Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Fried banana with caramel sauce

(Homemade) - Fried banana with caramel sauce

Even though I love cooking, but I prefer to cook something simple yet delicious. Something I will enjoy for afternoon snack with a cup of tea. Relax and no hurry ! There was a time that I wished I had more than 24 hours in a day to do more things. But I got the answer when I was watching my favorite serial movie "The Mentalist". A brief and clear answer that made me smile. Patrick Jane said, "You have exactly the same number of hours in the day as Albert Einstein had. Thomas Jefferson. Louis Pasteur. Ghandi". :D How true that is !

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Never underestimate an old recipe magazine ! Never cross my mind I would find this interesting recipe of fried banana in an old recipe magazine. Different kind of fried banana compared to the ones I often eat. For this fried banana recipe is quite simple because I don't need to make the batter. The sauce is also special with caramelized coconut sugar. I should tell you, it's a perfect pair ! 

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Two days left to enter Sambel Pecel Kemangi giveaway event. Have you leave comment to win Sambel Pecel Kemangi yet ? It's open for Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines residents. Wanna enter but still don't know how ? Read the details here. Hurry up ! 

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Enjoy....

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Avocado in a cake ?

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Yup...that is true. I didn't believe it either until I saw the recipe in Table for 2.... or more. Sometimes we just cook dishes out of curiosity. No food colouring added, the green really comes from the avocado ! The color, the simplicity and the using of avocado had caught my eyes once I saw it and I bookmarked it immediately !

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I promised you to post fruit recipes this month and I will keep my promise. This recipe is one from some of fruit recipes I already prepared. I can imagine that it's going to be colourful like summer.

The original recipe can be viewed on the link I've mentioned above, I did a little twist by adding chocolate ganache topping and pistachio. Okay, it's a quick post and a quick update. Only to keep my promise to you. Be back with another fruits and colors.

click to enlarge

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Don't forget to join my giveaway event sponsored by Sambel Pecel Kemangi. It's open for Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines residents. If you haven't got a chance to leave comment yet, there's still plenty of time. But you got to hurry ! Click here for details.

Enjoy.....

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Product Review : Sambel Pecel KEMANGI and a GIVEAWAY !

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Everyone of us must have special food that really close to our heart, memories and tongue. The food you will crave again and again. It could also remind you to a special place or a special person. As for me, pecel (Javanese mixed vegetables salad with peanut sauce) has been close to my childhood memories. Being raised in a Javanese family, we put this dish into our favorite family recipe. We use various vegetables from water spinach, spinach, bean sprout, long beans, cabbage and cassava leaves. But what makes it so special is the sambal pecel or peanut sauce.

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My paternal grandma who lives in Solo, Central Java, has always been made homemade sambel pecel. She chooses fresh ingredients and she used to grind them using mortar and pestle by herself (but for now, whenever she makes sambel pecel, she just ask someone to grind the ingredients for her). My dear grandma knows very well that I love her homemade sambel pecel, hence she make me a package of it and send it to me. Nothing can beat her sambel pecel and I keep saying this to my mom and grandma !

Pecel / Javanese mixed vegetable salad with peanut sauce

One day, I received a message from Mr. Aditya Susilo from Sambel Pecel Kemangi. He offered me Sambel Pecel KEMANGI and asked me if I want to try them out. I was absolutely curious and instantly said "yes" to him. Then the next few days, I got the package and I can't hardly wait to try it at home. Sambel Pecel Kemangi has 3 levels of spiciness, mild, medium and spicy. I should say this is the best sambel pecel besides my grandma's of course. :)  

 It smells good, the sweetness is just about perfect and the consistency of the dough is exactly the same as my grandma's sambel pecel.

TIPS : 
- For a jar of Sambel Pecel Kemangi (Kemangi peanut sauce) @ 250gr, mix with 110-120 ml boiling water. Stir gently until sambel pecel has dissolved. Ready to serve as dressing/sauce.

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Sambel Pecel KEMANGI GIVEAWAY ! **CLOSED
Do you want to take part of it ? Do want to try this Indonesian traditional peanut sauce ? Here are the rules :

** Follow @miauw17 on Twitter and tweet the following "I entered to win #SambelPecelKemangi via @miauw17 @kemangipecel http://bit.ly/JBfzX1 #CemplangCemplung #giveaway" , come back and leave a comment on this post that you did !

** Follow @kemangipecel on Twitter 

** But if you don't have twitter account, you still be able to join the giveaway event by leaving a comment on this post !

** Please tell me what level of spiciness you like on the comment (mild, medium, spicy). 

NOTE :

This giveaway will open until midnight on May 31, 2012. Two winners will randomly be chosen on the next day and will be announced on June 2, 2012.  The winners will receive 2 jars (@ 250gr) of Sambel Pecel KEMANGI. This giveaway is open for Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore residents.

Product provided by Sambel Pecel KEMANGI but all views expressed above are my own and I have not been paid to do this review.


Good luck everyone !!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Guest Post : Rajma Masala from Anamika Arun of Taste Junction

I've been enjoying this foodie world things as I find everything in here is about delicious foods, making new friends and food photography. I know exactly where to go and find recipes of yummy foods that make me drool instantly. On the other side I can share and learn how to achieve good looking food photos from people who has the same passion with me in food photography. But above all, I met new friends from all around the globe. We only connected by our love in food and photography.

