Be sure to cut the top small section, cutting through the seed will give bitterness. Added some 2-3 tbsp of honey, some salt, and the twist here, some apple cider vinegar! Add some water and give it a taste, adjust the taste as per liking. I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out, especially with the ACV twist. Not just healthy, its yummy too! And of course I top it up with some bruised mint leaves, and get this, ginger slices, just because!</div>
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And since it turned out so good, I am roaring to try other combinations next! Happy trying!</div>
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QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-74388684479079177282017-04-17T23:15:00.003-07:002017-04-17T23:17:24.655-07:00Tomato Sambal Recipe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Online shopping is a boon to most of us. We don't have to step out of the house, drag the kids, or even our own feet, and make our way to the store, to purchase those sweet things we want to buy. And now, with <a href="https://eshop.tesco.com.my/">Tesco online grocery shopping</a>, things have just gone sweeter!</div>
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Living in a condo now, it is rather a chore to do grocery shopping buying all those bulky items, and gather the whole family to transport things upstairs. In this case, online shopping is really useful that you can plan, pick and add your items to your cart. </div>
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However as with anything online, it has several disadvantages. One being you can get carried away, over-buy, and in my case, accidentally buy things in larger amounts or sizes. A month ago I ordered RM1.80 worth of fresh turmeric, and I received turmeric so much that I am still using it up slowly. One of the things I made was this <a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2017/04/tropical-tonic-drink-recipe.html">tropical juice</a>. Ever since, I have also added fresh turmeric in most of my cooking.</div>
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Two weeks ago, I had another Tesco delivery fiasco, when I received 2.5kg of tomatoes, and some obscene amount of calamansi limes (I had ordered RM3 worth). I put my thinking cap on and got planning!</div>
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I took the big amount of tomatoes to my stride (and into the fridge). I decided to make some tomato sambal that would go with rice, and even for our idli weekends (oh yes, there is such a thing in our household).</div>
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To my embarrassment, I realise that I did not snap a pic of the tomato sambal. However, I can still share the recipe of my sambal here.</div>
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For the sambal, I take about 3 onions, 5-6 cloves of garlic, about 3-4 inches of ginger, 7-9 dried chilli (soaked in hot water), 2cm of raw turmeric. Give it a nice blend with some water. Set aside.</div>
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Heat the pan with some oil, add 2 chopped onion and lemongrass (chopped too), sautee till fragrant. Then you can add the blended mixture, and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes or longer if you need to. Halfway here you can add 5-6 chopped tomatoes. If you feel the sambal is drying up very fast, you can keep adding water to your desired consistency. Season with salt and brown sugar to your liking. In my case, I keep trying till I get it right. The level of heat of the dried chilli really differs every time.<br />
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Tomato sambal goes well with plain rice, nasi lemak (especially if you are going vegetarian) and even with mee hoon! </div>
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Everything has a silver lining. I started using turmeric into my sambal paste since the over-buy of turmeric and I have discovered turmeric really enhances the taste and gives the sambal a vibrant red hue. After the tomato sambal I used the calamansi to make some refreshing juice which I will share soon. Happy trying!</div>
QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-23057989942965103432017-04-11T08:15:00.000-07:002017-04-11T08:16:04.687-07:00Malawi Dhal And Potato Salad Recipe<div style="text-align: justify;">
Dhal is something grew up eating, like 5 days a week. It was our main protein provider, save for the Sunday feast. Through time I got so tired of eating the yellow lentil soup that I hated the very sight of it, till I moved away for my higher education, and then working far from home, when I realised how it formed the taste of home for me, till today.</div>
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Presently dhal is in our weekly menu, paired with stir fried vegetables and raita, or just yogurt. The thing about making a pot of dhal is that it can last for more than one meal. This way if I make it for lunch, we eat with rice. And for dinner on that day, I just make capatis to add some variety, and the dhal still remains a hit.</div>
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Dhal is not just main source of protein, but you can also load various vegetables into it. Usually I do cauliflower, brinjal, potatoes, tomatoes and radish, that is apart from the onion and garlic. Here's how we go about making a hearty pot of dhal:<br />
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As you can see in the picture below, I prepared the dhal stew in a pressure cooker. About 1 cup of malawi dhal and a handful of masoori dhal. Let it soak or just start cooking right away. Add some brinjal, potatoes, tomatoes, radish and cauliflower, and also chopped onion and garlic. You can reduce or increase the amount of vegetables as you like.</div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">In fact, in this dhal stew, I had included 4 additional whole potatoes, which I will scoop out once the dhal is cooked, to be mashed with some ingredients for a nice potato salad, Indian style.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">For this stew, I seasoned with some turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, fish curry powder, and then some salt. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Let it cook in the pressure cooker for about 3 whistles, around 20 minutes. Once done, let it sit for 30 minutes before doing the tempering.</span></div>
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For the tempering, heat some ghee in a pan. Add asafoetida, dried chilli, mixed spices and cumin seeds. And of course, don't forget the curry leaves. Once the seeds pop and get aromatic, you can take it off the heat and throw everything into the cooked dhal.</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"> Add some tamarind paste, and give it a last boil. Once it comes to a boil, add in chopped coriander leaves. Give a stir and leave it uncovered for a while, so that the coriander don't turn black.</span></div>
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Remember the whole potatoes I boiled together with the dhal? Here they are, with some finely chopped onion, garlic and coriander leaves. And some Indian pickle masala. Season with salt and olive oil. </div>
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Works best mashed with bare and clean hands. I can't help tasting and tasting as I mash this.</div>
