Halal Food Recipe: Koleh / Talam Kacang Recipe (Kuih Lopes)

Ingredients:

300g green/mung beans - soaked for at least 2 hours
4 cups water
3 cups thick coconut milk
450g palm sugar (gula Melaka)- cut into small pieces
1/2 cup water
2 screwpine leaves (daun pandan)
Coconut residue crisps (tahi minyak) - for topping


Cooking Method:

Wash green beans and put in a pressure cooker with 4 cups water. Cook for 20 minutes.

Transfer the beans into a blender with coconut milk, blend until fine. If blender is not turning well, add in a little extra coconut milk.


Melt palm sugar with water over heat, stirring frequently. Strain into blended mixture. Mix well.

Pour the mixture into a wok, add pandan leaves and stir continuously with a wooden spatula over low heat for about 15 minutes until it becomes a thick paste. Do not allow mixture to stick to bottom of wok. When paste is thick enough, discard pandan leaves.

Spoon into an 18cm x 27cm shallow tin and smooth surface while still hot. Sprinkle with prepared coconut residue crisps. Leave to cool before cutting.


.:Coconut residue crisps:.

You need:
1 cup thick coconut milk from 1 coconut

How to make:
Put coconut milk a wok and stir over low heat with a wooden spatula for 35 minutes. Oil will separate from coconut residue. Continue stirring until coconut residue turns a rich brown. Remove from heat and drain.

Halal Food Recipe: Steamed Glutinous Rice with Palm Sugar Syrup (Kuih Lopes)

Makes 20

Ingredients:

2 screwpine leaves (daun pandan) - pounded and add 1 tablespoon water to extract juice
500 ml water
400 g glutinous rice, washed and drained
1 tsp salt
20 pieces banana leaves 3” x 9”
200 g grated, peeled coconut mixed with 1 teaspoon salt


Cooking Method:

Combine screwpine juice, water and glutinous rice in a pot and bring to boil over modium heat. Add salt, stir well and continue cooking until dry. Stir and reduce heat, cook until rice is done.

Fold a banana leaf into a cone, put 2 tablespoons cooked glutinous rice and wrap neatly. Repeat the process with the remaining rice.

Arrange in a steamer tray and steam for 20 minutes over rapidly boiling water. Remove and cool.

Before serving, unwrap steamed rice. Put in serving dish and add grated coconut. Top with palm sugar syrup.

.:: Palm Sugar Syrup::.

90 g crushed palm sugar ( jaggery)
90 g castor (superfine) sugar
500 ml water

Combine palm sugar, castor sugar and water in a pot and boil over moderate heat until sugar dissolves. Strain.

Halal Food Recipes: Glutinous Rice Flour Cake with Filling (Kuih Koci)

Ingredients:

500 gram glutinous rice flour
270 gram grated coconut - squeeze out enough milk to make into a soft dough

For the filling:

3 tbsp castor sugar
5 tbsp palm sugar
3 tbsp water
270 gram grated coconut
1 pandan leaf (screwpine)

Put castor sugar, palm sugar, water and screw-pine leaf in a pan. Cook until the sugar dissolves.
Add in the grated coconut and mix well. Remove from heat and cool.
Mix flour and coconut milk into a smooth dough and divide the dough into 20-25 portions. Flatten each portion slightly.
Put in 2 teaspoons of filling and seal the cake.
Prepare some banana leaves, enough for 20-25 rounds of 20 cm in diameter.
Fold the banana leaf into c o n e shape, put in the dough portions; and tuck in the ends.
Place the wrapped cakes on a steaming tray and steam over a high flame for 10-15 minutes. Remove and cool before serving.

Halal Food Recipes: Sweet Potato Cakes with Savory Filling (Kuih Badak)

Ingredients:

300 gram sweet potato
½ cup flour
Pinch of salt
Cooking oil for deep frying


Filling:

½ grated coconut
20 gram dried shrimps
1 stalk lemon grass
½ tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp cooking oil
Cooking oil for deep frying


Ground together:
2 fresh red chilies
2 cloves garlic
2 shallots


Cooking Method:

Scrape the skin off the sweet potatoes and cut into small cubes. Boil with salt until cooked.
Remove and mash.
Mix mashed sweet potato with flour and knead until soft.
Divide into equal portions.

