Granny Bill's Burgers

She was good at everything and these burgers are good too. This is the basic recipe and can be adapted as needed.

1lb minced beef
2 egg
2 slices bread
2tsp mixed herbs
salt and pepper
1 onion

Chop the onion, turn bread into crumbs, beat the eggs. Mix all the ingredients together by hand in a large bowl. Form into burgers, bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 180C fan. Et voila!


Lakeland sell wonderful burger makers, a must! Lakeland Burger Maker here

Happy (belated) Valentine

Pesenan dari seorang co..hmm buat seorang ce...hehehehe. Simple, pengennya ada ucapan happy valentine. Telat sih..tp gpp lah...yang penting kan niatnya. Happy belated Valentine ya harusnya..hehehe.

Ssstt..mudah2an kalian bisa jadian ya..hihihi

Soccer for Kung-kung ( Ci Devi,Bekasi )

Iya jangan bingung ya kenapa ci devi lagi..hehehehe. Karena Ci Devi pesen sekaligus 2 Cake .Ini buat kung -kung tercintah.. Kerenn ya ultahnya bisa samaan ama cucunya.. Kompak bgt..hihihih

Happy Birthday Kung-Kung, panjang umur n sehat selalu yaaa..GBU

Angry Birds Cake ( Ci Devi,Bekasi )

Cicinya temen ku..Nda ndut ituu..wkwkwkwk kaburrr...Ci Devi mo pesen cake buat ultah anaknya yang ke 2.

Huhuhuhu tapi aku cedih benerr..cake nya yg tadinya tinggi tiba-tiba jadi pendek..ga tau kenapa..mo bikin lagi uda ga keburu. Trs mungkin karena kejauhan dari cengkareng ke Bekasi naek motor tuh kurir nya, pohonnya miring pas nyampe Bekasi..Hiksss...

Aku ga enak bgt ama Nda n Ci Devi.. Pokoknya tar kalo pesen lagi, aku kasih diskon ya cici.. remind me okayy..hehehe

Makasih ya ci..Maaf jg ya ci buat kue nya..

Hello Kitty 2D ( Ci Rika, Jelambar )

Pesenannya sodara temen kantor aku, Ci Rika.. Uda pernah pesen sekali untuk ultah bos nya..Hehehehe.

Tapi kali ini pesen untuk ultah anaknya Ci Rika, 25 cupcake satuan Hello Kitty ..Ci Rika mah oke bangett..gampang orangnya,ga ribet.hihii

Makasi ya Ci

200 Cupcake

Tadaaaaa.. ini penampakan si 200 cupcake hehehhehe .Narsis dikittt..

Thanks Noph ( Oreenjy and Molly )

Luv Molly ( Noph,Jemb.V )

Nah ini temennya Noph, yang ikutan mesen cupcake juga 100 pcs. Huaaa kebayang gaa 200 cupcake..belom lagi masih ada pesenan edisi Val's. Aku nyaris cm tidur 3 jam doang selama 2 hari.
But Thanks God kelar semua...

Makasih ya Non..Makasi juga Noph : )

We Love Oreenjy ( Noph, Jemb.V )

Pesenan dadakan dari Noph2..Hihihih Noph2 ini yang biasanya pesen cake tuh super unik..ituloh yg bath up cake n clubbing cake.hihihihi

Kali ini Noph mo pesen cupcake, awalnya 70 pcs trs nambah jadi 100 pcs. Noph tuh kalo pesen ga banyak pesen-pesen sponsor nya, ga ribet pokoknya..hehehehe.

Makasih ya Nophhh

Birthday cupcake (Vera,Ketapang)

Ordernya customer baru, namanya Vera. Pesen 9 cupcake untuk ultah hmmm..aku ga tau ini pacarnya or siapa..hihihihi

cekidot..

Hermes Cake ( Julie,Kebon Jeruk)

Pesenan temen lama , dulu SPG an bareng jamannya masih abege, masih langsing..sing..sing..hehehhee.
Cake nya mo dikasih pas acara kantor dan pas ultah boss nya Julie.

Gedeee bener nih kue,berat pula..hihihihi

Thanks ya Le..

Life is You ( Melin,Tangerang)

Ini orderan dari my bestfriend untuk calon suami tersayang nya..Iya masih calon suami coz baru beberapa bulan ke depan baru resminya ya conk..hehehhee..

Makanya dibikinnya jg pake cintah..hahahha. Tadinya mau kasih kue sambil kongkow2..Tapi aku nya ga sempet karena masih ngerjain orderan laen. Next time ya cyin...

Request nya minta ada rumahnya, biar semangat cepet punya rumah ya.Amin.

