Ondeh-Ondeh Purple Sweet Potato (2)

 

     

Ondeh-Ondeh, glutinous rice balls filled with palm sugar and coated with fresh coconut flakes can be found in most stalls selling traditional kuih. However, what we usually find in these stalls are green ones, made with pandan juice. Seldom can we find those made with sweet potatoes. Comparatively, the pandan ones are more aromatic. However, both taste the same and are pleasing to the eyes. 

Ingredients:

• 265 g glutinous rice flour
• 220 g steamed purple sweet potato, mashed
• 250 g water
• 150 g gula Melaka (1 cylindrical block)
• 200 g fresh grated coconut
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 pandan leaves, washed and cut into 3-inch length

Method:

• Add half of the pandan leaves and salt to grated coconut and steam them for a few minutes. Set aside.

• Mix glutinous rice flour and mashed steamed purple potato in a mixing bowl.

• Add 90 percent of the water to the bowl and knead the glutinous rice flour and sweet potato till they are smooth. If the dough is too dry, add more water tablespoon by tablespon till you have a soft dough.

• Divide and weigh the dough into 15g-piece. Roll the dough into balls. (You may weigh to make smaller or bigger dough balls).

• Pound the cylindrical block of gula Melaka to break it up into smaller pieces.

• Take a dough ball. Flatten it and scoop 1/2 a teaspoon or more of gula Melaka onto it. Bring up the edges of the dough to seal it. Place in into a floured plate.

• Repeat this till all the dough balls have been filled.

• Boil a pot of water with the balance of the pandan leaves.

• Drop the dough balls into the boiling water.

• Once the dough balls float to the surface, it means that they are cooked. Let them roll in the boiling water for about 5 minutes more to ensure that the gula Melaka is fully melted.

• Remove the cooked balls onto the plate of grated coconut. Roll them in the grated coconuts. (I managed to get 48 pieces of Ondeh-Ondeh from my recipe.)

• Plate them and serve.

Lemongrass Chicken - Airfried and Fried

I have done a very simple Turmeric and Lemongrass Chicken earlier which involved marinating the chicken and baking it. It is a very straight forward and easy method of cooking the chicken. This current version involves more processes as we have to pound the lemongrass and blend the chili before we can marinate, airfry and finally fry the chicken in the pan. However, the final dish is more fragrant as the finely pounded lemongrass is fried together with the chili paste. 


Ingredients:

• Half a chicken
• 2 tbsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp chili powder or chili flakes
• 4 stalks of lemongrass
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• All of chili paste
• 10 pcs red chilies
• 4 pcs dried chilies
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 small red onion
• Cooking oil to saute chili paste

Method:

• Prepare the lemongrass. Wash and cut them into 1-inch length. Pound them to break up them into fine strands.

• Prepare the chili paste by blending/pounding the red chilies, dried chilies, garlic and red onion.

• Wash and pat dry the chicken with kitchen towel. Put the chicken into a mixing bowl.

• Mix the turmeric powder, chili powder/chili flakes, a bit of the pounded lemongrass, black pepper powder, salt and cooking oil to form a paste.

• Rub the paste on the chicken completely.

• Let the marinated chicken stand for a minimum of 30 minutes.

• Airfry the chicken at 240 degree Centigrade for 30 minutes, turning them half way to ensure all pieces are cooked.

• Remove the chicken from the airfryer when done.

• Heat up a pan or wok with cooking oil.

• Saute the chili paste and the remaining lemongrass till fragrant.

• Add the airfried chicken pieces to the pan or wok. Stir till all the pieces are covered with the chili paste and lemongrass.
  

• Transfer the chicken to a serving plate.

 

Ondeh-Ondeh Pandan

 

Recently, I requested my daughter to ask her friend who was going back to Melaka to buy me a kilogram of pure gula Melaka as it had been a long time since I made Ondeh-Ondeh. This kuih is a favourite of my family members. I need pure gula Melaka which is soft and will melt in the dough during boiling. When we eat it, the melted gula Melaka will squirt out in our mouth. Unpure gula Melaka will be hard and will not melt as easily when cooked.

