Well, here it is , a tried and tested recipe many times over. I got it from a teatowel that I picked up in Edinburgh, Scotland way back in 1995, with my brother and his 2 sons (then, he has 5 boys now) and my sister and her family. Our mission was to sight the Loch Ness monster, and we actually camped overnight at Loch Lomond. Well, they ( the kids) thought they caught a glimpse of Nessie's shadow in the middle of the night, while their Aunty was snoring away after a hard day of shopping. "Shopping" when I travel is not boutique crawling but more of browsing in village bookshops and handicraft stores, and I would pick gift items that might include interesting notebooks, kitchenware, cards, teaspoons which I will put to use as soon as I get home - I have loads by now - and a must, at least a teatowel or dishcloth from the place ( the way some people buy T-shirts). Lovely linen teatowels from England(or any place in the globe - unfortunately Malaysia has only one type) makes any date in the kitchen a very fulfilling session!
One such teatowel I picked up while trying to hunt down Nessie is one which featured Basic Scones. I tried it and it works, a simple recipe that can be modified with add-ons ( raisins, cranberry or even oats and nuts if you fancy so) and still turn out scrumptious. I now use wholegrain wheatflour ( really grainy and more suitable for bread but it works!) and not atta flour, which is also whole grain but more suitable for capatis. Here goes the recipe...
Basic Scones from a Scottish Tea-Towel (Survivor style)
12 oz wholegrain wheat flour
3 oz olive butter
2 tbs brown or raw sugar
pinch salt
200 ml cold milk (I use skim with ice-cold water)
2 teasp baking powder
3 oz (or more if desired) dried, preservative-free cranberry - chop into bits
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Method:
1. Mix all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl using wooden spoon
2. Chop olive butter into little cubes and throw into flour mixture and using rub-in method, form "breadcrumbs"
3. Gradually add in vanilla essence (sprinkle) and cold milk or milk and water mix, stirring gently with wooden sppon or spatula to form a loose dough
4. Dust a pastryboard with flour and roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness.
5. Use a 2" round cookie cutter ( or cap of small Nescafe jar will do) and cut out shape.
6. Arrange on a flat baking tray.
I get 15 pieces from the above measurements. Bake for 12-15 minutes in a hot oven (225 degrees). Smells reallt good when done, and will be golden brown in appearance, and not creamy yellow like regular scones.
Serve with olive butter and strawberry jam, best enjoyed with a steaming cup of Rooibos tea ( no more Earl grey and such). Rooibos (from S.Africa) does not contain caffeine and apparently very rich in antioxidants to knock off "bad vibes" from the sugar and fat.
If placed in an airtight jar, the scones remain fresh for 4-5 days. Well, to be quite honest, I was not able to test if they can last longer because they were all gone in 4 days.
I suppose for variety and to wipe out any bad conscience of having scones, chopped dates ( good brain and blood food), chopped rosella petals, chopped prunes and chopped permissible nuts and grains could also be used instead of regular sultanas and the cranberries. I am using cranberries because it is also rich in antioxidant and also because I have a stock that has a "Best Used By" date of July 2008!
p.s . I will try to remember to post a picture of the scones in the near future.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
*SS Lentil Curry - *Survivor Style
I am a fan of Indian, Punjabi, Ayur and Pakistani food and would try out various restaurants to sample their fare. The places can range from the likes of The Taj and Bombay Palace to neighbourhood restaurants (Saffron, Khana Peena, Ludhiana Station) and of course the legendary Nasi Kandar places (Pelita, Bistari, Kayu, Devi's Corner). Why, I would go to a "hole-in-a-wall" place if the food is really good. I just love going mamak, and even when I travel, I would hunt for a place that can offer me a good vindaloo just to whet my tastebuds so that I won't miss KL too much. In Tokyo, near my former affiliate office, and in Wales, in the middle of nowhere, I had managed to locate an Indian restaurant with dishes to burn the tongue and warm up my insides when it was freezing outside.
Now that I have to go easy on milk, oil, salt, sugar and white flour, eating out is no longer a breeze. My immune system is just beginning to pick up and I have to be mindful of where and what I eat. A normal place which used to be okay for a capati and dhall, can sometimes give me acute diarrhoea if perhaps the food had been reheated or not properly covered.
The solution? Eat at home. And why not, my Indonesian helper is keen to learn how to make curries as she says she has not eaten roti canai, capati or tosai before coming to Malaysia.
I prepare a lentil curry base very simply by omitting that bit about saute-ing the onions and spices in oil. Initially I changed from Mazola or Carotena to Olive, then to Grapeseed. Now I omit the oil totally from my lentil and dhall curries. And it tastes as good, no one can tell the difference ( or maybe they were just too polite). It tastes fine to me and until my taste buds tell me otherwise, I think I am quite happy with this cooking style.
Recipe for simple lentil or dhall curry:
Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked dhall or various lentils, washed and boiled until tender. Do not drain the water, the goodness is all there.
1 large onion, chopped
4 pips garlic, chopped
Thumb-sized ginger, shredded fine
Half Thumb-sized turmeric, shredded fine (supposed to be anti-tumor)
1 cup tarmarind juice ( dissolve I dessertspoon of Adabi Tamarind Paste sold in tubs)
2 heaped tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
Assorted whole spices - piece of cinnamon, 1 star anise, pinch of cumin seeds, pinch of coriander seeds
Optional - 1 cup coconut milk (use M&S , no cholestrol they say). I prefer to use fresh coconut milk, if at all.