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In fact this potato salad is similar to the filling that we make for <a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2014/07/aloo-paratha-potato-stuffed-paratha.html">aloo parathas, or potato stuffed parathas</a>. After we had the dhal and salad for lunch, I used the remaining potato salad as filling for capati, and voila, we had hearty aloo parathas for dinner! Nothing beats that, really!</div>
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Till then, here's hoping my kids never get tired of their dhal doses. Happy trying!</div>
<br />QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-14737860517349816532017-04-10T08:11:00.001-07:002017-04-11T23:40:41.251-07:00Dum Briyani In Pressure Cooker Recipe<div style="text-align: justify;">
Some two weeks ago the Mister had discovered the amazing world of youtube video recipes. And he was totally hooked on watching these two desi Indian guys making briyani in the pressure cooker in a very humble setup. Despite it all the briyani looked so good and even the cook exclaimed 'it smells so good I could dig into it now', and there it got us salivating.</div>
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A quick trip to the market later we got all the ingredients ready and roaring to go, or rather eat!!</div>
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So here's me trying to be as pictorial as possible (well, because I did not get pics for every step, but I hope this helps) to explain the steps and process as we get along.</div>
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It starts with 3 major preps, the fried onion, the chicken marination, and the parboiled basmati. At the end of it they just come together in a perfect harmony.</div>
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Firstly you need a mountainful of chopped onions, and an obscene amount of chopped coriander and mint leaves. Separate the chopped herbs into 2 equal parts.</div>
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Fry the onion in good amount of oil mixed with ghee.</div>
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For the marination, you need cumin, coriander and chilli powder. And some yogurt. You also need turmeric powder but here I used fresh turmeric pounded old-style. Add all these marination into the chicken. Also some lemon juice. </div>
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Add 1 part of the chopped coriander and mint mixture into the chicken marination, and let it sit for 30 to 60 minutes.</div>
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In the meantime prepare a pot of water to parboil the basmati rice. Add some cardamom, cloves, cumin and cinnamon stick. Also add in the remaining chopped herbs, and then your desired amount of basmati rice. Let it boil to cook the basmati halfway.</div>
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In the meantime your onion would have browned nicely.</div>
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You can turn off the heat for the onion, and drain them out.</div>
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Transfer the marination to the bottom of a pressure cooker. Add the fried onion (take only half, keep half for later) and give it a nice stir. You can also add in a few spoonfuls of the oil that we used to fry the onion.</div>
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By now the basmati rice would be half done. strain it all out, including the spices. Spread one layer of the basmati rice onto the chicken marination.</div>
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Top it with the fried onion, some ghee, saffron water (we didn't have this so just did some turmeric water) and milk. And then the remaining amount of the basmati, and the same ingredients yet again.</div>
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Tighten the lid, and let it cook for 15 minutes, and turn off the heat. I let it sit for additional 30 minutes before eating, and the chicken turned out so tender and full of flavour!</div>
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This pic of our final done briyani does not justify the amazing taste it had. I learnt one thing that the onion should be cooked slightly brown so that it continues cooking further in the pressure cooker later on. </div>
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Served the briyani with some raita and boiled eggs, and we were so hungry we dug in, forgetting to take any final picture for this recipe. Well this goes to show how damn good it was! Happy trying!</div>
<br />QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-386560016600398492017-04-08T08:33:00.003-07:002017-04-08T08:33:52.669-07:00Meals Below RM20<div style="text-align: justify;">
Being an all-in-one stay at home mother, I am pretty much handling everything in the house, the kids' matters, planning the menu, doing the market runs, and well, everything. The same time I have to keep aside time for my work, especially on days I have urgent matters to settle, it is not easy giving attention to prepping and cooking for meals on time.</div>
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The kids have their extra activities after school hours. It is usually like prepping a quick dinner, down it, and then get ready to rush for their activities. Put this on repeat, 3 times a week. And no, they are not attending tuition as yet. This itself is quite a busy schedule.</div>
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As we are eating at home mostly, I try to incorporate balanced meals as much as possible, also cater to the <a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2013/03/cooking-for-non-eater-recipes.html">picky eater</a> who almost just finds excuse every time not to eat. However, to give him the benefit of the doubt, he has improved tremendously in recent times. Yet, being the smart kid he is, he always finds some excuse, stories, or just random chatters to delay the process of eating.</div>
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Being pressed for time, and usually limited planned trips to the market, I have to get creative in using available ingredients to produce dishes that take up least amount of cooking dish time. If I were as smart as Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, I could come up with direct correlation between recipes and their cooking time, or something to that effect.</div>
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Usually I plan the meals to have at least one protein, either dhal, chicken/fish or egg. With a side of stir fried vegetables and <a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2014/04/cucumber-raita-recipe.html">cucumber raita</a>. This is one way of planning menu, while keeping within a budget. And if I look back, the average budget for my meals is RM20 per meal, that is for 2 adults and 2 kids.</div>
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One such mean is as below, I made egg curry, with some bean sprout stir fried with broccoli, and some butter corn with bacon. Simple, yet unique. And really, it hardly costs RM20 for this one.<br />
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I got the recipe for egg curry from Masala Hut youtube as below, in case you are wondering to try.</div>
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Next is oven steamed fish, with brinjal sambal and some gravy with chicken broth base. I also used the same chicken broth base to marinate the fish and steam it in. Having some gravy for every meal is necessary as the fussy eater needs some liquid for his rice dishes.</div>
