Onde-Onde Gula Melaka & Kuih Ketayap : Dubai Edition

when you’re staying overseas, ANY traditional kuih is delicious!

i had the pleasure of making (and eating!) kuih ketayap and kuih onde-onde gula melaka these past weeks. it was such a liberating experience when you know you can actually home-make these kuih that you’ve been buying for RM1 per 3 pieces (is it still this price?) at the roadside stalls.

kuih is simply a traditional asian dessert usually eaten in the morning or for tea-time. most are sweet, but some kuih can be savoury like karipap (curry puff), pulut panggang and kuih bakar lauk.

 

why did i make kuih ketayap AND onde-onde gula melaka?

1. both kuih use gula melaka, and i had just gotten a few blocks from my dubai friend lin yang dah balik malaysia pun. thanks lin!
2. both use kelapa parut (grated coconut) – since i just bought a big plastic of freshly grated coconut, why not make more than one type of kuih.
3. both use green colouring, and that’s the one coloring that i have right now. use it!

 

my humble kuih ketayap

 

RESEPI MUDAH KUIH KETAYAP

• tepung gandum 2 cawan (2 cups of wheat flour)
• santan/fresh milk (1 cup of coconut milk/fresh milk)
• kelapa parut (grated coconut)
• gula melaka (can use brown sugar)
• garam (salt)
• green colouring
• (some recipes add 1 egg too)

1. make the inti – cut gula melaka into small pieces and put in a hot pan with a little bit of water. wait til it melts
2. then add kelapa parut and mix with melted gula melaka,
3. add a little bit of salt, then put aside
4. mix tepung gandum, santan, salt and green coloring to make the ‘pancake’
5. add a little drop of oil so that it will not stick to the pan
6. make sure it’s slightly cair so that inti lembut
7. heat up pan, can use butter or not (since dah ade oil in adunan)
8. use senduk to pour the batter into the hot pan, ratakan so that it’s flat
9. angkat and now you can gulung-gulung!

 

* * *

 

my eldest khaleef with onde-onde

 

RESEPI MUDAH ONDE-ONDE GULA MELAKA

• tepung pulut 300g (glutinous flour)
• tepung gandum sikit (1/2 cup wheat flour)
• air (water)
• gula melaka
• grated coconut
• salt

1. break the gula melaka into small pieces, put aside
2. add tepung pulut, tepung gandum, green coloring and water until it can be formed into small balls
3. press the middle of the ball and add the small pieces of gula melaka
4. boil water, and then add the small balls one by one
5. when it floats, that means it’s done, and you can pick up the onde-onde
6. tunggu sejuk
7. meanwhile, mix the kelapa parut with a bit of salt and you can golek-golek the onde-onde until it’s covered with coconut
8. makan!

 

* * *

 

senang kan?

i bought the freshly grated kelapa parut from lulu hypermarket. you can get grated coconut in geant too but it’s already grated and packed. at lulu, there’s a small counter with a window where we can ‘order’ grated coconut and the staff inside would grate it there and then – fresh!

we need tepung pulut (glutinous rice flour) to make kuih onde-onde gula melaka, and at first i thought we couldn’t get it in dubai. suddenly i found one in my rounds at lulu! yay!

 

 

ok what else can i make using tepung pulut?

Ayam Penyet Dubai : My First Attempt

the name ‘ayam penyet’ has always amused me, because the literal translation would be ‘smashed chicken’, or ‘flattened chicken’. whatever it is exactly, it’s a very popular chicken dish originating from indonesia. it’s usually eaten with hot steamed rice, soup and sambal – a spicy condiment made from chilli.

the other day i had actually tried to cook ayam penyet myself! teringin pulak! now, this trying-out-recipe is a big deal for me because i’m not THAT good a cook. i try, and just pray everything turns out alright!

 

 

a few things turned out wrong – i used tepung gandum instead of tepung beras (i didn’t have tepung beras) and the supposedly powdery-textured serdak on the chicken is supposed to be so halus, but mine turned out so big – but still crunchy! hihi.

also, some recipes stated that the rice is cooked like chicken rice, but i simply used plain steamed white rice instead. it went together just as perfect!

 

 

i found the ayam penyet recipe on the net, but forgive me i forgot the link. i apologize if tuan punya recognizes her/his recipe, and i thank you for sharing this so that someone in dubai was able to try out a new dish, and eat yummy indonesian dish in a foreign land. thanks!

