TIL PITHA RECIPE - Bihu Recipes

Ingredients :
Bora rice (glutinous rice) - 2 cups
Black sesame seeds - 80gms
Jaggery - 100 gms
How to Prepare til Pitha
Clean and soak the rice overnight . Strain the rice. Cover with a cloth and leave it in the strainer for 2 hours and grind. Do not over grind.
Lightly roast the sesame seeds, pound it slightly and remove its outer shell. Mash the jaggery. Pour sesame seeds into the jaggery and mix them well.
Heat a pan in medium flame and take a ladle of rice batter place it in the middle of the pan and spread to a size of small puri with the back of your fisted hand. While it is being roasted, place the stuffing of jaggery and sesame mix in the centre. When the rice batter become firm, cover the stuffing by folding it on both sides. Turn over. Lightly heat and remove from fire. Make sure the jaggery does not melt and flow out. The pitha is not allowed to turn brown; it should remain white. It can be stored in a covered container for about a week.

Too Much For One Night

There was something about this recipe that I was drawn to. I think it was the chive crust. I was looking at a recipe for beef and leek pot pie. You always hear about chicken pot pie, but rarely beef, and it sounded infinitely better than chicken. And I never get to cook leeks! Or do anything with chives. I put beef and leek pot pie on my list for the week.
The only problem was the amount of prep work required. Cut 1.5 lbs of beef into 1 inch cubes and brown it. Chop up onions, celery, carrots and potato. Make and chill the crust. Cook the beef (essentially making a stew) for an hour. It was really a weekend kind of meal. I decided to make it on a Tuesday night.
I got home at 6:30 and was in the kitchen sharpening my knives by 6:40. I started chopping and prepping. I had already cut up the meat in the morning but that only saved me about 10 minutes. I spend 40 minutes chopping the vegetables and browning the meat. Then everything went into a big pot to stew for an hour.
In the meantime I made the crust. Crust is always made the same way. Mix up dry ingredients like flour, salt and chives. Add the fat - in this case, shortening, and create a coarse meal. Add ice water until just moist enough to come together in a dough. It turns out I didn't have any ice water ready, and I never filled my ice cube tray since moving in. Ice water is used for making crusts to keep the fat in solid form while the dough comes together. Later when the dough is in the oven and the fat melts, it leaves pockets of air which create a flaky crust. Otherwise the crust can become gluey and dense.
I put a mug of water into the freezer and waited for it to chill. I finished prepping the vegetables that were to be stirred into the stew before putting it in a pan to bake. I whisked some flour with beef broth, which would be used to thicken the stew. Finally my water was chilled, my dough formed and went into the fridge. It was supposed to chill for 30 more minutes.
At this point, the stew had been stewing for the appointed hour which meant it was nearly 8:30. I allowed the dough a mere 15 minutes of chilling time while I poured the stew into a pan. Then I rolled it out, slapped it onto the stew where it barely covered the entire pan. (Note that the recipe called for 11X7 and all I had was 13X9.) Another 20 minutes for the pot pie to bake and then it was ready. I was too tired to eat more than a small square.

Beef and Leek Pot Pie
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1714572

Pros: Uses less common ingredients like leeks and chives, loaded with veggies besides leeks like carrots, potatoes and peas, and everyone likes a good crust
Cons: Takes way too freaking long to make

Conclusion: Make a beef stew. Enjoy. The next day, make a crust and pot pie the leftovers. It's just too much for one night.

Many Food Writer’s Diary readers count calories

January 20

Apologies for my silence over the past week. I’m not ignoring you, just, you know, meeting deadlines and stuff. But I have many exciting stories of blowfish and book launches, casseroles and sheet cakes.

But if nothing else, I need a new poll, because the old one has closed.
I asked Food Writer's Diary readers if posting of calorie information on menus would affect what you order.
If you don’t eat at chain restaurants in New York City, the question is theoretical, but here in the Big Smoke such information has been on menus and menu boards of chains with 15 or more units (nationwide) since mid-July. Similar laws are likely to sweep the nation sooner rather than later.
Thirty-two of you were kind enough to participate in the poll. These are the results:

WOULD POSTING OF CALORIE INFORMATION ON MENUS AFFECT WHAT YOU ORDER?

Yes: 15 (46%)

No: 9 (28%)

Maybe: 8 (25%)

If you feel like participating in a new poll, I'd like to ask why you pick the restaurants you do.

Thank you.

tanpa sebarang motif

tiada motif yg pasti...

cuma. rase puas. bile dpt snap pic nih.

tanpa sebarang editing.

sesungguhnye. sy mmg x reti.

bab2 edit2 pics. buta teknologi sungguh...

bg sy. ianye cantik. bg org lain. x kesah lah.

yg penting. sy puas. sy suke.

SAUSAGE ROLL RECIPE - Snacks Recipes

Ingredients :

Serves 6
For the Pastry
Plain Flour - 225gm
Salt - to taste
Butter - 75gm
Vegetable oil - 75gm
Lemon juice - 2tsp
For the Filling
Parsley - 2tbs
Spring Onion - 1 small bunch
Pork sausage - 450gm
Beaten egg - 1
Method :
Sift flour and salt in a large bowl. Mix butter and 1tbs of oil. Add a quarter of the oil mixture to the flour and rub until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Dissolve lemon juice in cold water. Add it to the flour and make a dough out of it. Knead until the dough is smooth and free from any cracks.
Roll the dough to an oblong (30cm x 10cm) size. Rub a second quarter of the blended oil-butter mixture over the top of the pastry. Fold the pastry like a roll. Seal edges with the rolling pin and then give the pastry a half turn.
Roll out the above pastry again into an oblong shape; repeat the same procedure as above. Seal the edges, wrap and chill for 15 minutes. Then, repeat the rolling and folding once more and put it to chill for 30 minutes.
Mix chopped parsley and spring onions well with the sausage meat. Make 2 rolls.
Roll out the pastry on a floured surface into 2 oblongs. Place the sausage meat rolls on top of the pastry. Lightly brush the edges of the pastry with water; pinch edges firmly together.Then with a round-bladed knife, knock edges firmly together, sealing well.
Cut into 11/2inch pieces with a sharp knife. Place a lightly greased baking sheet. Mark the sausage rolls across the top with a knife and brush with a beaten egg. Leave to cool in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven (4000 F/ 2000 C) and cook the rolls in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until they turn golden brown