A Parcel From Home

This morning I received a parcel from home. Of course it is filled up with all kinds of goodies. It is so very difficult to get them here in Switzerland. Most of them are merely unavailable here. I would say that almost all of my baking ingredents are from home.

From top left to right: Roasted peanuts, preserved fruits, anchovies fritters premix
From bottom left to right: Belacan or shrimp paste granules, canned mackerels in tomatoe sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper sauce, soy sauce, condensed milk, dried shrimps, fried onion crisps
Botttom most: Agar-agar or jelly strands

Weekend Baking Session # 12

Its Mother's Day today. A day to celebrate motherhood and thank mothers. Mothers are the pillars in our lives. Without whom, we would not have gotten this life.To celebrate Mother's Day, I am baking an orange cake for our Weekend Baking Session. Orange cakes are not as popular as chocolate, coffee or vanilla cakes. I love orange cake for its citrusy taste and tangy aroma.

Orange Cake

What do we need:

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

2 egg yolks
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
1/2 tbsp orange zest

2 egg white
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar

How do we do it:

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking sofa ans salt together. Set aside.

Combine the orange juice and water. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add orange zest and egg yolks one by one. Beat well. Add the sifted flour mixture alternately with water, beginning and ending with the flour.

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Add sugar little by little and beat until stiff peaks form.

Fold 1/3 of the beaten egg white into the orange mixture to lighten it. Then, pour the lightened orange mixture into the remaining beaten egg white. Fold gently but quickly and thoroughly to combine both mixtures.

Pour the batter into a greased and lined 6" round cake pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 175° C for about 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and let it cool completely.

Fill and frost the cake with your favourite frosting. Decorate as per desired.

A Very Happy Mother's Day To All The Mothers.

The Food That I’d Die For # 5

Acar is a Malaysian spicy pickled crunchy salad that is commonly served as condiment or relish to be eaten with a main course. It is sort of a must have item in the food served in Indian & Malay weddings in Malaysia.Acar is made from different kinds of hard vegetables such long beans, carrots, cucumbers, cauliflowers and cabbage which are pickled in vinegar. The vegetables are then tossed with toasted sesame seeds or ground peanuts.

Acar

What do we need:

1 cucumber
3 small carrots
10 shallots or 1 large onion
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

4 shallots
5 dried chilies
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
oil

1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

How do we do it:

Remove centre of cucumber and cut crosswise the cucumber and carrots. Then cut lengthwise into about 3cm sticks. Peel the shallots and leave them whole. If using big onion, cut into wedges. Mix with sugar, salt and turmeric. Leave aside for 1 hour.

Snip and soak the dried chillies in some water for a while. Drain off the water and grind together with the shallots.

Heat oil and fry mustard seed until it pops. Add the ground ingredients. Fry until the oil rises. Stir in vinegar and water. Let boil for 3 minutes. Turn the stove off. Add the vegetables and immediately turn off the heat. This is to prevent the vegetables from overcooking. Overcooked vegetables led to a soggy acar. Stir well to mix.

Toss with the sesame seeds before serving.

Serve acar with hot rice and kurma or sambar.

Weekend Baking Session # 11

Pâte à choux or choux pastry is perhaps the simplest and uses an entirely different method of all pastries. Whereas other dough can be formed into various shapes, choux pastry is so soft that it hardly supports itself before baking.Choux means cabbage in French as it derives its shape when the dough is piped or spooned and baked into cream puffs. The airiness is caused by the high water content, which is turned into steam during baking and these forces the pastry shell outwards and gives it volume.

Choux pastry could be used to make many sweet and savoury delicacies. This edition of Weekend Baking Session will be showcasing cream puff as I have been craving for it for a long time.

A perfectly made puff would have the finest crispy crust, the lightest interior, and an even and golden browned shape. Things to remember with choux pastry is that it does not keep well. Best eaten as soon as possible. It stays crisp for only about 4 hours. Another thing is that never fill too advanced as it would go soggy.

Cream Puffs

What do we need:

Choux pastry:

1 cup bread flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Pastry Cream:

1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp vanilla

How do we do it:

Put the water, milk, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil. When the liquid boils rapidly, remove the saucepan from the heat and quickly and evenly tip in the flour all at once, stirring vigorously until it is smooth and well amalgamated. The mixture will come away from sides of pan and form a ball in centre.

Return the pan back on a low heat and stir for 1 minute. This is to dry out the mixture slightly. Avoid drying out the pastry too much as it will crack when baking. Break 1 egg at a time into the pastry while beating vigorously until smooth and fluffy.

When done, the choux pastry should be a pale yellow, smooth, moist, sticky, and slightly elastic.

Drop by tablespoonful onto a lined baking sheet 3 inches apart in staggered rows. This is to ensure that the buns cook evenly. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 20-25 minutes or until the buns are puffed and golden colour. Pierce the side or end of each bun to let out the steam. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare the pastry cream. Mix milk, sugar, salt and the egg yolks together. Whisk until well mixed. Cook on a medium low heat, stirring constantly until mixtures thickens and boils. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Cool completely.