Anamika Arun from Taste Junction is one of my foodie friend I met through blogging world. How happy I was when she agreed to be my guest writer for Guest Post series this month. She cooked traditional dish from her homeland, India. It makes her recipe as my second Indian cuisine that has been featured on my blog. Thank you for doing this and make it happen, Anamika. Now, please give big and warm applause for Anamika with her Rajma Masala.

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 rajma

Thanks to blogging, I've been fortunate enough to interact and know bloggers from different spheres, cultures and geographies of the world. And one such lovely blogger I'm so glad to know is Tika. Can't recollect exactly how our paths crossed in the online world, but I can say for sure that her amazingly captured food shots were definitely the starting point for it all. Her desire to learn, improvise and master food photography has been inspiring and one can see the results in her blog journey itself.

So when she asked me to do a guest post for her blog, the reply was nothing else than an assured confirmation. The post became even more exciting when she asked to share something traditional from my region, which is North India. This opened a great range of dishes for me to share, but since this post would be shared with people from regions of the world, I wanted to keep it simple as well. And at the same time I knew I wanted to share a popular recipe than a dish from the times of regal age, which rarely enters our modern kitchen. So keeping up to the spirit of my blog's essence – modern Indian kitchen, I chose the quintessential north Indian dish/curry – Rajma Masala.

Beans

Rajma or kidney beans are used world over in varied ways – in salads, wraps, casseroles, etc; but the flavour of cooking it as curry with onion and tomatoes is very very Indian. Add to this the fact that this “rajma and rice” combination is enjoyed by people of all walks of life in north India and is available at every dhaba (street restaurant) to high class restaurants, makes it a dish that you can never ignore. So lets learn this simple and flavourful curry, to enjoy for lunch or dinner.

Authentically rajma should not be overly spiced or layered, but the flavour of the rajma should stand out. You would be surprised to know that on many occasions we cook it without onion, ginger-garlic and whole spices. Just remember that tomatoes and red chilly powder are its key ingredients. But in this popular version we have made it little deeper in texture and taste with the addition of few spices. Also I personally prefer to use the smaller ones or pahari rajma” (From the hills of Jammu & Kashmir). But you can use any variety, even the canned ones to ease on the preparation, though that would lead to a slight difference in taste.

Ginger



Rajma Masala

Ingredients:             
1 1/2 cup Rajma/ Red kidney beans (Soaked overnight)
2 tbsp oil + 2 tsp ghee
Whole spices - 1 bay leaf, 2-3 black peppercorns, 2 green cardamom, 1 black cardamom
1 tsp cumin
1 onion – finely chopped or grated
1-2 green chillies – slit lengthwise
1/2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste (optional)
2 large tomatoes – chopped
Salt To taste
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Corainder powder
1/4 tsp Red chilli powder (or as per taste)
1/2 tsp Garam masala
Pinch of sugar
Chopped coriander leaves for garnish

Method:      
  • Soak rajma overnight. Wash and pressure cook with about 3 cups of water for 5-6 whistles or cook in a saucepan till it softens. Keep aside with the water in which you cooked it.
  • Heat oil and ghee in a pan. Add sabut masala (whole spices) and cumin seeds. Let the cumin sizzle. Then add the chopped onion and green chillies. Fry till it turns pink. Now add the     ginger-garlic paste (if using) and a pinch of salt. Fry the mixture     for another 2-3 mins, till they turn brown.   
  • Now add the chopped tomatoes and spices (except garam masala) with a     pinch of sugar. Cook the mixture till the rawness of the spices goes away and little oil starts oozing from the sides of the mixture. (This is an indication that the spice blend is well cooked)
  • Add the boiled rajma with the water and salt. Simmer the flame     and cook for another 5-10 mins till rajma absorbs the flavour of the spices. Also with the help of back of the ladle mash few     beans to thicken the gravy. Adjust the consistency of the gravy by adding more hot water, if needed. Ideally it should be medium-thick.
  • Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with chapatis or rice.
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Note:
  1. Though all varieties of kidney beans taste great, I personally prefer t use Some people also like to use 1-2 tbsp of yogurt to the gravy to get a different taste.
  2. This is one of those curries, which deepens in flavour after some time. So don’t hesitate to cook it little in advance and let it become even more tasty.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Healthy Fruity : Papaya with squeezed lemon juice

Papaya with squeezed lemon juice

Have you ever think that time passes so quickly ? As we grow older, our bodies require more attention. We need to keep ourselves balanced from mind to body to feelings. Consuming healthy foods, doing regular physically exercises, always think positive and clear our mind from negative thoughts. Growing old is a genuine and natural process that happens to most of us.

Snacking fruit in between our meal time is healthy yet good for our body. I'm planning to feature recipes with fruits this month. Be ready for more colors from various fruits I will use on my next posts.

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I consider papaya as sexy fruit. It has tropical color with light and sweet aroma and soft texture. It's been long time since I ate my last papaya two months ago and I miss to eat it again. In my country, unripe green papaya can be cooked as vegetable. Papaya leaves have been eaten by some Indonesians as salad mixed with peanut sauce. The leaves also have been used to wrap and tenderize tougher cuts of meat.



I want to quote what Donna Hay always say in her cooking show on TV "fast, fresh and simple". This is what the recipe is all about. Simply fast and fresh ! My favorite papaya is when it has half green and half yellow skin color. The flesh should be gradation of orange color and not too soft. I don't like it overripe.

In Indonesia, there's a dish made from ripe papaya, lime juice and shredded ice. It's called Rucuh Pepaya, more like papaya cocktail.

click to enlarge
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Enjoy....

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