CasualCook

Sambar/Dhal -how to make sambar (lentil curry) Happy Monday peeps! I hope you guys had a wonderful weekend. Growing up in a South Indian household, sambar was our staple dish. Sambar has a mild spiciness yet is rich in flavour and is nutritious. It's the perfect vegetarian dish. Usually I use Malawi dhal but other similar looking dhal will work just as fine. Number of vegetables are traditionally used in sambar. I add carrots, potatoes, brinjal, and tomatoes. You can also add other vegetables such as white radish, drumstick,pumpkin or any vegetables that you prefer. I usually soft cook the vegetables so that all of the flavours come to a stock that makes the sambar flavorful. Boiling in a normal pot will take up to 1 hour or so but in a pressure cooker, it will take a shorter time. The sambar recipe here is the one which has been hand down by my mom. INGREDIENTS : •malawi dhal 1/2 cup •1 inch ginger (sliced) •3 cloves garlic( sliced) •3 cups water •carrot(thick slices) •brinjal(cut...

Pau Sambal  a.k.a Burger Malaysia Pau sambal is a savoury, buttery donut, not oily in every bite. Filled with anchovie sambal and sliced cucumber. It brings back my childhood days of me and my friends buying it from a vendor opposite my school. I immediately fell in love with the complex flavours and would buy it almost every day for the rest of my school years. One day my daughter came home from school raving about her school's canteen having a new snack. She called it "burger Malaysia" and wouldnt stop talking about it. I was confused at first but a quick google search brought all the memories back. So I decided to make this dish at home. This is how I made it. Ingrediants : For the bun: •1-1/2 cup all purpose flour •1 tbsp sugar •2 tbsp milk powder •1-1/2 tbsp butter •1/4 tsp salt •1/2 cup warm water •1/4 tsp yeast METHOD 1. Combine yeast with water and 1 tsp sugar. Let it sit for 5 minutes or until the yeast becomes foamy. 2. In a separate bowl, combine sieved flour, ...

A Simple Dry Chilli Paste As a Malaysian, we love all kinds of sambal. Homemade chilli paste comes in handy. It adds a fiery flavour to any dish. This is a staple in many of my recipes including those on this blog. So, rather than grinding the chilli paste up from scratch each time, I make this paste up and keep it in the freezer. This is how I make it. Ingrediants :   •A big handful of dry chillies • 1/2 tsp of salt METHOD 1. Cut dry chillies with a pair of scissors into smaller bits (about 2-3 inches in length). Remove stems. 2. Wash the chillies and drain the water. 3. Add chillies into boiling water (enough to        h. cover). Let it soak for 30 minutes. 4.  Discard the excess water and let it cool. 5. Grind the chillies with salt and very little water (if necessary) in a food processor until it becomes a soft paste.  Salt will act as a preservative and keep it fresh. Store the paste in a container and freeze it. It stays good for a couple of week...