Monday, May 11, 2009
Puri is healthy food and I love the taste of it. You can eat puri with sugar (my daughter’s favourite) or dip it in potato masala curry. I normally have puri for my breakfast whenever I visit any Indian Restaurant. Don’t let the looks of puri fool you. It is actually hollow in the inside. Therefore one puri is not enough to fill my stomach. I usually have two pieces at one go!
I use premix Atta Flour to make puri.
Mix 2 cups of Atta Flour with one cup of water. Need the dough and divide into equal round ball around 1” in diameter. Use a roller pin to make it into round flat shape. Deep fry the puri in hot oil until golden brown. Try not to poke a hole in the puri while frying it or else the puri will not puff up!
Ang Mi Ku or Red Vegetarian Red Tortoise Bun is very popular in the Northern States of Malaysia especially in Penang and Butterworth. It is one of the must have offering during Chinese religious festival and you will see many of them are lined up at the prayers altar. The most common ones are red but you will sometimes see other different colours Mi Ku too. Some comes with head and legs just like a tortoise which is also a symbol of longivity. Mi Ku taste nice if eaten just the way it is or for extra kick you can dip it in curry just like roti canai (Malaysian Pancake). Sometime I will fry them in flour batter. Yummy and delicious!
Here is the recipe for Mi Ku
Mix 1 teaspoon of dry yeast and 2 table spoons of sugar in warm water (leave it for 15 minutes)
Pour the mixture into 500gms of wheat flour and knead the dough until they are well mix.
Take some dough and make it into tortoise shell shape and colour the outer layer with red food dye (Optional). Cut some grease paper and put the bun on it so that it will not stick to the steaming pan.
Cover up the tortoise bun with towel and put aside for the yeast to do their work for around 3 hours.
Steam the buns using high heat for 20 minutes.
This is one on my mum’s favourite recipe and it is a must have dish during festival season. She is at her eighties and can still dish out good Accar for the family. The way she manages the balance of sweetness, sourness and saltiness of the dish to perfection amazes me. I guess she must have got it right through years of experience. Mum’s cooking is the best!
Ingredients For Penang Nyonya Style Vegetarian Pickle - Accar
Shallots, 5 pcs, blended
Chilli, 1 table spoon
Turmeric, 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Vinegar to taste
Long Beans, 8 pcs, cut into 1” length
Carrot, 1 pc, cut into 1”x ¼” x ¼ “
Cabbages, 1/4, wash and cut into large pieces
Cucumber, 1 pc, cut into 1”x ¼” x ¼ “
Toasted peanuts, ½ cup, pounded into small pieces
Sesame seeds, ¼ cup, toasted until golden brown
Heat some vegetable oil in wok and sauteed ingredients for gravy (dressing) until fragrant. Add a little water if the gravy is too dry. Add all the vegetables and stir fry for a short while. Garnish with peanuts and sesame seeds and serve.
Enjoy your Penang Nyonya Style Vegetarian Pickle with steamed rice!