Komennya : Cyin..bagus kue  nya..gue suka..makasi ya conkk ..muaaahh

Kathal Chana Sabzi / Raw Jackfruit curry with Green horsegrams

Raw jackfruit is one of my favorite vegetables. Ever since I stumbled upon this veggie at the local asian grocery store, I have been making curries of this veggie every week. It is very high in fibre content and very good for the digestive system. I have posted a kathal sabzi in my blog earlier. You can refer to that recipe without the chana. In this recipe, I am adding the chana and the masala is also going to be different. It tastes best when eaten with hot boiled Kerala Red Rice or with any plain white rice.

Ingredients:

Green Chana - 1 cup
Raw Jackfruit - 1 can (yields about 2 cups)
Freshly grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Dry red chillies - 4-5
Tamarind pulp - 1 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp (optional)

For Tempering and Seasoning:

Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry leaves - A few
Chana Dal - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Cilantro - For Garnishing
Salt - To taste

Method:

• Soak the green chana / horsegram for about 3-4 hours until they double up in volume.

• Rinse the canned raw jackfruit well and cut it into small bite sized pieces.

• In a blender, grind the freshly grated coconut with the dry red chillies and make a paste.

• Pressure cook the soaked chana and the jackfruit for upto 3 whistles.

• In a pan, add the coconut oil and temper it with mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal, asafoetida and curry leaves.

• To this add the cooked chana and jackfruit.

• Then add salt, turmeric powder and red chili powder.

• Cook for 5-7 minutes. Then add the ground paste and tamarind pulp and cook for another 7-8 minutes until the raw smell leaves.

• Garnish it with cilantro and serve it hot with Kerala Red Rice or any other cooked white rice. Enjoy!!

Notes:

• Adding red chilli powder is optional. I like additional spice and so added it. You can do with the ground red chillies.
• You can use fresh raw jackfruit too. We do not get fresh ones here and hence we use canned.
• You can use brown chana if you prefer that to the green one.
• Coconut oil tastes best for this dish. You can substitute it with olive oil or canola oil as per your preference.

Raspberry Vinegar

I love my holidays in France.I also love to bring things back that I just can't find at home. This time one of those things was Maille Raspberry Vinegar, it's not even on their UK website. I use it in all sorts of things and it just adds a hint of flavour. Here is a good recipe for some homemade raspberry vinegar, ready for summer when we have a glut of them.

Place 450g of raspberries in a stainless steel or glass bowl and crush lightly with a fork or potato masher. Pour over 450ml of white wine vinegar, stir then cover and set aside for at least 2 days. Give the fruit an occasional stir. Drain the fruit through muslin and leave for 2 or 3 hours – longer if you have time. Pour the liquid into a stainless steel saucepan and tip in 80g of sugar. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, scraping off any foam. Leave to cool, pour into sterilised bottles and store in a cool dark place. It will last for a year.

காரட் தோசை

I have learned this recipe from my close friend. Though we make different dosa varieties, this one stands apart as one of the most delicious dosas especially due to its taste and colourful appearance.

CARROT DOSAI:

Ingredients:

Raw rice- 2 cups
Per boiled rice- ¼ cup
Tamarind- half of a gooseberry size
Red chillies-6
Shredded carrot- 1 [big]
sambar onions-4
Salt to taste
Curry leaves- 1 arc
Cumin seeds- ½ sp


Procedure:


Soak the rice varieties in enough water for 2 hours.
Grind them finely with the tamarind, carrot, and carrot with enough salt to a fine batter.
Add curry leaves and cumin seeds.
Mix well and allow it to ferment for 4 hours.
Make thin dosas on a hot tawa.
Cook on both sides.
Coconut chutney is suitable for this dosai.

Prune Tomato Rasam and Kadai Bhendi with a Surprise!

Prune Tomato Rasam and Kadai Bhendi with a Surprise

I opened my pantry door wondering what to cook for lunch when my eyes fell on a bunch of Prunes. I  got them mainly for my toddler, as her Doc advised me to give her heaps of fruits and veggys especially fruits that begin with 'P' - prunes, plums, peaches, pears ...

Ha! Easier said than done. My toddler shuns all fruits and veggys. No amount of stories, songs, recipes, or presentation styles can get her to swallow anything remotely fruit or veggy!! The one thing she likes guzzling though is rasam!  

We've seen so many types of rasams like beetroot rasam, pineapple rasam, mango rasam etc. so I thought why not prunes? They are mildly sweet and can't be all that bad mixed with the other flavours.   The result was surprisingly awesome! The prunes did not stick out or anything and blended well with the tastes, and in fact, even added an nice touch of flavour to the rasam rasam. The rasam was guzzled not just by my toddler, but the adults at home as well.  

