White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie

After gaining confidence with the Muesli Bar have now started getting my hands dirtier (literally) with baking. I've done a few "projects" in the past with ready made mixes where there is not much to measure or play around. Baking with everything from scratch is a whole new ball game.
So here it comes the 2nd experiment - White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookie. Took "inspiration" from a few internet recipes each had their own twist and ended up making my own twist. The idea was to make a nice soft chewy cookie.

Ingredients (measures are for reference only - feel free to change as you choose)
1) Butter - 200 gms

2) Flour - 200 gms
3) Brown Sugar - 2 cups (in fact I did a mix of brown sugar and raw sugar as recommended in one of the recipes)
4) Macadamia nuts (diced) - 150 gms
5) White Chocolate bits - 150 gms
6) Egg -2
7) Baking Soda - 1/2 teaspoon
8) Vanilla Essence - 1 teaspoon (not in picture)

Oven Temperature - 150 deg (tried 175 deg as some website recommended - ended up making a dark chocolate chip cookie instead of white chocolate)

Method
1) Soften the butter to a texture that would be easy to blend.
2) Beat the eggs and keep it separate.
3) Mix the softened butter, sugar, vanilla essence and egg using a blender on high speed until it becomes a nice smooth creamy texture.
4)  Add the flour (most of it) and mix it in. You can use a blender I found using my hands more effective. It has it's own side effects (your fingers become very lickable ;-) ).
5) Add the white chocolate bits and macadamia nuts at the end and mix it evenly.
6) Make small 2 inch diameter balls out of this mix and lay them out in a baking tray lined with baking paper. (Tip: You will need a slightly wet palm to do this)
7) Flatten the balls a little bit. The idea is to get to a shape of a cookie without stretching it too thin.

Ensure you have sufficient space between the cookies as they expand horizontally while they bake.

As you could see I could do only 6 cookies at a time. In a way this helped me experiment a bit.

8) Place the tray in the oven with a timer for about 12 minutes.  This again is an experiment and may vary based on the type of the oven and the temperature you had set in. As always use your nose to figure out when to stop.
9) After baking take the tray out from the oven and let it cool for 5 - 10 minutes before you remove the cookie out of the tray.

Fresh - warm - chewy and soft White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie - ready.

p.s.: It took about 3 attempts to get to some "presentable" and "edible" state. It either became too dark or bent and crumbled before I could take it out of the tray.



Happy Cooking!!
C

Muesli Bar

Few weeks ago I checked back into this blog and realized it has been almost a year since I had a post. Not a good sign at all. Had to come up with something really quick to revive this. So here it is my first baking recipe. Muesli bars used to be a standard snack in my bag for a long time. Not many snacks can be as filling, healthy and tasty as this one.It somehow went out of circulation in our pantry for a while. Recently it came back alive as a snack that Nandha liked at pre-school. They actually made it at his pre-school as a cooking activity and hence came back home with it's recipe. He was quite thrilled to know that we could actually make it at home. So here we go...

Ingredients

1) Rolled Oats - 3 Cups

Ingredients

2) Flour - 1 cup (a little less if you prefer a more chewy texture)

3) Sunflower seeds - 1 cup

4) Pumpkin seeds - 1 cup

5) Sliced Almonds - 1 cup

6) Dried fruits (pick your choice of apricots, cranberries, raisins) - 1 cup

7) Desicated coconut - 1 cup

8) Butter - 150 gms

9) Brown Sugar - 1 cup

10) Honey - 1/2 cup

11) Egg -1

Process
(0) Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees.

Dry and wet ingredients together

1) Melt the butter on a low flame along with the brown sugar and honey. Once melted give it a quick boil and let it to cool down.
2) Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and create a well in the center.

Give it a good mix

3) Pour the beaten egg, and the cooled down syrup and mix it all up. (A good time to get the kids involved as needed).
4) Once mixed spread the mixture out on a tray lined with baking paper. Even the mixture out using the back of a tablespoon.

