My Comfort Food

Mahisha has not been feeling well. As any other kids who are sick, she clings to me all the time. So, I had to cook up something really fast. Whenever I am in a hurry, my comfort food is.....

Tomato Tuna

What do we need:




1 can tuna in brine or oil
1 can tomato chunks
2 potatoes, diced
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1 onion, sliced
3 garlic pips, sliced
1/2 inch ginger, sliced
1 sprig curry leaves
1-2 tbsp fish curry powder
a pinch of sugar
salt

How do we do it:

Sauté the sliced onion, ginger, garlic and the curry leaves. When it is aromatic, add the diced potatoes, tomato chunks and curry powder. Cook covered until the potatoes are cooked.

Add the drained tuna and peas. Season with salt and sugar.



Tomato Tuna goes very well with bread.

The Food That I'd Die For # 6

I have been craving for sambal ikan bilis or anchovies sambal. Sambal is a popular accompaniment either as a condiment or as a side dish cooked in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Sambal ranges in hotness from mildly sharp to incendiary. Belacan or shrimp paste is an essential ingredient in sambal. It enhances the taste of sambal. Tamarind gives a citrus tang. A touch of sugar boosts up the taste of sambal and suppresses the hotness. Sambal is a uniquely delicious and goes well with any food.

Anchovies Sambal

What do we need:

2 cups anchovies
1 big tomatoe
4 dried chilies
2 big onions
3 garlic
1/2 inch ginger
1/2 tsp belacan granules
1 tsp tamarind
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp sugar
salt

How do we do it:

Peel, wash and drain the anchovies. Set aside.

Combine water and tamarind to prepare the tamarind juice. Set aside.

Grind 1 onion, the garlic, ginger, dried chilies and belacan into coarse paste. Heat oil and fry the ground paste until it is very aromatic the oil rises on top. Pour in the tamarind juice. Add the anchovies. Fry for a while. Add chopped tomatoe and thickly sliced onion rings. Season with sugar and salt.

Anchovies sambal with rice, stir-fried vegetables and baked potatoe wedges.

Serve hot with rice, roti, bread, thosai or idli. I just love it with idlis.

A Simple Supper

While hunting for something eat in the night, found some leftover sandwich bread. As I was thinking of what to do with it, many ideas came flowing. Finally, chose to make fritters out of them. Yes, using bread instead of flour. Yeah, why not? Lets give it a try.

Fish Fritters

What do we need:




4 slices of stale bread
1 fish, filleted
1 onion
1 green chilli
1/2 inch ginger
1 bunch coriander leaves
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt
oil

How do we do it:

Chop the onion, chilli, ginger and coriander leaves very finely. Set aside.

Dip the bread slices into a bowl of water. Squeeze of the water immediately. Place the fish fillets and the bread into a food processor. Process until it becomes a smooth paste. Transfer the paste into a bowl. Mix with the chopped ingredients. Add garam masala, turmeric powder and salt.

Heat oil. Drop the batter by tablespoonful into the hot oil. Fry on medium heat until golden brown.




The fritters are very crispy. To gain the crispiness, ensure that the batter is thick enough.

Serve the fish fritters hot with your favourite dipping sauce.

The Food That I'd Die For # 3

I have been coming across fish curries everywhere. Though I am not a curry girl, the only curry I love is fish curry. Fish pieces cooked in distinctively spiced and simmered sauce. Curry has a strong and pungent smell that is irresistible.

The taste of fish curry largely depends on the type of fish and the curry powder used. I never buy the curry powders that are available here in Europe. Mine are specially brought from home; not homemade though. Vegetables like lady's finger or okra, brinjal, tomatoe and raw mango are famous secondary ingredients in fish curries. They help to boost up the taste of the curry. I love fish curry with lots of garlic and tomatoes.

I hardly know names of fishes in Tamil. I have heard of a few names but have no idea of how the fish looks like. Eg. thiruka, koduva and parei meen. I would appreciate if any of you would help me with the English term. I know most of them in Malay as it is the language spoken in the wet markets in Malaysia. Mike, if u are reading this, would you let me know what ikan parang and ikan terubuk are in English and what dory fish is in Malay? Also know a few names in English though. Now, learning them in German as well. My favourite fish curries are pomfret, spanish mackerel and baby shark (sura meen) curries.

Fish Curry

What do we need:



500g fish steaks
1 large tomatoe, quartered
1 onion, sliced
10 cloves garlic, coarsely sliced
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tsp tamarind pulp
1 cup water
3/4 cup thick coconut milk
3 tbsp fish curry powder
1/2 tsp fenugreek
1/2 tsp sugar
salt to taste
oil

How do we do it:

Clean, cut and wash the fish pieces with salt. Set aside.

Mix the curry powder with some water to make a paste. Mix the tamarind pulp to the rest of the water to produce tamarind juice. Set them aside.

Heat oil in a pot. Add the fenugreek, curry leaves, sliced onion and garlics. Sauté until aromatic. Add the curry paste. In goes the tamarind juice. Place the fish pieces into the pot. Let it cook on medium heat.

When the fish is almost cooked, pour the coconut milk. Let the curry simmer on medium low heat. When the fish has cooked, add tomatoes. Season with salt and sugar.

Fish Curry with Rice and Stir-fried Mixed Vegetables

Serve fish curry with hot piping rice, rotis or bread.