Prunes

Since I had too much prune and tomato puree made, I just used some of it in a Kadai Bhendi as well. So now you know what the surpise is! Yep! Prunes!  

Prune Tomato Rasam
Ingredients
Prunes - 2 or 3
Tomatos - 2 medium sized
Curry Leaves - a few
Black Pepper and Cumin Seeds coarsely crushed - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Rasam powder - 1 tsp
Garlic pods - 2 crushed
Corriander Leaves - a few
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp



Method
1. Soak prunes for about 10 minutes till soft. Grind the prunes and tomatos with a little water into a paste.
2. Add rasam powder, curry leaves and salt into this paste and bring to a boil.
3. Once the mixture boils well, add the black pepper and cumin powder, as wel as crushed garlic and stir.
4. Once the mixture simmers again, pour in 1.5 glasses of water. Pour in a manner that you get a nice  froth on top.
5. The mixture will slowly rise, at which point switch of the flame. Don't let the rasam boil, as that spoils the flavours.
6. Heat the ghee and sputter some mustard seeds, and add this seasoning to the rasam.
7. Garnish with corriander leaves.

Prune Tomato Rasam

Slurp away with some rice and ghee, or just guzzle it down in a tall glass!

Kadai Bhendi
Ingredients
Oil - 2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1tsp
Prune Tomato Puree - 2 tbsp
Onion Paste - 1tbsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1.5 tsp
Cumin powder - 1tsp
Corriander powder - 2 tsp
Chillie powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1tsp
Ladies Finger / Okra -  250 grams with tails and heads removed!

Bhendi (Okra) Cooking Away!

Method
1. Heat oil, and add the cumin seeds.
2. When the cumin seeds sputter, add onion and ginger garlic paste.
3. Keep stirring so that the pastes don't burn. When the colour turns brownish, add cumin, corriander and chillie powders.
4. Fry for a few seconds until you get a great aroma.
5. Add the prune and tomato puree and salt and cook well.
6. When the paste is cooked, and the liquid is reduced such that you have a paste left, add in the okra.
7. Keep stirring on a low flame for a few minutes and cover with a lid.
8. Stirr now and again to prevent burning, until the okra is nice and soft.

Kadai Bhendi with a Surprise Ingredient

This a a yummy side dish with rotis  or rice. Of course, my toddler didn't touch the okra, but she did check out the prune tomato masala gravy, and was licking her fingers away!

Bottom line, I just discovered that Prunes lend themselves very well to many Indian dishes! Maybe, I'll try the other 'P's one by one too!

Avacado and Spinach Salad

Eating healthy is very important. In the present day scenario, everyone is leading a very busy and a fast life. It has become a burden for many to cook, go to work and manage home well. Salads come in handy in similar situations. Chop a couple of fresh veggies, empty a pack of store bought greens and toss it well with a few other ingredients from the pantry. Trust me, you will end up with a delicious and a wholesome dish that will satisfy your appetite.

Avacadoes are one of my favorite fruit and I live to have it as a milkshake and enjoy eating it with salads. The fruit is very buttery and smooth. The fruit can turn brown on exposure to air due to oxidation. To prevent this just coat with with lime juice and I will stay fresh. It has a lot of health benefits associated with it and considered to be very healthy (though it is high in its fat content).

Here is the recipe to a healthy and a delicious salad.

Ingredients: (Serves 2)
Avacado - 1 Ripe
Baby spinach - Cleaned,washed and chopped - 2 cups
Spring onions - 4 stalks
Red onion - Medium sized -1
Ripe tomatoes - medium sized - 2
Salt - To taste
Lime/Lemon juice - from 1large lime/lemon
Chat masala - 1/4th of a tsp
Ground black Pepper - 1/4th of a tsp

Method:

• In a large bowl add the chopped spinach, red onions, tomatoes and spring onions.

• Then add ground black pepper, chat masala, salt and lime juice.

• Toss the salad and serve it with avacadoes.

• Enjoy the salad.

Notes

• You can use cherry tomatoes if you like.
• You can use spring mix, arugula or watercress instead of spinach or with spinach.
• You can prefer to add or skip chat masala.
• Use raw veggies of your choice to make the salad more interesting.

Venn Pongal

Its been a while since I cooked patiently, clicking away pictures and doing things at leisure. Just got back from a beautiful short vacation and still in the holiday mood. DH wanted to have vathakuzhambu. Luckily had butternut squash at home and made it in a jiffy. The best complement to vathakuzhambu couldn't be better than a plate of hot venn pongal. Realized quite late that I had not posted pongal on the blog and was just in time to click a couple of pictures for the same.

