Talam Suji

            I  made   Talam Suji last Saturday. Love eating Talam Suji but made it only once before. Recently,  when I saw it on Yatie's Sinar Kehidupanku,   I was tempted to make it once again. This recipe was shared by  Bdaria from  Jurnal resepi bdaria. which she got from a class conducted by the famous Malaysian Chef Asmah.

            Unfortunately, as you can see, my Talam Suji does not look as tempting as the ones made by Yatie & Bdaria. Mind is rather pale. When I added yellow colouring to the bottom mixture, I thought it looked bright enough but when it's cooked, it looked pale. Then, I wanted to add brown colouring for the top layer but when I tried to pour the colouring, I realized it had hardened!

           

           This kuih is quite easy to cut as it is not too soft. It's not hard either. The sweetness  level is just nice.... I like it. However, I find the kuih not rich enough. So, the next time I make this & if  I'm using fresh coconut milk, I need to increase it & adjust the water level accordingly. One more thing, I used the Prima brand of semolina. I realize it is too fine. As a result, the bottom level of the kuih lacks the granular texture. Apparently, there are other brands that carry coarser semolina......so I need to bear that in mind.

I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #12: Traditional Kueh (October 2011) hosted by SSB of Small Small Baker.

Talam Suji

( makes 10 x 10 x 2 or 3 inch pan)

Bottom layer

A

180g semolina

450g water

B

220g castor sugar

2 eggs

200ml coconut milk (Bdariah used M&S coconut milk  in a box, I used fresh coconut milk.)

250ml water

yellow colouring (I used egg yellow.)

1/2 tsp salt (I added.)



Method:

1. Soak A for 30 minutes in a pot.
2. Combine B in a bowl. Mix well & strain into the pot that contains A.
3. Heat the mixture over medium fire, stirring continuously using a wooden spoon until it thickens slightly.
4. Grease pan with cooking oil &  layer with plastic so that it's easy to remove kuih from pan.
5. Pour mixture into pan & steam for 25 minutes.

Top layer
A
300 gula merah (I used gula melaka.)
50g castor sugar
500ml water
2 pandan leaves (I added.)

B
150 plain flour
3 whole eggs
250ml coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Combine A & soak or boil  until sugar dissolves (I boiled it & left to cool.)
2. Combine B & mix thoroughly.
3. Combine A & B, mix untill well blend. Then strain into a pot.
4. Heat the mixture over medium fire, stirring continuously using a wooden spoon until it thickens slightly. Turn off fire & whisk mixture thoroughly using a hand whisk.
5. Pour onto the bottom layer & steam for 30 minutes.
6. Once cooked, remove pan from steamer &  leave to cool completely before cutting kuih using a plastic knife.

Vegetarian Korma

           I used the Vegetarian Korma recipe from Zarina's Home Cooking, Recipes from Singapore & Malaysia. I bought this book just after I got married, about 21 years ago. I have another book of hers, Zarina's Easy Cooking. That was a wedding gift presented to me by my schoolmate. If you are looking for  cooking books that have recipes of  common daily dishes, especially Malay & Indian dishes, I highly recommend these books!

Vegetarian Korma

Source: Zarina's Easy Cooking
            Recipes from Singapore & Malaysia

Ingredients:
A
300g small potatoes  - cut into halves
1 carrot (about 200g) -  I used mixed frozen vegetables.
200g cauliflower
100g french beans - I didn't use.

B
2 onions
4 medium tomatoes
4 sprigs mint leaves
3 green chillies
2 cloves garlic

C

6 cloves
4-5 cardamons
2 pcs (4cm lengh) cinnamon stick


D
2 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp tumeric powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp black pepper

E
1 cup water
salt
30 cashew nuts- roast or fry till brown
10 cherry tomatoes or 3 tomatoes (sliced into 8 parts)
juice of 1 lemon
2 sprigs coriander leaves]chopped
2 sprigs mint leaves        ]
6 tbsp oil

Method:

1. Boil salted water & half cook each of the vegetables. Strain & set aside.
2. Grind B in liquidiser until fine.
3. Heat oil & fry C until fragrant.
4. Add in B & D until fragrant.
5. Then add in water, potatoes & salt.
6. Then add carrot & cauliflower & cook for 5 minutes.
7. Then add corn, beans, lemon juice, cashew nuts & tomatoes. Mix well.
8. Finally, add chopped coriander & mint leaves.
9. Serve with rice, chapati or naan.

Tandoori Chicken

          Tandoori Chicken goes very well with naans. So I made these Tandoori Chicken. I used the recipe from the same book I took the naan recipe from. Everyone agreed the chicken was very delicious but Amirah asked me, "Why is your Tandoori Chicken not red.......???" That's because I didn't use any colouring because I didn't have any. Nevertheless, the taste was still authentic.

Chicken Tandoori

Source: The Complete Book of Indian Cooking

             by Shehzad Husin & Rafi Fernandez

Ingredients:
4 chicken quarters

175 ml (3/4 cup) natural (plain) low-fat yogurt
1 tsp garam marsala
1 tsp ginger pulp
1 tsp garlic pulp
1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
few drops red food colouring (I didn't use.)
2 tbsp corn oil

Method:

1. Skin, rinse & pat dry the chicken quarters. Make 2 slits into the flesh of each piece, place in a dish & set aside.
2. Mix together the yogurt, garam marsala, ginger, garlic, chilli powder, turmeric, ground coriander, lemon juice, salt, red colouring & oil & beat so that all the ingredients are well mixed.
3. Cover the chicken quarters with the spice mixture & leave to marinate for about 3 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 240 deg C (475 deg F). Transfer the chicken pieces to an ovenproof dish.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked right through & browned on top.
6. Remove from the oven, transfer onto a serving dish & garnish with salad leaves, lime & tomato.