Pineapple Tarts

The flesh of the pineapple fruit has such a warm cheerful colour that I find pleasure incorporating them in cooking. Not to mention its versatility due to both the sweet and sour character of the fruit. A feast for the eye and palate indeed. The possibilities are endless with the pineapple.

Pineapple tarts are usually "festive" as they show up on practically every celebration here. Be it on Eidul-fitr, Eidul-Adha, Chinese New Year...I even spotted them in friends' house on Deepavali and even Christmas. I don't know why they are so popular...maybe its the buttery crust with the unique pineapple jam taste of both sweet and sour which provides for a rich contrast and flavour.

Doi Mach

Doi is Yoghurt and Mach is Fish. Well, I am not a fan of overly-spiced fish, for good reason. Fish is unlike chicken, beef or lamb which could take a slightly “robust” concoction of spice mixture. Too much spice simply “overwrite” the sweet, delicate flavor of the fish, especially of white fish. This is a melt-in-your-mouth fish curry with heat from the mustard oil spices and mild tang provided by the yoghurt and lemon juice....a soft, sweet, delicate balance of flavours indeed.

Ingredients for the Doi Mach

2 cups of white fish cleaned, boneless, sliced

1 – 2 tablespoon mustard oil

1 bay leave

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 tsp cumin

1 big onion chopped

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

1 green chilli chopped (optional)

1 tsp cardamom powder or garam masala powder

1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup yoghurt lightly whisked with some water

Some chopped fresh coriander

Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat the mustard oil in a pan. Add the bay leaves, cumin, cinnamon and the chopped onions.

Saute briefly. Add the ginger garlic paste, green chilli and fry till fragrant. Add the cardamom/garam masala powder, turmeric powder. Stir thoroughly and add the lemon juice.

Add the yoghurt mixture. Add the chopped fresh coriander, salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil. Add the fish and cook covered for about 5 minutes or till cooked.

Serve hot with plain basmati rice and garnished with fresh coriander leaves. I like to have this with spicy indian lime or mango pickle.

Soleful Sunday

I was debating in my mind, wasn't sure whether to buy chicken or beef at Kip Market. Walking around in circles as usual and enjoying the sight and sound of the bustling market. Finally, I made a stop at the fish stall, a display of sole fish had caught my eye for some reason. Its Sunday, there is only Mom and I to cook for. What the heck, I think I'll go for fish today.

I asked the fishmonger if I were to buy his fish, would he be so kind as to clean, skin and fillet them for me. He laughed and said that he would cook them for me if I wanted him to.

The deal was done without the cooking of course. Immediately, he started to work on the fish with super sharp knife at lightning efficiency. It was a perfect job, no regrets, except that I did not have my camera with me to shoot the modus operandi.

Sole is a delicate, sweet, flatfish, which cooks in no time and goes well with most vegetables.

My recipe for today: Pan Fried Sole with Steamed French Beans and Carrots

Salt and pepper the fish lightly, Sprinkle some paprika and cornflour. What is Sole without butter? Sizzle some butter on a hot pan and cook for about 5-10 minutes both sides. Voila! Fish is ready.

For the Vegetables:

Bunch of baby french beans and carrots, lightly steamed and set aside.

For the vegetable dressing:

1 tablespoon olive oil or sesame oil

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon pickled ginger (chopped)

1 tablespoon roasted garlic (chopped/smashed)

½ teaspoon chilli powder ( or 1 tsp chopped fresh chilli)

some chopped herbs (parsley, coriander, spring onion etc) – Optional

Salt & pepper to taste

Mix them all up and throw in the vegetables in the dressing. Coat well and serve with the fish.

May serve with rice or potatoes too.