Mixture on the tray

5) Bake it in the pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes.




Now this could be a hit and miss with the temperature and time. After a few experiments I've now started relying on my nose to tell me when to stop the baking. Take the tray out when the smell is just perfect - usually about 20-25 minutes.

Baked Muesli Tray

6) Leave it to cool for a few minutes.
7) Cut them up into blocks of your preference in size.

Home made Muesli Bar ready!!

Some may like it crispy...some may like it chewy....play with the flour and honey as you need it.

Happy Baking!!

C

Kerala Njandu (Crab) Curry

My first exposure to crab was from Velu Military mess I think in Chennai. Remember fiddling around with it without knowing really what to eat or what to expect. However this one - Kerala Njandu Curry is dedicated to THE (G) Gang at Kings Court, Beaverton @Friday Club. Those were the bachelor days of many people's first long term onsite assignment. A lot can happen when you have those 25+ aged guys around living around in close proximity. Amongst few other things that were "developed", one of them was an affinity to Njandu (Crab) Curry.
Thanks to Mr. Ajay Suresh Babu - who was our Mallu (or Konkani?) chef - who introduced this simple but amazing crab curry. I must admit that it took nearly 12 years for me to attempt this on my own. The outcome was not too bad I suppose. One key ingredient that was missing was the 10 member Uno game that goes along with this. ;-) Here's my version of Kerala Njandu (to be pronounced with a twist of your nose) Curry.

Ingredients

1) Crab
2) Ginger & Garlic Paste
3) Coconut Milk
4) Salt
5) Turmeric powder
6) Red chilly powder
7) Garam masala
8) Cumin powder
9) Coriander powder
10) Vegetable Oil

The Method


(-1)  You can start with cleaning the crab. However I would recommend getting it cleaned professionally at the fish market. If in case you dare to clean it yourself you can read here to get an idea.

(0) Ginger - Garlic paste - preferably you make it yourself, or a store bought would do just fine.

1) Heat a large saucepan and add a few table spoons of oil. Less for the health conscious - more for those who look for a restaurant feel.
2) Once the oil is hot (maybe a minute or so) add the ginger garlic paste and saute it for about 5 minutes.
3) Once you see the oil separate add 3/4th s of the coconut milk and mix it up for a few minutes.
4) Add the crab and all the dry items (all the powders - a  tea spoon each except turmeric which should be a pinch or 2).
5) Stir it well and let it to boil for about 15 - 20 minutes with a closed lid until the crabs turn red. You may add some water in case you have more guests to feed.
6) Add the remaining coconut milk and leave it to simmer for a few minutes before serving.

Quite Simble eh!! Enjoy!! (Best served with steamed rice)

Happy Cooking

C

Kari Ayam - Malaysian Chicken Curry

Kari Ayam (Chicken Curry in Malaysian) - one of those dishes I have not had much but always wanted to. The problem with going to a favourite Malaysian restaurant after a long time is you end up wanting to eat your regular favourite and not attempt to explore much. This is one of those dishes and I thought of giving it a shot at home.

Kari Ayam as you would see is very much like a South Indian chicken curry - with a south east asian twist. The ingredients that go in make it Indian, Thai and somehow made it to be Malaysian. It is best consumed with Roti Canai or rice - preferably Hunan Chicken Rice.

Ingredients

1. Chicken - preferred with bones
2. Star anise
3. Cinnamon sticks
4. Shrimp paste
5. Garam Masala / Curry Powder 
6. Coconut milk (or cream)
7. Special Paste
• Shallot (Small Onion)
• Red Onion
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Lemon Grass
• Galanga (optional - used it because I had it already mixed)

Method

1. Heat oil in a large pan and fry cinnamon, star anise and shrimp paste for a few seconds until you can smell the spices.
2. Add the "Special Paste" and saute for a few minutes until oil separates.
3. Add coconut milk and saute for a few minutes.
4. Add chicken , turmeric powder, garam masala / curry masala ,salt and saute for about 5-10 minutes.
5. Add coconut milk and water slowly as required to the required amount of consistency and sauce. This dish is usually watery, but you can always choose your own level of consistency.
6. Add curry leaves to get the extra kick.
7. Stop cooking when you are able to easily break open a piece of chicken with a fork and nothing pink is visible inside. Key is to stop when the meat is juicy - not hard.

