lemon cookies with blueberry jam

i want to make a confession here. i never made kuih raya in my entire life. never ever! for all this time, my mother just bought kuih raya. well, my grandmother used to make and sell them but she has retired long ago. when i was small i guess, so i don't have any memory of that. hehe. this year, with a very strong will, i promised myself that i wanted to make at least one type of kuih raya! all ingredients i have bought already before fasting, but only last night that i managed to make them. i made this cookies on saturday night and kept them in refrigerator and continued baking them on sunday night (read: last night). i didn't do it straight away because lately my family been quite busy since my grandfather is hospitalized at PPUM. so, here goes: lemon cookies with blueberry jam. i really really really love the lemon taste in this cookies! sorry, the cookies may seem quite ugly but seriously delicious! a must try recipe for Hari Raya and different from the usual kuih raya.

lemon cookies with blueberry jam

the recipe:
350 g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
240 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
100 g caster sugar
1 tsp freshly-grated lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 small jar of blueberry jam

method:
Sift flour and baking powder together. place the butter, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla in the bowl of electric mixer. using the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed untill mixture turns pale. add the egg yolks one by one, mixing until incorporated before adding the next. lower speed and add the lemon juice, then the flour in batches, mixing until it forms a dough.
remove the dough and shape into a log or block, wrap with cling film and refrigerate until firm enough to handle - about 1 hour. (the recipe can be made up to this point and kept in refrigerator for up to 2 days).
prehear the oven to 180 degree. press the dough into suitable non-stick moulds with a well in the centre.
bake for about 15 minutes or until edgess are lightly browned. allow the cookies to cool.
warm the jam so that it becomes more spreadable. fill into the well in the cookies. store, separating each layer with a sheet of parchment paper.

*recipe credit to Flavours magazine issue november-december 2007.

samosa

yesterday, my mother and i made this. vegetarian samosa. she found the recipe somewhere in magazine and prepared the filling. when i get back home, i helped her with samosa folding with the aid of youtube tutorial! haha. never made samosa before, so, we have no idea on how to fold it nicely. that is why, as the result, this samosa have different shapes and sizes! haha. they don't neat enough anyway. but as we kept on practiced, the shape become better and nicer! :P


ingredients (for filling):
5 # potatoes - diced
frozen mixed vegetables
*dried shrimp
*4 shallots
*2 garlic
onion - chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp chilli paste
spring onion
salt to taste
butter
* to blend

methods:
1 - heat butter. add in blended items and stir until fragrant. add in chopped onion and curry paste and chilli paste. stir well until all spices are fragrant.
2 - add in diced potatoes and keep on stirring. add in some water and let potatoes become tender.
3 - after potatoes become tender, pour in mixed vegetable and spring onion. season with salt. keep on stirring until the mixture is dry.
4 - turn off heat and let it cool before folding it into samosa.

sambal tempoyak goreng

this is my family favourite dishes too. my grandmother and mother always prepare this dish especially when we have fresh tempoyak. so far, i have never seen this recipe anywhere else yet. well, the name itself quite odd isn't it? tempoyak goreng? how can tempoyak be fried? here goes recipe:

ingredients:
100g dried anchovies
1 cup tempoyak
a handful bird eye chilli - blend *depends on how spicy you want it to be
2 red chillies - blend *optional
turmeric leaves - 1 if it large. shred it.
salt to taste

methods:
1 - heat oil.
2 - mix all ingredients except salt.
3 - pour mixture into wok and keep on stirring. add in salt.
4 - keep on stirring until tempoyak becomes sticky and turn its colour into brownish.
5 - serve.

this dish can be kept up to 4 days.

cencaru bakar sumbat

my childhood favourite. my grandmother always prepared this when i was small and i also always requested it..heeeee *evil laugh. some people prefer it fried or stuff with "sambal" a.k.a chilli gravy but my ever favourite is coconut stuffed and bake it. fish that always being used to this recipe usually cencaru. not sure what it's called in English anyway. here goes the recipe:

for fish:
cut along the back of cencaru. make a long cut at back of the head until tail enough to make hole. mix fish with salt and turmeric powder.

