happy 2014

Something sweet to kick start the first weekend of the new year. A recipe slightly adapted from Ryohei Oguma's Mangue Passion. From the bottom layer up; a slice of genoise sponge, passion fruit jelly and cheesecake to finish. Just when I thought the cream cheese layer lacked some tang, the tartness from the passion fruit jelly brought the cake to life.

Another thing to note is his recipe for the genoise - one of the best I have made up to date. In fact I have already used the same recipe 5-6 times! It's subtly sweet, light and moist. It reminds me of the homemade sponge cake my classmate brought into class one afternoon.

Here's to another year filled with happiness, endless opportunities and cakes!

spiced rice

I went to the Night Noodle Market with a friend some time last week. We arrived early and decided to leave just as waves of hungry people were coming in. To us, the event was mediocre at best as we imagined it to be more similar to the night markets we've been to in Asia. I had a look at the menu before going and was only interested in trying either the Nepalese biriyani or Chin Chin's massaman curry. I chose the biriyani in the end and was glad it wasn't spicy, although it might have benefited from a bit of heat.

I kept thinking about the biriyani at home and finally decided to make it, learning so much in the process. For one, my stove cooked rice did not turn out like a gloppy mess (oh the nightmares when it turned out like goop during high school) and that the rice has to be stirred through a curry-like sauce. Last but not least, it's spelt as biriyani/briyani and not briyani as I previously had thought. Pappadams on the other hand...

The dish was pretty simple to make and like all matters of curry, you can be sure the leftovers are going to taste even better.

● ● ●

Vegan biriyani     serves 2
adapted from BBC Good Food

100g basmati rice
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
50g red lentils, washed and drained
300ml cold water
handful or two of string/snap beans, trimmed and halved
handful of frozen peas
sea salt, white pepper, to season
chopped coriander, mango chutney, garlic pappadams, to serve

For the paste
2 small onions, peeled and roughly chopped
thumb of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
3 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
glug of cooking oil

Cook the rice according to packet instructions, adding turmeric into the water.

To make the paste, blitz all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Add the paste in a heated saucepan and stir frequently until fragrant. Add the red lentils and water, bring to boil then reduce heat to medium. Cook until lentils are tender, approximately 10-15 minutes. Add the beans and peas in the final two minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Stir in a small handful of finely chopped coriander.

Mix the rice through the sauce and serve with coriander, mango chutney and pappadams.

power of the yeast

I finished my last exam for my BA just last week and I'm currently waiting for the uni system to update my status so I can enrol into my Masters. But for now, I get to enjoy the rest of November and the entire summer off. So far I have been successful in keeping myself relatively busy by swimming - something I randomly decided to pick up again during my exam period after a 6-7 year break. Other days I spend time doing things I normally do.

To make up for not using the bread machine during the exam period, I've used it thrice this week alone. Last night I adapted my current waffle recipe (meringue method) into a yeast waffle. By using bread flour and yeast, the waffle was better in terms of flavour and texture. These taste best freshly made, but if you have leftovers, just nuke them in the microwave or toast them in the oven.

★ ★ ★

yeasted pandan & coconut waffles      makes 6 using the breville waffles creations appliance

200ml coconut milk (the full fat variety please), warmed

a few drops of pandan paste

50g unsalted butter, melted

100g caster sugar

large pinch of sea salt

1 large egg, beaten

handful of desiccated/shredded coconut (optional)

200g bread flour

1/2 tsp bread improver (optional)

2 tsp dry active yeast

If you have a bread machine, just add the ingredients in the order according to manufacturer's directions. Set the machine to the 'dough' function (30 minutes kneading, 60 minutes proving). Cook waffle mixture on a hot waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions. I like to use the 'darker' setting.

If you don't have a bread machine, just combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Make a 'well' in the dry ingredient bowl and stir in the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined. Cover and leave in a warm place until mixture doubles in size. Cook as above.