Red Snapper In Sweet & Sour Sauce

Fish with sweet & sour sauce is wildly popular in most Malaysian restaurants. It is almost always made with seafood ( there are variations made with boneless chicken). I had this dish made with crabs a few days ago at Green View Restaurant in Petaling Jaya. Steaming the fish would be another option is you are not inclined to heat a wok full of oil.

I have used red snapper for this recipe but any firm fleshed fish would work here. Black pomfret is popular fish of choice for this dish in Malaysia. Don't be alarmed by the use of ketchup/tomato sauce in this recipe. It is an essential ingredient for sweet sour sauce.



Red Snapper In Sweet & Sour Sauce
Fish:
1 whole red snapper
1/4 cup corn flour
salt
oil - for shallow frying

Sauce:
2 tb ketchup/tomato sauce
3 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste
2 cloves garlic - sliced
2 tb julienned ginger
1 tb hoisin sauce
1/2 cup water
2 scallion - julienned
1 1/2 tb vegetable oil
1/2 red bell pepper - julienned


Clean fish and pat dry. Sprinkle salt and lightly dust whole fish with corn flour.
Heat oil in a large saute pan and shallow fry fish on both sides until golden brown.
Remove fish from pan/wok and set on a platter.

Heat oil for sauce and saute sliced garlic and ginger until golden brown. Pour in water, hoisin sauce, tomato sauce/ketchup, sugar and vinegar. Adjust seasonings and add salt as needed. Add in julienned red pepper and cook on high heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Pour sauce over fish and scatter scallions. Serve immediately. This dish goes well with steamed rice, tofu with garlic chives and bok choy with shiitake mushrooms.

Scallops With Hot & Sour Sauce

It has been wonderful being home in Malaysia. I am trying not to let the daily evening downpour dampen my spirits or stop me from heading to my favourite haunts. I have not stepped into the kitchen yet but that will change soon. I have been getting requests for some specialty dishes of mine - maybe one of these days. I have been enjoying some of my favourite treats here that I have missed terribly in New York. Although there are some decent Malaysian and Indian restaurants in New York, nothing really beats the taste of home :)

I made this recipe a few months back in an attempt not to leave this blog flailing while on vacay :) You have probably seen similar recipes featuring steak instead of scallops. This recipe comes together quickly once you have the ingredients prepped.


Scallops With Hot & Sour Sauce
1 lb scallops
2 Tb soy sauce
1 Tb fish sauce
4 Tb lime juice
1 tsp sugar
4 small shallots - finely minced
2 small chillies - chopped
1/4 cup Tb chopped cilantro
1/4 chopped fresh mint

Pat scallops dry with kitchen paper and sprinkle some salt over it. Heat saute pan on medium heat and brown scallops a minute on each side, place on a platter.
Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and adjust seasonings. Pour over sauteed scallops and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Roasted Cashews With Kolanji (wild black onion seeds)

Kolanji seeds look similar to black sesame seeds at first glance. It is wild black onion seeds (Nigella Indica) and is used as a spice in Indian cuisine. It is well known as a digestive aid and has numerous health benefits. The oil block the growth of pancreatic cancer and the seeds are also beneficial to treat ailments such as ashtma, bronchitis and rheumatism. Kolanji seeds are widely available at Indian grocery stores and online.

Any nuts of your choice works for this recipe. If using mixed nuts, keep in mind that different nuts have various levels of fat content and therefore will roast at different rates. Once roasted, let cool completely and store in an airtight container. The roasted nuts will keep for at least two weeks and are great served with drinks.


Roasted Cashews With Kolanji Seeds
1/2 lb raw cashews
2 tb olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 kolanji seeds - lightly crushed
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
1 tsp hot chili powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix oil, paprika, salt, crushed kolanji seeds and hot chili powder in a bowl. Add in raw cashews and mix well. Place nuts on a baking sheet in the middle of the oven and bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until nuts turn golden brown. Cool completely before storing in a airtight container.

