Recipes For Cooking

Recipe source Malaysian Cooking by Carol Selva Rajah

Kari Ayam recipe

Ingredients
Chicken pieces with bone - 500 gms
Potatoes peeled and diced - 2 nos
Onion chopped - 1 no
Curry leaves - few
Ginger & Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Thick coconut milk - 500 ml
Sugar - 1 tsp ( optional)
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

For Curry powder
( roast and grind below ingredients to powder)
Coriander seeds - 3 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Dried red chillies - 4 to 5 nos
Peppercorns - 1 tsp
Cinnamon stick - 2" piece

Fried onions to garnish (optional)

Malaysian Chicken Curry

Method
1. Heat oil in a pan, when hot add onions, curry leaves and saute till onions browned.
2. Add ginger & garlic paste and saute till raw smell leaves.
3. Add potatoes, chicken pieces and curry powder to pan. Saute until chicken turns pale.
4. Add 1 cup coconut milk and 1/4 cup water to the pan, simmer chicken covered on medium heat for 15 mins.
5. Uncover pan add rest of coconut milk, sugar and salt, simmer curry uncovered for few more mins until curry thickened.
Serve hot chicken curry garnished with fried onion rings and drizzle lemon juice on top.

Simple ingredients - amazing taste. I was totally blown away by this dish. I was expecting it to be good, since it came from Americas Test Kitchen, but I wasnt expecting it to be that good. But when you stick to the basics - garlic, olive oil, a little lemon juice and parsley, you cant go wrong. This was sooo tasty, especially with some good leftover Italian bread (doctored up with a little butter, Parm. cheese, and garlic) and a big salad; it made the perfect comfort food meal. Definitely put this one on your list of recipes to try! Just dont do it for a dinner party, because your breath with smell very strongly of garlic. :)

  In 2008 when this loaf was first posted, I wasnt aware of many cooking and baking challenges, in fact I doubt if there were many.  However since then they have multiplied to the stage where I struggle to get them all done!  That and the fact that we still have a ton of baking left over from Christmas and are trying not to eat too much of it at once means that I know Im not going to get anything made for Tea Time Treats this month so Im resurrecting this post as my entry!
 This month (January 2012) the theme is Sweet Pastries and Breads  and its being hosted by Karen at Lavender and Lovage


 Im afraid this recipe is all in imperial measurements but you can find a convertion table at Delias website  here

Banana & Raisin Loaf
4oz butter
4oz sugar (can use either white or brown or a mixture)
Beat these together
Add 2 eggs
Then add
3 or 4 ripe bananas (you could leave one for the end and mash it less)
Sift and fold in
8oz self-raising flour
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
5oz Raisins


Bake at 180C for 45 minutes


Its quite possibly the easiest recipe and it always turns out well, even people who dont like banana loaf tend to enjoy this one.

Original post
I made Carolyns Banana and Raisin Loaf again. Yes, I had those three black bananas in the fruit bowl! This is a very forgiving recipe as it is supposed to be baked at 180C, however I was also making a cake for my mums birthday and it needed to be in at 150C, so I just put the loaf at the top of the oven (still hotter even with the fan) and left it in for longer. I even managed not to burn it this time, so maybe longer at a lower temperature is better!

I received a phone call last week from an old high school friend that I have not seen in eight years. She was coming to town. Yeah! So we decided to do brunch. I had a great time getting ready for her visit and preparing a menu.
I know quiche is a popular brunch item, but I cannot bring myself to eat it. I have not found a recipe yet that I really like so I decided to come up with my own brunch dish.












I cooked up some breakfast sausage, 1 pound, from our pig that we bought from a local 4-Her.






















I am linking this post to Fireflies and JellyBeans Show Off your Stuff #49 Here:

These quick, easy, moist, fudgy, addictive peanut butter brownies are the perfect accompaniment to a big glass of cold milk.
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

Cream the peanut butter and butter together; beat in the sugars, eggs and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the flour, baking powder and salt until well mixed, then fold in the miniature chocolate chips. Spread into a 9" x 9" greased baking dish.

Bake in preheated 350 oven for about 30 minutes, but start checking for doneness (toothpick test) at 25 minutes. They will be done when the top springs back a little, dont over bake.

I cant believe that  it is time to start thinking about Christmas baking!! It is my favorite time of year, when I can bake with wild abandon and it all goes into the freezer for holiday cookie boxes.  Do YOU give cookie boxes as gifts? How do you present the cookies? I usually just put my baked goods in a decorated large foil pan, but Im looking for something a little different this year...maybe more festive? Any ideas?

I was lucky to find some quinces for sale last week, although I suspect the season is drawing to a close. They are not easy to find, anyway. However, if you are so fortunate as to get your hands on some, this is an excellent thing to do with them.