Note: This dish usually has potato in the curry - but I chose not to. Feel free to add large size potato cubes along with the chicken.

Serve hot with rice or roti canai.

Enjoy!!

C

Spicy Semolina Crepe - a.k.a Rava Dosai

Rava Dosai a typical South Indian favourite was not my favourite dish for a long long time. As a kid, I've always tried every other dosa variety BUT Rava dosai. For some reason the thin crispy crepe never caught my attention until very recently. It is one of those restaurant specialities and definitely not a staple dish that one would eat on a daily basis. The reasons became obvious once you start cooking (and eating) them. It is a painstakingly slow process to cook the dosa (not the batter). The outcome of course is definitely well worth the efforts. This recipe is for those living far away from home and not able to get a decent one at your local desi joint.

Ingredients:

Ingredients

1) Rava (Semolina powder)

2) All purpose flour (Maida)

3) Rice flour

4) Yogurt

5) Ginger

6) Green Chillies

7) Coriander leaves (Cilantro)

8) Curry leaves

9) Cumin seeds 

10) Freshly ground black pepper

You can have some chopped / diced onions for an extra kick, but completely optional.

The Process

Batter

1) Prepare the batter by adding all the dry ingredients in an almost equal ratio. You might want to reduce a bit on the Maida (3/4ths measure of Rava) if you are looking for a crispier outcome. The batter looks so watery, but do not get misled by that consistency. Of course, please add some salt to the batter.

2) Heat a skillet / tava / dosai kal and "pour" the watery mixture once the skillet sizzles on liquid contact. The difference here between a regular dosai and rava dosai is you do not spread the batter on the skillet using a spoon (or a cup as the professionals do). You pour the watery liquid and maybe rotate the skillet so the batter goes around evenly and makes an almost round version.

3) If you are using onions, you need to scatter the chopped onions on the skillet first before pouring the batter.

4) Wait PATIENTLY until the surface turns brown and then flip them over.

As mentioned earlier, if you want it crispier, reduce the maida content and of course a generous amount of oil.

Rava dosai - ready  - to be served with chutney (any variety goes).

Happy Cooking!!

C

Gaeng Daeng Goong -Thai Red Curry with Prawns

Gaeng Daeng Goong or Red Curry with Prawns is yet another staple of Thai curries. When I was first introduced to Thai cuisine I was told that it was the closest I can get to Indian curry (apart from an Indian restaurant). Of course sometimes even Indian restaurants (outside India) don't get close to what actual curries are meant to taste like. If you look at the ingredients used to make the Red Curry, it is no surprise that it tastes like an Indian (South Indian to be precise) curry. Especially the ones such as coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper, garlic. Of course there are a few ingredients that can make any dish Thai - lemon grass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves. You sure can buy the  paste in a store, as with any packaged food, it's just not the same if not made at home. Once done the curry paste can be stored frozen for months and used for a variety of dishes.

