Stay At Home Moms

Last weekend, my kids’ Islamic Sunday School had a celebration and I brought these along to contribute to the pot-luck spread. And since my kids loved these so much, I made extras for home as well…I believe they were the 4th batch since raya! As I look at my fast dissappearing honey cornflake cups - or better known in Malay - as cornflakes madu, it occured to me that it’s a recipe worth sharing. Especially since it was a BIG hit! Oh..and I didn’t mean only the kids

I suppose, this post should probably have been up the week when most people celebrating Eid would have been trawling the net and flipping recipe books and yellowed hand-me down recipes looking for yummy treats to serve their guests especially the kids who come visiting. But given that I was really strapped for time, I suppose it’s better late than never. Besides, who says you need to only bake these for Eid right? Anyway, I’m sure there are similar recipes elsewhere so one late entry can’t have done much damage either.

Ingredients:
5 cups cornflakes (lightly crushed - so that the pieces are not too big)
4oz stick + 1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated/fine sugar
3 tbsp honey
sliced/crushed nuts (optional)
Sprinkles (optional)
About 50 small baking cups

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, combine butter, sugar and honey.
2. Place the pan on slow fire and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Turn off the flame and immediately add the cornflakes (and nuts, if using) into the sugar mixture.
4. Stir to coat the cornflakes completely with the sugar mixture.
5. Place the cups onto a baking tray. Spoon tablespoonful of the mixture into the cups.
6. Decorate with whatever sprinkles you like.
7. Bake in pre-heated oven at 350F for abt 10 min.
8. Remove from oven, leave to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Tips:

• To cruch the cornflakes and not make a mess - measure the amount of cornflakes needed and put it in a ziploc bag. Lay the bag flat on the table and distribute the cornflakes evenly. Do not zip the bag completely. Leave a small hole so that air can escape when you put pressure on the bag. Use a rolling pin and gently roll over the cornflakes twice or until the desired size is obtained. Don’t crush it too much - it’s not honey cornflake POWDER cups!
• If using nuts, mix the nuts and the crushed cornflakes well before pouring the mixture into the sugar mixture.
• Do not over-bake the cornflakes. If it’s too hard or burnt, it’ll lose it’s charm and you don’t want to deal with chipped teeth!
• Do not wait for the sugar mixture to cool before adding the cornflake mixture - it’s difficult to mix when the syrup mixture thickens.

I’m normally in a hurry to get things from the Asian store and then hurry out to run more errands. So last week when I found I had a little more time than usual to spend at the Asian store, I decided to slowly look  through what they had at the noodle section.  I wasn’t looking for anything in particular so it was a nice surprise to find the narrow type of Kway Teow noodles. I also found Chow Funn noodles. Wanting to break the monotony of eating rice for quite a few days now, I decided to try out these noodles. What was even better was that the back of the package had a recipe. What can I say but it turned out quite nice. However, the next time I cook this dish, I’ll remember to throw in some fresh prawns! I’m sure it’ll taste even better!!

Ingredients:
Chicken marinate -
300g minced chicken
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced

Sauce -
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
4 tsp cornstarch
1/3 cup water

1 package (20oz) Chow Funn Noodles
10 fishballs - halved
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 green onions - cut into 1 inch strips
2 carrots - julienned
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 tsp sesame oil

Method:

1. Mix the chicken with the soy sauce and garlic. Let it stand for 20 minutes.
2. Combine the ingredients for the sauce and stir until the cornstarch dissolves completely.
3. Cook noodle according to package instructions.
4. In a pan, on high heat coat the base of the pan with vegetable oil.
5. Add the minced chicken and fry till it turns light brown. This will take about 2-3 minutes.
6. Add the vegetable and fishballs. Stir-fry until the fishball is cooked.
7. Add the sauce and the cooked noodles. Stir to mix all the ingredients completely.
8. Stir constantly until the sauce boils and thickens.
9. Turn off the fire. Drizzle the sesame oil over the noodles. Stir.
10. Serve hot.

This week has been particularly busy for me. Not that I’ve been visiting friends and relatives because of Eid. That is far from the reality of things. In fact, this is probably the first Eid I have not done as much visiting as I have always had, and should probably have had twice as much time available for me to use as I deem fit, but that is not the case. I have offered my help to be a parent volunteer at my son’s elementary school and have been assigned the role of a Read Naturally Parent. With the training that was conducted and the other things that I have chosen to add to my schedule, obviously believing that I am a supermom, time for me to blog about the food and books in my life has been sorely depleted. Anyway, the training as a Read Naturally Parent was very useful.

So what is a Read Naturally Parent? Thought you’d ask…
It’s main aim is to get children reading fluently. And by fluently there are mainly 4 areas that the child needs to be aware of. Let me not get into the details of this and jump right in to say that one very important idea I learnt during the training was that, a child who can read chapter books may not be considered a fluent reader! Why? Because, while he may be able to read fast, he may not be reading with the right inflexions, or comprehension or expression. Now…if you didn’t know that, you just learnt something as well!

With my awareness of fluency, and its importance, I charged into the library (of course this is me being melodramatic!) and looked for books that would be helpful for my developing readers. Besides, I thought it was about time to get them a book which would be different from the ones they’ve been reading recently. The Roly-Poly Rice Ball was the right find.