"Double Chocolate Cup"

"Double Chocolate Cup" festive cake

"Daddy Dearest"

"Daddy Dearest" fun cake.....for kids as well

"Fudge Indulgence"

"Fudge Indulgence" maltese madness cake. My favourite...fudgy brownie cake covered with chocolate ganache topped with maltese balls. My dentist is so not going to approve this  :)

"Butterfly"...a Classic soft-iced cake

"Butterfly"...a Classic soft-iced cake

"Simply Classy"



"Simply Classy"

"Strawberry Shortcake"

"Strawberry Shortcake"

"Sweets for My Sweet"

"White Elegance"

"Pretty in Pink"

@Studio Baker - "Berry Chocolicious"

Order Cakes and customised desserts including gluten-free products @Studio Baker

Email:
pineappleday@gmail.com

Turn whatever occasion you have to celebrate, be it a birthday, anniversary, morning or afternoon tea, into a special event by serving a luscious cake. So rise to the occasion and you could always count on us to make a sensational cake!


　

Lamb and Puri

I love Lamb curry and Puri. I could remember when I was eleven and we had moved in to our spanky new house. We had a Punjabi Indian family as neighbours and their house always smelt of heavenly curries. It smelt different from the curries which my mom made. I thought my mom's were great but that new smell from the Punjabi lady's kitchen moved me beyond words.

I had to ask her, just needed to find out what she had thrown into her pot. So nosy little me went poking around her kitchen one day. My oh my what a learing experience that was, she had me learning on  all kinds of Indian spices, her home made roasted spices for garam masala (her secret recipe), asafoetida and for the first time in my life I knew that mustard oil existed. This is something which my mom never use.

So everytime I made lamb and puri, it brings me down memory lane, back to her kitchen. She would serve it with jeera rice as well as puri or chapati and some lovely "spicy potato mash".

Blueberry Cream Cheese Cup Cake

Tutti Fruity Cup cake

These babies come with fruit fillings of blueberries, strawberries and even tangy orange to balance the richness of the creamy cup cakes.

Strawberry filled Chocolate Cup Cake

I never say "No" to Chocolates! Especially "exquisite beauties" such as these made from 100% Belgium Chocolates....

Have tried many recipes but I like this one best from Chef Hidayat. Light and luscious.

Ingredients for the Chocolate Cup Cake:
2 cups self-raising flour (sifted)
1 tsp baking powder (sifted)
4 tbsp cocoa powder (sifted)
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup salted butter (softened at room temperature)
1/4 cup buttermilk or plain yoghurt
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1/2 to 1 cup bakeable chocolate chips (depending on how chocolatey you like)
　
Method:
Preheat oven to 180degreesC. Line muffin pan with cupcake paper cups.
Mix together the butter, yoghurt, sugar, eggs, vanilla essence. You may use an egg beater if you do not have an electric mixer. If you are using mixer, put it on low.

Add the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and mix gently. Add the choc chips and mix using a spatula.
Fill up cups up till 2/3 full only, as the cake will rise when baked.

If you are using filling (I used strawberry) you may fill up the cups up to 1/4 full and put 1 tsp of filling and top up with the cake mixture till about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes. You may need to vary the baking time according to your oven. Mine bakes at 15 minutes.

Cool the cakes before you swirl them with icing cream. Decorate as you like...voila..you got cupcakes..:)

To make the icing cream:
1 cup butter (250g)
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
Cream to ivory white and add the flavour colour of choice and continue creaming until you get a nice colour that you like. I use strawberry pink
　
　

Spinach Green Pulao

I just felt like going green that day. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and home alone. I needed something to eat with potato chips...lol..I said "green", I did not say healthy.. Something simple, something quick and most importantly as little washing up as possible. A one pot snack was in order.

Ingredients for Spinach Green Pulao
1 tbsp ghee or butter
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 cinammon stick
4 cardamom pods
3 cloves
1 tsp garlic mince
2 tablespoon chopped onions
1 tbsp chopped green chillies
1 tsp cardamom powder (optional)
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup basmati rice, soaked, washed and drained
2 cups water
2 cups chopped spinach and mustard green

Heat the oil, add cumin seeds, cinammon, cardamom pods, cloves, chopped onions and fry till translucent. Add the garlic and green chillies, stir around until fragrant, add the cardamom powder if using, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Add the drained rice, mix and fry a little. Add water and leave it to boil.When the water is three-quarter absorbed, fold in the greens gently. Cover and leave it alone till done. Turn off the gas, fluff gently and leave covered for 10 minutes before serving.