Ingredients:

Red Curry Paste

1. Dry Red Chillies - 20 chillies
2. Lemon Grass - just the bottom white section finely chopped. - 8 stalks
3. Coriander stems - 15-20 stems finely diced
4. Kaffir Lime leaves - 1/2 cup - ensure the middle stalk is removed
5. Galanga - 200 gms - remove the skin and finely chopped
6. Garlic - 1 bulb
7. Ground Coriander, Cumin and Pepper seeds - 1 tablespoon each

Curry

1. Prawn (or Shrimp if you are in the USA) - 500 gms
2. Baby corn - 200 gms
3. Bamboo shoots - 1 can
4. Curry paste - 4-5 tablespoons
5. Coconut cream - 1 can
6. Sugar - 2-3 tea spoons
7. Fish sauce - 4-5 tablespoons (vegetarians might replace this with salt)
8. Thai basil leaves - 1/2 cup

The Method

Curry Paste

1. Soak the dry red chillies in hot water for about 30 minutes. Once soaked  remove the seeds and stalks from the chillies. Make sure you wear gloves for this step.
2. Blend the ingredients above for the curry paste. I first smashed them in a mortar before transferring the content to a blender. Use minimum water just enough to get the blender going.
3. Once blended heat a wide sauce pan and pour about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and sautee the blended paste for about 20-30 minutes until the paste is cooked and oil separates.
4. You can then freeze the paste (once it has cooled down to room temperature) and store it for a few months.

Prawn Curry

1. If the curry paste is frozen - first thaw it to room temperature.
2. Wash the bamboo shoots (from the can) with cold running water to remove the salt content in the can.
3. In a large wok heat about 4-5 tablespoons  of vegetable oil and saute the curry paste until oil separates.
4. Add about half of the coconut cream and mix well and bring the mixture to a boil.
5. Add the baby corn and bamboo shoots and cook for about 5 minutes until the bamboo shoots become tender.
6. Add the prawns and cook for a few minutes until they curl up and turn pink.
7. Add the sugar, fish sauce and basil leaves, mix well and simmer for a few minutes.
8.  Serve hot with steamed jasmine rice.

Happy Cooking !!

C

Gong Bao Ji Ding aka Kung Pao Chicken

Ni Hao!! If you followed my Shanghai Connection it might be obvious on what my next recipe should be. Yes, I have been influenced... Kung Pao Chicken was one of my staple lunch diets at Panda Express at Lloyd Center mall along with Black Pepper chicken and Chowmein. I guess that was the one of the few "spicy" chinese dishes I could have almost anywhere in US. After a few years they came up with Kung Pao Prawns - not sure if they still have it. Anyways...had an opportunity to experiment this out for a few guests at home last week. After a long contemplation between Gong Bao Ji Ding (traditional Chinese name) and Black Pepper, ended up with Gong Bao. 

Ingredients

1) Chicken breast fillets

2)  Raw peanuts (skin less)

3)  Dried Red Chillies

4) Soy Sauce

5) Chinese Cooking Wine

6) Spring onion (bottom white part only)

7) Corn flour

8) Vinegar 

9) Minced Garlic

Of course you can add some red capsicum (bell pepper) to add some colour.

The Method

For a dish that looks simple it's actually a bit of a process involved. It had to be done in different phases.

1) Marinade the the diced chicken breasts in soy sauce with a bit of salt and corn flour powder. 

2)  In a large wok, add a few "generous" tablespoons of oil and fry the red chillies and peanuts for a few minutes. Try not to burn the red chillies. You can stop when you see some brown spots on the peanuts. Strain the fried mixture from the oil and set aside. By this time the wok should've got a nice smoky nutty flavour.

3) In the same oil (please note it has to be the same oil) shallow fry the chicken for a few minutes. Add a dash of vinegar and rice wine as the chicken cooks. You will have to ensure the chicken is cut in such a way that it cooks in a few minutes. Strain the chicken (if you still have excess oil) and set aside.

4) Sautee the garlic and shallots in few tablespoons of oil (use remaining oil if available after frying the chicken).

5) Mix the chicken along with a few dashes of soy sauce, rice wine and vinegar. 

6) After a few tosses with the chicken add the peanut / chilli  mixture and toss it around. If you had some red capsicum now would be a good time. Check and add some salt to taste as required.

Gong Bao Ji Ding ready... 

Serve hot with steamed rice or just by itself as an appetizer.

Happy Cooking!!

C