The story is set in ancient China, gleaned from the colorful illustration of cherry blossom trees, ladies, men and mice dressed in ancient Chinese robes, and tells of a poor sweeper, Li, who had only three rice balls left to last him the whole day. Magically, as he sat under a cherry tree to eat it, the rice balls rolled away into a hole under the tree. Even more magical is his experience as he rolls into the hole as well. The mice who live in the hole eats his rice balls. But Li never gets upset even though he was ravenous. In return, the emperor mice rewards him with precious items which to the mice are of little value.

It is obvious that the story has a moral behind it; that one should share and put others before self and the idea of delayed gratification for being patient. However, I find the story overly unrealistic. It is unrealistic, that Li while in hunger is able to accede to the emperor’s demands to do tasks even after he has lost the only meal he has.

Anyway, it is an easy read and one that will encourage the younger readers to enjoy reading because of the repetitive words as well as the sing-song magical chant that the mice uses to make things roll in and out of the hole.

What did we do?

• discussed how Li felt when he saw the balss rolling away
• tried to make sense of Li’s patience
• discuss if being a sweeper was a good job or not
• shared what we would have done if we were Li

It’s been some time since I last updated the blog but Eid is a busy time and I was having way too much fun baking Eid treats and cookies, preparing for the arrival of Eid, sending parcels and cards to friends, making new friends and catching up with old ones and finally going on the webcam to exchange Eid greetings with family in SG. So now that I have found time to pay some attention to my neglected blog, let me first wish all Muslims “Eid Mubarak”. May we be blessed to experience the next Ramadhan and the next Eid. In my own language - Selamat Hari Raya Maaf Zahir dan Batin. Semoga diberkati untuk menemui Ramadhan dan beraya tahun depan. InsyaAllah.

Now getting back to the food business…

I love eating those ball like bread in Indian restaurants and have always wondered how they get the bread to bloat and puff up so that it looks like a ball on the plate. The taste - crispy and yet soft. Unlike chapatis, pratas and naans which are rather filling and “heavy”, puris seems to have a lightness about them that makes eating one insufficient and you look forward to eating another! So when I came across this video on youtube and tried the recipe out, you can imagine how ecstatic I was when my puris started to bloat!! Finally I knew how they make puris, and it tasted as good as it looks. Served with Tomato Mutton Curry it was a hit with my family, especially the kids.

Ingredients: (makes 10-12 depending on the size)

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp canola oil
Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Mix the flour and salt.
2. Add the water and knead into a dough.
3. Add the oil and continue to knead the dough for a few minutes.
4. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel.
5. When ready to use, knead the dough a few more times.
6. Break the dough into about 15 equal pieces.
7. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten in between your palm so that it will be easier to roll out.
8. Dab a little canola oil on the surface of each flattened ball.
9. Roll out the balls evenly with a rolling pin into thin circles slightly bigger than the size of your palm.
10. Heat a pan half filled with oil.
11. When the oil is hot, place one rolled out dough into the oil.
12. Use a frying slice to gently push on the dough as it is frying.
13. The dough will puff up. Flip over and fry the other side until golden brown.
14. Both sides should be golden brown.
15. Remove from the oil drain on a paper towel.
16. Serve warm with curry or vegetable kheema or tomato mutton curry. 

Tips:

• The dough will be rather stiff and it will take some effort to knead it.
• Try not to puncture the puri when you fry them or the puffed puri will start to deflate a little.

Here’s the wonderful video!

It has been a rather busy week with all the cleaning and the baking that I’ve been doing. I am sure if the octopus saw me, he would be ashamed of underutilising his tentacles. I’ve just realised that this home cleaning ritual that I go through every year because of the approaching Eid has become so much a part of me that this year, even with no relatives, friends, students and neighbours who will come to visit me, I just simply HAD to do it! There is a certain sense of satisfaction at seeing things re-arranged and re-organised and removed.

That said, iftar has been a rather simple affair because I’m exhausted by the time it comes to preparing a meal . Yesterday we had puri (an Indian bread) and this tomato mutton curry with sliced tomatoes in ketchup. It may take an hour or more to boil the curry to a thick creamy consistency, but it takes only 10 minutes to prepare. And that suited me just fine. I could reorganise my kitchen, make the puri while keeping an eye on the curry.

Ingredients:
A)
400g mutton (preferably with bones)
1 onion - chopped
2 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp chili powder (reduce if necessary)
2 tbsp yogurt
1 small can tomato juice

B) For grinding into a smooth paste:
5 cloves of garlic
1 red chili
3cm of ginger

C) For frying:
1 cinnamon
4 cloves
4 cardamoms
5 shallots - sliced thinly
2 tbsp ghee

4 cups water

Method:

1. Combine all the ingredients in A.
2. Pour ingredients in B into A. Stir. Leave for half an hour.
3. In a pot, heat the ghee. Add the ingredients for frying. Fry till fragrant.
4. Add the combined A and B into the pot. Boil until fragrant. Stir.
5. Add water, bring to a boil. Lower the fire to medium and cover.
6. Continue cooking until the gravy reduces and thickens. Occasionally stir to prevent burning and sticking on the pase and sides of the pan.
7. Turn off the fire. Serve hot with rice, chapati, puri and the likes.

Tips:

• 1 small can tomato juice = 5.5oz or 163ml. I used Campbell’s as in the picture below.



• If you are afraid that the gravy will boil over, leave the cover of the pot slightly open after it has started boiling profusely with the lid closed.