Spicy Pumpkin Stir Fry

Ingredients

250 gm pumpkin ( skinned and cubed)
1/4 tsp mustard seed
1/4 tsp cumin
2 dried chili
1 sprig curry leaves
1/4 tsp turmerik powder
1/4 tsp plain chili powder
1/4 tsp asofoetida powder
a pinch of coriander powder
2 garlic cloves - minced
1 tsp brown sugar (optional)
1 tsp tamarind juice


In a wok, heat oil. Add garlic, mustard seed, cumin, dried chili and curry leaf.  Cook slightly then add the pumpkin and the rest of the spices. Pour little water to cook the pumpkin and season with salt.


Once pumpkin is cooked through, add tamarind juice and brown sugar.  


Note:  Usually most of the south indian recipes does not call for brown sugar but I prefer little added sweetness to my pumpkin. Give it a try....

Peppered Steak with Onion Marmalade

Ingredients

Top sirloin steak

Olive oil

Steak seasoning

Onion powder

Garlic Powder

Splash of red wine (optional)

Marinade steak for about 3 hours.  Place steaks in a hot, lightly oiled grill. Cook for 3 minutes each side to seal and then cook further 2 minutes per side for rare meat. For medium done, another few minutes. And for well done another 6 minutes per side. Serve at once with the onion marmalade.

Onion Marmalade

2 white/yellow onion - thinly sliced

2 tbsp soft brown sugar

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 oz butter

Cook onion in butter till soft but not brown, add the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Cook on low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. The mixture will become thick and glossy.

Asparagus

Season well with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill for just couple of minutes.

Sweet Potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes ( cleaned and cut)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp brown sugar

salt, pepper ( according to taste)

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, brown sugar and olive oil.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until crispy.

Hokkaido Milky Loaf

The reviews for the bread was so high that I wanted to try it again despite baking it once. It would have been nice if the bread was baked in a Pullmans bread pan but unfortunately this particular pan after much research could only be bought online. Hmmmm I have to get my hands on those bread pans. They bake awesome square bread.  The only thing I did with this bread is made it look like a marbled bread. Original recipe for this bread is adapted from here.

This bread is so fluffy and soft. Probably its because of the whipping cream and milk.

Conversion

For a lot of you out there, converting cups to grams or cups to ml's is tough when you are in a hurry to do a recipe. I have inserted a conversion chart. Hope this will help...

Butter

If you know a cup of butter weighs 8 ounces, you could do the math yourself:

1 ounce = 28.34 grams, so one cup of butter weighs 227 grams.

1/4 cup of butter = 57 g
1/3 cup of butter = 76 g
1/2 cup of butter = 113 g

Spoons

1 tablespoon = .5 fluid oz. or 14.79ml

3 tsp = 1 tablespoon

4 tablespoons = 1/4  cup

16 tablespoon = 1 cup

Basic Meas.

1 cup chocolate chips = 152g

1 cup cocoa powder = 128g

1 cup walnuts, chopped = 122g

1 cup walnut/pecan halves = 99g

1 cup shredded coconut = 71g

1 cup solid shortening, e.g. Crisco = 205g

1 tablespoon backing powder = 12g

1 tablespoon salt = 18g

All Purpose flour and Confectioners sugar

Cups                 Grams              Ounces

1/8 cup

(2 tablespoon)      16g               .563 oz

1/4 cup                32                 1.13

1/3 cup                43                 1.5

1/2 cup                64                 2.25

2/3 cup                85                  3

3/4 cup                96                 3.38

1 cup                  128                4.5

Bread Flour        

Cups                 Grams              Ounces

1/4 cup               34                   1.2

1/3 cup               45                   1.6

1/2 cup               68                   2.4

1  cup                136                  4.8

Rolled Oats

Cups                 Grams              Ounces 1/4 cup               21                   .75 1/3 cup               28                    1 1/2 cup               43                   1.5 1 cup                  85                    3 White Sugar ( Granulated ) Cups                 Grams              Ounces 2 tbsp                 25                  .89 1/4 cup               50                  1.78 1/3 cup               67                  2.37 1/2 cup               100                3.55 Brown Sugar Cups                 Grams              Ounces 1/4 cup              55                   1.9 1/3 cup              73                   2.5 1/2 cup              10                  3.88 1 cup                220                 7.75 Honey Molasses Cups                 Grams              Ounces

2 tbsp                43                    1.5

1/4                    85                     3

1/3                   113                    4

1/2                   170                    6

2/3                   227                    8

3/4                   255                    9

1                     340                   12 

Pulut Inti ( Glutinous Rice with Coconut Filling)

These packets of Pulut Inti or Glutinous Rice With Sweet Coconut is one of my favorite Malaysian snacks. They are great snacks to be enjoyed over an afternoon tea or as a dessert, especially after a spicy meal. The steamed glutinous rice is infused with coconut milk and served with grated coconut that’s been cooked with palm sugar.


If you are unable to use fresh or frozen coconut, you could use unsweetened dessicated coconut. Frozen banana leaves are often found in frozen section of ethnic grocery stores.


Ingredients

Coconut Filling
100 g Palm Sugar, roughly chopped (I did not have any palm sugar on hand, so I used brown sugar)
75 ml Water
1 Pandan Leaf, knotted
100 g Grated Coconut

Glutinous Rice
300 g Glutinous Rice, soaked overnight
½ tsp Sea Salt
150 ml Coconut Milk
1 Pandan Leaf, tied into a knot
Banana Leaves for wrapping

Method

Coconut Filling: In a medium pan, combine the palm sugar and water. Bring it to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes until liquid starts to thicken and become syrupy.

Add the pandan leaf and grated coconut and continue to cook over low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the coconut filling is thick and glossy.