Shredded coriander leaves ( "sejemput" is what my mum would say -is a "scoop" - using fingers
be the English equivalent, I wonder)
A small pinch of aalt or salt substitute
Method:
1. Put the pot of tenderized lentils on the boil. Add Tamarind juice and let boil for 2/3 minutes
2. Throw in all the ingredients above, except for the coconut milk and coriander leaves
3. Let simmer until the ingredients and lentils have blended and form a thick concoction
At this stage the aroma would be quite yummy, especially the smell of the cumin seeds
wafting out of the pot
4. If you plan to serve this "neat" ie without any other additions like cubed potatoes or assorted
vegetables, it is fine to add in the coconut milk and salt
5. If this is to be used as a base for dhall or lentil and vegetable curry, then add in the cubed
vegetables (carrot, potatoes, pumpkin, cauliflower, tomatoes, green apple or green mangoes,
whatever you fancy) and only add in the coconut milk when the vegetables are tender
6. Add salt or liquid aminos to season.
7. Garnish with coriander leaves when serving
This simple dish is absolutely delicious with home steamed rice idli or ragi puttu. For carnivores( sorry, can't resist this as I am off meat for the moment - since Hari Raya Puasa), you could add mutton bones, or beef bones which would give the gravy an even richer taste.
Lentil Curry is really a life saver and I resort to it when I run out of fresh ideas to cook. My maid will add meat to her portion ( she has no reason to stop being a carnivore). Sometimes I take it as a soup, and have it with a plateful of stir-fried or steamed green vegetables with a good wholemeal bread, pitta or capati. It is quick, nutritious, rich with proteins and very economical to prepare.
I would shop for ingredients in Brickfields at Sitharam's or Malliga Enterprise. One can get carried away shopping for indian groceries there, and I just love the Ragi Puttu on sale after 7pm that I even bought a Puttu Maker!! I figured that after making my 20th puttu, I would have recouped my investment. This gadget now keeps the Idli maker company in my kitchen shelf. As I need to go easy on cakes and pastries which requires dairy products, my baking trays have been forced to go into early retirement, so I needed new tools to make my new dietary practice easier to follow.
Not everyone will be thrilled with my modified recipes but my friends have not noticed the difference so far. Maybe they are also keen to eat more healthily?
Now that I have to go easy on milk, oil, salt, sugar and white flour, eating out is no longer a breeze. My immune system is just beginning to pick up and I have to be mindful of where and what I eat. A normal place which used to be okay for a capati and dhall, can sometimes give me acute diarrhoea if perhaps the food had been reheated or not properly covered.
The solution? Eat at home. And why not, my Indonesian helper is keen to learn how to make curries as she says she has not eaten roti canai, capati or tosai before coming to Malaysia.
I prepare a lentil curry base very simply by omitting that bit about saute-ing the onions and spices in oil. Initially I changed from Mazola or Carotena to Olive, then to Grapeseed. Now I omit the oil totally from my lentil and dhall curries. And it tastes as good, no one can tell the difference ( or maybe they were just too polite). It tastes fine to me and until my taste buds tell me otherwise, I think I am quite happy with this cooking style.
Recipe for simple lentil or dhall curry:
Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked dhall or various lentils, washed and boiled until tender. Do not drain the water, the goodness is all there.
1 large onion, chopped
4 pips garlic, chopped
Thumb-sized ginger, shredded fine
Half Thumb-sized turmeric, shredded fine (supposed to be anti-tumor)
1 cup tarmarind juice ( dissolve I dessertspoon of Adabi Tamarind Paste sold in tubs)
2 heaped tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
Assorted whole spices - piece of cinnamon, 1 star anise, pinch of cumin seeds, pinch of coriander seeds
Optional - 1 cup coconut milk (use M&S , no cholestrol they say). I prefer to use fresh coconut milk, if at all.
Shredded coriander leaves ( "sejemput" is what my mum would say -is a "scoop" - using fingers
be the English equivalent, I wonder)
A small pinch of aalt or salt substitute
Method:
1. Put the pot of tenderized lentils on the boil. Add Tamarind juice and let boil for 2/3 minutes
2. Throw in all the ingredients above, except for the coconut milk and coriander leaves
3. Let simmer until the ingredients and lentils have blended and form a thick concoction
At this stage the aroma would be quite yummy, especially the smell of the cumin seeds
wafting out of the pot
4. If you plan to serve this "neat" ie without any other additions like cubed potatoes or assorted
vegetables, it is fine to add in the coconut milk and salt
5. If this is to be used as a base for dhall or lentil and vegetable curry, then add in the cubed
vegetables (carrot, potatoes, pumpkin, cauliflower, tomatoes, green apple or green mangoes,
whatever you fancy) and only add in the coconut milk when the vegetables are tender
6. Add salt or liquid aminos to season.
7. Garnish with coriander leaves when serving
This simple dish is absolutely delicious with home steamed rice idli or ragi puttu. For carnivores( sorry, can't resist this as I am off meat for the moment - since Hari Raya Puasa), you could add mutton bones, or beef bones which would give the gravy an even richer taste.
Lentil Curry is really a life saver and I resort to it when I run out of fresh ideas to cook. My maid will add meat to her portion ( she has no reason to stop being a carnivore). Sometimes I take it as a soup, and have it with a plateful of stir-fried or steamed green vegetables with a good wholemeal bread, pitta or capati. It is quick, nutritious, rich with proteins and very economical to prepare.
I would shop for ingredients in Brickfields at Sitharam's or Malliga Enterprise. One can get carried away shopping for indian groceries there, and I just love the Ragi Puttu on sale after 7pm that I even bought a Puttu Maker!! I figured that after making my 20th puttu, I would have recouped my investment. This gadget now keeps the Idli maker company in my kitchen shelf. As I need to go easy on cakes and pastries which requires dairy products, my baking trays have been forced to go into early retirement, so I needed new tools to make my new dietary practice easier to follow.
Not everyone will be thrilled with my modified recipes but my friends have not noticed the difference so far. Maybe they are also keen to eat more healthily?
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