Plaintain & Spinach Kofta in Yogurt Sauce

Koftas are Indian meatballs, often simmered in an aromatic sauce. There are also different varieties of vegetable koftas that can be served in a similar manner. To make the latter version, vegetables are often steamed or boiled and then mashed with a variety of spices. The balls are deep fried, simmered in sauce and served with as a side dish with rice or naan/chapati..

I found deep frying koftas a bit daunting and decided to shallow fry it instead. Green plaintains can be substituted with potatoes. Green plaintains are not as sweet as ripe plaintains and works well in savoury dishes. The curry leaves are optional and this dish will still taste wonderful without it.

Plaintain & Spinach Kofta in Yogurt Sauce
Kofta
3 medium green plaintain - peeled and steamed
100 gm chopped spinach - steamed
2 red chillies - minced
2 medium shallots - minced
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tb finely minced ginger
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 tsp salt
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 tb minced cilantro
1 tap garam masala
6 tb besan/chickpea flour
2/3 tb water
vegetable oil for shallow frying kofta

Yogurt Sauce
1 cup yogurt
2 tb besan/chickpea flour
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
salt to taste
1 tb oil
4 curry leaves
3 dried chillies
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 cup water- add slowly to sauce as it thickens
3 cloves garlic - minced
1 medium shallot - minced

Kofta
Mash peeled and steamed plantain in a large bowl. Add salt, garam masala, turmeric, minced ginger, minced garlic, chopped chillies, minced cilantro, nutmeg, and besan/chickpea flour. Sprinkle water over mixture, adding enough to form little balls (1 tablespoon at a time). Lightly oiling your hands will make this procedure a little easier as the the mixture will be a bit sticky.

Heat oil in a pan deep enough to shallow fry kofta until golden brown. Place fried koftas on a plate lined with kitchen paper.

Yogurt Sauce
Lightly toast besan flour in a saute pan on low heat until the flour starts to brown ever so lightly. Set flour aside and proceed with recipe.

Mix yogurt, salt, chilli powder and besan flour into a paste and set aside. Use leftover oil to a to saute minced shallots, garlic, curry leaves, dried chilies and black mustard seeds on medium heat. Stir constantly. Once black mustard seeds starts to pop, add yogurt paste and stir well. Once the mixture starts to thicken, pour in water . Add fried kofta to sauce and adjust seasonings. Serve with steamed rice or naan/chapati.

Spicy Bitter Gourd

Bitter melon or bitter gourd has been traditionally used in Chinese and Ayurveda medicine for detoxing and to help treat type 2 diabetes among other things. The seeds and pith are discarded and the flesh is cooked in a variety of ways. The melon you see above is of the Chinese variety. Karela is a smaller Indian variety that matches the bitterness of the above melon.

The Indian variety of bitter gourd often showed up in my mother's weekly rotation of dishes. She would thinly slice the melons and soak it in turmeric and a handful of salt to draw out some of the bitterness. After soaking it for at least an hour, the sliced melons will be rinsed and drained before using in a variety of recipes. My personal childhood favourite was deep fried sliced masala bitter melon with a side of ketchup for dipping ( known as tomato sauce in Malaysia). My three older brothers did not partake in this little feast of mine which made me happier - more for me!!! I know, I was a peculiar child :)

The recipe below is made using this chilli paste that I have stashed in the freezer for an emergency like this one ;) Feel free to substitute with any chilli paste that you can get your hands on.

Spicy Bitter Gourd
1 bitter gourd
2 tb vegetable oil
1 1/2 tb sambal paste
1/2 cup water
salt
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tb fresh lemon juice/tamarind juice

Cut bitter gourd in half and scoop out seeds and pith. Cut into half moon around 1/4 inch thick. Place in a bowl , sprinkle 1/2 tb salt , mix well and leave in the bowl for one hour.


