Stir Fry Noodles with Eggplant

Introduction:

 

This recipe comes from the sauce that was left over when I made Dumplings with chilli - garlic Sauce. The inspiration for this comes from "Steamed Eggplant with XO chilli & Vermicelli" we had at Ruby Chinese (owned by Jackie Chan) in Canberra. I was pleasantly surprised when I had this eggplant dish and had I never thought of eggplant in a Southeast Asian dish. So with the left over sauce and eggplant at home, we decided to try it on.

 

Preparation time: 15 mins

Marination time: 0 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

 

Serves: 4 

 

Ingredients:

1	Packet Cooked Hokkien Noodles
1/2	Eggplant
1	Teaspoon of ground black pepper
2	Teaspoon of chilli garlic sauce
1/2	Cup of shallots
1	Tbsp of peanut oil
1/2	Teaspoon of sesame oil
	Salt to taste

 

Process:

 

Roughly chop the eggplant and cook the noodles in boiling water if not already cooked. Heat some of the peanut oil in the wok and add the chopped eggplant. Toss until the eggplant is just tender and make sure you do not overcook the eggplant. Set the eggplant aside. To the same wok add the rest of the peanut oil and add the chilli garlic sauce. Add pepper and toss in the noodles. Add a dash of sesame oil and salt to the noodles. Finally add the eggplant and the shallots and toss the noodles for 2 mins.

Shrimp Laksa

For people who have been following me for some time now, I apologise for not featuring any recipes. We just moved house and were busy packing and unpacking for last few weeks. Our internet connection got restored yesterday. 

I have been to a few western countries but Australia is the only western place where I found Laksa. People here love it and is one of the favourite meals as lunch. I was very skeptical in the beginning to try it as I was unsure about the ingredients that go in it. After a year and a half, I gathered the courage and tried it. I loved it so much that I couldn't wait to try it at home. My first attempt was brilliant and since then I repeated it many times.

Ingredients:

1 packet of cooked shrimp

1/2 cup of grated carrot

1/2 cup of finely chopped Chinese cabbage

1 cup of thin rice noodles

1 can of light coconut milk

For Laksa Paste

3 large dried chillies 

1 tablespoon shrimp paste
6 shallots
5 cloves garlic 
4 kaffir lime leaves
1/4 cup mint leaves 
3 fresh chillies
2 stalks lemon grass roughly chopped 
1 large knob fresh galangal or ginger, roughly chopped 
1 teaspoon ground turmeric 
2 teaspoons ground cumin 
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preparation time: 50 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

For laksa paste blend all the ingredients in the blender until smooth paste. Heat the oil in a wok and add the blended paste to the oil. Sauté until the oil separates from the paste. Keep aside. Cook the grated carrots and Chinese cabbage in a pot of water and drain the water. Add the thin rice noodles to cold water and set aside for 15 mins until the noddles are soft. 

Add the laksa paste to a wok and add the coconut milk to the laksa paste. Add 1 cup of water to the laksa. In a bowl add the noddles at the bottom then add the carrot and cabbage mix. Place 4/5 cooked shrimps on the cabbage mixture. Pour the hot laksa in the bowl until all the ingredients are submerged. Enjoy the hot and spicy laksa. 

Shrikhand

This is my fifth and final recipe for Sweet Indian dishes for the Ganesha Chaturthi. 

 

Ingredient:

5 cups Strained yogurt

2 cups of caster sugar

1 tsp of ground cardamom 

2-3 saffron pods

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: Nil

To strain the yogurt, hang the yogurt in a muslin cloth (thin piece of cloth that will drain the water but retain the solids) overnight. Mix the yogurt, sugar and cardamom with a hand held mixture until all the sugar is dissolved. Heat a pan and add the saffron pods and mix a tbsp of milk. Add the saffron mixture to the shrikhand.

Puran Poli

Puran Poli (Sweet Lentil Paratha) is one of my favourite dishes, which traditionally to be eaten in winter months; I wouldn't mind eating it every day.

Ingredient:

Stuffing

1 cup chana dal

1 1/2 cup jaggery (Palm Sugar)

1 tsp ground cardamom

Covering

1 cup plain flour

pinch of salt

water to make dough

oil to knead the dough

Preparation time: 50 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Cook the chana dal in the pressure cooker until very soft. Drain the water and pour the dal in a pot. Add the chopped/grated jaggery and cardamom to the dal and cook on a medium heat for 10 mins. Let it cool to room temperature. Blend the mixture until soft and homogeneous. 