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)

Moong dal - Split - 3 tbsp
Rice - 1 cup
Black peppercorns - 1 tbsp
Crushed black pepper - 1/2 tsp
Grated ginger - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - A few
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Green chillies - A couple (optional)
Butter / Ghee - 1 tbsp
Salt - To taste

Method:

• In a pressure cooker or a pressure pan, heat the butter / ghee and once it gets hot add cumin seeds, black peppercorns, grated ginger , curry leaves, green chillies, and crushed black pepper. Then add the moong dal and rice and roast all the ingredients well on medium flame for 3-4 minutes.

• Then add water and salt and pressure cook for 3 whistles.

• Pongal would have cooked well  after 3 whistles. You can adjust the proportion of water depending on whether you prefer it to be semi-solid or solid.

• Serve it hot with coconut chutney , tomato gojju or vathakuzhambu..

• Enjoy the hot and tasty pongal.

Notes:

• Adding green chillies is optional. If you prefer spicy pongal you can add it or you can omit it.
• Addition of crushed red pepper gives it a real pepper taste. You can add it according to your preference.
• You can cube up ginger and add or you can julienne it. Grated ginger blends well with rice and will not be felt while eating.

Spring Plumbing Tips!

With Spring just around the corner now is a great time to give your house a look over. With Spring comes rain (and usually the snow melt) and possible pipe leaks. Think of this as an extension of your spring cleaning project (from a plumbers viewpoint). Some areas to check include bathrooms,kitchen, appliances, and other general locations as outlined below.

For the kitchen and bathrooms check all faucets for any leaks. Repairing these will help save water and money. Make sure you have strainers on each of your drains. Strainers prevent the buildup of hair and soap which can clog your drains. Check your toilets for leaks. A fast, inexpensive way to do this is to put a few drops of food coloring into your toilet tank. If there are leaks the food coloring will appear in the bowl within 30 minutes. Turn your water supply valves off and on periodically. This will prevent them from getting stuck. Check your toilets to make sure they flush properly. If you have to hold down or jiggle the knob you should replace the parts of the toilet which are responsible for flushing. they don't cost much and you will save water and money. Clean your shower head using vinegar. this will remove mineral deposits and improve the flow of water.

Check the temperature of your water heater. Keep it at no more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit in order to prevent burning. This will also help control your gas or electric bill. drain a few gallons of water from your water heater. This will remove any sediment buildup. If your water heater is greater than 15 years old you may want to replace it. New water heaters are very energy efficient. Check the water supply hoses on your dishwasher, ice maker and washing machine for any leaks or signs of wear or failure. As a precaution, replace them if they are older than 10 years. Check pipes under your sink for leaks. Make sure your sump pump is working properly if you have one. Install a back flow valve under your floor drain in order to prevent backups if you have a sewer where you live.

HAPPY PLUMBING!!

Chinese Scallion Pancake / Spring Onion Pancake

Whenever I visit Indian shops, I find these scallion pancakes in the frozen section. Once, I bought them along with flaky paratha(which I used for making vegetable kothu paratto) and found the procedure for making it is almost similar to flaky paratha.



After knowing this, I prepared them at home using all purpose flour and wheat flour. The authentic recipe calls only all purpose flour. but, you can use only wheat flour for making it. The taste willbe more or less same.



Basic Information:
Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Idle Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Makes: 6 

Ingredients:



All purpose flour/ Plain flour/ Maida - 1 cup

Wheat flour/ Atta - 1 cup

Salt - 1/2 teaspoon

Hot Water - 3/4 cup - 1 cup

Oil - 2-4 tablespoons

Spring onion - 1 cup, finely chopped

Method:



1) In a mixing bowl, mix all purpose flour, wheat flour and salt.

2) Add water little at a time and make a soft dough. Knead it for 10 minutes to make smooth dough. Cover and keep aside for 30 minutes.

3) After 30 minutes, divide the dough into equal size balls.

4) Take one ball in a floured kitchen surface and roll it to approx.20 CM wide. Make sure the dough is not sticking with the surface.

5) Apply a teaspoon or 2 in the rolled dough's surface using a brush.

6) Sprinkle a tablespoon of spring onion in the oiled surface.

7) Then, fold it in a zigzag manner(like a chinese fan) and as shown in the picture. You can also roll it like a cigar/rug.

8) At the end, make swirl/snail form as shown in the picture. Press down lightly using your fingers.

9) Gently roll it to 1/8th thickness with 10CM wide.

10) Heat the skillet. When it is hot, place the rolled pancake to it.

11) When one side is cooked, flip to cook other side. Make sure the flame is low to avoid burning outside. Use oil to cook if necessary.

12) When both the sides are cooked, cut into wedges and serve hot with any of your favourite sauce.