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On some days when we go meatless, I just make some dhal loaded with generous amounts of vegetables. I have potatoes, brinjal, tomatoes, cauliflower and radish in this one, apart from garlic and onion of course. And yes, it works easier when made in the pressure cooker. I temper the spices and pour them all back into the pressure cooker again. </div>
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Usually when I make dhal, it would last for more than 1 meal. Having some papadam crisps and spicy Indian acar really make the kids excited for their meals, no matter how simple. And since this dhal stretches way till dinner, I beef up the meal with some omelettes. </div>
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To perk up the regular fried eggs, I try to do different types of omelettes. This one here is the Indian spiced omelette, which is hubby's current favourite that he tried in India recently. All you gotta do is sautee some onion, garlic, vegetables like celery and pepper, and then add in some coriander/cumin/curry powder, little water, and let it braise and cook a little before adding in the beaten eggs, and then lastly some cherry tomatoes that just need a slight sizzle, and voila!</div>
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This one is a one pot (or rather pan) dish. It is the typical sizzling claypot tofu style, and for the family I am using chicken broth as the gravy base, added some additional vegetables, and we are done for the meal. This one, probably costs less than RM15.<br />
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Here's my secret weapon for a hearty but simple meal. The oven steamed fish. I buy the biggest one available so that it can feed the 4 of us. You may wonder how does oven steaming work. Well I have a deep baking disk that fits the length of the fish. Clean and marinate the fish as per your desired recipe. Cover with aluminium foil, and bake at 200C for 20 to 30mins. Minimal effort with the best results!</div>
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Who says cooking and eating at home is expensive? If you plan, there are ways to stretch the value of your money further, plan meals that are simpler in prep and cooking time, so that you can optimise your time at home meeting your other KPIs, like coaching the kids' homeworks and completing this blog entry. Who said SAHM life is easy? But it sure is rewarding!</div>
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<br />QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-74411542072149219002017-04-05T07:28:00.000-07:002017-04-05T07:36:14.836-07:00Meatballs And Cous Cous Recipe<div style="text-align: justify;">
On some days hubby gives me 30 minutes notice of early return, which also means I'd need to whip up something for dinner. Something not instant yet takes short instance to put together. For those days I need to keep my secret weapon ready.</div>
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I usually make large batches of <a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2015/04/burger-cum-meatballs-recipe-killing-two.html">meatballs </a>and freeze them for impromptu meals. Emergencies like this calls for the meatballs to be defrosted and reheated. But then, sometimes the meatballs are not enough, and you feel that you want to add more to the plate.</div>
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On the days I have minimal items in the fridge, I just heat the meatballs up with some pasta sauce and cheese, it makes swell good baked meatball meal.</div>
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On the days I have more items, I go a little further. This one for instance, I had heated up the meatballs, served with some butter corn and cous cous.</div>
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The cous cous is something that tastes really mild, a little like small pasta. With added butter, it tastes really soft and buttery, and is easily enhanced with vegetables like capsicum, cherry tomatoes and cucumber. There are some recipes that would tell you to just add hot water or stock onto the cous cous and let it sit and fluff up for ten minutes.</div>
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However I prefer the sautee method below, a little extra work, but great difference taste-wise.</div>
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Firstly, heat some butter in a pan. Add chopped onion, stir and allow it to cook till soft. Next add in chopped garlic, and add cous cous. Season with salt and black pepper. Give it a nice stir. Next you can add chicken stock or just water. Bring it to boil, and turn off the heat. Cover it and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then, you can remove the cover, fluff it up, and add cucumber and coriander/parsley as you please. The cous cous is ready to be served!</div>
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The best thing about cous cous is that it makes a great side dish to your protein laden meals. You can add your favourite vegetables. During the point of sautee, you can add red capsicum, mushroom or cherry tomatoes. For such vegetables, give it some time to sautee before adding in the cous cous. You can also play around with the seasonings and flavours, hopefully I get to try it one of these days.</div>
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Till then, happy trying!!</div>
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QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-33234328633766014442017-04-05T06:22:00.000-07:002017-04-05T06:22:28.944-07:00Tropical Tonic Drink Recipe<div style="text-align: justify;">
Picture this: You have just had a busy time on your market day. Sure shopping is therapeutic, but don't forget that you have to first list out the items, go to the market, select and hand pick the items, pay for them, lug your things around, get into the car, lug them to the house (oh yes, this is the toughest bit now that we don't live in a landed property anymore. And once home, you gotta segregate, wash and dry, arrange, and in some cases, portion the meat and store properly. Even typing the routine out is already tiring. </div>
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In the midst of market day chaos, it is so soothing to know that something is cooking, literally, that can help to not just uplift your mood and energy, but also spread the aroma of goodness all over the house. As soon as I got back from the market, I took out the ingredients for this delicious and potent tonic, and got it boiling, so that once I am done, I can just dive into it.</div>
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A friend of mine who is an advocate of everything natural, shared this recipe for the tonic, made from raw turmeric, ginger, pandan (screwpine, no, I am not swearing) leaves and lemongrass. All you gotta do is pound or bruise the turmeric, ginger and lemongrass roots. Knot the pandan leaves. Put into a stock pot full of water (well depending on how much you want), and boil away. Add brown sugar as per your taste. </div>
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I boiled for almost 1.5 hours. I got my right amount of sweetness. And drank away. The aroma of the fragrant pandan leaves will get into every nook and corner of your home. Not to mention it pleasantly flavours your drink. The mixture of ginger and lemongrass gives a minty effect to the after taste, which feels so cooling on its own. I personally prefer to drink this chilled. </div>
