Another Classique

Fish Pie

Whenever dignitaries and very important guests visited or for official parties, my Mother made it a point to have Fish Pie on the menu.  We children loved it and especially my brother Kenny who chose it as the dish of the day for his birthday which preceded my sister’s by two days.   Just anticipating the pie made us drool in ecstacy and to this day it is a firm favourite.

The Recipe:

   A.      ½ kg seer fish (any sliced fish will do);  1 medium onion, chopped; 1 medium tomato, chopped; 1 flake garlic, minced; ½ inch ginger, minced; 2 green chillies, minced; few coriander leaves, chopped; 2 spring onions, minced; ½ tsp turmeric powder; 1 ½ cups water and salt to taste; 2 tbsp olive oil.

     B.      1 cup cooked pasta (My Mother always used spaghetti)

     C.    1 cup  grated carrot (any vegetable)

     D.   For White Sauce:  1 whole egg; 1 cup fish stock; 1 cup milk; salt & white pepper to taste; 1   taste; 1 dsp flour; 1 small onion minced.

      E  For Topping:  50 gm of grated cheese

Place  ingredients from A except olive oil  in a saucepan and gently bring to the boil.  Lower flame and cook five minutes till fish is cooked.  Remove fish, debone and place in the bottom of a greased oven proof dish.  Reserve liquid for making the white sauce (fish stock).  Place the pasta on top of the fish in an even layer.  Top with the grated carrot.  Keep aside while you make the white sauce.

For White Sauce:   Heat oil in non stick pan.  Fry the minced onions until glazed and transparent.  Add flour and stir fry for a minute till crisp.  Lower flame and slowly pour in the fish stock, stirring all the while to avoid lumps.  Next add the milk and keep stirring until thick and creamy.  Add the whole egg and gently mix.  Season with salt & white pepper.  Pour over the carrot,  pasta and the fish taking care to see that the sauce goes right to the bottom.    Sprinkle the grated cheese on top and bake in a preheated oven at 250 C till cheese melts and becomes golden brown.  Serve hot, with freshly baked, crusty baker’s bread and a garden salad.

An Offering Of Love

Mothers Day Cake

I was touched to receive a Triple Chocolate Dessert Cake from Ranita this morning.  She took over the kitchen Saturday afternoon and the preparations went on long after midnight.  I was sent off to buy the necessary ingredients and given precise instructions as to what she needed.  The result- one rich, luscious, gooey, dark chocolate cake.  A labour of love indeed.  Happy Mothers Day and thank you Ranita.  Am very proud of your culinary skills.

The Recipe

125 gms salted butter, cut into pieces; 350gms dark cooking chocolate, chopped; 175 gms soft brown sugar; 3 large eggs;  125 gms maida; 30 gms dark cocoa powder; 2 x 200 gm  Cadbury Milk Chocolate, chopped;  200gms almonds, chopped; 1 tsp vanilla essence.

1 x 200 gm Cadbury Milk Chocolate for topping after baking.

500gms tinned sliced peaches, pineapple cubes and fruit cocktail for the topping.  Drain fruits and reserve ½ cup syrup for use.

Place the butter and chopped cooking chocolate in a double boiler and heat on moderate flame until both have melted.  Keep aside till needed.  Beat the eggs and vanilla essence until thick and fluffy.  Fold in the melted chocolate.  Sift the flour and cocoa and stir into the  chocolate mixture.  Add the chopped Cadbury chocolate and almonds.  Pour into a greased 9 inch rectangular cake tin lined with balking paper, with the paper hanging out on both sides. Bake in preheated oven at 180C for 40 minutes or until skewer inserted in centre comes out clean.  Thoroughly cool and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.  Unmould .  With a fork make small holes all over the cake and pour  ½ cup syrup reserved from tinned fruits over.  Wait 1 hour until surface is fairly dry.  Melt the remaining Cadbbury Chocolate and spread  evenly over cake.  Refrigerate until set.  Arrange the fruits artistically on top and refrigerate overnight.  Serve on Mothers Day with love.  

