RECIPE : Vegetarian Briyani

Hey! 

I don't normally post recipes on my blog as this is more like a personal site but I'm so bored at home that I decided to be kind. Hah!

Since Thaipusam is just around the corner, I'm sure a lot of Indians are craving for briyani but apakah daya , vegetarian broooooo, vegetarian. Hahaha. *evil laugh* It's okay if you can't eat meat items and craving for briyani cuz hey, we always have an alternative vegetarian version of non-vege meals right? 

Anyway, here's the vegetarian briyani recipe I learnt and decided to try at home. (I always add more onions and veges and spices, so it's up to you to control the ingredients according to your own taste bud alright?)

Ingredients

• Basmathi rice - 1 cup
• Oil  - 2tbsp (I used a lot of ghee instead)
• Bay leaf 
• Cinnamon stick
• Cloves - 2
• Coconut milk - 2 cups
• Fennel seeds - 1.5 tsp
• 1 inch Ginger (finely chopped) 
• 1 Big Onion (diced)
• 1/2 tomato (diced)
• 2 green chillies 
• 10 mint leaves (roughly chopped)
• Salt
• Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander leaves (about 4-5 sprigs, roughly chopped)

Method

1. Heat oil/ ghee and add in bay leave, cinnamon, cloves and fennel seeds. 
2. Add in ginger, garlic and green chillies. Fry well until the raw smell goes off and add in onions and fry well.
3. Add in tomato and fry well until it turns mushy. 
4. Add in washed basmathi rice and stir well after sprinkling with salt to taste until they're coated well with the oil and spices. 
5. Add in the chopped mint leaves.
6. Transfer to cooker. This is how it should look like;
7. I added a generous amount of frozen mixed vegetables in my dish. It's optional. As I said, it all depends on your own preference. 
   
8. Pour in the coconut milk (I used plain water) and let it cook. This is how it should look like after it's done. You may add in the coriander leaves now and mix well. 
   
9. Just sprinkle a little bit of yellow colouring and mix well only on the top part. Mix everything up after leaving it for a while. This is how it should look like when it's done, with bits of white rice showing. This step is purely optional. Hahaha. 
   
10. Your briyani is ready to be served! :D 

I served mine with spicy chicken varuval and onion raita. 

Let me know how yours turned out with the coconut milk! Remember, you can always add in extra spices or vegetables like diced carrots if you want. You're the chef!:) 

Shanu. x

Soy Meat Sambal Recipe

Hey guys. Today's post is a simple vegetarian recipe that no one can ever resist. Soy Meat Sambal. 

Just in case if you're wondering what soy meat is, soy meat is an alternatives to real meat. Soy meat contains the same amount of protein as real meat but contains no fat at all. It also contains fillers as it is made of flour or any other carbohydrate ingredient. The calories is of course, much more fewer than the real meat as there is no fat in it. 

So. Here we go. A simple, yummy and nutritious meal. 

Ingredients ;

• Half packet of Soy meats (immerse in warm water for about 30 minutes.)
• Cinnamon stick and star anises
• 1 tbsp Chopped garlic and ginger
• 1 big onion , sliced.
• 1/2 big tomato , sliced
• 1 cup Chilli paste
• 1 tbsp Tamarind paste, make juice with 1/2 cup of hot water
• Oil
• Salt to taste

Instructions ;

1. Saute cinnamon stick and star anises together with garlic, ginger, and onions until the onions are cooked well.
2. Add in tomato and stir for a while until they soften. 
3. Pour in the chilli paste and cook well until the raw taste reduces. Add in water bit by bit and let it evaporate to original thickness. 
4. Pour in tamarind juice, stir well.
5. Add in the soy meats after straining the water. Do not squeeze out the juice in it. 
6. Season well and cook well until the soy meats are coated with thick sambal. 

Picture for reference. :)

Good luck and kindly drop your comment after trying out the recipe!

Till next time , Shanu. x

Spaghetti with Mayonnaise Sauce.

My mom asked me to make something with vermicelli (she just bought it without reading the label) and mayonnaise. I made it and they were soooo good that I decided to share the awesomely easy recipe here. ^^

These are the ingredients. I forgot to take a picture of the chicken cubes, sorry. -.-

Green Chillies.

