Saturday, December 20, 2008

HOT AND SOUR SOUP


Ingredients:
Chicken ........ 2-3 pieces
Mushrooms.... 3-4 (thinly sliced)
Spring onion ... 1 sprig (choppped finely)
Carrot ............ 1/2 (chopped finely)
Ginger .......... i inch piece..(grated)
Tofu ............ about two tbsps. (cut into small pieces)
Eggs ............. 2
Soya sauce ...... 2-3 tbsps.
Vinegar .......... 1-2 tbsps. (according to ur taste)
Ajinomotto ...... a pinch
Black pepper .... 1/2 tsp (powdered)
Salt .......... to taste
Corn flour ...... 1 tbsp.
Method:
1. Boil the chicken pieces adding salt. Store the chicken stock and shred the chicken.
2. Boil the stock and keep adding the vegetables one by one.
3. Add also the chicken and tofu pieces and salt.
4. Break the eggs and pour them slowly into the soup, stirring continuously to bring a string like consistency.
5. Now add the cornflour diluted in water to thicken the soup.
6. Finally add the soya sauce, vinegar, ajinomotto and black pepper.
Serve immediately.

Happy Birthday to me

Happy Birthday to me
Happy Birthday to me...
Happy Birthday to me....


envelopes by sorrow, and river of tears


The perfect gifts for me to mark my big 35.

CARROT HALWA (GAAJAR KA HALWA)


Ingredients
1 kg juicy orange carrots
1 1/2 litre milk
400-500 gm sugar
elaichi powder (cardamom)
saffron few flakes
few drops orange colour (optional)
1 tbsp ghee
Method
Peel and grate carrots
Put milk and carrots in a heavy saucepan. Boil till thick, stirring occassionally. Once it starts thickening, stir continuously. Add sugar and cook further till thickens. Add ghee, elaichi, saffron and colour. Stir on low heat till the mixture collects in a soft ball or the
ghee oozes out. Serve hot, decorated with a chopped almond or pista.

MASALA VADA


Cooking time: 30 minutes (with soaking time of 1.5 hours)
Serves 4-5
Required ingredients:
Split Bengal Gram (channa dal) -- 1 cup
Split Green Gram (moong dal) -- 1/4 cup
Cinnamon -- half inch stick
Cloves -- 3
Coriander Seeds Powder (dhaniya powder) -- 1 tsp.
Ginger Paste -- 1 tsp.
Garlic -- 1 tsp.
Nutmeg Powder -- 1/4 tsp.
Chopped Onion -- 1/2 cup
Chopped Green Chili -- 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry
Method:
Mix the two dals and soak for 1.5 hours.
Drain water from the soaked soal. Add salt to taste and put it in a mixture and grind into a semi-soft paste (do not make too soft; do not add any water).
Crush cinnamon stick and cloves into powder and add to the paste. Add coriander seeds powder, nutmeg powder, onion, garlic, ginger and green chili. Mix well. Make this dough into small balls (roughly half the size of a golf ball) and keep aside.
In a deep skillet warm oil and deep fry the balls on lo w heat until brown.
Serve it with Sambhar / Rasam and Nariyal chutney.

JALEBI


Ingredients
Refined flour 300 gms.
Green cardamom powder 1⁄2 tsp.
Curd (yogurt) optional
Sugar 500 gms.
Color (optional) a few drops
Soda bi-carb 1 tsp.
Ghee for deep frying
Method
1. Mix flour, soda and Yogurt. Add some water and make a batter.
2. Leave it overnight to ferment.
3. Mix it, add a little water if required and make it into a pouring
consistency.
4. Prepare sugar syrup with equal quantity of sugar and water. Add green
cardamom powder and cook it for 20-25 minutes.
5. Heat Ghee in a Kadhai. Pour batter into a jalebi cloth and then pour it
into medium hot Ghee giving jalebi shapes.
6. Cook it from both sides. Remove and keep it in sugar syrup for at least 5
minutes before serving.
Tip: For jalebi cloth, take some stiff cloth and make a 3 mm hole in the
center.

RASMALAI


Ingredients
Chhena 250 gms.
Flour 4 tbsp.
Sugar 1 kg.
Milk 2 ltrs.
Pistachio nuts (पिस्ता) 1 tbsp.
Method
1. Knead and mash Chhena, add 2 tablespoons flour and make a dough.
2. Divide it into 12 equal portions, make balls and press between your
palms to flatten them. Keep aside.
3. Dissolve 500 gms. sugar in the same quantity of water, bring it to a boil
and add rest of the flour dissolved in water.
4. Now add the dough portions (rasmalai) in it and cook over a high flame
for 10 minutes. Add half a cup of water and again bring it to a boil. Cook for
another 3 minutes.
5. Remove them and keep in a thin sugar syrup prepared from 250 gms of
sugar and 500 mls. of water.
6. Now take milk in a heavy bottomed pan, bring it to a boil, reduce the
flame, stir continuously. Simmer until it is reduced to a thick consistency.
7. Add rest of the sugar and keep on a medium flame till the sugar is
completely dissolved. Remove from the flame and refrigerate for an hour.
8. Squeeze the rasmalai and put them into chilled milk. Keep in refrigerator
for another half an hour.
9. Serve cold, garnished with sliced pistachio nuts.