Breakfast -Grilled Mushrooms & Eggs

As much as I wanted to, I usually could not muster breakfast...its simply too early for me. Don't nag me...my mother does that all the time...I have heard it all before "breakfast is the most important meal of the day". My body could only manage coffee in the morning and nothing else. Except maybe on weekends, I may have some breakfast.

If I do have breakfast, I like something with mushrooms. Mushrooms on toast, parotta or chapati, mushroom omelette, fritata, quiche...But my all time favourite has to be grilled mushrooms with scrambled eggs basmati rice. This is really easy and I do not even consider it to be a recipe. Just saute the mushrooms with butter, ghee or olive oil, add a pinch of anything which fancies me, garlic, salt, pepper, basil, thyme, marjoram, even mint or coriander leaves, spring onions..chilli flakes..lol..anything or simply nothing, just salt and pepper. Scramble the eggs with butter and add a little plain basmati rice. It has to be butter for me...and its yum...comfort food at its best.

Mint Pulao

There would be days when I would miss Biryani but just could not afford the hassle and time of going through the rigmarole of Biryani preparation. My solution is mint rice.

Ingredients for Mint Rice:
1-2 tbsp ghee, butter or olive oil
1 handful cashew nuts
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 Cinnamon stick
4 Cardamom pods
2 cloves
4 Shallots sliced
1-2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 cup finely chopped fresh Mint (save 1tbsp for garnishing)
1 tsp dried Mint (optional)
1/2 tsp Chilli flakes (optional)
1 Green Chilli slit
1 tsp lime juice (optional)
1-2 tsp yoghurt
Salt & pepper to taste
1 cup Basmati rice (washed. soaked and drained)
2 cups Water
Fried onions and chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:
Saute the cashew nuts in the ghee till it is brown not burnt. Set aside and throw in the cumin seeds till they splutter. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and whatever whole garam masala you like. I use shallots but you can use onions as well. Fry them till they turn translucent and add the ginger garlic paste, green chillies and lots of finely chopped fresh mint. Saute till its fragrant. Finally stir in the yoghurt . I don't grind the mint as I like the texture of chopped mint. I prefer to add a pinch of dried mint. It is optional, so are the chilli flakes and lime juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Saute in the drained rice. Add water and cook it till its done. Turn off gas, fluff ever so gently and keep covered for few minutes before serving. Garnish with cashews, fried onions and coriander leaves.

Sarson Ka Sag Rice

This is for my sweet friend Monika Batasi. We are millions of miles away but we share the same taste in food. Moni hails from beautiful exotic Darjeeling and she is as beautifully exotic as her birthplace. She laughs at my food ideas as she knows that there is no such thing as "Sarson ka sag rice" in Indian cuisine or lots of other nonsensical stuff that I think of. It is something a mad Asian girl like me would do...lol. Although there had been some bad reputation on Mustard oil and even banned in some places, I could not help liking the taste of it. And so does Moni...:)... Lets just say we both love "living on the edge"..

The measurements below are just an estimate because I do not usually measure. I just eyeball everything and put the amount "as I feel its right"...lol. So you have to adjust to your liking too. Tough one but thats the way it is. To me cooking is about "what feels right"...if it is too rigid, its no fun.

Ingredients for Sarson Ka Sag Rice

1 tbsp Mustard oil

1 tsp Ghee (optional)

1/2 tsp mustard seeds(optional)

1 tsp cumin seeds1 piece dried chilli

4 cardamom pods (optional)

1 tsp finely minced ginger

1 tbsp chopped green chillies

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

1 to 2 cups basmati rice, soaked, washed and drained

2 cups water

2 cups chopped spinach and mustard green

This is essentially a pulao so it starts with heating the oil and ghee (if using). Splutter the mustard seeds (if using) together with the cumin seeds (essential). Throw in the dried chilli, cardamom pods, green chillis, minced ginger and turmeric powder. You really have to open wide your kitchen windows as the spices will heat up with a smoky aroma. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Saute together with the drained rice till nicely blended. Add water and let the rice boil till almost done. Gently fold in the vegetables and let them all finish cooking covered in the pot. When all the water has absorbed, gently fluff the rice, turn off the gas and keep covered. Leave it alone for 10 minutes and serve hot. Oh you may throw in Urad dhal or cashew nuts but I don't bother because I eat this rice with Chinese Kung Pao chicken which already has got loads of cashew nuts in them. Sarson ka sag rice with Chinese Kung Pau Chicken....Indian Chinese combo which works for me.

