Carrot Rice (Nasi Carrot)

This delicious Carrot Rice pairs really well with the Ayam Masak Merah and not to mention, it is extremely easy to make as well.

CARROT RICE (NASI CARROT)

* This recipe serves 5-6

INGREDIENTS:

Rice	3 cups
Carrot, grated	2 cups (approx. 2 medium carrots)
Onions	3 (1 spanish onion + 2 red onion)
Garlic	5 cloves
Ginger	1 inch piece
Screwpine leaves/Pandan leaves	2, knotted
Kurma curry powder	3 tbsp
Cubed chicken stock	3/4 cube
Cinnamon	1 stick, broken into pieces
Star anise	3
Cloves	5-8
Cardamom	8-10
Ghee	4 tbsp
Water	3 3/4 cup
Evaporated milk	1/4 cup
Salt to taste

METHOD:

1.   Rinse the rice and keep it aside.

2.   Grate the carrots.

3.   Grind the onion, garlic and ginger with a little water to make a paste.

4.   In a pan, melt the ghee and once the ghee is melted, add the cinnamon, star anise, cloves and cardamom and fry for about 1 minute.

5.   Add in the onion paste, knotted screwpine leaves, kurma curry powder and cubed chicken stock and continue to fry for about 3  to 5 minutes until fragrant.

6.   Stir in the rinsed rice and fry for about another minute or so.

7.   Lastly, add in the grated carrot and continue to fry for about a minute.

8.   Transfer the content of the pan into a rice cooker. Add water, evaporated milk and salt and mix well. Cook as usual.

NOTE:

1.   If you can't get screwpine leaves, you may substitute it with bay leaves.

2.   If you are cooking the rice on the stove, cook until the rice has absorbed all the liquid.

3.   You may omit the cubed chicken stock to make this as a vegetarian dish.

Coconut Date Fritters (Cucur Buah Kurma Kelapa)

Today marks the first day of the Ramadan month and one of the popular food items this month would be dates/buah kurma. This recipe is really easy to make and very suitable for buka puasa/breaking fast.

Start by deseeding the dates and cutting it into strips. Really sweet dates are best used for these fritter and you would not need to add any sugar.

In a bowl, combine the self raising flour, atta flour and salt and make a well.

Slowly add some water to make a thick batter.

To the batter add the dates and mix well. Add some sugar if dates are not sweet and combine well.

Add the grated coconut and give it a good mix.

In a wok/pan, heat some oil. Once the oil is hot, spoon in about 1 tbsp of the batter into the hot oil. Be sure not to over crowd the pan. Spoon in only about 3-4 fritters at a time. Fry the fritters for about a minute or less and flip it to the other side. 

Once the fritters have turned golden brown on both sides, remove from the pan and place it on kitchen roll to absorb the excess oil and serve hot.

Selamat berbuka puasa to all my muslim brothers and sisters!

COCONUT DATE FRITTERS (CUCUR BUAH KURMA KELAPA)

+PRINT RECIPE HERE

INGREDIENTS:

10-12 dates/buah kurma, deseeded and sliced

1/4 cup grated coconut,packed

1/2 cup self raising flour

1/2 cup atta/whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp salt

Sugar to taste, if needed

1/2 cup water or as needed

Oil to fry

METHOD:

1) Deseed the dates and slice them. Do not slice them too thin, it should be of medium thickness. Keep aside.

2) In a bowl, combine the self raising flour, atta flour and salt and make a well.

3) Slowly add some water to make a thick batter.

4) To the batter add the dates and mix well. Add some sugar if dates are not sweet and combine well.

5) Add the grated coconut and give it a good mix.

6) Heat the oil in a pan, in medium low heat.

7) Once the oil in the pan is hot, spoon in about 1 tbsp of the batter in to the hot oil. Repeat this to make a few more fritters at a time.

8) Fry the fritters for 1 minutes or less. Flip the fritters to the other side and continue to fry for another 1 minute or less, or till golden brown.

9) Once the fritters turn golden brown, remove from oil and place the fritter on kitchen roll to absorb the excess oil.

NOTES:

1) The self raising flour can be replaced with plain or all purpose flour. If this is done, add 1/2 tsp of baking powder.

2) The atta flour can be replaced with whole wheat flour. If you can't find atta or whole wheat flour, you need not use a combination of flours. You can just use self raising/plain/all purpose flour.

4) Make sure to add the water in small amounts so that you don't end up with a runny batter. If you added too much of water, just add a bit more flour to make the batter thick again.

5) Make sure the oil is hot enough before you fry the fritters so that your fritter does not absorb excess oil and becomes soggy.

6) Make only about 4 fritter at a time and do not overcrowd the pan.

* This recipe yields 18-20 fritters

Linking this to: http://www.thelady8home.com/2013/08/16/weekend-gala-dinner-extravaganza-is-back-link-up/

Onion Fritters (Cucur Bawang)

This is an extremely simple recipe and you can whip up a batch of these fritters in no time for a savoury and tasty tea time snack.

When I make fritters I usually use a combination of plain/self raising flour and whole wheat/atta flour. For these onion fritters I used equal amount of self raising flour and atta flour. To that flour mixture I add the sliced onion and some salt and gave it a good mix.

Add some water to make a batter. Make sure the batter is not too runny. If you have accidentally added more water, just add extra flour to make the batter thick again.

Heat some oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, spoon in about 1 tbsp of the batter into the hot oil. Be sure not to over crowd the pan. Spoon in only about 3-4 fritters at a time. Fry the fritters for about a minute and flip it to the other side. 

Once the fritters have turned golden brown on both sides, remove from the pan and place it on kitchen roll to absorb the excess oil. Serve hot with ketchup or chilli sauce.

