Serikaya Labu / pumpkin with egg custard

I bought this pumpkin last week and had forgotten about it coz our family had a terrible flu and all of us was just so tired and lazy (you know how it is with the spinning headaches, muscle sores, running nose etc) so today i was cleaning my fridge and i saw the pumpkin and lucky for me the pumpkin is still in a good shape. then i was wondering what can i do with the pumpkin then i remembered a pumpkin dessert i had in a thai restaurant. so i thought 'ok let try and do that...couldn't be that hard...'

It turned out great and try this recipe:
you'll need...
1 fairly ripe pumpkin - medium size
8 eggs
200g brown sugar
50g granulated sugar
250 thick coconut milk
1/4tsp ground cinnamon
1/2tsp salt

method

1. cut the upper part of the pumpkin, together with the stem, to a diameter of about 12cm. set aside the cut portion.
2. Remove the pumpkin seeds to create a hole. clean it and drain the excess water.
3. in a bowl, beat eggs and brown sugar and the granulated sugar well until dissolved.
4. Add in the coconut milk, ground cinnamon and salt, stirring well.
5. in a sauce pan heat the custard mixture until slightly thick or when you see steam coming out from the custard - use medium heat. then set a side whilst continuing stiring.
6. sieve the custard and pour it into the pumpkin shell filling it to the brim. cover with the cut piece.
7. Steam in a medium heat for about 45mins to an hour. leave cool before cutting

=> note: If the pumpkin is huge you'll need to steam it a head for about 15 mins then pour in the custard mixture.

Make Your Own Sausage/Hot Dog

This is how the sausage/hotdogs looks like when wrapped with the plastic wrap

It all started when hubby became allergic to chicken...we (my son and i) wanted to buy hot dogs but in the market its mostly chicken hotdogs which hubby couldn't eat so i was browsing the net searching for recipes and i finally found one good one so i owe it to Ringo from MYR. Although I've altered it to our liking ^_^ but the method is the same non the less... so here it is...

You'll need...
500g minced meat
1tsp salt
1tsp sugar
1/2tsp nutmeg
1tsp ground black pepper
1tsp oregano
1tsp Parmesan cheese
1tsp grated garlic


Cling/plastic wrap
heat proof ziplock

1. mix all ingredients until well blend and smooth.
2. divide the mixture into 6-8 portions (depends on how many grams you want your hotdogs be) i make a 50g hotdogs
3. roll the mixture into a 5-6" log, then wrap neat and tightly, twist and tie a knot at each end of the hotdog.
4. repeat until all finished. pack the wrapped hotdpgs in a heat proff ziplock.
   
5. boil water in a sauce pan when it starts to simmer then put in the hotdog pack and weight it with a heavy plate or such.( the pack will float you you need to keep it down)
6. boil in a low heat for 45mins. then let cool and you can enjoy your sausage/hotdogs as you wish ^_^

-> originally the recipe calls for potato starch about 2 tsp. but i omit it coz i wanna that PURE meaty feel heheheh~
->i haven't take any picture of the final product...i'll update soon

North Indian: Chicken Masala, Shish Kebob & Tomato Curry Gravy

Tonite I'm in the mood of the Northern Indian Cuisine, thought of going out for dinner but i think the price of these Northern Indian food is way over the top so I wanna make some on my own but i couldn't find any recipe that I like or at least ones that I'm missing ( the food that i used to eat when i was studying in the UK) so I whipped my own masala dish...and it turned out superb! better than i expected even my son had his 3rd helpings...and for the first time in this house, we finished it all and that rarely happen coz my hubby is a small eater...
so here's the recipe...

Masala Chicken:
marinade
2 quarter chicken
2 tbs of generous Sour Cream (you can use plain yogurt)
salt to taste
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp ground corriander
1 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
1tsp grated ginger
1tsp paprika
2 tsp garam masala
1tsp chili powder <--(i didn't add this coz i dun haf any but i think it'll really add some color to it)

• add all ingredients mix well and marinade the chicken minimum of 1 hour but its best over night
• when done grill the chicken, you can also roast it but i think grilling will give much better result. ( i don't have grill so i roast it for a while then i fry it just to crisp the surface a little)

Shish kebob
350g minced meat
1tsp garam masala
11/2tsp sour cream
a pinch of ground cumin and corriander
1tsp tumeric powder
salt to taste
some ghee for frying

• mix all ingridents in the minced meat.
• tradisionally you should mould it into a sausage like thingie on a skewer but i have non of it so i just mould it like a little tiny burger
• fry it in a little of ghee until your desired done-ness

Tomato curry:
1 large tomato - blended
1/2 large onion - blended
1clove garlic - blended
1/2 large onion - diced
1tbsp tomato kechup
salt to taste
sugar to taste
120ml of heavy cream
1/2c water
1tbsp of ghee
1tbsp vege oil
1tbsp curry powder
1tsp garam masala
1tsp ground cumin
1 small stick of cinnamon

• Saute all blended items with ghee & oil until its reduced a little then add in the spices (cumin, garam masala,cinnamon and curry powder). cook further until fragrant then add in the diced onions and the tomato kechup.
  
• then add in heavy cream, stir well in a medium heat. if the curry is too thick to your liking, add in water. (i add some water).
• Add salt and sugar to taste

so that's basically our dinner for tonite...

And the winner for the FOOD FEST contest is.....

wah its hard to choose...coz you guys are so creative and such an excellent baker! but you gotta do what you gotta do...right? after much consideration and evaluation i simply can't decide...*sigh* its tough...so today i finally made up my mind and will announce the winners...yes i said winnerS ^_^
Drum roll please....