AYAM PENYET

to make the ayam penyet itself, blend or tumbuk these ingredients to marinate the chicken later :

• biji ketumbar
• jintan kasar
• jintan halus (i only have something labeled 'jintan manis' so i used that instead – campak je lah! hihi)
• lada putih
• serbuk kari
• serbuk kunyit
• bawang besa
• garlic
• ginger
• sikit kiub ayam
  

marinate the chicken with the blended stuff, and set aside for a few hours before you plan to fry them. when you wanna fry the ayam, salut dengan tepung beras first (i forgot, but it turned out ok. also, i didn't have tepung beras anyway! if ade maybe ayam lagi rangup! hihi)

SERDAK

one of the yumness of ayam penyet is the serdak yang tabur atas ayam tu. how to make the serdak, and make it crunchy and small? first, mix these ingredients :

• sebiiji egg
• water
• tepung beras (but again, i dont have tepung beras so i used tepung gandum, sedap je rasanye tapi guna tepung beras lebih sedap dan authentic kot hihi)
• campur jugak rempah perap ayam tadi yg mula-mula tadi
• garam
  

make sure tak cair sangat :

• panaskan minyak banyak
• tebarkan bancuhan tu dlm pan
• cepat-cepat terus kacau to get the serdak-serdak jadi halus-halus (in my case tak jadi lansung halus-halus – tapi jadi gedabak! haha. tapi nasib baik crunchy!)
• biar sampai rangup
• angkat dan toskan

 

 

perfect to be eaten with sambal and hot chicken soup!

make the soup as you usually makes – tumis a blend of bawang merah, garlic and ginger; add chicken, water and chicken cube or sup bunjut – siap! sambal pulak, just make it whatever you like – tumbuk a lot of cili padi, or less. more red chilli or more bawang – in my case, i love tomatoes with my sambal so i cut-up tomatoes in little cubes to put in my sambal.

nasi pulak, some recipe buat nasi macam nasi ayam, but i prefer to eat my ayam penyet with simple hot steamed rice. yum.

i was glad it turned out delicious eventhough i didn’t put some ingredients or use different ones. most importantly, mr. khairul loved it too! mission accomplished!

selamat mencuba!

(click here to read my first experience eating ayam penyet at ayam penyet ria in sunway pyramid.)

I Made Lepat Pisang in Dubai

lepat pisang has always been one of my top 3 favorite kuih melayu. the others would be apam kelapa, and tepung pelita. i can’t believe in a million years that i would even attempt to make my own lepat pisang.

 

khaleef enjoying his mom’s homemade lepat pisang

 

it all started when my dear kak muna, another malaysian in dubai, ‘donated’ folds of banana leaves to me. her son studying in KYS is currently off on school holiday and had just arrived in dubai from malaysia, bringing all sorts of goodies. so sweet bawakkan mak dia daun pisang! hihi.

since i have A LOT of banana leaves, i was thinking of making – lepat pisang! what is lepat pisang in english? steamed banana parcels? haha!

one of my biggest motivation to make lepat pisang other than :

1) it’s my favorite kuih,

2) i have a lot of banana leaves lying around –

it’s 3) when i make my OWN lepat pisang, i can finally put A LOT (and i mean A LOT) of kelapa parut or grated coconut ikut suka hati in my lepat pisang. i simply HATE lepat pisang that contains no grated coconut. i feel cheated! huhu.

so i want to make my OWN lepat pisang, just the way i like it!

 

* * *

 

there are so many variations of the recipe for lepat pisang out there – some use corn flour, some use custard flour, and some put santan! so i just googled ‘resepi mudah lepat pisang, and go from there!

basically what you need :

• bananas
• wheat flour
• corn flour
• white sugar
• brown sugar
• salt to taste
• grated coconut
• banana leaves

 

okay, my ever risky way of making this lepat pisang is ‘campak-campak’, so i don’t have the exact amount of everything. i mix flour with banana, and when it’s too soft, i add more flour. and when i add more flour, i add more sugar.

it’s all about the texture of the mix – you don’t want it to be too soft or lembik, and you don’t want to dump too much flour that will make it too hard.

 

 

banana, of course is the main ingredient. if you used mango, jadi lepat mangga pulak kan!

 

 

i used 4 parts of flour (tepung gandum), and 1 part of corn flour (tepung jagung) and mix them together with white sugar, brown sugar and a lil bit of salt.

 

plop one lump of banana-flour-sugar mix on the banana leaf, and – now this is the best part – i put A LOT of grated coconut. A LOT. because i like it A LOT!

also, a note to myself : i thought my mix was too soft as i put it on the banana leaf, but it turned out okay. so yes syigim – let it be a LITTLE SOFT. it’s gonna be fine! haha.

 

tada! wow tak sangka boleh tahan kemas jugak aku melipat lepat hihi

 

before, and after!