To assemble, cut off tops of the buns and fill with the pastry cream. Other fillings such as cream cheese, whipping cream or ice-cream could be used as well.

A Simple Supper

While hunting for something eat in the night, found some leftover sandwich bread. As I was thinking of what to do with it, many ideas came flowing. Finally, chose to make fritters out of them. Yes, using bread instead of flour. Yeah, why not? Lets give it a try.Fish Fritters

What do we need:

4 slices of stale bread
1 fish, filleted
1 onion
1 green chilli
1/2 inch ginger
1 bunch coriander leaves
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt
oil

How do we do it:

Chop the onion, chilli, ginger and coriander leaves very finely. Set aside.

Dip the bread slices into a bowl of water. Squeeze of the water immediately. Place the fish fillets and the bread into a food processor. Process until it becomes a smooth paste. Transfer the paste into a bowl. Mix with the chopped ingredients. Add garam masala, turmeric powder and salt.

Heat oil. Drop the batter by tablespoonful into the hot oil. Fry on medium heat until golden brown.

The fritters are very crispy. To gain the crispiness, ensure that the batter is thick enough.

Serve the fish fritters hot with your favourite dipping sauce.

Mango Maniac

Along with bananas, one of the most commonly eaten fruits in the world is mango. Tell me anyone who hates mango. It is such a divine fruit. No wonder they are called the "food of the Gods". The mango is also known as the "apple of the tropics". The aroma and the taste of this delectable fruit is unimaginable. They are excellent, soft, juicy and with a delicious, aromatic flavour. Mangoes are rich in vitamins A, C and D.Mangoes are eaten raw or ripe. Raw green mangoes are pickled or made into salads, chutneys, rojak or just eaten with salt. Ripe mangoes exceedingly juicy and exotically sweet and tart. They are blended into juice, whipped up with yoghurt into luscious lassi. Ripe manoes are made into numerous scrumptious desserts or eaten just as a fruit.

As an entry to "Jihva for Mangoes" event hosted by Indra of Mahanandi, I have thought of making a special dessert. It is a fusion of a Thai and a Malay dessert. Steamed glutinous rice topped with mango custard layer.

Mango & Glutinous Rice Kuih

What do we need:

1/2 cup glutinous rice
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
2 screw pine leaves or 1 drop of screw pine essence

1 ripe mango
1 egg
4 tbsp plain flour
3-4 tbsp sugar (adjust with the sweetness of the mango)
1/4 tsp salt
1 drop mango essence

How do we do it:

Wash and soak the glutinous rice for about 4 hours. Drain the water and mix the rice with the coconut milk, salt and the leaves or essence in a pan. Steam for 15 minutes.

Peel and cut the mango. In a blender, combine mango, egg, flour, sugar, salt and essence. Process until the mixture becomes smooth.

Scratch cooked rice with a fork. Pour the mango batter on top of the rice. Steam it again for another 15 minutes.

Cool completely before cutting into desired shapes.

Weekend Baking Session # 10

Carrots are nutritional vaults. They store bulks of nutrients. No other vegetable or fruit contains as much carotene as carrots. Beta carotene, a dimer of Vitamin A, is abundant in the carrot and gives this vegetable its characteristic orange colour. It contains about 87% water, rich in mineral salts and vitamins (B,C,D,E) as well as calcium pectate, an extraordinary pectin fibre that has been found to have cholesterol-lowering properties.The carrot has a woody texture and is a truly versatile vegetable. It can be eaten raw as in salads or blended into juice. They are cooked in soups, stews, curries, stir-fries, and a lot more. Carrots are also used in baking. Carrot cakes, muffins, cookies and pudding are a few of them.

Carrot is the main ingredient in this 10th edition of Weekend Baking Session. I have decided to bake carrot cupcakes for a change. Added some walnuts as they are carrots´ perfect partner. Also adding some sultanas for extra taste. Cream cheese makes an excellent frosting for carrot cakes.

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

What do we need:

Cake:
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs

1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup sultanas

Frosting:
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

How do we do it:

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg powder. Set aside.

Grease the muffin tray with butter or simply line the muffin holes with paper cups.

Beat oil and sugar until sugar dissolve. Add the eggs. Beat again. Gradually stir in the sifted flour mixture. Do not over stir. Then, add the grated carrots, walnuts and sultanas.

Fill the muffin holes with the cake batter to two-thirds full. Bake in a preheated oven at 180º C for 25 – 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, combine all the frosting ingredients together. Beat until smooth.

Spread the cream cheese frosting onto the carrot cupcakes. Decorate as per desired.

Weekend Baking Session # 9

Here comes weekend again. After 5 sessions of continuos cake baking, for this edition of Weekend Baking Session, I have thought of baking a pie.I had a few lemons. Looking at them, a luscious lemon meringue pie came to my mind. I had wanted to try it out for nearly a year. Lemon meringue pie is a dessert made with a pastry base, lemon curd filling and a fluffy meringue topping.