Ingredients:

• 210 g glutinous rice flour
• 60 g all-purpose flour
• 8-10 pandan leaves
• 300 g water
• 150 g gula Melaka (1 cylindrical block)
• 150 g fresh grated coconut
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

• Add salt to grated coconut and steam them for a few minutes.

• Mix glutinous rice flour and all-purpose flour in a bowl. Set aside.

• Grind pandan leaves and water to obtain 200g of pandan juice.

• Add 90 percent of the pandan juice to the bowl of flours and knead till they are smooth. If the dough is too dry, add more pandan juice tablespoon by tablespon till you have a soft dough.

• Divide and weigh the dough into 15g-piece. Roll the dough into balls. (You may weigh to make smaller or bigger dough balls).

• Pound the cylindrical block of gula Melaka to break it up into smaller pieces.

• Take a dough ball. Flatten it and scoop 1/2 a teaspoon or more of gula Melaka onto it. Bring up the edges of the dough to seal it. Place in into a floured plate.

• Repeat this till all the dough balls have been filled.

• Boil a pot of water.

• Drop the dough balls into the boiling water.

• Once the dough balls float to the surface, it means that they are cooked. Let them roll in the boiling water for about 5 minutes more to ensure that the gula Melaka is melted.

• Remove the cooked balls onto the plate of grated coconut. Roll them in the grated coconuts. (I managed to get 32 pieces of Ondeh-Ondeh from my recipe.)

• Plate them and serve.

Cheesey & Spicy Paratha

  

     

 

I learnt to make plain Paratha by watching lots of videos on YouTube.  Although you can eat these Indian flatbread as they are, they go best with curry. As I was not going to make curry so early in the morning, I decided to add fillings to them, thus, my Cheesey and Spicy Paratha. I have added Mozzarella cheese, onions, coriander and chilies as my fillings. However, you may add garlic, green onions and what have you as yours. Making Paratha is easy and it took less time than baking bread. Thus, when you have nothing in the kitchen for breakfast, you can make them provided you have an important ingredient in your pantry - whole wheat flour (atta flour).

Ingredients:

• 125 g whole wheat Atta flour
• 125 g all-purpose flour
• 5 g salt
• 25 g corn oil
• 150 g water (+ / - 10 g)
• Filling:
• 100 g Mozzarella
• 15 g coriander
• 75 g red onion
• 5 pieces bird's eyes chilies
• 3 cloves garlic, optional
• 1 g salt

Method:

• Add whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt and corn oil to a mixing bowl.

• Add water to the bowl.

• Knead the flours in the bowl to form a soft dough ball. (If the dough is too dry, add more water, a tablespoon at a time till you achieve a soft dough bowl.)

• Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes to let the gluten form.

• Meanwhile, prepare the fillings.
• Grate the Mozzarella cheese into a bowl.
• Chop the coriander and add them to the bowl with the grated Mozzarella cheese.
• Chop the red onion and add them to the bowl.
• Cut the chilies into tiny pieces and add them to the bowl.
• Mince the garlic and add them to the bowl.
• Mix up all these ingredients and set the bowl aside.

• Flour your counter-top well and transfer the dough onto it.

• Divide the dough into the number of pieces of Paratha that you want; if you prefer a large Paratha, then divide it into 6 pieces. And 8 pieces if you prefer smaller pieces.

• Roll each piece into smaller dough balls. Cover the dough balls to prevent them from drying out.

• Flour your rolling pin and counter-top.

• Take a dough ball and use the rolling pin to flatten it as thin as possible.

• Repeat this until all the dough balls have been flattened. Cover the flattened dough to prevent them from drying out.

• Take a piece of flattened dough. Spoon the cheese mixture onto the centre of the dough.

• Bring the edges together and seal them into a ball.

• Repeat these last 2 steps till all the dough have been filled.

• Again flour your rolling pin and counter-top.

• Use your rolling pin to gently flatten the dough ball with fillings (seamside down). You have to be gentle as you would not want to puncture the dough.

• Repeat this step until you have flattened all the dough with fillings.

• Heat up a non-stick pan and fry each piece till it is cooked on both sides.

• Serve.