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It is awesome to have such uplifting drinks at home especially with the hot weather, and I usually like to chug down cups of iced water. This, in its chilled version, works awesome!<br />
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Try it, the ingredients are using our local products, and perhaps easily available in your fridge! How does it get simpler than this. Happy trying!QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-65989752961403941502017-04-04T08:12:00.002-07:002017-04-04T08:40:13.215-07:00Parmesan Herb Hokkaido Loaf Recipe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
For a long long time my breadmaker has been very busy kneading dough for me. Usually for capati, or pizza, or cinnamon rolls. Only on selected few occasion I actually make a full loaf on it, which is actually very convenient given you have allowed enough time to knead, proof, bake and cool, that is about almost 3 hours.</div>
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Yes, you need ample of time to cool down, and I very well know that from my own experience. There were times that we eager-mcbeavers jumped into the loaf, only to find it too soft to handle, totally spoiling the shape of the bread, and not to mention overly hot ugly slices. The only thing good out of it is perhaps the fact that butter melts super well on it. Now.. the glass is always half full here at Sunnyside.</div>
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In the past I tried making the <a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2014/04/oh-my-bread.html">tangzhong Hokkaido bread</a>, and also attempted to add butterscotch to the regular <a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2014/05/hokkaido-butterscotch-loaf-recipe.html">Hokkaido loaf recipe</a>, and it goes without saying, like many others, we totally loved the texture that it gives. But I did not want to repeat myself, because for one thing, my audience is always hungry for something new. And a plain hokkaido bread on a Sunday afternoon is not that interesting to cheer up upcoming gloomy evening.</div>
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That is when I decided to go for the best thing that goes with bread, cheese, parmesan, at that. And some herbs. Really, this reminded me of my favourite <a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2014/04/rosemary-focaccia-stuffed-with-bacon.html">focaccia</a>, and yes that is what I was going for.</div>
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Long story short, using the regular Hokkaido loaf recipe, I added parmesan cheese, herbs and some olive oil halfway in the breadmaker, and that did it just fine.</div>
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This recipe is from the Tesco breadmaker facebook group, and is definitely a keeper for a long long time, hence I am immortalizing it here on my humble blog.</div>
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<b>You need: </b>270g Bread flour<br />
30g All purpose flour<br />
15g Milk Powder<br />
5g Yeast<br />
40g Sugar<br />
4g Salt<br />
1 Egg<br />
125g Milk/yogurt<br />
75g Whipping cream </blockquote>
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Just dump everything into the breadmaker as you usually would at function 5, sweet, color light, 1.5L. Give it 10 minutes of kneading time, and then add in maybe 2-3 tbsp parmesan cheese, some mixed dried herbs and lastly some drops of olive oil. Feel free to add more if you like.</blockquote>
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Wait patiently, slice the bread, and savour with butter, or just focaccia style, with balsamic vinegar and olive oil!</div>
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Turned out my load was rather dark in colour despite being at the light mode. For the next loaf I ought to turn the machine off 10 minutes before its supposed to. Hopefully that does the trick. Nevertheless, it smelled heavenly and tasted divine. You definitely can never go wrong with cheese! </div>
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The next loaf in my plan would be caramelized onion loaf, because repeating is just boring.<br />
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QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-86295377253666548252017-04-03T23:28:00.000-07:002017-04-03T23:28:27.263-07:00Buttermilk Pancake Recipe<div style="text-align: justify;">
When you are a parent, you greet Sundays by waking up at 7am. It is either the kids are eager to be up and playing, or perhaps it is by habit of 6am weekdays, that your body alarm wakes you somewhere there, and by the time you laze on your bed, and crawl out, its just 7am! Yes, JUST 7 freaking AM.</div>
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However waking super early on Sundays is really fruitful when you have exciting breakfast plans ahead. On Saturday night I prepared the pancake butter, and slept through the night only to spring up and excited to make and dig into 'em fluffy pancakes, and a little spring was caused by kids crowding the bed too.</div>
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This is one of the weekly food that I pack for Sanju, for he loves them with hazelnut spread. But really, it is not the same preparing and packing them to be eaten later. When you make those pancakes, and eat immediately, still hot from the pan, with sinful amount of butter and your favourite toppings, that is when it works well. On top of that, there's nothing like sharing happiness over food with the whole family. Sunday pancake breakfast is just perfect for this reason!</div>
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This buttermilk pancake recipe is the simplest, yet the most fluffy pancakes you will ever make or eat. You don't have to separate the whites and yolks, yes, I super hate doing the separation. Eggs are meant to be used together, they are like a family, please don't break them up.</div>
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Simple, as I said, because it just requires ones of everything.. it is like 1-1-1 recipe. You require 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of buttermilk and 1 egg. And then there's 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp vanilla essence, pinch of baking soda and some salt. That's it. </div>
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Don't worry if you don't have buttermilk. Usually I just make my own by mixing 1 cup milk with 1 tbsp vinegar, giving it a good stir and sit for 10 minutes. It's that simple!</div>
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So you can start by mixing the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder/soda and salt) at one place and wet ingredients (buttermilk, egg and vanilla essence) at another. Then mix them together, gently whisk with a fork. Don't worry about having lumps. Let it sit overnight in the fridge, and make your yummy pancakes in the morning.</div>
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I use the curry ladle to scoop one ladle onto the pan. I am using Mr DIY premium marble pan, and loving it. You should get bubbles like below, and then you can turn.</div>
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See the even brown-ness, it is so hard to achieve with regular pan.</div>