for stuffing:
grated coconut
fresh chillies
dried shrimp
shrimp paste a.k.a belacan
onion - 1 #
garlic - 2 #
lemongrass *can be replaced to 2 lime squeeze juice
salt to taste

method:
1 - blend all ingredients except grated coconut. you can grind it too using mortar and pestle too.
2 - mix chilli paste with grated coconut.
3 - stuff the stuffing into the back of cencaru.
4 - bake for about half an hour or until fish is cooked.

kuih keria

this dish is my father's favourite. poor him, my mother rarely made them because she is a working wife, so, she hardly find time to make them. i would call it my mother signature dish! ;p well, actually, my mother seldomly making any kuih..hehe. first reason is there's not many people would eat them (because we're small family), and the other reason is she is working and tired after she got home. here goes the recipe:

ingredient:
sweet potato (about 5 to 6 number. medium size)
flour (about a cup)
salt to taste
castor sugar (about a cup)

method:
1 - boil sweet potato together with the skin until soft and tender.
2 - remove the skin and mashed it.
3 - add in flour (the amount is depend on individual. some people love to add more. i prefer just enough to prevent sweet potato become too sticky). but those who sell this kuih, they usually put too many flour and kuih usually become too hard and taste of sweet potato is gone ;(
4 - season with salt.
5 - shape the mixture into donut shape and leave it for a while before frying.
6 - heat oil and fry this kuih until golden brown.
7 - after all mixture are fried, heat another wok and pour in sugar (enough to coat). stir for a while and pour in fried kuih keria in it.
8 - at this point, we have to keep on stirring kuih keria to be coated with sugar until sugar become quite sticky. *do not let it caramelized! be careful not to break kuih keria while stirring.
9 - serve either hot or cold.

since my mother use only small amount of flour (about a cup), so, as result, after frying, this kuih is crispy on the outside but soft in the inside. totally delicious!! i never buy this kuih at outside stall actually because they usually tasted more floury rather than sweet potato.

bergedil tuna

today, i wanna post an entry about one of my favourite dish which i always make it myself. hehe. to make it better, others like it too! *perasan. here it goes *drum rolls:

bergedil tuna!!

i first ate this bergedil when i was in form 4 and i always make it ever since. when i was in Penang, my housemates love my bergedil *perasan lagi and i sometimes deliver this bergedil to my boyfriend and my friend's house. haha. this dish also my first food given to my boyfriend and phew, he still like it until now.

i forgot where my mother got this recipe since it's quite sometime ago. i guess it is from one from the mountain of cookery books at my house. anyway, here's the recipe:

potatoes (about 5-6) - peeled, diced, fried and mashed
canned tuna (preferably spicy flavor) *do not buy the one that wrote 'spread'
fried shallot
onion spring
black pepper
salt to taste
anchovies food seasoning *maggi brand
2 eggs

method:
1 - after frying diced potatoes, mashed them and add in all ingredients and mix.
2 - crack 1 egg into the mixture.
3 - shape the mixture into desired shape. you can keep in food container and put in freezer for later use at this point.
4 - crack one egg for dipping and lightly stir. meanwhile heat the oil.
5 - dip bergedil into egg mixture and fry until brown enough. doesn't need much time for frying as potato is already cooked.
6 - serve with chilli sauce or eat with rice.

bingka roti berlauk

today, it's the first day for all Muslim around the world start fasting. Happy Ramadhan Mubarak to all. for today, mother asked me to make "Bengkang Roti Berlauk" while my sister, she volunteered herself to make some donuts. mother already printed out the recipe, so, i just followed it. here is the result:

i use meat for the topping. you can use chicken instead.

i guess, the bread base is quite moisture. no need much of chewing process. haha.

somehow it tastes like Malay traditional delicacy, "Cara Berlauk". note to myself, i may need to lessen curry powder in the meat mixture tho.

sotong celup tepung

i love eating deep fry battered squid (sotong celup tepung). too bad, sometimes, some restaurants cheat their customers by putting too much of baking powder in the dip batter with only a tiny strip of squid flesh. so, the result, we will eat an almost-empty-fried-flour-shell. i made this dish quite often at home. too many experiments. sometimes, the flour covered would get soggy and not crispy, sometimes, the squid turns out very hard and endless lists of defects. so, lately, i am using tempura flour as alternative to those batter i used before and it turned out great! but, i usually blanch the squid first to fasten the frying process and to avoid from frying oil popping up when squid releases its water. one tips, when mixing the batter, use with iced water, so, the batter will come out crispy and crunchy. and, use vegetable oil when frying to get nice colour and aroma, but it is optional anyway.