Since this is a rich and special dish, you may wish to serve it to company. Parts of it can be done in advance, which would make that quite possible. Cook the quinces, shallots and chicken, and put them in one covered container. Simmer the cider and seasonings, strain and keep in another covered container. Then, when ready to proceed, mix them in your pan and cook for the 20 minutes (a little longer to allow them to reheat) and add the cream at the end as usual.

4 servings
1 1/4 hours - 1 hour prep time


6 large shallots
2 large or 3 medium quinces
2 tablespoons butter
500 grams (1 pound) skinless, boneless chicken pieces
1 1/2 cups apple cider
6 pods of cardamom
4 slices of ginger, each the size of a quarter
2 teaspoons coriander seed, ground
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
the juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup light (5% or 10%) cream
1 tablespoon arrowroot or cornstarch

Peel the shallots and cut them in halves or quarters lengthwise. Peel, quarter, core and slice the quinces. Make sure the chicken is in bite-sized pieces.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet. Put in the quince slices, and cook them gently for a minute or two. Add the shallots and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until both are softened and slightly browned.

Meanwhile, put the quince peelings into a pot with the cardamom pods and peeled ginger slices. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes, while the quinces, shallots and chicken cook.

When the quinces and shallots are softened and browned, remove them from the pan. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter, and brown the chicken pieces well. Return the quinces and shallots to the pan, and strain the apple cider into it as well, discarding the solids. Grind and add the coriander seed, and add the salt and saffron threads, rubbed between your fingers to break them up a bit. Add the lemon juice.

Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring regularly, until slightly thickened. Mix the arrowroot or cornstarch into the cold cream until no lumps remain. Stir it into the chicken mixture, and cook until thickened, just a minute or two. Do not let it boil once the cream goes in or it may curdle.

Serve with rice.




Last year at this time I made Christmas Plum Pudding. As I noted, I was late in getting them going, but they were perfectly fine. Its not too late!

I was surprised and pleased to find some Devils Rock blue cheese from Thornloe Dairy last week, at Zehrs of all places. Since its also pear season, I immediately thought of the classic combination of pears and blue cheese. Since you can maybe still find some romaine lettuce if you are lucky, I put them in a salad.


I was out of walnuts, which is what I think of when I think of pears and blue cheese, but I had some pumpkin seeds and they did very well instead. But really, any nuts will be fine. Use your judgement as to whether they need toasting or not.

The 2 of us ate this as our lunch, but it would probably serve 6 as a side salad.

2 to 6 servings
20 minutes prep time


Make the Dressing:
1 tablespoon apple butter
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons walnut or almond oil
3 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

Whisk or shake the ingredients together in a small bowl or jam jar.

Make the Salad:
1/2 cup walnuts or pumpkin seeds
1/2 of a large head of romaine lettuce
2 medium pears
1/3 cup dried cranberries
50 to 75 grams (2 or 3 ounces) crumbled blue cheese

Toast the nuts or seeds in a dry skillet until lightly browned, then turn them onto a plate to cool.

Wash, trim and tear up the lettuce into bite-sized pieces, and arrange it over serving plates. Peel, core and chop the pears and divide them over the plates of lettuce. Sprinkle over the cranberries and nuts or seeds, and top with the crumbled blue cheese.

Drizzle over the dressing and serve at once.

Melting Moments are a classic biscuit/cookie that are really simple to make and you generally find that you have everything you need to make them. They are supposed to be topped with a piece of cherry like the ones in the Tea Time Treats badge below, however I didnt have any glace cherries in my baking supplies, at first I thought Id leave them plain, then decided that everything is better with a little chocolate added so added a chocolate chunk to each biscuit. If Id thought about it before I might even have replace some of the flour with cocoa powder, next time!
The theme for this months Tea Time Treats is Flapjacks, Oats and Traybakes
Tea Time Treats is a monthly blog event run by Karen at Lavender and Lovage and Kate at What Kate Baked
Melting Moments (makes 18-20)
75g (3oz) soft margarine
75g (3oz) caster sugar
half a beaten egg
a few drops vanilla extract
25g (1oz) rolled oats
100g (4oz) self-raising flour
a handful of rolled oats to coat
50g (2oz) dark chocolate, cut into chunks
1. Heat the oven to 160C, 325F, Gas 3.
2. Grease to baking sheets or cut baking parchment to fit
3. Beat together the margarine and sugar until creamy, then work in the egg and vanilla extract.
4. Add the oats and flour and work until you have a soft dough.
5. Divide the mixture into about 20 pieces and roll into balls, you might find this easier if you slightly wet your hands.
6. Roll the cookie dough balls in rolled oats and place 5 cm (2in) apart on the baking sheets. Flatten each piece of dough and place a chunk of dark chocolate in the centre of each.
7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the biscuits are pale golden brown.
8. Cool on a wire rack