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This recipe can make up to 9 medium sized pancakes. And just for the sake of this blog, here's me stacking 'em pancakes.</div>
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Check out the rise of every pancake. That is pure chemistry between the buttermilk and baking soda. </div>
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Each and every bite compensates you waking early on a Sunday morning. In fact they are so addictive you will tempted to whip them up every morning, or rather night, as you will see, they make the best pancakes if the batter is left overnight.</div>
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We have it with crazy amount of butter, drippings of honey, squirts of chocolate sauce topped with homemade <a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2015/04/homemade-granola-recipe.html">granolas</a>. How does it get any better than this. Oh, yes, bananas, or any fruits available to you. Happy trying!</div>
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QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-68192360401704545542017-03-29T01:33:00.003-07:002017-03-29T01:54:40.057-07:00Instant Rava/Suji Idli Recipe<div style="text-align: justify;">
When we were expecting Sanju, like 8 years ago, we used to visit the Klinik Kesihatan at Tengku Kelana in Klang. Nearby there was this Indian restaurant that had these lovely idlis. They were orange in color. For a while I had no idea what idlis were those, but through time, I got to know those were rava idlis.</div>
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Fast forward to present day, I've recently got myself the idli steamer, and yes, I am like the girl with a new toy, eager to play with it. Initial plan was to make idlis, but since idlis require overnight fermentation, I was not able to get the plan in work. However, I remembered seeing the rava idli recipe, which is also touted as the instant idli recipe. Do not fall for the instant word, although it does not require overnight fermentation, it is not really instant per say.</div>
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For the first time ever I felt compelled to arrange the spices and other ingredients on a dish before cooking. Of course most Indian dishes require more than 3 spices, but this one was extra special with the uses of channa and urad dhal in the tempering. Also, from my past experience it was good to arrange them out to avoid risking forgetting one item. It makes me feel so bad when I leave one spice item out, makes the dish feel incomplete.</div>
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You will notice a lot of the spices are just estimation, can take this picture for reference of how much my 'some' is.</div>
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So here's listing out the ingredients.</div>
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<b>We need:</b></div>
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1 cup rava/suji/semolina</div>
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1 cup yogurt</div>
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some water</div>
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some turmeric powder</div>
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some curry leaves</div>
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some asafoetida</div>
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some cumin seeds</div>
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some mustard seeds</div>
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some urad dhal</div>
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some channa dhal </div>
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some ginger, grated</div>
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green chilli, chopped fine</div>
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1 carrot, grated</div>
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cooking oil</div>
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salt</div>
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1/4 tsp baking soda</div>
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<b>Method:</b></div>
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1. Heat up some oil in a pan. Sautee cumin, mustard seeds and asafoetida till it pops. </div>
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2. Add curry leaves, urad and channa dhal. Let it sautee for 3-4mins.</div>
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3. Add green chilli, grated ginger and carrot. Add in the turmeric powder and salt. Sautee for 3-4mins.</div>
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4. Add the rava and give a good stir while it roasts for about 5 minutes.</div>
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5. Turn off the heat and let it sit till it cools down.</div>
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6. Once its cooled, you can add the yogurt, and stir it well. Add some water to get the idli consistency.</div>
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7. Let it sit for 20mins.</div>
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8. Add the baking soda and stir it well. Immediately scoop the batter onto the idli moulds and steam for 10 minutes.</div>
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You can serve it will dhal, curry or the variety of chutneys. I made onion coconut chutney. This recipe yields about 20 regular sized idlis.</div>
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The idlis are so soft and fluffy, with grainy texture of suji. Just brings back thousands of memories of eating suji halwa. The best thing is it was even a hit with the picky eater Jeev. One thing for sure, it tasted good even on its own. I should have just added more water.</div>
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It is actually similar to this rava <a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2016/05/rava-uttapam-and-coconut-coriander.html">uttapams </a>I made last year. Rava uttapams are pan toasted, while this rava idli is steamed. They both can have more vegetables and seasonings added.<br />
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The next mission is to make fluffy idlis with spanking fish curry, till then, stay tuned!<br />
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<br />QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-19386196609326181082017-03-22T07:41:00.000-07:002017-03-22T07:41:55.482-07:00Honey Roasted Cashew Nuts Recipe<br />
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When you want to have it all... on a quiet afternoon.. it is snack time... you need some snacks, the same time nothing junk. You want some power food, slightly sweet and salty, perfect to go with your ginger tea. You can always buy something off the store, but it would be more cost effective making it at home, using quality products you know it won't be the same as getting from the store.</div>
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<a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2015/04/homemade-granola-recipe.html">Granolas</a> are my all time favourite snacks that work any time of the day, especially at night, guilt-free. This time for a change, I really wanted to try this honey roasted cashew nuts recipe I always see online instead. I had just purchased my usual cashew nuts supply in bulk from the local wholesaler. It was indeed the perfect power-food snack in that moment.</div>