vanilla muffin

today's project i made vanilla muffin with raspberry filling. i made this as requested by my mother since she wants to bring it to her office. i made about 37 muffins. i took the recipe from here. thanks to this blog. this muffin totally delicious and rich in taste!!

my newly cereal

currently i am eating this for my..err, breakfast, supper, tea time..haha, anytime that i feel i wanted to :P usually i eat koko krunch..haha (sooo childish!!). this cereal tasted good, but i don't really like almond in this cereal. it taste quite bitter tho it supposed to be crunchy :(

black pepper kuew tiew

just now, i'm digging into my kitchen to find something to eat for my lunch. then, i found unopened kuew tiew and i got an idea to make black pepper kuew tiew. i don't know the exact recipe because i'm planning to throw in all the sauces i could find in refrigerator into my kuew tiew. haha. i'm gambling with taste here..so, here are the sauces mixture:

from left to right:
anchovies seasoning powder
tomato ketchup
chilli sauce
thick soy sauce
oyster sauce
sarawak black pepper sauce
seasoning soy sauce
squid sauce
apple cider
black pepper
*not included in the picture is chili paste.

along the sauces, i also put in chicken slices, prawns, chives (chive and kuew tiew is magnificent) and crushed garlic (i use 3 because i loveeeee garlic!). i didn't use salt/sugar as all the sauces are good enough. to enhance the taste, i use olive oil (shhhh..from my mother ok?)

the result: it's gooooood. i love the slight taste of apple cider in this!!

figs

i want to tell a little story about my favourite-fruit-but-rarely-eat-it, figs. my grandmother at my father's side has this tree which has been planted at the house's lawn since i can remember. we (my cousins and i) always eat it when there are any ripened figs dropped from trees or we sometimes just picked them up from the branches. too bad, it is usually limited in numbers. of course, as small kids, this fruit seems alien for us as i barely see this fruit sold at the market. and, i myself did not know what was the name. it taste real goooooood especially the one which has red colors on its skin.

to tell you the truth, i only know the exact name of this fruit recently when i enrolled into UiTM with culinary courses. being a person who loves to see cooking show, i often seen the chefs use figs in their cooking. i thought it was some kind of imported fruit and if by any chance it is available in Malaysia, it would be limited and expensive too. but, looking at the shape, the colors and size, it somehow reminded me of my grandma's tree. so, last week while i was at my hometown, i went to this tree and snapped the pictures to be published here to show to my readers (if there's any..haha). it's been years since i last ate this fruit because this tree doesn't fruit that much and once it's ripened, it's easily getting damage and mushy since this fruit doesn't have such a long shelf life. by the way, i googled about this fruit just now and found out that figs in Bahasa Malaysia is known as "ara". well, a name i am not really familiar with. but, it has other name and maybe we all know as "tin" especially among Muslim as there is one Surah in our Holy Quran telling us about this fruit.

from my reading in Internet, this fruit has a lot of health benefits. this fruit contains antioxydant to prevent cancer, has both Omega 3 and 6 and low in fats. it is also has low sodium, low in calorie, and free from cholesterol which is perfect snack for diabetic persons. so, those who havenn't eat this fruit yet, (i mean, the fresh, not the dried one), grab it and try it!

growing babies

my big head and small hand pointing to the fruits

cendol

my father's hometown is in Banting, Selangor, and a must thing to do everytime we go there is to have a bowl of cendol! this cendol stall in Banting has been there since like forever, my father once said since he was little it's already exist. and the taste is still the same. it's the best cendol i have ever taste! i am serious. i still remember, when i was small, the owner only had a bicycle-attached-stall to sell those cendol and now, he already has a restaurant and few assistants. the restaurant is selling rojak to go with the cendol. before this, we have to stand or duck to drink cendol and now, the table and seats are also available. what an achievement! i hope this cendol will still taste the same one day when i bring my kids here.

yummylicious cendol
my satisfaction face