Cherry Tomato Rice

Ingredients for Cherry Tomato Rice:
1 tbsp ghee, butter or oil
1 tbsp yellow lentil - washed, soaked, drained (optional)
1 tsp cumin
1 pc dried chilli
Few pieces curry leaves (optional)
1 small pc chopped onion or shallot
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 - 1 tsp dried chilli powder
1/2 cup slightly crushed Cherry Tomatoes
Pinch (less than 1/2 tsp) asofoetida/hing (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup Whole Cherry tomatoes
Some finely chopped mint or basil leaves (optional)
2 - 4 cups cooked Basmati rice
　
Method:
Heat some oil. You may use mustard oil if you are adventurous...lol...Add the red chilli ,splutter the cumin, add yellow lentils and add asafoetida/hing (if using).
Fry a little until nice colour and fragrant. Add curry leaves and chopped onions and fry till translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and fry till fragrant. Add dried chilli powder and slightly crushed cherry tomatoes. Add salt & pepper to taste. Add the mint or basil leaves (if using). You may use dried if fresh is not available.
Fry for 5 minutes. Add whole cherry tomatoes and rice. Mixed gently and serve hot with grilled paneer or haloumi.

"Peshawari" Vegetable Biryani

Not sure if this is authentic Peshawari, as I am not Pakistani but I used this "Landi Kortal biryani" recipe by Shireen Anwar from http://www.khanapakana.com , with a little adaptation due to what was available in my kitchen. I must say I truly enjoyed and loved it to bits.

"Landi Kortal" is a location within the Khyber pass at the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. And the Landi Kortal Biryani is a kind of Biryani cooked by the tribes there...lol..food really takes me places, learned things which I never dreamt of. Shireen used chicken and chickpeas in her recipe. But I used mushrooms and brocoli instead.
I am not a vegetarian but I just felt that simple flavours from vegetables allows more room for me to enjoy the subtle fragrance of the rice.

 I tweaked the recipe a little as I had ran out of coriander powder and used cardamom powder instead. I also added tomato puree and yoghurt for a mild tang.
I like the Peshawari style biryani because the spices, spring onions and herbs makes it aromatic without overpoweringly spicy.

Ingredients for the Rice layer:
1 1/2 cups Basmati Rice (soaked, rinsed and drained)
2 strands Pandan/screwpine leaves (tie into a knot)
1 Cinammon stick
3 Cardamom pods
2 Cloves
Small bunch of mint & coriander leaves
1 tsp salt
4-5 cups Water

Ingredients for the Vegatable layer:
1 tbsp ghee
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 cup spring onions chopped
1-2 green chillis chopped
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 cup Mushroom sliced
1 cup brocoli or vegetable of choice chopped
1 tsp tomato puree and some cherry tomatoes
1-2 tsp plain yoghurt
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup coriander leaves
Salt & pepper to taste

Method:
For the rice, add all the ingredients for the rice (except the rice) to the water and boil till your kitchen smells heavenly...lol. The reason for boiling is to really flavour the water so the aromatic water will flavour the rice. (Cooking is chemistry, physics and art all in one.) I suppose you can use kewra or rose water to flavour too. I saw some at the supermarket but they were not from a natural source so I have doubts about using them.

Add the drained rice and half-cooked or three-quarter cooked them. Do not fully cooked. Drained and put aside. For the vegetable, heat the ghee and throw in the cumin seeds till it splutter. Add the onions and ginger garlic paste. Add the green chillis, turmeric, cardamom powder, spring onions, mint and coriander leaves. Mix them well and add the tomato and yoghurt. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the vegetables, mix well but do not fully cooked to maintain the crunch of the brocoli especially. Turn off the gas and do the layering of vegetable mixture and rice. Cover tightly and cook it on low for about half an hour or until done to your liking. Fluff them gently, turn off heat and let rest for 10 minutes before serving with raita.