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You need to prepare a sauce of honey and all things nice to coat the nuts before roasting it in the oven. Melt 2 tbsp of butter in the microwave oven. Add in equal amount of honey, a small drop of vanilla essence, some salt and 1 tsp ground cinnamon. Give it a nice stir till it incorporates together. </div>
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Next pour this mixture over a bowl of raw cashew nuts, and coat it well. Spread this on a baking sheet, bake at 160C for 20-30 minutes, stirring the cashew nuts halfway.</div>
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Once done, remove it into a clean bowl. Toss with 2 tbsp of brown sugar and some salt. Let it cool and stir often.</div>
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And now, you are ready to munch! You can never go wrong with the wonderful golden colour.</div>
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After making this first batch, I realise there are some things that can be improved. For next batch, I'd make less of the honey-butter mixture, because, eventually they are only needed to coat the nuts, and the excess is wasted on the baking sheet. Also being too wet hinders it's roasting process. I also felt the vanilla essence aroma was a little too strong for my liking, I would like to skip it next time and it would still be just as good.</div>
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But I must warn, once you munch, you can't stop! No offence Pringles!!</div>
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QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-39666519887773168462017-03-22T06:44:00.001-07:002017-03-22T06:44:47.276-07:00Cheesy Garlic Bread Recipe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We love cheese. We love garlic. And we love bread. With no doubt, cheesy garlic bread spells nothing but gastronomical success. I saw this <a href="http://hebbarskitchen.com/garlic-bread-cheesy-garlic-bread-recipe/">Hebbar's recipe</a> many moons ago on Facebook, and as soon as I had the chance to try it, I jumped right into it.</div>
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It has all the right aromatic ingredients and herb I love, yes its cilantro, coriander, or Chinese parsley as you may call it. And the way we make the marks, it just makes it so easy to pick up your pieces and savour them as you like.</div>
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The recipe has 3 parts, the dough, the garlic butter spread and then the filling:</div>
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<b>1. For the garlic bread dough:</b></div>
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1/4 cup warm milk</div>
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1 tsp dry yeast</div>
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1 tsp sugar</div>
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some salt</div>
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3 cloves of garlic, chopped</div>
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some dried oregano</div>
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1 tsp butter</div>
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1 cup all purpose flour</div>
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<b>2. Garlic butter</b></div>
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1/4 cup butter melted</div>
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3 cloves garlic chopped</div>
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2 tbsp coriander leaves chopped</div>
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<b>3. For filling</b></div>
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some mozzarella cheese</div>
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some chili flakes, dried oregano, mixed herbs</div>
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<b>Method:</b></div>
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1) Activate the yeast in warm water and sugar. Follow method <a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2014/04/honey-buns-baking-again.html">here</a>. Mix activated yeast with the rest of the ingredients, except the butter, and knead till mixed. Add the butter and knead well like any other dough. Let it proof for one hour.</div>
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2) Mix the items in part (2) together.</div>
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3) After proofing, roll the dough out in a circle. Spread ingredients from part (2).</div>
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4) Top with mozzarella cheese, some oregano and chilli flakes.</div>
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4) Fold the dough and seal the edges.</div>
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5) Brush the remaining garlic butter on the dough and top with more herbs and chilli flakes.</div>
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6) Make marks over the bread without cutting it through.</div>
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7) Bake at 180C for 15 minutes.</div>
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The recipe makes 1 semi circle garlic bread. You can also top the bread with some parmesan cheese. Just adds to the divinity of it.</div>
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I made 2 versions, with mozzarella cheese filling and another with pasta sauce and cheese filling. The latter tasted much better and made the former really lacking in salt. In future I'd add more salt or I guess just more cheese in the plain version.</div>
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Also you can vary, or omit the chilli flakes and dried herbs altogether.<br />
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This never goes wrong, makes perfect snack, or meal, if you will! Happy trying!<br />
<br />QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-60277313424917618102017-03-14T23:49:00.002-07:002017-03-14T23:49:36.845-07:00Getting The Thosai Experience<div style="text-align: justify;">
For a long time hubby was asking me to make thosai and why not, we all love thosai. Usually I like to make trips to Indian restaurants just to get their awesome thosai with the chutney that come in the side. Of course not all shops have the same taste, so you really got to choose the best to stay loyal to.</div>
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The only reason I was putting making thosai was the fact that it takes one day of prep before actually making it, unless you want to go instant, but really it will not have the same effect. You can say I was just procrastinating all this while and never made it, that is till now.</div>
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So I told myself, that's it. If I can make everything else, why not the thosai which I love so much? </div>
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Firstly it was all about getting a good recipe, and my friend recommended me <a href="http://www.yummytummyaarthi.com/">Yummy Tummy</a> for thosai, chutney and everything Indian delicacies. Next I went to the Indian grocery store to get the ingredients, and cooking time it was!</div>
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On the day before I got soaking the urad dhal and idli rice. Soon after it was time to blend it and leave it for fermentation. Sounds simple enough right, sure it would have been, if my blender motor did not break down.</div>