The Food That I´d Die For # 2

Everybody's mother is their best cook. My mom too is a great cook. All my friends fondly remember her for her food. Just imagine how much I would miss it.

As she works the whole day, Amma cooks quick and simple food in the night. Most of her cookings are her own creation. Almost everyday we get to taste a different type of food which will not be available elsewhere. One of the many of her masterpieces is a dish made of curried eggy potatoes and achovies. This is one of the food that I'd die for. Each time she cooks this dish, she would have to cook an extra portion of rice while the normal portion would not be sufficient.

Suddenly, today, I had this fierce feeling that I have to eat it, now!!! Though I have never cooked it before, with the guidance of my memory, I managed to cook it up. Not bad I would say but nothing beats Amma's.

Eggy Potatoes and Anchovies


What do we need:




2 potatoes, diced
2 eggs
3/4 cup dried anchovies
1/2 cup water
1 sprig curry leaves
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tbsp fish curry powder
1 tsp fennel powder
oil
salt to taste

What do we do:

Wash the anchovies and drain the water. Set aside.

Heat oil and sauté the sliced onion, garlic and the curry leaves. Add the washed achovies. Fry until it is aromatic. Now, put in the diced potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are almost cooked. Add the curry powder and fennel powder. Simmer until the liquid becomes nearly dried. Season with salt.

Push the potatoes to the side. In the centre, pour half a tablespoon of oil and break the eggs. Before the eggs start to set, quickly stir the potatoes and the eggs together to ensure all the potatoes and anchovies are covered.

Eggy potatoe and achovies with rice and stir fried red cabbage

Serve the eggy potatoes and anchovies with hot piping rice.

The Food That I'd Die For # 1

We don't tend to appreciate our home when we are at home. Same goes to food from home. I realised this when I was pregnant. I was craving for only home food. Had to go thru all the hassles of searching for the recipe, looking around for the ingredients and cooking it up. Finally, I wanted to taste only a spoonfull of it. The rest, who else than my hubby who eats them up.

Now, for that past month, I have been wanting to eat prawn sambal. Normally, prawn sambal is cooked with unpeeled prawns. I do not prefer that as it is very troublesome to eat like that though cooking so retains the juices of the prawns. I like it peeled and deveined. Easier to eat. My mom adds fried potatoes to prawn sambal. I love the irresistible taste of the potatoes mixed with the juices of the prawns. In a word, the potatoes taste like prawn.

I am adapting my mom's method of adding the potatoes and I have included some kaffir lime leaves for the citrusy aroma. Also subtituted tamarind juice with lime juice for the extra tanginess. The rest are the normal vital sambal ingredients.

Prawn Sambal



What do we need:

500g prawns
2 potatoes
1/4 cup coconut milk (I used fresh milk)
2 kaffir lime leaves, sliced finely
1 tbsp lime juice
oil
sugar
salt

Sambal Paste:
4 dried chillies (depends to individual)
5 shallots or 1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 inch fresh turmeric (I substituted with 1 tsp of turmeric powder)
1 inch galangal or blue ginger
1 lemon grass
1/2 tsp belacan granules (shrimp paste)

How do we do it:

Sambal Paste:

Heat a little oil and fry the dried chillies until aromatic. Set aside.

Chop coarsely the onion, garlic, galangal and lemon grass. Pop them into a food processor together with the fried dried chillies, turmeric powder and the belacan granules. Grind until smooth.

Sambal Paste

Prawn Sambal:

Peel and dice the potatoes. Heat oil and fry them until golden brown. Set aside.

Meanwhile, peel and de-vein the prawns. Set aside.

Heat oil and fry the sambal paste until aromatic and the oil separates. Add prawns and lime juice. Stir in the milk and bring to a boil. Cover and cook until prawns turn red. Add the fried potatoes and kaffir lime leaves. Then, season and stir well.

Prawn Sambal with Plain Rice ad Stir Fried Broccoli and Carrot

Serve prawn sambal with hot piping rice.

A Complete Meal

When I´m too tired, the only food that I could think of cooking would be fried rice. It is very fast and easy to prepare yet a completely balanced meal with carbohydrate, protein, vitamins and minerals.

I had some frozen mixed seafood in the fridge. So, made up my mind to cook fried rice using it. When cooking fried rice, never use freshly cooked hot pipping rice. This is because it will turn soggy afer being cooked again as fried rice. Always use leftover rice or cook the rice few hours ahead and let it cool completely.

Seafood Fried Rice




What do we need:

2 cups cooked rice
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup frozen green peas
1 cup canned corn kernels
1-2 cups mixed seafood
1 tbsp, finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp, finely chopped garlic
1 tbsp chili paste or 1 tsp chili powder
2 eggs
oil
onion crisps, garnishing

Seasoning:
2 tbsp tomatoe ketchup
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
a splash of sesame oil
salt to taste

How do we do it:

Heat oil and fry ginger, garlic and chili paste until aromatic. Add the seafood and let it cook for about 5 minutes. Now, in goes the vegetables and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the rice gradually while stirring. Season and stir.

Make a hole in the middle. Pour a little oil & break the the eggs. Season it with a pinch of salt. When the eggs start to set, quickly stir the rice together with the egg thoroughly to ensure the eggs cover all the rice.



Serve seafood fried rice immediately with a sprinkle of onion crisps and few slices of cucumber.