Glutinous Rice: Rinse and strain the rice and place them onto a shallow baking tin or a heatproof dish. Stir in the salt and coconut milk together and pour over the rice and bury a pandan leaf. Steam the rice over high heat for about 30 minutes, fluffing the rice up with a fork halfway through. Remove the rice from the steamer.

Soften the banana leaves by dipping them very briefly in hot water. Wipe the banana leaves well and then cut into 12 small squares 4 x 4 cm (1 ½ x 1 ½ inches) and 12 rectangles 10 x 14 cm (4 x 5 1/2inches).

Place a Tbsp of cooked rice in the center of each rectangle and place a generous tsp of coconut filling on each little square banana leaf and place on top of the rice. Fold the leaf on either side and tuck both ends under, to enclose the rice. You should be able to see a little but of coconut filling from the top.

Satay

Malay Satay — those little skewers of meat with peanut sauce and ketupat (Malay rice cake) is a very popular dish in Malaysia. Walk down any street in the country and the mouthwatering aroma of Satay exudes from practically every corner you pass: road side Malay stalls, hawker centers, pasar malam(night markets), kopi tiam (Chinese coffee shops), and even high-end restaurants…


Usually it is grilled in a charcoal grill but since I cant grill outside because of the snow, I used my stove top grill which worked great.  Made some peanut sauce to go along with it too.  This recipe is a keeper. 


Ingredients for Marinade


1 shallot 
1/2 tsp turmerik
2 stems of lemongrass (white part only)
1 thumb size piece galangal
4 garlic cloves
1 1/2  tsp sambal oelek or 2 red chillies
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp coconut milk
3 tsp fish sauce (optional)


1 lb chicken thighs, trimmed and cut thinly


Peanut sauce


1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1-2  tbsp sambal oelek
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce (optional)
2 tsp lemon juice


Method

1. Soak the skewers for about 30 minutes. The kitchen sink works best for this.
2. Process the ingredients for marinade in a food processor or blender. Do not add liquid.  You can add the oil to assist the processing. Taste test the marinade-you will taste sweet, spicy, salty. Add more sugar or fish sauce ( salt), you can also add more chili if you want it to be spicier. Pour the marinade over the meat and stir well. Let it sit for about 1 hour or longer (up to 24 hours) in a refrigerator.
3. When ready to cook, thread the meat onto the skewers.
4. Grill the satay on your BBQ or on your indoor grill, basting it with the leftover marinade or you can broil it in the oven with a baking sheet or broiling pan. Depending how thin your meat is,the satay should cook by 10-20 minutes.

For the peanut sauce, put all the ingredients in a saucepan and let it come to a gentle boil. Adjust seasoning to your taste. The sauce will thicken up once cooled. If it needs more water, add a little bit.

Cumin seeds, Coriander seeds, shallot, soy sauce, sambal oelek, lemongrass, garlic, galangal

Cabbage Stir Fry

Ingredients


Cabbage
3 cloves of garlic - minced
1 shallot - slice
Dried Shrimp


Saute garlic, dried shrimp and onion in little oil.  once onion starts to brown a little, put in the cut and washed cabbage. Add salt to taste.  Cook for few minutes. 

Briyani

Chicken briyani is one of my favorite food. Chicken and rice cooked in a blend of spices. Eaten with yogurt cucumber.

Cinnamon stick, green chili, ginger garlic paste, mint leaf, cloves, cardamon

Briyani mix can be bought at the Indian grocery store

Ingredients


1 whole chicken ( cut in small pieces)
Yogurt
Ginger garlic paste
Cardamon - 4 
Cloves -3
Cinnamon stick - 1
1 big yellow onion - cut small
Green Chili - 2 (can use more) - slit in half
Tomato ( blanch and skin removed) - cubed
Mint - handful
Briyani mix - 3 tbsp
Chili powder - 1 tbsp
Basmati Rice - 3 cups
Water - 4 cup

1. Marinate chicken with yogurt and ginger garlic paste.
2. In a wok, grease with oil and put in the cardamon, cinnamon stick, cloves. Add in the onion, cook till its soft and brown. Put in the green chilli, tomato and mint. Cook well, taking care not to burn it.
3. Add in the briyani mix and chilli powder. Stir well and add then marinated chicken. Cook for 20 minutes.
4. Once chicken is cooked, pour in the water and let it come to a boil, add washed basmati rice. Stir to coat the rice with the mixture and cook covered with a foil for about 15 - 20 minutes in a very low heat.  Open foil to check the rice and if water has evaporated and rice still looks a little uncooked, u can either sprinkle more water and cover with foil or put them in a glass baking dish and cook it in an oven for couple of minute. As you can see, I have added boiled egg to my rice since my children love hard boiled egg.

Note:  I usually sprinkle extra water and cover with foil. There are many recipe and method for cooking briyani in the website but this is what I learned from a friend and it works well for me. Give it a try .....enjoy.

Chocolate Cupcake

I am so happy that I manage to inspire my sister and friend to cook and bake.  She made some of these cupcakes and said that it tasted scrumptious.

Since it was snowing really bad and the kids were out of school, we decided to make some chocolate cupcakes which I got from Allrecipes.com website. I also made a batch of buttercream to ice the cupcakes. I love chocolates but for some reason, the taste of baking soda in chocolate cake always puts me. Probably I will try making these babies the next time without baking soda and put an extra teaspoon of baking powder but anyways here is the super moist chocolate cake recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda ( I reduced the amount to 1 tsp)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 3 - 9 inch round cake pans. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Spread batter evenly between the 3 prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

Note :  I made 12 medium sized cupcakes and 10 mini cupcakes with half the ingredients