Easy Brocoli Jeera Rice

I had this craving for Jeera rice and stir fry Brocoli but just could not afford the time to do both. I needed to cook quickly, clean up, get dressed and be on time for a meeting all within an hour..lol..

So the answer to this would be to do a one pot of Brocoli Jeera rice...saved time without compromising on the flavours that I was looking for. 

Jeera Rice
1 cup Basmathi rice (washed, soaked, drained)
1 tbsp ghee, butter or oil
1 tsp cumin (Jeera)
1 pc dried chilli
1 pc chopped green chilli
1 small chopped onion
Some mint & coriander leaves
Salt & pepper to taste
2 cups water
1 cup loosely chopped brocoli or any vegetable (optional)
1/2 cup green peas (optional)
Some fried onions (optional)

Method:
Heat oil and splutter the cumin. Add the dried red chilli, green chilli and chopped onions. Saute until fragrant. Add some mint and coriander leaves. Add salt and the drained rice. Fry gently so that rice is well coated with spice. Add water twice the amount of measured rice and bring to boil. Half way through the cooking, throw in the brocoli (if using). You may use green peas and add some fried onions if you like. Lower the flame and cook covered. When water has been mostly absorbed, fluff gently and turn off gas. Keep covered for 10 minutes before serving. Had this with spicy chutney and potato crisps.

Patin Biryani

Patin is replaceable with other fish such as mackerel, threadfin, tuna or even salmon.

For the Rice:
1-2 cups Basmati rice
4-5 cups water
2 strands Pandan leaves (tied)
1 Cinammon stick
4 Cardamom pods
3 Cloves
1 handful of Mint & Coriander leaves
Salt & Pepper to taste




For the fish:
1/2 tbsp melted ghee, butter or olive oil
1/2 tbsp mustard oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
Some whole garam masala
Pinch (less than 1/2 tsp) asafoetida/hing (optional)
1 pc lemon grass or kaffir lime leaves (optional)
1 pc chopped onion
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tbsp Spring Onions (optional)
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
1 tsp dried Mint or 1 tbsp chopped fresh Mint
Salt & Pepper to taste
Pinch Saffron slightly roasted and crushed with 2 tbsp warm milk
(alternatively may use turmeric powder)
2 cups fish (deboned & thick cubed)

Method:
For the rice, add all the ingredients for the rice (except the rice) to the water and boil till your kitchen smells delicious...
Add the drained rice and half-cooked to three-quarter cooked. Do not fully cooked. Drained and put aside.
For the Fish Masala, heat the ghee & mustard oil and throw in the cumin seeds till it splutter, then the whole garam masala and the hing, lemon grass or kaffir lime leaves(if using). Add the onions and ginger garlic paste. Add the chillis, garam masala powder, turmeric powder or crushed saffron (if using), lime juice and yoghurt. Add the cherry tomatoes, mint and coriander leaves and chopped spring onions (if using). Salt and pepper to taste. Add the fish and fry gently for five minutes. Layer the rice on top of the fish masala. Cover tightly and cook it on low for about half an hour or until done depending on your cooker. It should be just right, not too dry or watery. Fluff/mix gently and serve with salad or raita.

Egg Biryani

Ingredients for the Rice layer:
1 1/2 cups Basmati Rice (soaked, rinsed and drained)
2 strands Pandan/screwpine leaves (tie into a knot)
1 Cinammon stick
3 Cardamom pods
2 Cloves
Small bunch of mint & coriander leaves
1 tsp salt
6 cups Water



Ingredients for the Egg Masala:
1 tbsp ghee, butter or oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
Pieces of whole garam masala (bay leaves, cinammon stick, cloves, cardamom, star anise)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 green chilli chopped
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp cardamom powder or garam masala powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder or pinch of crushed saffron
2 tsp plain yoghurt
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup coriander leaves
Salt & pepper to taste
4-5 boiled eggs