Rinse gourd well after one hour and drain well. Heat vegetable oil in a saute pan or a wok and saute sambal paste for 5 minutes on medium heat or until the oil separates. Add drained gourd pieces and stir well for at least 3 minutes. Pour in water, sugar and lime juice. Cover and cook until water evaporates. Taste and add salt as needed. Take off heat and serve as a side dish along with steamed rice. Makes 4/5 servings.

Peaches , cuke & feta salad

Jersey peaches are in season. I have been having peaches almost everyday. They are great enjoyed just on their own, baked into pies , jams, and my personal fave - peach chutney that I make every year without fail.

When buying peaches make sure that they are not rock hard and personally, I like to take a whiff of a peach -if it smells like a ripe peach - it makes it in the basket. Try not to squeeze the fruit - it will bruise easily.

I really enjoy fruits in my salads and since I had some extra peaches in the fridge I decided that I would toss it in the salad. The dressing is simple, straightforward and not too strong and really lets the peaches shine.

Feta cheese is aged cheese that is salted and cured in a brine solution. It can be made from cow's milk or goat's milk. It is crumbly and great cut into blocks for salads. Feta can be soft, medium soft or hard. The taste of feta ranges from salty, mild to sharp. Store it in its brine until ready to use.

Peaches, cuke & feta salad
1 English cucumber
1 cup feta cheese - cubed
2 peaches - peeled and cubed
2 tb chopped chives
salt and black pepper
1 cup pitted olives

Dressing:
3 tb red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

Matar Paneer - Indian Cheese & Peas in Tomato Sauce

Matar paneer must be one of the well known vegetarian dishes found in Indian restaurants in the US. Browned cubes of creamy cheese are stewed in an aromatic mix of herbs , spices and simmered gently to perfection. This dish is wonderful made ahead as it holds up remarkably well.

Paneer is fresh cheese made by curdling whole milk with an acid and pressed into blocks. It is often used in curries since it absorbs flavors very readily. When sliced into cubes and deep fried, the cheese holds its shape very well. It can also be crumbled into a curry, taking advantage of the cheese's naturally crumbly nature. The non-melting cheese also appears in desserts and as a filling for stuffing.

Tofu is an acceptable substitute here. Some variations of this recipe includes cream, yogurt or whey to add richness. I have added two tablespoons of chopped cashews in the masala instead to add some richness.

Matar Paneer
Most paneer comes in 400 gm blocks.

1 block paneer ( 400 gm)
4 tb olive oil
2 cups green peas ( I used frozen peas)
1 tsp garam masala
1 tb chopped mint
1 tb chopped cilantro
1 1/2 cup pureed tomatoes

Masala:
1 medium onion - chopped
2 green chillies
1/2 cup water
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tb coriander powder
5 cloves garlic - peeled
1 tb chopped ginger
2 tb chopped cashew nuts (optional)
1 tsp hot chili powder

Puree all ingredients in a blender and set aside.

Saute ingredients:
1/2 medium onion - chopped fine
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
3 whole cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
salt to taste

Cube paneer to bite sized pieces. Heat 4 tb olive oil to medium heat (or ghee /clarified butter) if you want to make this decadent) in a sauce pan and brown paneer cubes. Set on a plate lined with some kitchen paper to drain some of the oil.


Using oil left in the pan, saute chopped onion until it starts to turn colour. Add black mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick and whole cardamom pods. Once the seeds start to pop, pour in the masala mixture into the pan. Stir well for 5 minutes then pour in pureed tomatoes, add salt and stir well. Cook covered for 10-15 minutes on medium low heat, stir occasionally. Add frozen peas and cook for another 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Add a few tablespoons of water if mixture looks dry. The gravy should be thick ( if not simmer with lid off for another 5 minutes ). Add fried paneer cubes, chopped fresh herbs and garam masala, stir well. Take off heat and serve with rice or naan. Makes 4/5 servings.