It’s been ages since I updated this site. Time to renew. Anyway, I feel productive today, having finished marking a few scripts ;p
I’ve been doing a lot of cooking during the holidays. One of the days, I invited my aunts over for my usual year-end luncheons.
For appetisers, I made Bagel Sandwiches. Now, I’ve got my lovely colleague to thank for this, as she brought me all the way to the factories in Woodlands and while there, we discovered this place called Melvados, where they sell the most scrumptious jalapeno and cheese bagel in the world! I love it! They’re the bomb! I cannot get enough of it. I’m craving for it right now.
Back to the simple recipe. Bagel toasted. Spread garlic flavoured cream cheese. Top with smoked salmon. Serve open.
I know I said 'serve open' but here, i've added the top on just to show you the lovely hot bits of jalapeno on this bagel. Yummy!
This doesn’t even constitute a recipe but it is a great recipe idea. Grab a bagel and make yourself some bagel sandwiches!
It took me two tries to get this recipe right. Just go to this weblink and drool.
Just a note. Follow the recipe very closely but use common sense. When it is time to roll, if the dough is still very wet and sticky and you’re torn to follow the recipe or use your head, I suggest you use your head. Go ahead and add in more flour to the mixture till you get the right consistency to roll the dough out.
Because one recipe makes many many rolls, you can afford to make two different kinds. The first half of the dough, I added Hershey’s choc chips and roasted almonds. The second one, I left it plain.
Baking them in the aluminium pans is, I believe, crucial too. It makes the centre of the rolls soft and moist, with only the tops crispy and browned. I didn’t make the frosting, though. Too sweet for my liking. Enough said. Look and drool.
Resting in the pan for 30 min before going into the oven. Choc Chip and Roasted Almonds. Make sure you roast your almonds first.Cinnamon Rolls!
Yesterday for lunch, I made roti jala. I called Mummy for the recipe and prepared the batter. For those who do not know, Roti Jala or Roti Kirai is a crepe batter like pancake. It’s really time consuming to make. My batter turned out fine if not a little bland (yes, again) but it’s a real pain to get the batter through the holes of the roti jala mould. Mummy says the copper based ones are better. I may get one just so that I can try making it again.
Luckily for me, Mummy popped by at the right moment. She helped make a few roti jalas and then surreptitiously disappeared, leaving me and The Domestic Helper to finish the job.
This is how you make Roti Jala.
Thin Batter: 1kg of plain flour, water, a little bit of carnation milk, two eggs and salt. Plus a few drops of yellow colouring.
The Domestic Helper remembered Mummy blended the mixture to make it even smoother so she blended it. It helped a little bit.
Pour the batter into the mould and then swirl it around in the hot pan like a net.
Close up view of the netted batter in the pan.
Use ghee or regular (and much healthier) oil to dab the roti jala while it is cooking. Take a few strands of pandan leaves to baste.
Put two roti jalas together and then fold it in half and then into a neat triangle. Or diamond.
Fold right side and then fold the left side to look like this.Repeat process until batter is all used up.Close up view.Best eaten with chicken curry and a side of salad.Lovely salad made up of crisp baby romaine, large thick slices of juicy tomatoes, creamy boiled eggs and fragrant coriander leaves topped with tangy chilli sauce and ketchup.
I’ll never forget the story of how a close friend, during our Secondary 1 or 2 School Carnival, brought her tub of bright orange batter. The Malay girls from 2/3 (or was it 1/3?) had to come up with a halal food stall for the carnival and we all agreed that each of us bring a tub of roti jala batter to cook on the spot and serve it with chicken curry. I can’t remember whether we all contributed a pot of chicken curry or a kind classmate’s mother donated a whole big pot of it. What we remember clearly to this day was dear W_ bright orange batter. She was teased mercilessly the whole day. But it was great fun. They don’t make funfairs like back then anymore. 😀
Frankly, it’s easier to just buy roti jala but I always feel cheated. They only give two or three roti jalas and furthermore, there aren’t many places selling them here.
I can’t believe it has been two years since I last made chapati. At that time, Mustafa Centre was really at my disposal. Whenever I finished work early, I’d pop down to, in my opinion, the best shopping mall in Singapore, and get my monthly fix of Indian/Arabic foodstuff. I’d walk down the ‘aisle of saffron’ and look longingly at the beautiful precious scarlet threads. I’d saunter to the ‘Arabic’ isle and gaze at the tubs of creamy white halwatahina topped with emerald pistachios. I’d grab a few ready-to-eat cans of foul medammes and then walk to the frozen section of the supermarket.
If you have been to Mustafa Centre, before you enter the supermarket, you have to pass through a narrow lane stacked high with basmati rice, pulses and flour. I would look at the different kinds of flour available and one day, looking at a packet of atta (wheat) flour, I decided to purchase a small packet and bake some chapatis.
I’ve never made chapatis before but I had bought a cookbook by Sanjiv Kapoor when I was in Chennai and thought that it was high time I try out one of his recipes. So one weekend, I decided to try his recipe with the help of my daughter.
Making chapatis is dead easy. The trick is to making it ultra soft. I first put in flour in a bowl and mixed it with tepid water and some oil to form a smooth dough. Oh, and some salt. Now, the recipe called for ghee or butter. I couldn’t bring myself to use ghee and at that time, I was pregnant and had to watch my blood sugar level. So I used olive oil. Extra virgin. After I had formed a nice ball of dough, I left it to rest, covering the bowl with a piece of damp cloth. An hour later, I formed little balls out of the big mass of dough and left it to rest again. When it was time to roll out the chapatis, I sought the help of my willing assistant. After you flatten the dough, add more oil. Roll the dough into a thin circle and then pop it into a hot pan. Cook on one side, flip and let it brown on the other. The dough will puff up.
The chapatis were soft and delicious! However, according to my mother in law who is an expert at chapati making, to make it even softer, leave the dough to rest overnight.
Try making some chapatis one day as they are cheap and easy to make. I guarantee you children would love it! And if you have older children, they can join in the fun too! 🙂
Rolling the chapatis. Not easy to make it round!
The end product. Not very round but soft and very good eaten with curry.
The Occasional Cook 