ONION FRITTERS (CUCUR BAWANG)

+PRINT RECIPE HERE
INGREDIENTS:

2 red onion, sliced

1/2 cup self raising flour

1/2 cup atta flour

Salt to taste

3/4-1 cup water

1 cup oil, to fry

METHOD:

1) In a bowl, combine the two types of flour, sliced anions and salt.

2) Add the water bit by bit to make a thick batter.

3) Heat the oil in a pan, in medium low heat.

4) Once the oil in the pan is hot, spoon in about 1 tbsp of the batter in to the hot oil. Repeat this to make a few more fritters at a time.

5) Fry the fritters for 1 minutes. Flip the fritters to the other side and continue to fry for another 1 minute, or till golden brown.

6) Once the fritters turn golden brown, remove from oil and place the fritter on kitchen roll to absorb the excess oil.

7) Serve hot with ketchup or chilli sauce.

NOTES:

1) The self raising flour can be replaced with plain or all purpose flour. If this is done, add 1/2 tsp of baking powder.

2) The atta flour can be replaced with whole wheat flour. If you can't find atta or whole wheat flour, you need not use a combination of flours. You can just use self raising/plain/all purpose flour.

4) Make sure to add the water in small amounts so that you don't end up with a runny batter. If you added too much of water, just add a bit more flour to make the batter thick again.

5) Make sure the oil is hot enough before you fry the fritters so that your fritter does not absorb excess oil and becomes soggy.

6) Make only about 4 fritter at a time and do not overcrowd the pan.
   
   *This recipe yields 16-20 fritters.

Thick Chicken Curry With Greek Yogurt

This is a very simple chicken curry recipe and I've added a little greek yogurt in place of coconut cream to make it nice and creamy without the added calories from coconut cream.

I started off by making into paste the onions (I used a mix of spanish and red), garlic and ginger. 

Go on and puree one tomato.

Peel and cube one potato and keep aside.

Prepare all the spices ingredients.

In a pan, heat some oil and fry all the spices ingredients till fragrant.

Add the onion, garlic and ginger paste and fry for 1 minute or so. 

Stir in the pureed tomato and continue to fry for another minute.

Add the chicken pieces and cubed potatoes and mix well.

To that add some Baba's meat curry powder and combine well. Add some water and mix well. Add salt to taste and cover the pan. Let it simmer in medium low heat for 30 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.

Lastly, add some greek style yogurt and continue to cook for a minute or so.

Remove from heat and serve hot with rice or chapathi.

THICK CHICKEN CURRY WITH GREEK YOGURT

+PRINT RECIPE HERE

INGREDIENTS:

To make paste:

4 onions (2 spanish, 2 red)

5 cloves garlic

1 inch ginger

To puree:

2 tomatoes

Spices:

1 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick

3 star anise

5 cloves

1/4 tsp cumin, heaped

1/2 tsp fennel

4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed

3 dry chilies

Other ingredients:

500g chicken, cut into pieces
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 1/2 tbsp Baba's meat curry powder, heaped

4 1/2 cups water

1 tbsp greek style yogurt (heaped), or plain yogurt

3-4 tbsp oil

Salt to taste.

METHOD:

1) Make into paste all the to make paste ingredients.

2) Puree 2 tomatoes.

3) In a pan heat 3-4 tbsp oil and fry all the spices ingredients for a minute till fragrant.

4) Add the onion, garlic and ginger paste and fry for 1-2 minutes till fragrant.

5) Add the pureed tomatoes nd continue to fry for another minute.

6) Add the chicken pieces and cubed potatoes and mix well.

7) Add the Baba's meat curry powder and combine well.

8) Add water and salt to taste and mix well. Cover the pan and let the curry simmer in medium low heat until the potatoes are fork tender.

9) Once the chicken and potatoes are done, stir in the greek style yogurt and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes.

10) Remove from heat and serve hot with rice or chapathi.

Simple Sardine Sambal

When I've no idea on what to cook, I resort to making sardine sambal. It's tasty and very quick to make. I just use canned sardines in tomato sauce which is easily available at the grocers. 

Before making the sambal cut into cubes a potato, boil it and keep aside.

In a pan heat some oil and fry sliced onion and garlic till soft and fragrant. 

Then add a few dried chillies and curry leaves. Fry for about a minute.

Add chilli powder and fry for another minute or so.

Stir in the whole content of the canned sardine. Break the sardines into smaller chunks using the ladle. Add some water and cook for another 5 minutes.

Lastly add the boiled potatoes and tamarind juice and mix well. Continue to cook for another 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and sprinkle some chopped coriander. Serve warm with rice or chapathi.

SIMPLE SARDINE SAMBAL

+PRINT RECIPE HERE
INGREDIENTS:

1 small canned sardine

1 potato, peeled, cubed and boiled

1 onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, sliced

3 dried chillies

A sprig of curry leaves

3 tbsp tamarind juice

1 tsp chilli powder

2 tbsp oil

1/2 cup water

Salt to taste

METHOD:

1) Peel one potato. Cube and boil it till fork tender. Keep aside.

2) In a pan heat 2 tbsp oil and fry the sliced onion and garlic for 1-2 minutes till soft and fragrant.

3) Add the dried chillies and curry leaves and continue to fry for another minute.

4) Stir in chilli powder and fry for another minute till the raw smell is gone.

5) Add the canned sardines and break the sardines into smaller chunks using the ladle.

6) Add 1/2 cup of water and salt to taste and cook for 5-7 minutes.

7) Stir in the boiled potato and tamarind juice and cook for another 2 minutes.

8) Remove from heat and sprinkle some chopped coriander. Serve with rice or chapathi. 

NOTE:
The tamarind juice used in this recipe can be substituted with 1 finely chopped tomato. If this is done, add the tomato when frying the chillies and curry leaves.

 *This recipe serves 2-3