Dinner Twist - Baghali Pollow & Beef Curry

There is always twist in our dinning table, what I mean is .. when I decide to cook, i always make a crazy combination of dishes between Persian and Indonesian - sound cool huh, :)  No I don't mix the recipe but if I cook Persian rice it will always company by Indonesia stew ...the purpose is to introduce as many taste to our mixed family 

Last week, my persian friend came to our home, and without hesitate I start asking about how to cook rice properly, believe me it take me 10 years to cook persian rice correctly, everyday is a practice day you know.. She gave me a very nice tips for using a different kind of pots..  

And today I prepared foods for dinner, 'Dill Rice and Kalio Daging / Indonesian beef curry' - so let's me share the recipe with you .. hope you enjoy it..

Baghali Pollow (Dill Rice with Lima Beans / Fava Beans)

Ingredients :

2 cups  basmati rice

2 cups frozen baby lima beans, thawed - Fava beans or black bean will work too

2 cups finely chopped fresh dill or 1 1/2 cups dried dill. - or use both combination, but make sure put the fresh one for the last layer, since the fresh one give such a great flavor

2-3 tablespoons oil

1/3 teaspoon turmeric

Dash of cinnamon

Salt 

1-2 tablespoons of melted butter for the topping *optional

Water

Method:

In a medium bowl mix dill (fresh or dried), lima beans, a dash of salt, cinnamon and turmeric. Mix well and set aside.

Wash rice with cool water a few times. Soak in 4 cups of water, add 2-3 tablespoons of salt and set aside for a 1-2 hours. 

In a large non-stick pot that has a tight fitting lid, bring 4 cups of water to a rapid boil. Drain rice and pour into boiling water and boil uncovered for 10 minutes. Test to see if the rice is ready. Rice should be firm in the center and soft on the outside. Drain and rinse with cool water. 

Wash the pot and return to heat, add a couple of tablespoons of oil. Place a layer of rice into the pot (or simply just put a layer of slice flat bread or thin slices of potato, and make sure sprinkle with a bit of salt on the top of potato otherwise will taste blend) then  a layer of dill and Lima beans. Then another layer of rice, continue building it into a pyramid shape. 

In order to release the steam make 2-3 holes in the rice with the bottom of the spatula. 

Cover and cook for 10 minutes on medium-high heat until rice is steaming, add a cup of water. Lower heat and steam the rice for another 40-50 minutes.

Serve on a platter along with lamb shanks or chicken pieces or just by itself as a vegetarian dish. If you find the rice a bit on the dry side distribute the melted butter on top of the rice.

Kalio Daging / Beef Curry Stew

Ingredients

500 gr Beef-sliced,

400 ml Coconut milk    

small size of potatoes

Grind into a paste:

100 ml Coconut juice, 

3 Kaffir lime leaves   

3 Bay leaves, 

1 Tamarind,      

3 cm Galangal 

1 Lemon grass-bruised        

100 gr Kidney beans-boiled ¾ soft  - bean in the can works too, make sure you drained and rinse with cold water               

Grind into a paste

8 shallot, 

4 cloves garlic, 

5 candlenuts (easy to find at Asia market or you can substitute with cashew

2 tsp corriander,

1 tsp cumin

2 cm turmeic or 1 tsp turmeric powder

2 cm fresh ginger or 1 tsp ginger powder

2 tsp salt

10 red chillies, 5 cayenne peppers, - how much chilles is depent how how do you want your stew is,in case I must to adjust with hubby and kid taste

1 tomato

Directions

Sauté ground spices with a bit oil until fragrant. Stir in the beef; cook until the color changed.

Pour the coconut milk & juice; add in galangal, lemon grass, tamarind, lime leaves & bay leaves. Cook until the gravy becomes oily. Put in beans; cook until the gravy becomes rather thick & the beans soft.

Hello June ..

J

June is here .. the weather is perfect one day. pouring rain one day, breezy in the morning, high humidity in the afternoon .. keep on going like that for almost 2 weeks.  Kids still enjoying the afternoon swimming, ice cone , they laughing, playing non stop ..  oh this kids grows big together too fast .. hope they will always be a best friend ..

I picked some fresh herbs a couple days ago, try to add more 'green' on our kitchen window .  Its smell good , thou .. I might pick some more next time I pass the Home Depot :) yep, that my favorite store for now beside fabric store hahaha ..  Right, I don't have much of sewing this day  since I have kid who has a summer break, it's hard to find a free time to do what I like to do but still excuse myself to picked some fabrics for summer clothes, its really sloooow progress from cutting to finish .. 

Baking ? well. still do but its really simple one .. like tea cake style like this one, blueberry cake I've been tag for a week from Patricia Scarpin blog - she always have a simple cake recipe which suit for me very well .. 

