Thursday, October 25, 2012

White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookies

White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookies


My husband LOVES white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies and I decided to bake some for him. With one of my friend’s help, she introduced me to this web site ‘Taste.com.au’ and that was how I found this lovely cookie recipe. There were quite a few white chocolate and macadamia nut cookie recipes in this web site but this particularly one I used was my favourite. It was written by Dixie Elliott from Super Food Ideas – August 2004, Page 47.

The only change I made in the recipe was to bake my cookies for about 18 – 20 minutes as I was concerned that the cookie dough was not cooked thoroughly. If you like your cookies to be soft and chewy, 15 minutes of baking time would be ideal for the biscuits.

Try this recipe at www.taste.com.au/recipes/8050/chocolate+macadamia+bisucits. It is a quick and easy to follow cookie recipe. Have fun trying it out!





Saturday, October 6, 2012

Curry Pastry Puffs


Homemade curry pastry puffs




Curry puffs filled with potatoes and eggs
I was craving for some spicy curry puffs over the weekend and decided to make some on my own. I would like to emphasise that this is not the traditional curry puffs that we have in Singapore and Malaysia. Rather, this is an improvised homemade version of those curry puffs. I call them “Curry Pastry Puffs” instead as I used the ready-to-be-baked puff pastry sheets (from the supermarket) in my recipe. While these puffs cannot be compared to the famous Old Chang Kee curry puffs (a popular curry puff chain in Singapore), they were nevertheless good enough to satisfy my craving for spicy food.

The potato curry paste (filling of the puffs) was a success and I was very happy with the outcome. The diced potatoes were pan fried over medium to high heat and later simmered over a low heat for about 15 minutes. Simmering the potatoes helped to retain their shape, soften and prevented them from breaking apart and forming into a mushy paste. Also, if you have a preference for less spicy food, you might like to omit the dried red chillies in the recipe, and use 2 tablespoons of the curry paste instead of 3.

For the more health conscious, this recipe might be suitable for you as the puffs were baked in the oven instead of deep fried in oil. This will save us from consuming a few extra calories!




Recipe for the Curry Pastry Puffs

Ingredients:

3 – 4 tablespoons cooking oil
2 large brown onions (chopped)
1 to 2 strips dried red chillies, chopped finely (optional)
Ayam Malaysian Noya Curry Paste or a curry paste of your choice (2 - 3 tablespoons)
4 large potatoes (peeled and diced)
½ - 1 tablespoon salt (or season according to your preference)
½ - 1 tablespoon black pepper powder
1 tablespoon sugar
4 – 5 tablespoons of water (add more water if the potato mixture dries up)
6 puff pastry sheets (cut into circular sheets)
3 hard-boiled eggs (sliced into quarters)
1 egg lightly beaten
Black sesame seeds (optional)
Mint leaves (for garnish)
Tomato sauce (for garnish)


Procedure:

1. Heat a non-stick cooking pan and grease it well with the cooking oil.

2. Add the chopped onions and cook them over medium heat till they turn fragrant. Add the dried chillies and stir fry it with the onions. If you prefer your puffs to be less spicy, leave the chillies out. Take care that the onions do not get burnt at this stage.

3. Stir in the Ayam Nonya curry paste and mix well.  Once the curry mixture has turned aromatic, add in the diced potatoes. Turn the heat up and pan fry the mixture for a few minutes.

4. Add in the salt, pepper, sugar and water, and mix well.  Bring the potato mixture to a boil before simmering it for about 15 minutes over low heat. Add an additional 2 – 3 tablespoons of water if the potato mixture is too dry.

 5. Check to see that the potato mixture is cooked. The diced potatoes should be soft but not mushy and that the mixture has hardly any liquid. Turn the heat off and let the potato mixture cool down to room temperature.

6. Preheat the oven to 230 degrees. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

7. Spoon about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the potato mixture and place the sliced hard-boiled eggs onto each of the cut out pastry sheets. Fold the sheets into half and seal them up gently with your fingers. Use a fork and press its tine onto the sealed edges to form a pattern.

8. Brush the puffs lightly with the beaten egg and sprinkle some sesame seeds on them before baking them in the oven. Bake them for about 30 - 35 minutes at 230 degrees or until golden brown.

9. Garnish the puffs with fresh mint leaves and tomato ketchup. Serve them hot.


 Enjoy!!




Monday, October 1, 2012

Strawberry Heart Cupcakes


Butter cupcakes with strawberry frosting and fresh strawberries.



Birthday cupcakes baked for a special 22 year old!

Chicken and Potato Curry




Staying abroad these past few years, I have come to miss the Chicken Curry in Singapore, particularly the home-cooked ones that my mum used to make. As a child, I remember her spending hours chopping the fresh ingredients (fresh and dried chillies, onions or shallots, lemon grass, tamarind and so on), and thereafter blending them in a food processor or pounding the ingredients into a curry paste using a granite mortar and pestle.

Being lazy, I was hoping to find a suitable pre-made curry paste at the stores, so that I would not have to go through the hassle of pounding or grinding the ingredients myself! Fortunately, I found Yeo’s Singapore Curry Sauce and the Ayam Malaysian Noya Curry paste from Woolworths Supermarket. Even though I am not a fan of processed food, I nevertheless thought that their flavours were amazing! If you cannot find these same ones, try looking for similar products that are described as Noya (or Peranakan) Curry on their labels. These are the ones that will give those beautiful South East Asian flavours to your curries.

Curry paste and sauce used in the recipe.

The following recipe is easy to follow and hassle free – very suitable for someone who does not have very much time to cook, or dislikes spending too much time cleaning up in the kitchen. It may not be the best curry recipe but it is definitely a dish that I can work and improve upon quite easily.
Have fun trying this out and enjoy your home-cooked curry dish!



Recipe for the Chicken and Potato Curry (serves 4 persons):

Chicken and potato curry served with Jasmine rice.


Ingredients:

Chicken thigh meat (about 4 to 5 large pieces)
½ - 1 tablespoon salt (or season according to your preference)
½ tablespoon black pepper powder
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 to 4 strips dried red chilli (chopped finely)
Oil for cooking
1 large brown onion (chopped)
1 tablespoon of garlic (chopped)
4 large potatoes (peeled and cut into quarters)
Ayam Malaysian Noya Curry Paste (2 tablespoons full)
Yeo’s Singapore Curry Sauce (400ml)
About 250 – 300 ml of water (add less water if you prefer a thicker curry sauce)
Coconut milk (165ml)
2 tablespoons sugar



Procedure:
1. Marinate the chicken thigh pieces with salt, black pepper, sesame oil and the dried red chilli in a large bowl.

2. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and leave the marinated chicken meat in the fridge for at least an hour.

3. Heat up a non-stick cooking wok and grease it well with cooking oil. Add the chopped onions and cook them over medium heat till they turn fragrant. Add the chopped garlic and cook it for a short while before adding the marinated chicken thighs into the wok. Turn the heat up to high and add in the potatoes.

4. Once the meat has turned slightly brown and become aromatic, stir in the Ayam Noya curry paste and mix well. Be careful not to overcook the chicken meat at this stage.

5. Add the Yeo’s curry sauce and water into the wok. Stir well and bring the curry mixture to a boil before reducing it to low heat. Cook the curry mixture for about 40 minutes.

6. Add the coconut milk and sugar into the curry mixture and bring it to a boil before simmering for another 20 minutes over low heat. Add more water if the curry gravy is too thick.

7. Turn the heat off from the stove. Garnish the chicken and potato curry with fresh mint leaves and serve with warm jasmine rice.

Enjoy!!!