Girl Power

Birthday Pie

Today is Anu’s birthday and I still remember coming back from St. Martha’s hospital elated that I had a baby sister.  In fact as Mummy was going to the hospital, Asha & I were shouting "Have a girl, have a girl, " much to Kenny’s annoyance who wanted a boy.  The girls won hands down and three to one was always the winner.  Decided to make a Breadfruit Pie today since Anu likes to cook unusual food and  also had some breadfruit and was wondering how to use it up.  This is a quick and toothsome savoury dish.  Happy Birthday Anu.  We will think of you when we consume this utterly scrumptious Breadfruit Chicken Pie.

The Recipe

300gms chicken (breast)mince, washed and drained; 200gms breadfruit, boiled and mashed well; 1 large onion, chopped; 2 green chillies, minced; 2 tbsp methi leaves, washed and chopped; 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste; 1 bunch coriander leaves, chopped; 2 spring onions, minced fine;1 large egg;  ¼ cup grated cheese; ¼ cup fine breadcrumbs; 2 tbsp oil; salt to taste.

Cook chicken mince in a non stick pan without adding water until cooked and all liquid has evaporated..  Heat oil in another pan and stir fry onions, methi leaves, coriander leaves, chillies, spring onions and ginger garlic paste until onions are glazed and the mixture well cooked.  Add the mince.   Remove from fire and stir in the mashed breadfruit, egg salt to taste and mix together.  Transfer to oiled pyrex  dish and level the top with a wet spoon.  Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly on top and then repeat with the grated cheese.  Bake in a preheated oven at  200C for 40 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.  Serve hot with crusty bread or parathas.  Both taste good.

Serendipity

Kelapa (Coconut) Ice Cream

This is a recipe that came our way through serendipity.  One day while shooping at the local grocery store, the lights went off.  We were in the ice cream section and the girls were arguing over what flavour to choose.  In the confusion that followed I grabbed whatever came to my hand.  When we came home, we saw that it was Kelapa (Coconut Ice Cream).  And so we were accidentally introduced to the joys of this unique, wonderful, exotic Eastern Ice Cream!

The Recipe 3 cups coconut milk; a pinch of salt;3 tbsp corn syrup;1/2 tsp vanilla essence; 1/2 cup caster sugar; 2 Pandanus or screw pines leaves;¼ kg tender coconut blended in mixer (optional).

In a saucepan, combine salt, sugar, coconut milk, corn syrup, and Pandanus leaves and heat them over low flame.  Stir until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat. Cool, add the vanilla essence  and chill in the fridge overnight in an airtight container.Next day whisk everything together with an electric beater again having first removed the Pandanus leaves. Add  blended tender coconut.  Freeze again overnight.  Serve with chocolate wafers and a drizzle of honey.  This is a fabulous dessert and tastes good with or without the tender coconut.  Try both versions and judge for yourself.

 

 

Spicy Malaysian Fish

Asam Pedas- Finger Licking Good

Eating out in Kuala Lumpur is a thrilling experience.  You never know what you’re going to find.  There are so many varieties of cuisine that one is spoilt for choice.  A few years ago a friend invited us to a small eatery off the highway.    Unimpressive, simple and practically bare,  the food we had there was simply divine.  The fish caught my fancy and after that we had it whenever we had the opportunity.  Learnt how to cook it  and don’t’ be surprised when you actually lick your fingers in the end. 

Asam Pedas is a typical Malaysian Dish.  Asam means sour and Pedas means spicy, so the dish is a classic hot and sour delight.  This is one of the most satisfying dishes I have had. 


The Recipe

1 whole pomfret clean, wash & drain; 6 small ladies finger cut diagonally into two each; 1 tomato , quartered; 1 tsp fish curry powder or more to taste; 2 sprigs of daun kesum (Vietnamese mint/Vietnamese coriander); 2 tbsp cooking oil; 1 tbsp brown sugar; salt to taste.

Masala

1 clove garlic; 1 stalk of lemon grass (white part only); 5 sambar onions;1 tsp chilly powder more or less to taste; 1/2 tbsp belacan (prawn paste).