 

i read in of the recipes, make sure the water for steaming is already boiling before you put the lepat pisang. steam for 20 minutes, add more boiling water, and continue steaming for 10 more minutes.

me? i steamed for straight 30 minutes. tak bukak bukak periuk. haha.

and yes, it seemed that you CAN stack all the lepat pisang together in the steam pot and all will be cooked equally together.

 

tada~ *speechless*

 

can’t. believe. i. made. lepat pisang!!!!

 

 

my mr. khairul, as usual was my biggest fan, my worst critic and my royal food-taster. one gulp, and he lit up - “eh, sedap lah!”

i gave him a BIG hug!

of course sedap, it’s cooked with love okay!

for those of you who are used to make tepung talam without even looking at the recipe, or those who make kuih cara lauk selamba je for afternoon snack, or those who can make kuih lopeh once a week – this may not be a big deal. so what if you can make lepat pisang? but i can’t even fry my goreng pisang right – so hey, excuse me but me making lepat pisang on my own for the first time IS A BIG DEAL.

so be a friend, and just congratulate me okay. thank you. hihi.

* * *

ok next, you nak i buat kuih ape?

Chicken Rice For Abah

you’re probably used to cooking for your parents. what’s the big deal kan? but i’m not a good cook, and when i was younger, i hardly cook for my parents. so when i cook chicken rice for my abah who’s in dubai now, it IS a big deal.

you’d think that having 5 daughters, abah has 5 extra cooks in the house. well, in truth, masa mak ada lagi, mak is THE cook. she made everything, and always tastes so yummy. us girls, we just helped out here and there; most of the time standing on the side sharing stories of the day with her, and she loved hearing them while giving comments and occasional advice – all while whipping up fantabulous dishes.

rindunya!

okay in short, when i was younger, i don’t cook much for abah. now’s the time to make up for it! so since abah is in dubai, i cook my nasi ayam for him, and very proud of it. *smile*

 

 

i started making the soup, rice and sauces when abah and umi came, just in time for me to fry the chicken. piping hot and fresh from the stove!

 

* * *

 

 

“nice!”

for a man of few words, that was enough for me. a short expression, but it means the world. *sengih lagi besar* the fact that he had a few more helpings and grabbed a few more chicken made it more satisfying to cook for abah. later on abah even said he won’t be eating dinner, kenyang dah! umi also had a few helpings, and said that everything looked nice and tasted delicious.

my pleasure!

 

 

as usual, when atuk is around, (or even mr. khairul’s parents), khaleef will show his mengada side. that was him fresh from school, and refusing to eat - “i don’t want orange rice. i want white rice.” hmmph! after atuk pujuk, he finally tried a little bit, and ended up having two servings of chicken rice.

tadi jual mahal – wek! hihi.

* * *

my chicken rice is the simplest on the planet, but if you would like my humble recipe, click here.

Pancake Party

pancake is easy to make, and SO delicious to eat! my boys and i just LOVE pancakes. where does this yummy dish come from? such a simple dish, such great taste!

it’s is said to originate from centuries ago – it’s not as difficult to make like a cake, and as easy to cook in a pan – thus the name; pan-cake – pancake!

they’re cheap, quick and not a fuss to make!

 

the cheeky-sugar-high kahfi and the eager pancake-freak-sweet-tooth khaleef

 

there should be THREE key ingredients : flour, eggs and milk. throw in a pinch of baking powder to ‘lift’ the pancake up, with lil bit of sugar and flour to taste.

 

 

YOU NEED :

1. 2 cups of flour
2. 1 teaspoon of baking powder
3. 2 eggs
4. 1 1/2 cups of fresh milk
5. 2 teaspoon of olive oil
6. lil bit of salt & sugar to taste

STEP BY STEP :

1. mix everything to create a thick batter, but not too thick – it’s fine if it’s runny. it’s also okay if it has lumps – it will be smooth as it hits the pan!
2. pour the batter onto the hot pan using a ladle
3. simply scoop the batter enough to fill the ladle – this should form a nice little circle for the shape of your pancakes
4. wait a couple of minutes before flipping the pancake to the other side
5. i think this’ll make about 7 pieces of pancakes
6. serve hot!

 

 

it’s so fluffy and light! and i love the brown coloration on top of the pancake. it gives it character! kalo tak brown tak cantik! haha. as i flip and flip and stack ‘em up on the plate, i was already salivating. i can’t wait to gobble them all up!

   

i used maple syrup, but you can also enjoy your pancake with butter, jam, ice-cream, honey, whipped cream, icing sugar or chocolate syrup – anything you want! i even found a blog where she made pancakes and serve it with chicken rendang!

see, anything goes!

 

my pancakes!

