Nasi Lobak Merah (Carrot Basmati Rice)

I prepared a totally different rice dish for Eid Mubarak. I had second thoughts about preparing it because our younger son is not a fan of carrots.  But to my surprise, he loves this dish and I haven't had the heart to tell him that he is eating Carrot Rice! For this dish, I added Basmati Rice and cooked it in the rice cooker.  Of course, you may cook it the traditional way over the stove.

Ingredients (serves 4):
500 g basmati rice, to be washed and strained
2 medium-size carrots, to be peeled and grated into sticks
1 big onion, to be peeled, halved and finely sliced
1.5 cm fresh ginger, to be peeled and finely pounded
4 pips garlic, to be peeled and finely pounded
1/2 tsp jintan manis (cumin), to be coarsely pounded
4 cm cinnamon stick
2 pcs cardamom
2 pcs cloves
150 g tomatoes, to be finely minced
550 ml water
salt to taste
4 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp ghee

Method:
Add grated carrots to basmati rice and leave aside.  Prepare the rest of the ingredients and set aside.

In a medium-size pot, heat oil and ghee over medium heat.  Stir-fry onion slices and all pounded ingredients until fragrant and slightly light brown in colour.

Add minced tomatoes, cardamom, cinnamon stick, cloves and water.  Bring to a boil. Add salt to taste.  Add basmati rice and cook over stove as you normally cook your rice.

If using a rice cooker, add basmati rice and pot contents to rice cooker.  Switch on rice cooker.

Once rice is done, fluff up rice by using a fork or wooden spatula.  Serve hot!

Bon Appetit!

Serunding

This side dish is normally served together with Lontong.  It can also be used as a filling for savoury malay kuihs or snacks.  Dessicated coconut or fresh coconut can be used but the latter is better because of its fresh tangy taste.

Ingredients:
1 fresh coconut (or 200 g dessicated coconut), to be skinned and grated
1 tbsp fresh tamarind, to be mixed with a little water
salt and sugar to taste
some palm sugar
cooking oil

Blended Ingredients:
2 stalks dried chillies, to be cut into pieces and soaked in warm water
2.5 cm fresh turmeric, to be peeled and sliced
2.5 cm galangal, to be peeled and sliced
2 pcs lemon grass (fat ones), to be sliced
5 cloves of garlic, to be peeled and sliced
2 big onions, to be peeled and sliced
1 tbsp coriander seeds, to be soaked in warm water
1 tsp fennel seeds, to be soaked in warm water
1 tsp aniseed, to be soaked in warm water

Method:
Fry freshly grated coconut (or dessicated coconut) in a wok without oil until dry. Remove and leave aside.

Heat oil in wok and add the blended ingredients.  Stir-fry until fragrant.  Then, add in tamarind juice, sugar, palm sugar and salt to taste.  Bring to a simmer.  Then, add in dried coconut and reduce heat.

Mix thoroughly and cook until almost dry.  Remove from heat and leave aside for later use.

Bon Appetit!

Ayam Masak Merah Menyala

For our Eid Mubarak celebrations this year, I prepared a simple fare instead of the classic Lontong and its complementary dishes.  Apart from Rendang Daging Berempah, I also prepared Serunding and this dish to be served with Nasi Lobak Merah (Carrot Rice) and Instant Lemang & Ketupat Palas. All food are now gone and that thought brought a smile to my face!

Ingredients (serves 4):
5 chicken drumsticks or any preferred chicken parts (note:  I prefer to remove the skins)
1/2 cup tomato puree
1/2 cup red chilli paste (from soaked dried chillies)
1/2 cup coconut milk
4 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp ghee
sugar and salt to taste

Pounded Ingredients:
5 pips garlic
2 medium-size onions, to be peeled and sliced
3 cm galangal, to be peeled and sliced
1 stalk lemon grass, to be sliced

Method:
In a medium-size pot, heat oil and ghee over medium heat.  Add pounded ingredients, chilli paste and 2 tsp of sugar.  Cook until oil separates from the spices.

Add chicken drumsticks and tomato puree.  Stir well and bring to a slight boil.

Then, add coconut milk and stir well.  Cook until chicken is tender.  I prefer a thick gravy.  If you want a thinner gravy, just add more coconut milk.

Serve hot with rice!

Bon Appetit!

Rendang Daging Berempah

Another beef rendang recipe which has been in my collection for years.  I prepared this dish one day before Eid Mubarak in order that the flavour infused itself.  All ingredients are dumped into the wok and simmered gently until thick and the oil separates from the rempah (spices).  One must have patience to cook it over low heat.  I must say that it is worth the effort because the taste is delicious! My hubby has requested that I cook this dish again next week!

Ingredients (serves 4):
800 g beef, to cut into medium-size cubes
400 ml coconut milk
2 pcs daun limau purut (kefir lime leaves)
1 pce daun kunyit (turmeric leaf)
1.5 cm lengkuas (galangal), to be peeled and lightly crushed
1 thick stalk serai (lemon grass), to be lightly crushed
2 tsp serbuk jintan manis (cumin powder)
4 tbsp serbuk ketumbar (coriander powder)
3 tsp sugar
salt to taste

Pounded Ingredients:
8 shallots
12 stalks dried chillies, to be cut into pieces and soaked in warm water until soft
2 tbsp gerisik (grated coconut which was dry-fried and pounded)

Method:
In a large wok, add beef cubes and pounded ingredients.  Add coconut milk, kefir lime leaves, turmeric leaf, crushed galangal, crushed lemon grass, cumin powder, coriander powder, sugar and salt to taste.