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Yes, I repeat, my blender motor broke down, died on me, bluek. Ok mostly it is my fault for not realizing it needs to be given short pulses and not long minutes of blending. It have the tendency of killing most of my electrical appliances by overworking them this way. True story.</div>
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So, it gave up on me, stopped working, and I was stuck. At this point I wished I had the manual grinder. I looked for second option, I had my old Panasonic motor, but no jug. The jug broke long time ago but I did not get to buying the replacement because I was too engrossed in using the Magic Bullet all the while. Also it seemed hard to get replacement jug at the common hypermarkets.</div>
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Then I took out the Kenwood food processor that has been neglected, like forever. But I knew this was a long shot, for food processors only do dry processing, not wet one. And true enough, the batter remained coarse, it did not budge!!</div>
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Then I thought to myself, I should just drive out to the nearest electrical store and reward myself with a brand new blender set. In all this chaos, I did notice the familiar smell of urad dhal fermenting that engulfs the home whenever making thosai or idli. I quickly gathered the kids, and we set out. </div>
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Once there, for some reason, I asked the salesperson if they had just the jug for Panasonic blenders. It was no surprise when he said no, but he continued telling me it is available at the Panasonic service center. The best part was it was barely 5 minutes away, and as it was still office hours, I'd still make it to get one!</div>
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We quickly dashed there, grabbed the jug, came home feeling accomplished, accompanied by the familiar sour smell of fermentation. And that's how I got my thosai batter fermentation right, kids! And lot's of clean up afterwards too.</div>
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Here's the recipe to the thosai batter:</div>
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Soak 2 cups of idli rice and 1/2 cup of urad dhal, with some fenugreek seed. Leave this for 4-6 hours. Strain the water away, and blend this till fine, adding cold water as needed. After this we just let it ferment on the table top overnight. Wait for the batter to expand as it ferments, make sure you place it in a container only half full. And voila!</div>
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Making the thosai on the pan is rather tricky, takes a while to get the shape right. The pan cannot be too oily or too dry, otherwise the shape might not turn out right.</div>
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At last, I managed to make some decent shaped thosai(s).</div>
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As for the chutneys, I made 2 versions, one green, another red:<br />
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1) Coriander Coconut chutney by blending grated coconut, coriander leaves, green chilli, salt and garlic, and giving it a nice tempering of mustard seeds, urad dhal and curry leaves</div>
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2) Channa dhal chutney by tempering some channa dhal, mustard seeds, urad dhal and dried chilli, and then add chopping red onions and tomatoes. Let them soften and cook a while, season with salt and pepper. Once cooked, cool down, and blend it.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CaZp0o874_M/WMjfwY01GEI/AAAAAAAAUO0/QZ0_PV32JeAJ7N_gXf7pug2HDkzT-gJNQCKgB/s1600/IMG20170311090145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CaZp0o874_M/WMjfwY01GEI/AAAAAAAAUO0/QZ0_PV32JeAJ7N_gXf7pug2HDkzT-gJNQCKgB/s400/IMG20170311090145.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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The sous chef decided we needed some sardine curry, and here's the masterpiece, with lotsa onion, chilli and truckload of curry leaves.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1OevLvu2oGc/WMjf6-4RMHI/AAAAAAAAUO4/jnkqnWIydmY0Luv3xPTJfrBwbvKZrBkSwCKgB/s1600/IMG20170311090047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1OevLvu2oGc/WMjf6-4RMHI/AAAAAAAAUO4/jnkqnWIydmY0Luv3xPTJfrBwbvKZrBkSwCKgB/s400/IMG20170311090047.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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I also had the kid lending his hands to meddle with the turner.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y9ayv6Wlo6g/WMjgDEBK9WI/AAAAAAAAUO8/jASJPmSlZCUY27HVvleq1q0VG0LQ_jxgACKgB/s1600/IMG20170311085526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y9ayv6Wlo6g/WMjgDEBK9WI/AAAAAAAAUO8/jASJPmSlZCUY27HVvleq1q0VG0LQ_jxgACKgB/s400/IMG20170311085526.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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For the finale, it is essential to seek better photography skills, so I let the sous chef take over to get a nice shot of the breakfast meal. Obviously we ate with damn lot of chutney and more chutney!!</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FSzdlonBlvw/WMZq4K1lNKI/AAAAAAAAUMA/WOoRaN8vQHUnTKVkuqdl0Uma5LpxmeL-wCPcB/s1600/upload_-1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FSzdlonBlvw/WMZq4K1lNKI/AAAAAAAAUMA/WOoRaN8vQHUnTKVkuqdl0Uma5LpxmeL-wCPcB/s320/upload_-1" width="320" /></a></div>
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QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-727322540887315592017-03-01T20:02:00.000-08:002017-03-01T20:02:15.431-08:00Battle Of The Batters - Onion Rings Done 2 Ways<div style="text-align: justify;">
The kids have been asking for onion rings for a while now. Usually I'd just bring them to Burger King, and get some burgers and onion rings on the side. Not this time though, due to the place we are staying now has no Burger King outlet, and the nearest would be across the bridge, so I decided to go homemade.</div>
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I found a few recipes using flour batter, and looked more for the classic breadcrumb style as well, because you have to admit, nothing beats the classic crunch of onion rings. It sounded really simple, like those homemade chicken fingers, get the marination/batter, dip and dip and maybe dip some more, deep fry and you are done. </div>
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And I was about to find out the truth, it was not that simple!!</div>
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Ok firstly, lets go through the dippings. In one bowl prepare onions cut into rings (duh!), I used 3 onions, and boy, were they really a lot. In one bowl, prepare 1.5 cups of bread crumbs. In the second bowl, about 1 cup of flour, some salt, black pepper, ground cumin, oregano, paprika and chilli powder. In the second bowl is the mixture of 2 eggs and 1 cup of buttermilk, whisked together.</div>
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In the next step, get an assistant, it can be your kid, husband, or anyone. Arrange them out nicely, because this is the last step that you get to see your workspace all clean.</div>