Prepare the filling. Mix all the ingredients together and fry in 2 tbsp of cooking oil until dry.

Take 1 portion of the sweet potato mixture and flatten slightly. Put in 1 tsp of the filling in the center and seal.

Heat oil and fry the cakes until golden.

Halal Food Recipes: Murtaba

Ingredients:

3 cups plain white flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp ghee
1 cup lukewarm water
½ cup cooking oil


For the filling:

500 gram minced meat
2 tbsp ghee
1 large red onion - sliced fine
2 cloves garlic - crushed
tsp fresh ginger - grated
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 ½ tsp salt
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves - finely chopped
1 fresh red chilli - finely sliced
2 eggs - beaten
Salt and pepper
1 onion - finely sliced

Cooking Method:

For the roti:

1. Place the flour and salt in a large bowl and rub in the ghee.
2. Add the water and mix to fairly soft dough.
3. Knead the dough for ten minutes or longer.
4. Divide the dough into equal-sized balls and place them in a small bowl containing the oil.
5. Leave for at least an hour.

To make the filling:
1. Heat the ghee and fry the onion until it is soft.
2. Add the garlic and fresh ginger and continue to fry until the onion is golden brown.
3. Add the turmeric and chili powder and stir for a few seconds.
4. Put in the meat and carry on frying, stirring constantly, until it is well-cooked.


To cook the murtaba:
1. Season the beaten eggs with salt and pepper and set aside in a small bowl.
2. On a smooth surface, spread a little oil from the bowl and flatten one of the dough balls with a rolling pin.
3. Gently press with the fingers, spreading the dough until it is almost as thin as strudel pastry.
4. Heat the griddle and grease it lightly with ghee.
5. Drape the roti over a rolling pin and transfer it on to the griddle.
6. It will cook very quickly so spoon on some beaten egg and spread it over the middle
portion of the roti with the underside of the spoon.
7. Sprinkle some meat over and just before folding, add a few slices of onion.
8. Fold over the sides of the roti, in an envelope like fashion to enclose the filling completely.
9. Turn it over and cook the other side, spreading a little more ghee or oil on the griddle before putting it down.
10. Cook until crisp and golden on both sides.
11. Serve hot either on its own or with a bowl of curry gravy or dhal or sliced onions in vinegar.

Nasi Lemak

Rice tends to be a staple food in Malaysia as in most countries in the region. The rice eaten in Malaysia tends to be the local variety of rice or fragrant rice from Thailand, its northern neighbour.

Nasi lemak is a popular breakfast dish in Malaysia. It is often sold packed in newspaper, brown paper or banana leaf. With roots in Malay culture, its name is a Malay word that literally means 'rice in fat'. The name is derived from the cooking process whereby rice is soaked in rich coconut cream.

INGREDIENTS :

2 cups rice

2 pandan leaves (tied in knot)

1 shallot - chopped

10 tsp thick coconut milk

1 small piece sliced ginger

Salt and sugar to taste

1/2 cup dried ikan bilis (anchovies)

4 shallots

1 small piece belacan (shrimp paste)

1 clove garlic

1 large onion - sliced

1/2 cup tamarind juice

8 dried chillies - soaked

To Prepare Rice:

Wash and clean rice

Add 2 cups of water and coconut milk

Add shallots, gigner and pandan leaves

Bring to boil, lower heat, simmer for about 10-15 minutes until water has been absorbed

Loosen rice grains with wooden ladle

Cover pot and leave rice to cook for 10-15 minutes



To Prepare Sambal:

Heat oil and fry ikan bilis until crisp. Keep aside .

Heat oil in wok and fry pounded ingredients till fragrant

Add sliced onions, tamarind juice, salt and sugar

Cook till gravy thickens

Add ikan bilis and mix well

Remove from heat

Serve with sambal ikan bilis, garnished with cucumber slices, sliced hard-boiled egg and roasted peanuts