Cream cheese and blueberry cake

Adapted from Patricia Scarpin 

Blueberry compote:

1 cup (140g) blueberries – frozen blueberry works well too

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Cake:

1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon table salt

½ cup (100g) granulated sugar

finely grated zest of 1 large orange

½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

180g cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ teaspoons Cointreau (optional) 

Start by making the compote: place the blueberries and sugar in a small saucepan and warm until the berries soften and the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes – stir occasionally. Squash the berries with the back of a spoon as you stir. Cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 5 ½ cup-capacity loaf pan, line it with baking paper and butter the paper as well.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Add the butter and cream cheese and cream until light and fluffy – scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and the Cointreau (if using). On low speed, add the flour mixture mixing only until incorporated – do not overmix.

Pour the cake into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Top with the blueberries, keeping most of the juice (so the cake don’t get soggy). Swirl the berries through the cake with a butter knife. Smooth out the top without mixing too much.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Serves 8

Home Made Yogurt

We consume so much yogurt in our house hold, I cook with yogurt, we drink yogurt juice, we add yogurt into our breakfast item . So many times I've been thinking about to make my own yogurt, looking and searching in the internet how to make it, and again always I scare if I failed, so again I just buy yogurt from store, quite easy haaah ....  until one day, friend of mine say 'why don't you make your own yogurt, I will teach you'  - ok, seem easy to me, but time passed she never has a chance to teach me, and make me feel itch .. 

 

And , after read David Lebovitz website, I challenge myself :) in my mind say, that just a milk, if I failed I just lost small amount of money LOL  - Luckily the recipe work well to me than I never buy store yogurt anymore unless I need small amount of yogurt as a starter

Homemade Yogurt
Recipe slightly adapted from : David Lebovitz

Require :
A heavy, heat-proof jar, and sterilize it by pouring boiling water into it and letting it stand, then draining it well before adding the yogurt mixture.

A heavy bottom sauce pan

A candy thermometer, some said you can tested with dip your finger into the yogurt but I don't want burn myself *chicken :p

Ingredients :

• 1 quart (1 l) whole milk
• 1/4 cup (60 g) plain whole milk yogurt

1. Clean a 1 quart (1 l) jar by pouring boiling water in it and letting it stand 5 minutes. Drain the water (carefully, as the water and the jar will be hot), and let the jar dry.

2. Heat the milk in a saucepan fitted with a thermometer until the milk reaches 180ºF (82ºC). Remove from heat.

3. When the temperature drops to 115ºF (45ºC), stir in the 1/4 cup of yogurt, then pour the mixture into the jar and cover it.

4. Put the yogurt in a slightly warm place, and leave it undisturbed for 10 to 12 hours. The longer fermentation will yield a more tart yogurt.  - I  pre-heat the oven  for awhile and turn off after feel warm, and put all the bottles inside the oven after , than cover all the yogurt bottles with towel *hey, they are pretty warm inside the oven


5. Chill the yogurt thoroughly, at least three hours. The yogurt will thicken up once cool.

Hello January ...

Hello everyone, happy new year .. how you guys doing ? I'm so sorry for abandon this blog for more than 6 months.  That what happened when you come back from vacations, you feel something missing especially after vacations back to your own country and make you lazy ... is this only me feel this way ? I still baking and cooking even updating pictures frequently on my IG but write it down here is quite challenge .

 

So, as you know I keep promise to write recipe again.. hope I keep my promise thou.  Let see what do I have here ? yaaaay.. simply recipe yet healthy

Spinach Potatoes Casserole
Ingredients :
6 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 big bag package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter
chopped green onions
salt, black pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions :

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash.
In a large bowl combine mashed potatoes, spinach, sour cream, butter, green onions, salt and pepper. Spoon into prepared dish.
Bake for 15 minutes. Top with cheese and bake 5 minutes longer.

Banana Marzipan Muffin

 

This muffin is on my daughter snack box today, she was so happy when I asked 'what she like me to put on her snack box for today? ; no doubt she pointed to the muffin I made yesterday afternoon.  It was funny moment , while she entered the kitchen after school yesterday !! She said.. "ooh, what a wonderful muffin, I want get 1 for my afternoon snack, what kind of muffin is this ?   I said "banana marzipan chocolate muffin"  -  she showed a funny expression, and said "oh... well, I'm not fan of banana"  ; aaaw ...  really ? since when she become a picky eater ? all right this is time for mom, show her trick .. . I reply again , " well... don't worry banana is just for a flavor like I put vanilla essence the other day, the main ingredient is CHOCOLATE CHIPS"

She said : "ok, I take one" .. after several minute, "ooh, you are right, I have a big chunk of chocolate chips, no banana slice ..this is so delicious, I want this for my tomorrow snack too"    Yeaaaaa... score for me !!

 

 

Banana Marzipan Chocochips Muffin

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
2 cups mashed overripe bananas (about 6)
3 large eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 package (95gr) of Chocolate Cover Marzipan , chopped - I found this at ALDI
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips (6 ounces)

1. Preheat the oven to 350° and line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper or foil liners. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, melted butter, bananas and eggs; mix thoroughly. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until the batter is evenly moistened. Stir in the chocolate chips. 

2. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for about 28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes before turning them out onto a rack to cool completely.

Make Ahead The banana muffins can be wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 1 month. Let thaw and toast in a 350° oven.

The Common Cookies

 

Ask Indonesian people, what a popular cookies for Eid Celebration ? no doubt, they will say "Nastar" and "Katetong" - a very simple cookies yet delicious.  You are not celebrate Eid, if you don't have nastar - well, I think that is a real MANTRA !!  As like other who celebrate Eid in Indonesia - far away from home, I want do the same , bake a humble nastar and katetong. eew, why I just bake once a year since hubby and daughter loves this ?

The other hand, I just realize that another cookies named : katetong - has a different named around the country. Some called cat tounge (which make sense to me, katetong - sound like cat tounge) or Lingue di gato are so named because their shape resembles a cat’s tongue.  They also look a lot like a ladyfinger.  Katetong have a wonderful buttery flavor and can be served plain or frosted with a glaze of bittersweet chocolate.  You can also sandwich two cookies together with the chocolate glaze or with a little jam or Nutella. 

I got this recipe from my beloved friend, Ika Ray - so talented lady, who loves to bake and cook  . I need to re-post the recipe since I told my daughter, someday she need to bake her own :)

 

 

Nastar / Pineapple Tarts Recipe

Recipe : Ika Ray Kitchen

Pineapple Jam Filling
Ingredients:
4 large pineapples
300 g sugar
1 clove
1 inch cinnamon stick

Method:
1. Slice and grate pineapples till fine. You can use a food processor do grate it.
2. In medium pot ( i used spaghetti pot - so the pot deep enough to simmer the jam and not much of mess around the kitchen after work) put the grated pineapple, cinnamon stick, clove, let it simmer until the juice has dry up. Than add sugar .
3. Stir till the pineapple has thickened and dry.

Note : You can make the filling in advance and refrigerate it.

Pastry
Ingredients:
350 g margarine
350 gr butter
150 g caster sugar
4 egg yolks
900 g all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla essence

Egg Brush
2 egg yolk plus 1Tbsp water

Method:
1.Preheat oven at 150° C.
2.Cream margarine, butter and sugar till white.
3.Add in egg yolks and beat at low speed for 1 minute.
4.Fold in flour gradually.
5.Take about 2 tsp pastry dough, roll, press with your finger put a filling, roll it again.
6.Brush with egg brush. Add clove for decoration (optional)
7.Bake in a preheat oven at 350F for 20-25 minutes or when tarts is light golden brown in color

 

Katetong / Cat Tounge Cookies

Recipe : Ika Ray

Ingredients:
white eggs from 3 eggs (approx.90 - 100 ml)
450 gr margarine
150 gr butter
350 gr powder sugar
75 gr shreded cheddar cheese
600 gr all purpose flour (shive)
1/2 tsp vanilla

Direction :
Beat margarine, butter, sugar until smooth and fluffy.
Add white eggs, little by little, beat again until smooth and well blended. Gradually add flour .
With spatulla add cheddar cheese, mix well.
Place the dough inside a piping bag (i used plain tip). Then squeezed
out the dough into a greased kattetong mould. or just I just placed the dough on a cookie tin which was lined with a piece of parchment paper - pipe about 4 - 5 cm long
Bake in a preheat oven at 350F for 15-20 minute until done

East Meet West

 

Not, because I don't want to eat an healthy food, but today I make an exception - stop my 3 days 'green' diet for a bowl of spaghetti with mussel in padangnese chili sauce .. ooh.. always worth it *well, mean is I will back to my treadmill this afternoon 1 hours longer than usual .. doooh !! ^_^

Some enjoy the dish with a warm white rice, but I just want a spaghetti , after all this is east meet west dish


Spaghetti with Mussel in Padangnese Chili Sauce
Recipe : from Ika Ray Kitchen with some adjustment to my own taste

Ingredients:
500 gr green shell mussels (scrubs and clean the Shell)
water for boiling the mussels
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cm ginger root, minced
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
4 tbsp Indonesian hot sauce (or put as much as desired) - as known as sambal botol ABC
sugar and salt as desired

Spices to grind:
3 tbsp sambal oelek or a big red chili
6 shallots
3 garlic
1/2 tsp terasi (dried shrimp paste)
Directions
1. In a pot, bring water to a boil. Add mussels, cook for about 10-15 minutes
2. In a large skillet or saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the ginger and ground spice and saute over moderate heat, stirring often until fragrant. Add ketchup, hot sauce
3. Add mussels. Adjust the taste , put enough salt and sugar - cook about 5-10 minute until bubbling. Add lime juice; stir. Bring to a boil and let the sauce thicken
4. Cook your spaghetti according the direction in the box (mine : al dente) - and enjoy