Onions and garlic.

Carrots. I don't know how did the tiles turned blue. lol.

And of course, our spaghetti.

Instead of making a formal recipe, I'll just tell the instructions briefly as they are extremely easy to make. Prepare spaghetti first (don't forget to add in some oil, salt and pepper in the water. Stir occasionally to prevent the spaghetti from sticking together. )
For the sauce, stir the green chillies in a sauce pot (with some hot oil of course), and then add in the onions and garlic and cook well until you can smell the aroma. Pour in some water and add the carrots and chicken cubes. Let them cook. (Don't forget to season with some salt and pepper)

Picture of the cooked ingredients. -.-

Lastly, just add in the mayonnaise and herbs and cook well to your desired thickness of the sauce.

Pour the sauce on top of the pasta and tadaa! It's done!

The end. Don't forget to leave your comment. :3

Traditional Peanut Cookies

Hello again reader. 

So, I've baked and even posted the recipe for Crispy Coffee Cookies and Cocoa Powder Cookies. 

Today, I made some Traditional Peanut Cookies and all you need is same amount of flour and peanut meal, peanut oil, sugar and finally, egg for decoration! Easy isn't it? 

Traditional Peanut Cookies.

I don't even see the need of posting the recipe, but.. I'll still do it. ;p

Traditional Peanut Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups peanut meal 
• 1 1/2 cup castor sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Peanut oil
• Egg yolk + yellow colouring for deco.

Direction

Just mix the flour, peanut meal, sugar and salt. Add in peanut oil to your liking and mix well until the dough looks like the dough shown in the picture.

The traditional way of making these cookies is by rolling them it into small balls, pressing in the middle using your finger and placing one drop of egg yolk in the middle. You can even use a cookie cutter like what I did to mine. Easy isn't it? Do comment if you're planning to do these. Best of luck. :D

Cocoa Powder Cookies

Crispy Coffee Cookies yesterday, Cocoa Powder Cookies today! :D 

Cocoa Powder Cookies. Comments would be lovely ♥

These are my most prettiest cookies ever! Seriously. Who wouldn't looove perfect little heart shaped chocolate cookies? :3 

Here's the recipe for it. 

Cocoa Powder Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter (125g)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used more for richer flavour)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Direction

1. Using a mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add in egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.

3. In a seperate bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add in the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and mix everything until everything is well combined.

4. Make truffle sized balls and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. (do ignore the picture, I added more flour to make it mouldable and used a heart shaped cutter.)

5. Bake them at 180°C for exactly 10 minutes. Let them cool and enjoy! :)

That's all for today! Do leave some comments if you feel like doing it too or you want to know anything bout this recipe. 

Here's a picture to end this post. :D

Product after the recipe is doubled up.

Toodles~ 

Crispy Coffee Cookies

Hello hello to whoever reading this now.

Well, as most of us know, Diwali is coming in just 8 more days. So, today I started baking Diwali cookies with Crispy Coffee Cookieeees! 

How do they look like? Comment please! :3

For coffee haters, this crispy cookies have just a hint of coffee flavour and not overly sweet.

If you're thinking, "So, she created this post to show off bout her handmade cookies." You're wrong! I just wanted to share how to make them, actually! :D (I know, I'm kind. Haha, jk jk)

So, let's get started, shall we?

Crispy Coffee Cookies Recipe 

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup instant coffee granules
• 2 tablespoon hot water
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• Additional sugar

Direction 

1. Combine sugar and oil. 

2. Add in dissolved coffee and water into the sugar mixture. Mix well.

3. Add eggs (one at a time, ignore the pic :p) and beat well.

4. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, and gradually add them to the sugar mixture.

5. Beat well until everything is mixed together. This is not what exactly it should look like, actually. The recipe is too 'sticky' for me, so I added more flour into it to make it easier to work with. :)

6. Roll into balls and then roll in additional sugar. Place on greased baking tray (again, ignore the pic :p) and bake at 200°C for about 10 minutes.

7. The end product!! :D Don't be confused with the colour, it's due to excessive sugar coating. *cough*

Do leave some comments if you feel like doing it too or if you want to know anything about this recipe.

I'll end this post with one more picture of the cookies. :D

Product after the recipe is doubled up! :)

Toodles~