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See, I got my little eager mc-beaver minion to help me. It gets really messy, I must warn you. But no, I am not showing the after picture, too dreadful for an OCD like me.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V26V6XmCSeg/WLeCWKxVpWI/AAAAAAAAT9w/xG5BWcEqHNExGKD3xFo-Tg0HjP2Y1htGgCKgB/s1600/IMG20170301165031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V26V6XmCSeg/WLeCWKxVpWI/AAAAAAAAT9w/xG5BWcEqHNExGKD3xFo-Tg0HjP2Y1htGgCKgB/s400/IMG20170301165031.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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The first style of onion rings - classic breadcrumb crunch - you dip the onion rings into the flour mixture, then into the egg mixture, and lastly into the breadcrumbs, making sure you coat nicely at every step, and you can lay them out till you are ready to fry. Deep fry for 3-4 minutes and you are done.</div>
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Halfway making the breadcrumbs type, I kept asking myself, why did I sign-up for this, I could have just bought frozen ones and fried for the kids to munch on. Then I reminded myself, yes, I am always up for new culinary challenges. That is when it got too tiring, breadcrumbs were running out, and I decided to mix the flour with the egg mixture and voila, you have got the flour batter! True Story.</div>
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The kid, however, was having tonnes of fun, dipping and re-dipping, hiding onion rings in the flour/batter, it was like treasure hunt for me.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kgsRDlJNVcc/WLeCWAjifeI/AAAAAAAAT9w/rUXXFtmQwQg-uPPA5dvBK3ICOqlyWNCmwCKgB/s1600/IMG20170301175055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kgsRDlJNVcc/WLeCWAjifeI/AAAAAAAAT9w/rUXXFtmQwQg-uPPA5dvBK3ICOqlyWNCmwCKgB/s400/IMG20170301175055.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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For the second type, just mix the flour mixture into the egg batter, get it nicely incorporated, add water if its too thick. And mix in all the onion rings. Separate them as you fry them, again for 3-4 minutes. When I got my hands into the batter, I had this familiar feeling which I later realised the batter and aroma was almost like pakoda aka Indian vegetable fritters, except we'd have gram dhal and more spices into the batter. So effectively I was making Western version of pakodas!</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KMpkgwpDNe8/WLeCWE_yM6I/AAAAAAAAT9w/djWZdQ4_lIQF8m-xxICDg81Gx5dowI6SACKgB/s1600/IMG20170301180549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KMpkgwpDNe8/WLeCWE_yM6I/AAAAAAAAT9w/djWZdQ4_lIQF8m-xxICDg81Gx5dowI6SACKgB/s400/IMG20170301180549.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The final verdict is both were super-yummy! The breadcrumbs version slightly more oily, and it soaked the oil much more than the other one. Also I wished I had put in more spices and have it pakoda style, which is what I am going to do next time.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GrsglyuWZ8A/WLeOOEISGQI/AAAAAAAAT-A/nHf7ap61Y98WYrZBfMtPni_p37ni4JpfwCKgB/s1600/IMG20170301201910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GrsglyuWZ8A/WLeOOEISGQI/AAAAAAAAT-A/nHf7ap61Y98WYrZBfMtPni_p37ni4JpfwCKgB/s400/IMG20170301201910.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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The rest of the dinner yesterday was a huge platter of <a href="http://thebabystepsoflife.blogspot.my/2017/02/easy-homemade-pizza-dough-recipe.html">bacon pizza, focaccia</a>, cheesy garlic bread, and the onion rings. Don't be afraid to pile on vegetables on your pizza, no one really notices that, and eat away!</div>
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The ideal title for the dinner would be western pakodas and rotiyan (I hear you LOL out there!).</div>
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Too many carbs you say? Jillian Michaels is gonna make sure I burn it all off the next day! Bon appetit!</div>
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<br />QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786132023177201483.post-31974556722853575502017-02-27T02:09:00.000-08:002017-02-27T02:09:12.544-08:00Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
We all love pizza, I mean, really, who doesn't?</div>
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More often than not, my quickest way of whipping up pizza is using ready made crusts or just the tortilla breads. As long as I have some cheese on standby, I can load some toppings and we are done. It is one of the fastest and yummiest meals ever, at least in our home.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R-Q3s8asBLE/WLP1FlrErSI/AAAAAAAAT7c/LM5UUy50hBAmJf_53wgyVCnmuxbxEhjdQCKgB/s1600/IMG_20160911_133128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R-Q3s8asBLE/WLP1FlrErSI/AAAAAAAAT7c/LM5UUy50hBAmJf_53wgyVCnmuxbxEhjdQCKgB/s320/IMG_20160911_133128.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This changed when recently I took it to task to make my own dough. Sure it takes a little extra effort and time. Ok ok I confess I knead the dough in my breadmaker. Regardless, there needs to be some planning to be done to ensure you have ample of time for kneading and proofing, even if it is in the breadmaker.</div>
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The previous recipe for dough I used many years ago did not quite strike a chord with me. But this time, the recipe that I found online, totally rocked it, and so this time I am really proud to show and share it. And here goes:</div>
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<b>You Need:</b></div>
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2 cups of bread flour</div>
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1/2 cup of all purpose flour</div>
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7g yeast</div>
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1cup warm water</div>
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1/2 cup of olive oil</div>
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some salt, sugar</div>
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<b>Method:</b><br />As usual I activate my yeast in some warm water and sugar, let it rest and foam in 10 minutes. Then I added the wet mixture into the bread flour, all purpose flour, salt and sugar. At this point I let the breadmaker knead till its done. Allow it to proof for 1 hour before adding your favourite toppings and bake at 180C for 10-15 minutes.</div>
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<br />I made 2 types, one is with pasta sauce, vegetables and sausage, and another one is rather foccacia like, with olive oil, cherry tomatoes, bacon, and olives.</div>
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I've got the yummiest of the pictures, based on my standard of photography though.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J0lXLSAQqSQ/WLP0Ck_IFCI/AAAAAAAAT7Q/VFV2XrpQ3_UpC_crgiuCO_SppK-MMyCZwCKgB/s1600/IMG20161222181022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J0lXLSAQqSQ/WLP0Ck_IFCI/AAAAAAAAT7Q/VFV2XrpQ3_UpC_crgiuCO_SppK-MMyCZwCKgB/s320/IMG20161222181022.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pardon this incomplete pizza, hands appeared out of nowhere and started grabbing on them like pizza monsters. That goes to show, the recipe passed and is making comebacks more often! And lucky for me I have now got it saved on my blog, so I don't have to scatter about finding it again!<br />
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<br />QarezmaVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012876533056340111noreply@blogger.com0