Meanwhile mix the flour and salt and knead the dough with water. Add oil to the dough and knead further until the dough is soft and very elastic. Make a small ball of the dough and using your hand to make a cup shape. Stuff the dal mixture in the cup shape dough and close the dough from all sides. Using a rolling pin shape the dough in a paratha using very little pressure. 

Serve with warm milk or ghee. 

Shevayachi Khir

The third dessert in my Panch Pakwan (Five Desserts) series is Shevayachi Khir (Vermicelli Pudding). It is very easy to make and takes merely 10 mins. During weekday, if we have friends over for dinner, we have the Khir for dessert. So next time you have guests over and are thinking about buying Ice Cream, think twice. 

Ingredients:

1 cup Rice vermicelli

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp ghee

2 cups full cream milk

1/2 tsp ground cardamom 

2 tbsp blanched almonds

3-4 pods of saffron

1/2 cup water

Preparation time: Nil

Cooking time: 10 mins

Sauté the vermicelli in ghee in a thick bottom pot until brown. Add the water to the vermicelli and let it cook for a minute. Add the milk and let it boil for 2 minutes. Add the sugar, ground cardamom and almonds. Let the khir boil for 5 mins. In a small pan heat the saffron and add a tsp of milk. Add the saffron mixture to the khir and further boil for 2 mins. 

Chirote

Continuing the desserts trend for the week, today I am featuring the recipe for Chirote. I do not know what to call this in English and I am not even going to attempt it. It is flaky pastrylike and coated with sugar and you can call it whatever you want. This is one of those desserts that looks simple and easy; however takes a little practice until you get it right.

Ingredients:
2 cups of plain flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup of fuming hot oil
water to make dough
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp rice flour
Oil to deep fry
Caster sugar to sprinkle

Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins

Mix flour and salt and pour the heated oil. Mix it with spoon and prepare dough using water. Set aside for 10 mins. Melt the butter and mix the rice flour in the butter.

Make 4 small balls of the dough. Use rolling pin to roll out the dough as thin as you possibly can. Similarly roll all the other balls flat in to a sheet and set aside separate. Apply the butter and rice flour mixture over the sheets. Place the sheets on top of each other and apply the rest of the butter mixture over the top sheet of the dough.

Lift one side of the stacked sheet and roll it into a tube. Cut the tube into small pieces and roll each piece separately with lightly pressing the rolling pin (do not press hard as the we need layers to form when deep fried).

Heat oil in a pot and deep fry each piece on low heat. Sprinkle the caster sugar when hot.

You can use the dough as is and you will end up with golden chirote. I have used food colour to make it interesting.

Enjoy.

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Modak

Ganapati Bappa Morya!! Ganesh Chaturthi is a popular festival in western India to commemorate the birth of Lord Ganesha. Clay idol of Lord Ganesha is worshiped during the 7 days of festivities and each day a different dessert is offered to the God. At the end of the week the idol is then immersed in water to mark the end of the festival. Here is Australia, as we are "Busy" during the work week, we only worship the idol for 1 1/2 day.

During this auspicious week we will refrain from consuming any meat/egg/fish products. This gives us a rare opportunity to cook vegetarian dishes all week long. Hence, I am kicking off a vegetarian week. I will try and feature the 5 different sweets we cooked during the festival and will feature the recipe one a day. I am starting with Modak (Sweet Dumpling), Lord Ganesha's favourite food.

Ingredients:

Fillings

2 cups of freshly grated coconut

1 1/2 cup grated jaggery ( you can substitute palm sugar)

1 tsp poppy seeds

Covering

2 cups of water

1 tsp of oil

pinch of salt

2 cup rice flour

Preparation Time: 30 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Combine water, salt, oil and bring to a boil. Add rice four to the water to make a consistent dough. Cover and cook on low heat for 3 mins. Turn the heat off and mash the dough when hot with a masher. Set the dough aside.

Meanwhile heat a thick bottom pan and add the coconut. Cook the coconut for 5 mins and add the jaggery. Cook the mixture until the jaggery melts. Do not overcook the mixture as the jaggery tends to harden when overcook. It needs to just melt and turn the heat off. Add the poppy seeds and mix and set aside. 

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