Method:
For the rice, add all the ingredients for the rice (except the rice) to the water and boil till your kitchen smells delicious...
Add the drained rice and half-cooked to three-quarter cooked. Do not fully cooked. Drained and put aside.
For the Egg Masala, heat the ghee and throw in the cumin seeds till it splutter, then the whole garam masala. Add the onions and ginger garlic paste. Add the chillis, cardamom powder, turmeric powder or crushed saffron (if using), lime juice and yoghurt. Add the mint and coriander leaves. Add about 2- 3 tabelspoons of water if mixture is dry. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix it well with the boiled eggs. Turn off the gas and do the layering of egg masala and rice, starting with rice. Cover tightly and cook it on low for about half an hour or until done to your liking.
Fluff gently and serve with salad or raita.

Note: For a spicier masala, you may add more garam masala powder, coriander powder or chilli powder. For a richer masala, add more yoghurt.

Patin Sandwich

After tasting the steamed patin, I thought it would do well in a sandwich for now. I have not heard of anyone making a Patin sandwich, honestly I don't think I ever would. Anywayz I would like to give it a shot.

For the Patin Sandwich:
1 cup cooked Patin fish, flaked
Some Chopped chillis, pickled green chillis or pinch of chilli flakes
1 tsp lime or lemon juice
1 tbsp mayonnaise (optional)
Sliced onion
Sliced boiled eggs
Some Lettuce
Bread
Some Mustard & or Butter

Mixed the fish with the tiny bitsy chopped chillis or pickled green chillis. You don't want to bite into big chunks of chillis, just a hint of heat is plenty. Add some lime juice, mayonnaise (if using), salt and pepper to taste.

Good bread makes a good sandwich. I used brown oat bread. Assemble the fillings between slices of bread, lettuce (washed and dried), fish and topped with sliced onions. Oh don't forget the mustard, Dijon is too mild for me, I prefer the "real McCoy" like English Mustard or even Wasabi.

Patin Fish

I saw this fish at the market and thought it looked kind of "unusual".  Essentially, it looked like a catfish, except that it was lighter in colour, almost silvery.

According to the fishmonger this fish has a "muddy" smell and I would need to cleanse it with lime juice and water. Well, he was the expert and I needed all the advice I could get. He helped me to debone and remove whatever else there was to be removed.




Left with the flesh, I brought the fish home, soaked them in lime juice water and rinsed them. To get to know this fish better, I thought I should just steam them. So with some lime juice, pinch of tumeric powder, salt, pepper, olive oil, a piece of bruised lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf mix, I steamed the fish on high. Six minutes later, I had steamed Patin starring at me in the steamer.

Saffron Raisin Rice

Ingredients for Saffron Raisin Rice:
2 tbsp Butter or Ghee
1 Cinammon stick
3 Cardamom pods
1 tsp Garam masala (optional-I use cardamom powder)
1/2 cup Raisins
1/2 cup Cashew nuts
Salt & Pepper
1 cup Basmati rice
2 cups Water
Pinch Saffron mix with some warm milk



Usually I would use olive oil, but in this case, butter would be better. You may use ghee also...But there is something about raisins and butter, they simply have great chemistry together.

Saute the cinammon stick, cardamom, raisins and cashew nuts in butter. Add salt, rice and water. Bring to a boil, cook until all the water has been absorbed. Drizzle the saffron mixture. Cover and cook until rice is done. Fluff gently and keep rice covered for 10 minutes. Serve with your favourite meat and vegetables.

Noorizhan's Vegetable Pulao

I could still remember Noorizhan giving me vegetable pulao, which she had made for Iftar in 2008, like it was yesterday. It was a long day at work and running late, so there was not much else that I could do that day. Alhamdulillah for friends like Noorizhan. The pulao was gorgeous and I absolutely enjoyed it. This is an attempt to produce that same pulao, based on what I have in the kitchen. I may have missed out some ingredients and it may not taste as good. But I hope it came close. Insha'Allah I shall see you soon. You are always in my doa.

