Coconut Yellow split peas dhal with Flat Breads

I've always dreaded making bread; however, this recipe is so easy I know it will be featured frequently on our dinner table. The breads were to accompany the coconut dhal (recipe below) but we had some left over of which we sandwiched the flat bread by spreading cucumber tzatziki and baked beans .... simply yummy!

Flat breads
adapted from BBC Good Food
Serves 8

Ingredients
140g plain flour
140g bread flour
1 tbsp vegetable oil
200ml water

Method
1) Put the flours and 1 tsp salt into a large bowl and mix. Stir 1 tbsp vegetable oil into 200ml water into , then mix this into the flour, stir until you have a smooth dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 mins, then return to the bowl, cover and leave in a warm place to rest for 20 minutes.

2) Divide the dough into 8 balls. Roll out each ball on a lightly floured surface to a rough 18cm circle the thickness of a 10p coin. Prick each one well with a fork to stop them rising. To cook on a barbecue: put the breads on the centre of the grill. Cook for a few mins, then turn and cook the other side.

3) Brush the breads with more melted butter. Reheat the griddle between batches and stack them on top of each other to keep warm

Coconut Yellow Split Peas "Dhal"Receipe from BBC Good Food

I've substitute red lentils with yellow split peas which works fine. This recipe is also a keeper :)

 

I've also served the with simple Sambal made with
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium-sized Onion
a touch of erős pista (hunagrian ground chilli)
a touch of fish sauce
sugar (to taste)

Hungarian Magic Cake { Tejes Pite }

credit: puszta.com

When I saw the photo above at the mentioned site, I knew I have to make this dessert. It looked delicious plus I haven't tasted one before :) Another reason I like this recipe is that the ingredients could be easily available in one's pantry.
So, yesterday I woke up early morning (4.30am) to make this custard cake in order for it to cool in time to bring along with us when we visit my M&FIL.
The recipe has been scaled down based on 2 eggs instead of five. Just do simple math to get the appropriate portion of each ingredients. Also, the baking time needs to be shorten in view of lesser liquid involved.
Verdict
It was indeed an easy dessert to whip up but with satisfying result. In fact, my MIL loved it! She told us that it brought back some childhood memories when her mom used to bake it for her. We found out that she doesn't have the recipe (No wonder she hasn't baked this for us!) So, I'll be printing the Hungarian version of this recipe for her to try out.
 

Tejes Pite
Puszta.com 

Ingredients:
5 egg yolks
30 g vanilla sugar
150 g sugar
100 g margarine
250 g flour
1 liter milk
5 egg whites
salt
zest of 1 lemon
margarine to grease baking pan
breadcrumbs

Method:

In a large bowl mix egg yolks, vanilla sugar, sugar, pinch of salt. Add margarine and the lemon zest. Add flour and milk gradually to sugar mixture, beating to a thin smooth batter.
Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt, until stiff peaks form, then add it carefully to the pancake dough.
Coat the bottom of a 26 cm baking pan with margarine, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and pour the dough into it. Sprinkle the top with small pieces of margarine. Put into a cold oven, then turn on the heat to 150 ºC and bake it for 1 hour.
When the pie is done, cool for a few minutes, then cut into 8-10 bars. Serve it with apricot jam, but it tastes delicious by itself as well.

Tips:

• Use hand mixer to get a smooth batter.
• Do not add baking powder or baking soda.
• Cool the egg whites before beating.
• Add a pinch of salt or a few drops of lemon juice to the egg whites, to make it easier to beat.
• Mix only half of the beaten egg whites to the dough, then carefully fold in the other half, without breaking it up much. 
  

Mango and Apple Salad

This salad was adapted from salt n tumeric 's recipe with couple of substitutes. The combination of aroma of lime , spiciness of Erős Pista , sweet and soury apple and mango make this a great dish as an appetiser.

Mango and apple salad

Ingredients:-
1 mango , roughly grated or julienned
1 apple , roughly grated or julienned
1 red onion, chopped
1 juice of lime
sugar , to taste
fish sauce , few dashes
Erős Pista (Hungarian sambal oelek ?) , to taste - substitute for Thai chilli
Peanuts , roughly ground

Prepare all ingredients and toss them together. Voila!

Chinese Laughing Dumplings (笑口棗)

Don't they look mouth-watering? Thanks Do what I like for sharing this wonderful recipe. Taste wise is as good as the ones I usually get during dim sum breakfast or sunday market..light, crunchy on the outside, soft inside with a hint of sweetness!
Only thing to be aware of is the temprature of the oil when frying the dumplings. Do ensure oil is not too hot or dumplings and sesame seeds would burnt rather quickly. .
 
Chinese Laughing Dumplings (笑口棗)
click here for recipe.