Cook over medium heat until the gravy is thick and the beef is almost cooked.  Stir occasionally.

Reduce heat to low and simmer until dry and oil separated.  Don't forget to stir occasionally.  Adjust seasonings to taste.

Once done, transfer to a medium-size pot.  It is advisable to cook this dish the day before.  Tastes great when served with lemang, ketupat or just plain rice!

Bon Appetit!

Biskut Sarang Semut

Literally translated as Ant Nest Cookies, these are normally served in many Malay homes during Eid Mubarak. To create the look of a nest, the prepared dough needs to be refrigerated, then grated and filled into mini paper cases and sprinkled with dark chocolate rice before baking.  It is simple to prepare and tastes awesome!

Ingredients (yields about 100 pcs):
350 soft butter (at room temperature)
460 g cornflour
170 g icing (confectioner's) sugar
115 g plain flour
2 tbsp custard powder
100 g chocolate rice

Method:
By using a mixer, combine all ingredients except the chocolate rice.

Form dough into balls and refrigerate for at least half an hour.

By using a fine grater, grate the refrigerated dough balls into a bowl.

Add a teaspoonful of grated dough into each mini paper cases and sprinkle a little chocolate rice on top.  Arrange on a baking tray.

Bake in a preheated fan oven at a temperature of 180° C for about 15 to 17 minutes. Once done, leave to cool down completely before storing in an airtight container.

Happy Baking!

Chocolate Macaroons

A great way to use up leftover egg whites!  With Eid Mubarak approaching, I started to bake the classic Hari Raya biscuits and kuihs.  To make these macaroons, I added chocolate chips and chocolate-flavoured cornflakes to the whipped egg whites and icing sugar mixture.  Then, add spoonfuls of mixture into mini paper cases and they are ready to be baked!

Ingredients (yields about 90 to 100 pcs):
6 egg whites
350 g icing (confectioner's) sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
300 g chocolate chips
375 g cornflakes (chocolate flavoured), to be lightly crushed

Method:
By using a mixer, whisk egg whites and icing sugar until stiff.

By using a spatula, fold in vanilla essence, chocolate chips and cornflakes.  Mix well.

Spoon mixture into mini paper cups and bake in a preheated fan oven at a temperature of 180° C for about 5 to 7 minutes.  Leave to cool down completely before storing in an airtight container.

Happy Baking!

Salted Eggs

Traditionally, duck eggs are used and soaked in brine for a period of time.  One month ago, my hubby brought home both goose and duck eggs to my pleasant surprise.  I have stopped buying salted eggs in the supermarket long time ago and prefer to make my own. They are easy to prepare and need to be soaked in brine for at least four weeks.  I did not add any spices to the brine at all.

Ingredients:
3 duck eggs & 4 goose eggs (chicken eggs may be used as well)
400 g coarse salt
about 1.5 litres of water, which has been boiled and cooled down to room temperature - it is better to boil more water than needed
a clean glass container (I used my sweets container which I bought from Ikea)

Method:
Carefully wash and clean the egg shells.  Dry them up with kitchen towel and set aside.

Arrange the eggs in a glass container.

In a jug, add water and coarse salt.  Stir until salt is dissolved.

Then, pour the brine over the eggs.  Place a small bowl on top of eggs to act as a weight in keeping the eggs down.  Cover the glass container and leave in a cool and dry place preferably in the cellar. Store for about four weeks.

After about four weeks, I took out one duck egg and one goose egg each which I boiled in water for about 8 to 10 minutes just to check whether the required saltiness is achieved.  If the required saltiness has not been attained, I suggest that you leave them soaked for another week.  As for this batch, I am very happy with the results. To store the rest of the eggs, just take them out of the brine, wipe dry and store in an egg container in the refrigerator until further use.

Happy Trying!

Sotong Masak Hitam

Literally translated - Squid in Black Ink, this is a classic malay dish which is one of my old time favourites.  It is rare to find squids with its black ink intact where I am staying. In its replacement, I bought a glass of squids' ink from the delicacy section of the supermarket.  Do not be turned off by the look of this dish ... all black from the ink!  I must say the taste is awesome when eaten with hot rice!

Ingredients (serves 4):
16 squids (with ink)
1 stalk lemon grass, to be bruised
2 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kicap manis)
2 medium-sized onions, to be peeled & thinly sliced into rings
2 stalks red chillies, to be washed & halved
3 - 4 tbsp cooking oil

Pounded Ingredients:
2 medium-sized onions, to be peeled & coarsely chopped
3 pips garlic, to be peeled & coarsely chopped
a tiny piece of fresh turmeric (or 1/2 tsp turmeric powder)
one thin slice of fresh ginger

Method:
Clean squids under running water and add to a sieve to drain the excess water.  This time, I only managed to buy mini octopus (without ink) and a glass of squid's ink. Note:  I added only one tablespoon of ink.

In a medium-sized pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Add pounded ingredients and lemon grass.  Stir-fry until fragrant.  Then, add sliced onion rings and stir-fry until almost soft.

Add squids and ink.  Stir well and let it simmer lightly.  Do not overcook or else the squids will become tough.  Then, add sweet soy sauce and red chillies.  Stir well.

Serve with hot rice!

Bon Appetit!