Ingredients for Noorizhan's Vegetable Pulao:
1 cup Basmati Rice (soaked, washed & drained)
2 cups water
2 cups mix vegetables chopped as you like them
(I used runner beans, carrots and potatoes)
1 tbsp ghee
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 cinammon stick
1 bay leaf
3 cardamom pods
5-6 shallots
1 tsp ginger garlic paste (optional)
1 tsp garam masala (optional)
1 whole green chlli slit one side (chopped if you prefer the heat)
1 cup chopped mint and coriander leaves (cilantro)
1 tsp lime juice
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil and fry the potatoes until brown. Set aside. Add more oil if needed, fry the cumin seeds, followed by cinammon, bay leaf, cardamoms. Add shallots and green chilli. Add ginger garlic paste and garam masala (if using). Fry until fragrant. Add lime juice, chopped mint and coriander leaves. Add salt and pepper, add all the vegetables including the potatoes. Do not cook them at this point, just stir once to mix them nicely and add rice and water.

The vegetables will cook together with the rice. Cook covered until all the water has been absorbed. Turn off the gas and fluff rice gently. Keep covered for at least 10 mins before serving. The vegetables should still be crunchy. This is a light and healthy vegetarian meal on its own. Or you may serve it as a side dish with your favourite meat.


　

 

Fish Day

I always find cooking fish a challenge. The timing has to be just right. If I overcook the fish, it gets too tough; and if I undercook it, well.....that's dodgy.... So I keep telling myself that the only way for me to get over this hang-up is to cook fish, as much as I possibly could. And in the process, learn more.

Lentil Rice



The Arabs call it Mujadara and in Indian recipes it is known as Kichiri. It is delicious by any name and I call it simply Lentil Rice. There is more masala added in the Indian recipes than the Arabic recipes. Some Arabic recipes call for chicken bouillon or maggi cube which I do not use due to the chemical additives. It also detracts from the natural flavour of the lentils which has its own unique "umami" taste.

Ingredients for Lentil Rice:
1/2 cup lentil (soaked, washed & drained)
Ghee , Butter or Olive oil
5-6 cardamom pods (crushed)
Some mint and coriander leaves (whole leaves do not chop)
1 tbsp chopped onions
1 cup basmati rice (soaked, washed & drained)
Salt & pepper to your taste
2 cups water
1 tbsp sliced fried onions

Method:
Saute the drained lentils in oil. Add the cardamoms (crushed a little) and saute until the lentils turn slightly brown. You may use other masala such as cinammon, cumin or coriander powder. I just like the subtle fragrance of the cardamoms. Add the chopped onions and leaves; and saute till fragrant. Add the drained rice, salt, pepper and water.

Cook until water has evaporated. Add the fried onions. Fluff the rice gently, turn off the gas, keep covered for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve it with your favourite stir fry, salad or curry. In this recipe, the lentils will be somewhat crunchy against the soft but not mushy rice. I lke my rice pretty separated, not mushy. Please add more water and cook longer if you prefer mushy rice.

Basmathi Pusa1121 Jasmine Brand

There are various good brands of Basmathi rice such as Faiza, Moghul and Maharajah. But I like Basmathi Jasmine brand. Perhaps there are other better brands which I have not stumbled upon. As for now, this is the best.

Basmati Rice

I like Basmati rice...it is so fragrant and versatile....pure pleasure cooking it
I use the draining method to make Plain Basmati Rice.

To go with spicy curries such as Rogan Josh, Vindaloos, Chapala Pulsu and very spicy Malay Gulai chilli curry or even Thai curry. Before cooking, soak the rice for about 30 minutes.

If you are using 1 cup of rice, boil 3 cups of water. I usually let the water boil for 5 minutes. Wash the soaked rice and drained them.

Throw them in the boiling water (pot uncovered) and watch the rice slowly begin to dance in the water as the water temperature rises back up to the boiling point. You will notice that the length of the grains would increase somewhat.

Once the grains increase long enough, turn off the gas and drain away most of the water. The rice would still be slightly wet. Cover the pot and turn the gas back on. Let the rice cook for another 5 minutes on low until quite dry.Turn off the gas and fluff gently. Keep the rice covered for at least 10 minutes. The rice will finish cooking in its steam.


Basmati Rice

 I usually use a rice cooker but you may use your pot or cooker of choice, adjust the timing if you need to. It should work as well.