 

do this too :

• you can add sugar, cinnamon or chocolate chip to make it sweet; or add cheese, or cut up tomatoes to make it savoury
• you can even add coconut or oat (for healthier pancakes! hihi)
• you can garnish your pancakes with fresh fruits like banana, strawberry or peach; and top it off with ice-cream!

 

my baby sisters azot & syidot on their yummy time at paddington house of pancakes – without me! uhuk uhuk

 

* * *

FUN IDEAS FOR PANCAKES!

make shapes! as you pour in into the pan, you can try and shape it into a square one, or a triangle. or make breakfast for your cik abang with heart shape. ask him to bring some to work. heart-shaped pancake from the wife? surely it will be the talk of the office!

use a bigger pan, make a bigger pancake! let your kids pretend that they’re eating a pancake of a giant so they have to eat it fast and silently before he finds out! surely you’ll get a few minutes of perfect behaviour and blissful peace and quiet!

add food coloring? i don’t know how this would turn out, but the idea is strangely intriguing! imagine waffles with rainbow colors, or your kids’ fav cartoon theme colors – like red and blue for spiderman, or ben10 green!

* * *

TYPES OF PANCAKES

pancake are also called hotcakes, flapjacks and lempeng! hihi.

 

this is uttapam, an indian-style pancake. this was served to me as breakfast at the hospital when i had kazim. it has onion and tomato cubes probably stirred together with the batter before it’s fried.

 

if you like this version which is thin and slightly bigger – it’s called ‘crepe’, the french version of pancakes. this one we had at the shakespeare cafe, with cut up banana and chocolate. the model in that picture is khaleef when he was 2+! comel aje hihi.

 

in malaysia, we have our version of pancake too. it’s called apam balik! haha. it’s shape is round and flat, folded into half with sweet corn, sugar and crushed nuts as filing. there are two types of apam balik – thick, fluffy and soft, and another one thin, crispy and juicy.

aku suka yang rapuh, rangup tu! sedapnya!

 

* * *

sweet and tasty. soft and yummy. one bite, and you definitely will go for another bite. and another, and another… ok, i’m off to make another batch of pancakes…

Iftar With Sisters : Nasi Minyak

i made nasi minyak for buka puasa at my younger sister’s house. we’ve been planning this iftar for the longest time and only on sunday got to finally have it.

it was probably the most enjoyable iftar i’ve had in weeks – we were so chatty, so giggly and so very very very shrill! hihi. it was just 4 girls – me, syima, syidot and azot – but the noise we make, you would think there’s a whole army of quarrelling schoolgirls in the next house.

what a wonderful memory to bring back to dubai. sob sob!

 

* * *

now to my nasi minyak. the simplest recipe of nasi minyak taught by my mak. terima kasih, mak!

the deal was, syima makes the lauk, and i make the rice dish. i’m in a hurry so could you just zoom into the pictures to see what rempah is needed to make the base of the nasi minyak? hihi.

 

first, throw in the rempah, bawang besar and halia – tumis everything!

 

most of the time i just use the rice-cooker itself to tumis. from ‘warm’, i press ‘cook’ and i’ll wedge a folded up piece of paper to keep the lever in place while i tumis. i will take out the wedged-folded-paper when i finally add the beras, close the lid and it is time to cook.

however, at syima’s place i put the rice cooker pot on the stove to tumis, and THEN put the pot into the rice-cooker, and cook as usual like you cook normal white steamed rice.

oh, when tumis, use ghee preferably, but we didn’t have any that day so i improvised, and used plain butter! tasted just as good!

 

when the delicious smell of the tumisan starts to linger up, add the beras. stir, add salt, stir again and close lid.

 

 

tada – done!

 

syima made ayam merah, which i just love. she also made ayam kurma by special request from our youngest sister azi. at first i thought ayam kurma would be weird alongside nasi minyak, but it turned to be a pretty tasty combo!

 

 

syima made lala tu, again – special request from another sister – syida!

* * *

 

in addition to the nasi minyak, and the delicious lauk, syima also made a family favorite – popiah daging. this is another one of those wonderful little simple dishes that mak taught us. simple, but priceless!

 

    

 

spending time in the kitchen folding the minced-meat curry into the popiah skin was one our many highlights with mak – we’d be sharing stories and A LOT of laughs – someone would be folding, someone would stand by the stove to fry the already folded popiah, someone would be separating the popiah skin – it was our little gathering of the day. here is syida at syima’s house last sunday.

 

 

syima’s popiah was just as crispy crunchy and absolutely tasty like mak’s!

 

a simple meal is a very big thing when prepared and shared with sisters tersayang, especially when you had to leave soon to stay somewhere so far away.

* * *

thanks wombat-wombat!

azot & syimot with syimot’s first girl sufya

 

me & syidot