MANGO PICKLE


Ingredients
Raw mangoes 500 gms.
Fenugreek seeds 3 tbsp.
Fennel seeds 4 tbsp.
Red chili powder 2 tbsp.
Turmeric powder 2 tsp.
Mustard seeds 3 tbsp.
Mustard oil 350 mls.
Salt as per taste
Method
1. Cut raw mangoes into half, remove seed and then cut 3⁄4th inch sized
pieces.
2. Apply turmeric powder and salt, rub nicely and then keep it for half an
hour. Drain out excess moisture.
3. Grind fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds and mustard seeds to a coarse
powder.
4. Heat mustard oil until smoking point, remove and let it cool.
5. Mix fenugreek seeds (मेथी), fennel and mustard powder with red chili powder.
Add half of the mustard oil to this mixture and rub this spice and oil mixture
to the mango pieces. Mix thoroughly.
6. Put this into an earthenware jar and pour the remaining mustard oil.
Cover the jar with a muslin cloth and keep it in the sun for 5-6 days.
7. Make sure you stir the contents o f the jar for the first two weeks at least
once a day. This is to ensure that the mango pieces are always in contact
with the oil.
Note: In most of the Indian pickles, salt and oil are used as preservatives.

LEMON AND CHILLI PICKLE


Ingredients
Green chili 400 gms.
Mustard seeds 4 tbsp.
Turmeric powder 2 tsp.
Lime 12 no.
Oil 400 mls.
Salt as per taste
Method
1. Grind mustard seeds to a coarse powder.
2. Cut limes into eight pieces.
3. Slit green chilies and cut them into half inch long pieces.
4. Mix powdered mustard seeds, turmeric powder and salt with green chili
and lime pieces.
5. Transfer this to a sterilized glass bottle or an earthenware jar. Pour oil on
top and shake the bottle well.
Note: This pickle can be enjoyed within 5-6 days of preparation also.

GINGER PICKLE



Grate ginger finely.Take oil and add mustard seeds.When it splatters, add
fenugreek seed powder an asafoetida.Add grated ginger and fry well till the
moisture is gone and it becomes a non-sticky paste.

Taman

20 desember 2008, sabtu,

Hari ini da mulai fuyu hasumi, libur musim dingin, dari tanggal 20 des mpe 7 januari 2009. Libur ini ga sepanjang libur musim panas yang 40 harian. wak...ngapain ya di rumah?? so, dapet sms dari temen, ajak main di koen, taman. Yah uda kita pergi deh jam 11 an, main disana, ternyata mataharinya ga kluar...udara dingin, wak, ya uda kita pergi di spmket deket situ. Disana ada food courtnya, ada jual udon, kare, yakisoba, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, aneka rasa roti.

Pagi kita uda makan udon, jadi beli roti aja cari tempat makan disitu. Teman n anaknya makan udon. Wah rame juga tempat makannya, maklum weekend, kebanyakan abis belanja supermaket langsung makan siang disitu deh. Untung kebagian kursi.

Abis makan, ternyata matahari menampakkan sinarnya kembali, ya uda kita balik lagi ke taman main main mpe jam 2 an..wak lama banget mainnya. Mei seneng banget ketemu Ayu chan, nama anak dari temen. ..dulu ma Ayu chan tetanggaan, jadi uda temen dari kecil.
Xiang juga seneng banget main perosotannya....happy die main ma cicinya...mpe mo pulang didudukin baby carnya susah banget, masih mao main...hehehe...
Nyampe rumah jam 3 an, coz di perjalanan, mampir lagi ke toko...hahhaa...belanja trusssss

年賀状 Kartu Tahun Baru

Minggu kemarin lagi sibuk bikin kartu tahun baru, input nama nama yang harus diketik sattu persatu, pilih gambar untuk bagian belakang kartu, disertai ucapan tahun baru, trus tinggal di print, kerjaan di akhir tahun nih...
Bagi yang malas bikin sendiri, biasanya bisa pesan di toko, bisa disertai foto ato asesoris lainnya, tapi harganya agak mahal untuk biaya cetaknya.

Kalau salah satu dari keluarga kita ada yang meninggal, biasanya kita harus kirim kartu lain pemberitauan bahwa kita sedang berduka cita...so, orang lain ga ngirim kartu tahun baru ke kita.
Tahun ini ada 2 orang rekan husband ngirim kartu ini, so kita ga boleh krim kartu tahun baru, wak padahal gw da ngeprint , jadi sia sia deh..