Lemon Meringue Pie

What do we need:

Pie Crust:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cold butter
1/4 cup ice cold water
1/2 tsp salt

Lemon Curd Filling:

3 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
2 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt

Meringue Topping:
3 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

How do we do it:

In a food processor, place the flour, salt and cold butter. At a slow speed mix the ingredients until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Gradually, add the ice cold water 1 tablespoon at a time just until the dough binds together. Make sure not to over work the dough. Wrap with cling film and refrigerate for 2 hours.

On a floured board, roll out the dough into a disk, 2 or 3 inches larger than the pan. Transfer the pastry onto the pan. Fit the pastry very well on the bottom and side of the pan. Cut excess pastry 1 cm to the outside. Pinch the pastry edges to beautify it. Line with a sheet of aluminium foil and place dried beans or rice as weights. The purpose is to prevent the pastry from bulging out when baking. This method of baking is called blind baking. Bake in a preheated oven at 230°C for 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven. Then, lift the aluminium foil together with the weight. Now return the pastry shell to the oven and bake for another 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, both the flours, salt and water. Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture boils. Stir vigorously, for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Slightly beat the egg yolks. Mix half the boiled mixture with the egg yolks. Then put the egg yolk mixture back into the pan with the boiled ingredients. This method is called tempering of the egg yolks. Cook for 1 more minute, stirring constantly and, again, vigorously. Remove from heat and add the butter. Stir unitl the butter melts. Add the lemon zest and juice and butter. Stir well to mix thoroughly. Set aside.

In a clean, grease free bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla.

To assemble, pour the lemon curd into the pastry shell and spread it out evenly. Spoon the meringue over the top of the lemon curd filling. Seal the meringue to the pastry edge. Make sure there are no gaps. Spread out evenly and swirl it into peaks. Bake in a preheated oven at 150° C for 30 or until meringue turns lightly brown. Remove and let cool on a rack before chilling it.

When serving, cut the pie with a wet knife as meringue pies cut better with a wet knife blade.

Nibbles For My Toddler # 4

Black grams are also known as urad dal or ulundu in tamil. It is the most nutritious pulse. Pulses are the only sources of protein for the diet, other than meat. For vegetarians pulses are a vital part of the diet. For non vegetarians, pulses offer an alternative source of protein without the fat but with a lot of fiber. Also beans and lentils are rich in complex carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.The other day hubby bought a big pack of urad dal. I used some to make vadei. Still have a lot more in the pantry. As it is Mahisha´s 19th month anniversary today, I thought of using the dal as the main ingredient to create something interesting for her.

Urad Dal Fritters

What do we need:

1/2 cup black gram or urad dal, split and skinned
1/2 cup water, or as required
4 tbsp plain flour
4 tbsp palm sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
oil for deep frying

How do we do it:

Soak the dal overnight. After washing, grind with water to become a soft and smooth paste. Add the rest of the ingredients to the ground dal. Stir well to become a thick batter.

Heat oil in a frying pan. Drop by tablespoonful into the oil. Fry on low medium heat until brown. Serve warm.

The fritters taste very much like paniyaram. They are crispy outside and soft inside.

The Food That I’d Die For # 4

Talk about Malaysian food, one of the topper would be mamak food. The Indian Muslims in Malaysia are fondly addressed as Mamak. Mamak food are very famous in Malaysia. Everybody loves them. So do I. To name a few most popular mamak food would be rojak, nasi kandar, roti canai, murtabak, fish head curry and mee goreng mamak. Mee goreng mamak literally means mamak style fried noodles. It is indeed very rich in taste.To fulfill my crave for the mee goreng mamak, I tried whipping it up by myself. As the normally used wet yellow noodles are unavailable here, I tried to innovate mee goreng mamak to pasta goreng mamak. Just substituted the noodles with pasta.

Pasta Goreng Mamak (Mamak Style Fried Pasta)

What do we need:

3 cups penne or any other pasta
1 1/2 cup bean sprouts or shredded cabbage
1 tomato, chopped coarsely
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
3 dried chillies (depends to the hotness desired)
1/2 cup peanuts
1/4 cup dried shrimps
2 tbsp chilli sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp tomatoe ketchup
oil
salt
sugar

How do we do it:

Cook the peanuts with water until soft. Drain and leave to cool. Then, remove the skin and set aside.

Boil a pot full of water with a generous amount of salt. Cook pasta in the boiling water to al dente or until the time specified on the pasta package. When cooked, drain and set aside.

Soak the dried chillies until soft. Grind them with washed dried shrimps, the cooked peanuts, onion and garlic. Heat oil in a wok and fry the ground ingredients. When the oil rises to the top, add the bean sprouts or shredded cabbage.

When the the vegetable has cooked, add the cooked pasta, chopped tomato and the seasonings. Stir thoroughly to mix well. Serve hot with lime wedges.