The winner is....Daybab for her creative butterfly birthday cake!!! CONGRATULATIONS

Here's the award
Please the grand winner pick up the award...^_^

for those who didn't win...don't give up there's always next time!! and for the record i also love mat gebu's cake its simple yet presentable worthy for any dinner party, and lydia's cheese tart was nicely done its like mini new york cheese cake bite size! and kak ummie i know its a lot of effort making decorative cuppies my son loved it he said 'comei la mommy, daniel nak' and cuppies is alway fun to make and eat...and mamafami your buttercake is ever so simple yet you manage to give it a wonderful rainbow look so it'll be fun and appertizing for any children to eat, although i am a little bit dissapointed as i'm hoping for something more than a buttercake (coz i know you're an excellent baker!)...but its still a good entry. Better luck next time guys...

and guys, if you want hadiah saguhati....please email me your mailing address at seventh_chakras@yahoo.com especially for daybab email me your address so that i can mail you your prize!!!

Blogging for more

hello...salam...

been awhile i went MIA. i did my lasik surgery last Wednesday and been on recovery since then...the surgery was simple, i mean it was an out patient thing....so that afternoon after lunch i went to MidValley eye clinic they prep me for about 45 mins or so. first they gave me numbing eye drops then a pil of vallium (is that how you spell it?) coz i was so very nervous. actually there's nothing to be nervous about the procedure but thanx to my siblings (they all did lasik b4 me) they told me all sorts of nerve wracking stories so i was nervous! anyway after that they cleanse my eyes put few other drops to compeletely numb my eyes then off i go to the surgery room. the surgery was simple that it only took 1 minute per eye!! first they insert scallum (its something that they use to prevent you from blinking. then they cut your cornea, then laser your eyes, thats it. after surgery, you'll see better but its hazy. then you feel that your eyes are very dry-they give you eyedrops for that.they 1st 6hrs you'll feel irritated,itcy and uncomfortable. you must remember not to scratch your eyes or expose it to water meaning no swimming, no washing hair unless in salon so that you can avoid water contact with eyes also no cooking at least for a month!!...and they even give you eye protective mask or shield for you to use when sleeping...

anyway...after this long rest i just can't resist to blog and cook anymore so i'm starting my blogging and cooking now (i cook with my sunnies oh yeah after surgery no direct eye contact with the sun which means have to wear sunnies ech time you go out). So now I'm evaluating all the blogs and i shall announce the winner soon...

final entry? or is there more????

FOOD FEST PARTICIPANTS (and still counting):

2 days to the closing date!!! you still have time to join....

for those undecided cyber chef, just join you have nothing to loose!(for GOD sake the entry is FREE and you'll be getting a price if you win )

1. http://mykitch3n.blogspot.com/2008/10/mini-cheesecake.html
2. http://gourmetmomonthego.blogspot.com
3. http://umi-e.blogspot.com/2008/10/real-cuppies.html
4. http://tiffinbiru.blogspot.com/2008/11/up-side-down-pineapple-cake_03.html
5. http://mamafami.blogspot.com/2008/03/rainbow-butter-cake.html
6. http://daybabfood.blogspot.com/2008/11/butterfly-birthday-cake.html
   
7. http://daybabfood.blogspot.com/2008/11/blueberry-cheese-cuppies.html

Cooking Challenges...

i've been pondering about these 'cooking' or 'baking' challenges.... what i mean by this is that i sure that we all have these particular moments when our cooking didn't turn out just right? which probably due to our baking/cooking techniques...so i do face these from time to time and most of the time i don't have the solution...

So here i am begging you all who know something tips or tricks that we can use in our kitchen please do tell us...it'll help us all... when we could compile all the tips i'll make a special post for the contributed tips so that we can all share the tips...so how about that
? good idea huh?

anyway just the other day i was trying to make a jelly layers you know the decorative jelly... made that but i still didn't know how to make the layers stick together and stay that way!
this is what i've been told to do so far:-

1. i should let the 1st layer cool a little then pour in a piping hot jelly on to it and repeat until i've finished my layers <-0--this didn't work for me
2. i was told to scratch the layered surface then pour the following piping hot layer <- this makes more sense but still didn't work as well altho it does work when you're making kue talam (a tradisional malay/indonesian desserts)

and now i'm out of tips to use...so does anybody out there knows how??

ok let me just jot down all the tips that i used and been told that comes to my mind :-

1. Too much salt in any liquid bascied recipe: just add chuncks of potatoes they'll absorb the excessive salt.
2. to center the egg yolk in a hard boil egg: when boiling water gives a gentle simmer add in the egg then stir it until the water simmers, when it starts to have that vigorus bubbles stop stiring and let it be for another 3 minutes or so. then turn off the heat take the boiled egg and dip it in an ice cold water or better yet let it cool in a fridge. then ready to cut & serve
3. making brownies: its best not to sieve the flour as it'll give you the dense texture as you would in a brownie
4. cookies: always add the flour last and do not over beat the dough to ensure crisp cookies.. i think it also applies to cake for some reason. this somehow avoid the cake to crack much and prevent it to be storgy (is that even a word?) and dry.
5. Egg whites: to have that beautiful light and fluffy egg whites, add a teaspoon of white vinegar, vanilla essence, corn starch it'll make it last longer and fluff better.

oh btw, for the next food fest challenge...i may just have a sponsor...yeah i'm excited...but the challenge and rules may be tougher this time as the prize is worth cooking for!