Biasanya sesudah tanggal 15 desember sudah boleh kirim ke kantor pos n biasanya nyampe ke tempat tujuan tanggal 1 januari. Kalau telat ngirimnya, bisa tanggal 2 ato 3 januari. Kartu tahun baru yang kita terima, di bagian bawah ada tertera nomor, dari situ kita bisa liat nomor kita ada nyangkut ga di undian kartu tahun barunya ga? Undian ini diadakan oleh kantor pos, hadiahnya bisa berupa perangko, kupon untuk beli buku, ato tv...tapi selama ini si, ga pernah nyangkut tuh nomornya...hehehe

TOMATO SOUP



Ingredients
Tomatoes 600 gms.
Chopped ginger 1 tbsp.
Chopped garlic 1 tbsp.
Whole garam masala 1 tbsp.
Bay leaf 2 no.
Chopped green coriander 1 tbsp.
Cumin seeds 1 tsp.
Sugar (optional) 1 tbsp.
Oil 1 tbsp.
Green chili 2 no.
Salt As per taste


Method
1. Wash and cut tomatoes into quarters
2. Cook tomatoes with chopped ginger, garlic, green chilies cut into two and Whole Garam masala. Add 5 cups of water
and bayleaf. Bring to a boil.
3. Simmer for twenty minutes on a slow flame until tomatoes are mashed completely.
4. Strain the mixture with a soup strainer.
5. Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, let them crackle. Add strained tomato liquid and season with salt.
6. Bring it to a boil, add sugar if it is very sour.
7. Serve hot, garnished with chopped green coriander leaves.

FOR MORE SOUP RECIPES CLICK HERE.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES




Ingredients
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour1 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon salt2 sticks (1 cup) butter3/4 cup granulated sugar3/4 cup brown sugar4 tablespoons Kahlua Vanilla Rum1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (optional)3 small or 2 large eggs2 cups chocolate chips or chunks1 1/4 cup walnuts, pecans or Macadamia nuts, chopped1/2 cup raisins, Craisins or dried cherries, chopped
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Before Baking:
Remove butter and eggs from refrigerator about 20 minutes before baking. Soak raisins, Craisins or dried cherries (or a combination of these) in 4 tablespoons of Kahlua Rum for 1 hour before using. After dried fruit have soaked up the rum, measure two tablespoons of rum/raisin liquid and reserve to add to cookie dough.
Cut sheets of Reynolds Parchment Paper to fit the cookie sheets that will be used. The paper helps to keep the bottoms of the cookies from becoming too browned and the cookies slide off the hot sheets easily, making clean-up a breeze.
Making the Cookies:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and the two kinds of sugar until creamy. Add one egg at a time, beating after each one is added. Stir in 2 tablespoons of vanilla rum and the bean paste.
On a piece of Reynolds Parchment Paper, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Folding paper in the center, gradually pour flour mixture into the mixer bowl while mixing at the lowest speed. Mix only until combined; do not over-mix or the cookies will be tough.
Using a wooden spoon, stir in chocolate chips, chopped nuts and dried raisins/fruit.
Drop onto baking sheets lined with Reynolds Parchment Paper by spoonfuls using a small ice cream or cookie scoop or two large tablespoons.
Bake from 9-12 minutes or until golden brown along the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before removing to a cooling rack or flat cool surface.

Variation: Drizzle or dip cooled cookies with tempered chocolate or dipping chocolate.
Makes 50-60 cookies, depending on size.
Note: Most of the alcohol evaporates during baking, but you may substitute the rum with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in 1 1/2 tablespoons of water in this recipe, if desired.
Submitted by: CM
See ready Choclate chip cookies photo above

ALMOND COOKIES


Delicious biscuits made from almonds
Ingredients
2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped almonds
2 egg whites
1 cup brown sugar
Method
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Grease the cookie sheets.
2. Whip egg whites until stiff. Fold in brown sugar, flour and chopped almonds. Stir lightly.
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake for about 30 minutes.
Recipe is provided with Almond Cookies Photo (above).

CASHEWNUT COOKIES


Mouth watering cookies with cashewnut toppings.
Ingredients
70 GMS. Flour
35 GMS. Powdered sugar
50 GMS. Butter
50 GMS. Chopped Cashews
1 tsp. Vanilla essence
1 tbsp. Milk
Method
1.Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla essence.


2.Seive the flour and fold into the butter. Add milk for consistency.


3.Dust the table top/work area and roll the dough into a cylindrical shape and cut into equal round pieces.


4.Then wet the top of each cookie with milk and put chopped cashew on each. Bake at 200 C for 15 minutes.

Cashewnut Cookies Photo above shows a sample.

SWEETHEART COOKIES RECIPE


Orange flavored cookies
Ingredients
170 GMS. Plain flour
115 GMS. Margarine or butter
170 GMS. Castor Sugar
1 tsp. Orange Color
1 1/2 tsp. Orange Essence
1/4 cup Almonds(optional)
Method
1.Beat margarine or butter and sugar until very light and creamy. Add essence and color and then beat again.
2.Sieve the flour and add to the mixture. Knead the dough well and roll it.
3.Shape the dough in heart shapes using a biscuit cutter. Decorate the cookies with almonds.
4.Put it on a greased baking tray and bake the cookies at 180DegC. for 20 minutes.
See how sweet these cookies are (Sweetheart cookies photo above).