Ingredients: (18 pieces)
90g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
40g sugar
1.5 tsp melted shortening (I used Crisco)
3 tbsp cold water
White sesame seeds for coating

Method:
1. Sieve flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Stir in sugar.
2. Add in the melted shortening and water, mix to form a soft dough.
3. Rest dough for 30 minutes.
4. Divide dough into 10g pieces and shape it into round balls.
5. Wet the round dough balls with water and coat it with white sesame seeds.
6. Deep fry coated dough balls in oil, turning the dumplings with a ladle till golden brown.
7. Use absorbent kitchen paper towel to get rid of excess oil.
8. Cool before storing in an air-tight container.

Notes:1. Oil should not be too hot while you slide in the dough balls, otherwise the sesame seeds will get all burnt out. Increase the heat after you have slided in the dough balls. An easy snack to do but you have to control of the heat while deep frying. Would advise you to fry 2 at time until you get the rhythm of the heat control.
2. If you like the dumplings to be of larger size, you can increase the dough balls to 13g each.
3. Floured your hands if you find the dough a little sticky to handle.

 

Hungarian Ratatouille { Lecsó }

The base or basic ingredients for Lecsó (pronounced - Lecho) are tomatoes, onions and sweet paprika. Today I've included hard boiled eggs in the stew which tasted well together and finally, they're great with crusty bread :)

.

The following recipe was extracted from the internet loooong time ago (sorry, i've lost the link) .

LECSÓ
with sausage
serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

5 large onions (cut them into half and slice them)

6 large cubanell or european style of green peppers (sliced into rings)(Do not use green bell peppers they have a bitter flavor.)

4 large very ripe tomatoes peeled and diced. If the skin is hard to peel put them into hot water for a minutes, then try it again.

150g. of bacon (cut into cubes)

250g. of smoked sausage (cut into rings)

1 Tbs. of tomatoe puree

1.1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. grated black pepper

1.1/2 Tbs. of sugar

1.1/2 Tbs. of paprika
METHOD

Fry the bacon cubes medium brown in a large frying pan. If you didn't get enough fat add a few Tbs. of oil. Sprinkle with the paprika and add the sliced onions. Cook it for 2 minutes and throw all the ingrediens and spices into the pan. Cook it for 1/2 hour with occasional stiring.Taste to see if more salt or sugar is needed.

Swiss Roll

Swiss roll is one of my favourite cakes. The humble eggy and light sponge cake filled with whipped cream and fruits can be very satisfying! I've used the following recipe many times with more failures than successes . Often it is due to the high room temperature the egg whites just didn't want to stiff as it should be; of which resulted in a heavy as rock cake :s

But last weekend all the failures were wiped out from memory as my swiss roll turned out fluffy and light ..even after two days!

Swiss Roll
source : Hungarian cookery

Ingredients

For sponge cake
90gm flour
4 eggs, separated
salt
120gm sugar
1tsp baking powder
1 sachet vanilla sugar

For fillings - as you wish ...but in this case
250ml whipped cream with 2-3 tsp powdered suger, or to taste
Apricot jam
Apricot fruit


Method
To make sponge cake
1. Pre-heat oven to 180°c.

2. Whisk egg whites with a pinch of salt until it become stiff foam. Set aside

3. In a bowl combine together dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, vanilla sugar. In another bowl beat egg yolks with sugar until creamy. When eggs mixture is creamy, add in the dry ingredients and combine well.

4. Fold egg white into egg yolk mixture carefully.

5. Prepare baking dish by lining it with parchment paper. Pour in the cake mixture and bake for 15 min.

6. Remove cake from oven. Let it cool for a while ; but roll up cake when it is still hot. When cake is cooled completely, unrolled it and spread with your favourite jam or whipped cream.

Crunchy Peanut slaw

Yummy new recipe from here !

Alterations :-
1) I didn't follow the quantity exactly but based the quantity on my own preference. For example, I dislike using too much of sesame oil which I've reduced to only a few drops.

2) Replaced rice wine vinegar with white vinegar. 

3) Replaced corriander with parsley. Not available in the shops near me* sigh* ..with corriander the taste would have been more interesting for sure.
 

Crunchy Peanut Slaw 

serving: 1 big bowl of slaw, serves at least 8

Ingredients
1 medium head green cabbage, outer leaves removed
1 1/2 cups roasted, unsalted peanuts
1 bunch green onions
1 cup chopped cilantro (about two big handfuls unchopped)
Salt and pepper
Dressing:
1/2 cup light oil, like canola
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar (or more, to taste)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce (or more, to taste)
 
Method
Shred the cabbage very finely. The fineness of the shredded cabbage is really what makes this salad; you want it in in threads, almost, and with the threads chopped into bite-size lengths. Toss with the peanuts in a large bowl. Chop the scallions, including the green and white parts. Toss the scallions and chopped cilantro with the cabbage, seasoning very lightly with salt and pepper.
Whisk the dressing until emulsified, then taste and adjust to your own preferences of sweetness and saltiness.
Toss with the cabbage. Garnish with a few more peanuts and serve.