Tamarind Pulp

Mix 3 tbsp tamarind pulp in  1 ½  cup of water.  Keep for 10 minutes and strain for use.

For Fish Curry Powder

Blend the following together

200 gm  coriander seeds
75 gm  aniseed (somph)
75 gm  cumin (jeera )
50 gm - black and white pepper corns
75 gm - chilli powder
35 gm turmeric powder

Blend Separately: 1  cinnamon stick, about 5 cm long; 5gm cardamoms, with pod;3 cloves; 3 star anise;
20gm fenugreek (methi seeds).

Mix both powders together and store in airtight container.

Blend the masala  and keep  aside.  Heat oil and fry the masala until fragrant (a few minutes).  Add the strained  tamarind, fish curry powder and bring to boil.  Next add the quartered tomato and ladies fingers and bring to boil.

Add the fish, salt, and brown sugar.  Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked.

Serve hot with white rice. 

NB:  Vietnamese Mint is also known as   Vietnamese Coriander.  It has a strong minty peppery flavour and is sold in small bunches with pointed leaves on the stem.   Substitute  with  Mint (Pudina) or equal parts of Mint & Coriander.


Belacan is nothing but shrimp paste.  Substitute with Anchovy fillets if desired.

A Royal Dessert

Rabri



I first had this in my Aunt’s house decades ago and the taste lingered on my tongue for years. I found the recipe while browsing through an ancient cookery book and it fast became a favourite with everyone who tasted it.
Rabri or Shahi Tukra as it is called is said to have its origins in Pakistan and a heritage of the rich cuisine prevalent during the Mughal Period. An exotic bread pudding with raisins, nuts and spices this is A Royal Dessert fit for kings and queens.


The Recipe

4 slices of bread cut into 4 triangles each; ghee for frying bread; sugar to taste; 2 cups milk; 2 tbsp almonds and raisins; 3 cardamoms powdered; ½ tsp almond essence; edible silver foil for garnish.

Heat ghee in a non stick pan and fry bread on both sides until golden brown. Arrange in a shallow glass dish in layers. Boil milk and sugar till thick and reduced. Remove from heat. Stir in essence and cardamom powder and pour over the fried bread. Scatter the raisins and almonds on top. Cool completely. Garnish with silver foil and refrigerate overnight. Serve cold. Indulge in and thoroughly enjoy A Royal Dessert!

Vegetable Medley

Appu's Mixed Mash

We loved visiting our great aunt during the summer holidays solely for one reason- she had a wonderful cook. He stayed on the premises and concocted amazing food. Her parties were one of a kind. Many of the recipes were painstakingly written and passed around the family and reproduced again and again. One such recipe is the mixed beetroot cutlets . Normally we children hated beetroots, but these patty’s coated with breadcrumbs and then fried in oil were very much desired. We gobbled them by the dozen and enjoyed licking our fingers afterwards. I’m too lazy to make cutlets, so just bake everything and serve it up. It’s as good as Appu’s!
The Recipe

1 medium beetroot, grated; 1 large carrot, grated; 1 medium white radish, grated (this is the only way I got my children to eat it); 2 tomatoes, chopped; 2 medium potatoes , boiled and mashed; 2 green chillies, minced; 1 large onion, minced; 2 flakes garlic, minced; 1 inch piece ginger minced; 2 eggs, beaten lightly; salt to taste; ½ cup breadcrumbs for the top and 1 tsp somph, roasted and powdered; 2 cloves and a small piece cinnamon roasted and powdered; 1 bunch coriander leaves, chopped;2tbsp oil.
Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan and sauté onion, ginger and garlic till a nice aroma fills the room. Add grated beetroot, carrot and white radish and stir fry till water evaporates. Stir in the green chillies and tomatoes and cook till fairly dry. Mix in the powdered somph and spices, mashed potatoes and coriander leaves combining well. Add salt to taste. Cool and stir in the lightly beaten eggs. Transfer to well greased pyrex dish. Top with breadcrumbs and bake for 15 minutes at 150C or till breadcrumbs turn golden brown. Serve hot with chappathis or dhal & rice during Lent.