Milk Toffees

My mum is a master at this and every festival this is included into the list of sweets she makes..I have been having this home recipe, but was not in a mood to try it out since I don't have a sweet tooth. But after much dilly dallying I went ahead with it since the necessary ingredients were available at home.It's not a very difficult thing to make but you have to get the consistency right when it thickens.

This is called "Milk Toffee" or "Kiri Toffee (in Sinhala)

1 tin condensed milk
450g Sugar
a drop of Vanilla essense
water
Cashew nuts

Method
Into a pan preferably non stick add the sugar, condensed milk and half a tin of water filled into the condensed milk tin and bring to a boil on moderate heat.

When the mixture starts to thicken add the vanilla essence and the cashew nuts and mix further.

While the mixture is boiling a tablespoon of butter can be added.

When the bottom of the pan is visible when mixing taking it off the fire and flatten it on a buttered tray. (the tray should not be very high)

mark squares and let it cool.

According to Z's office mates it tasted yummy..For a first time attempt it was successful.

Cocoa Balls

Its been sometime that I have written..Its been ages..August and September have been mixed months for me and my family.With 3 funerals and one being so so unexpected.
Anyway I have been quite caught up with my parents being around here for Eid. This has been the first Eid ever that we have been away from the extended family. We missed the nutty things we do normally on Eid Day with my uncles and cousins, but it was an all new experience.I have written down some of the recipes that my mum make sand is trying out currently..

This is my personal favourite (since this is the first ever recipe I used for baking) and is liked by everyone at home.
Its called Cocoa Balls-

3 Oz Cocoa Powder
2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup chopped cashew nuts
1/2 lb butter
2 large eggs

METHOD

Beat margarine and sugar together, add the eggs, flour, cocoa, and lastly the nuts.

Chill this dough for 30mins (Chilling is required to prevent sticking)

Using bits of the chilled dough, form into small balls, roll the balls in granulated sugar,add top with half a cashew nut, and bake on greased pans, until done (Moderate Oven). I take it off when it is three quarter done!!!
Yield small balls – 100

Colourful Capsicum

Capsicum with Onions and salted mango..

Finally I got a hold of a favourite chilli of mine, the Capsicum!!!Back home the term in sinhala is "Maalu Miris" in tamil we call it " Curry Milahai".... I realized I have been walking passed the Capsicum and not realizing it was capsicum for some reason...Here I am now very happy with the discovery and realize that I can cook something much closer to home :-)

Here goes the recipe...

4 Capsicums (De seeded!!! I realized cooking it with the seeds did come with a consequence of excessive smarting of the palette)
1 Big Onion (the Bombay Onion)
1 ripe Tomato
1 Table spoon of  Maldive Fish (Maasi as its called it Tamil)
1 teaspoon Chillie Peices
salt to taste
Sliced Salted Mango or Lime Pickle

Heat oil in a pan and when heated add in the onions, capsicum,tomato's, all condiments close pan and let it cook.Once you open the pan do not close but let it cook on slow fire..

Ideal to be served with Rice :-)

Savoury Buns

Buns!!!! This is the first time I made this all on my own. The other times I assist my mum back home in Sri Lanka. This is a tested recipe and 100% successful recipe.

Recipe for Buns

500gm flour

1 1/2 tea spoon yeast
1 1/2 tea spoon salt
3 table spoon sugar + 1 tea spoon
5 tea spoon milk powder
50gms/21/2 table spoon butter

Method
Add yeast, sugar, milk powder, salt to the flour and mix well for 10 minutes. with 1 1/2 cups of water (to be added at once). To make a soft dough. Next add the butter and mix well for 30mins. Cover with lunch paper and leave to rise.

Filling

Potatoes

Green Chillies

Minced Meat

Bombay Onions (Big Onions)

2 pods Cardamons

Chillie 

Powdered Pepper

Salt

Ginger/Garlic

Temper the meat with GG paste, cardamon and Onions ,add salt pepper chillie and let it cook. Then add the diced potatoes green chillies and let it cook.

Once the filling is done let it cool. 

Make tiny balls and flatten and fill it with the meat mixture, glaze with egg wash and bake at 200 C for 20 minutes. 

The first bun i made was a not that great cos it was too big. The second batch I made the balls smaller and baked they were YUMMY!!!!

Zee, Uncle Iqbal, Mini and Gill were my tasters... Uncle Iqbal said it has been done perfectly!!! Mini loved the Curry more than the bun and Gill hadn't left a bun for her better half!!!

Conclusion-SUCCESSFUL

PICTURES TO BE POSTED !!!

Spicy Tomato Rice with my version of Chillie Chicken

I am a very big fan of rice.. and I love trying out rice dishes, be it tasting or cooking. I found this recipe on the very first blog I started to follow. I had to use normal normal chillie powder instead of the Kashmiri Chillie, and dropped out the Asafoetida since I did not have any. According to my Friend Jennath it tasted yummy with the exact spice levels :-)


The Chillie Chicken was not that hard, i reduced the quantity of Coriander and added bit more Chillie powder and Chillie pieces and made it a dry curry.. and served with home made Lime and Dil Chutney.

Soupy Soups

I am a big soup fan.. Give me any soup and I will have it. I never fail to order a soup as my starter if I go out for meals. Zee (thats my better half) and today I wasn't in a mood for a heavy dinner, so i decided to tryout a soup. I had two in my mind a pumpkin soup and a leek and potato soup. I really wanted to try out the Pumpkin Soup but for some reason I wasn't very confident in pureeing the pumpkin, hence settled for the leek soup.

I found the soup and stock recipe here. I think I liked the look of the soup :-) I have never tried out making stock.Thanks to the recipe VOILA  my Stock was done :-) and the soup turned out to be very tasty as well :-)

More Tested recipes coming soon :-D

Cooking Time :-)

Never did I think that I out of all people would ever cook a dish that is palatable.. From the day I have relocated myself I have been trying out my hand at the beautiful art of Cooking.. Little did I realize that I have seriously inherited the culinary genes from my mum and grand mum basically my family..:-)

The first few days was trial and error but gradually I see that I have improved of course my better half and my two good BFF's JB and minni are the tasters, according to them I am improving :-)

Guess boredom does a lot to you!!!!

This is one of the chickens recipes given by my mum..its not that complicated.. its easy and tasty..

Fried and Cooked Chicken

Boil chicken with chilli, turmeric,a little tamarind and salt.. once boiled remove the pieces and squeeze in lime juice and let it marinade for half an hour and fry. The stock has to bee boiled, when boiling add a little soya sauce, tomato or garlic and chilli and let it cook. Add the chicken and simmer :-)

Serve with Rice, Noodles or anything...