Chicken Tikka Masala on Spiced Basmati Rice – Delishar

 A friend of mine and I were talking about Indian Cuisine. Interestingly, it is one of those cuisine that I enjoy, but have never really attempt to understand. I always have the misconception that it labour intensive, and requires a lot of time for prepare a meal. The other thing that kept me away was the unfamiliar herbs and spices used in indian cooking.

So when she sent me a recipe from her mom, I took a glance at it and was pleasantly surprised at how simple it was! She gave me a recipe of Masala Prawns which I’ll share as soon as I get to making it when I feel better from my surgery. One dish that I have always liked was Chicken Tikka Masala. I’m so glad that it was so easy (in my opinion) to put this dish together. Thinking about it now is making my mouth water.

I’m also a big fan of spiced Basmati rice, I’d recommend you to stir in some raisins into the spiced rice when it’s done. The sweetness will come together nicely, and give the whole meal a nice oomph! And this is coming from someone who does not enjoy raisins. I did not add any to this recipe, simply because I ran out of raisin. I though I still had some for the girls, but I was wrong.

If you are a regular reader, you’ll know by now that the husband rewards me with a kiss when a meal I made was exceptionally nice. This is one such meal. 🙂

Spiced Basmati Rice

Delishar

  • 2 cups basmati rice rinsed
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil / butter
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 cardamom pods*
  • 1 inch cinnamon*
  • 3 cloves*
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds*
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds*
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder*
  • 1 bay leaf*
  • 1 shallot chopped
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas
  • Chicken stock
  • Raisins optional

  • Heat pan on med high, add oil when pan is hot.

  • Saute onion until soft, then add spices marked *.

  • Saute for 30 seconds, then add garlic, and saute for another 30 secs.

  • Add rice and toss to coat, and remove from heat.

  • Transfer rice to rice cooker and add enough chicken stock on rice cooker pot indicator.

  • Add frozen peas, and cook as per normal.

  • When rice is cooked, fish out bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves.

  • Add raisins and fluff rice.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Marinade

  • 500 g chicken thighs cut to 1 inch pieces
  • 3-4 tbsp plain / greek yoghurt
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp curry powder
  • Juice from 1/2 lemon
  • Salt to taste

Masala Sauce

  • 2 tbsp coconut or butter
  • 3 cardamom pods
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 inch cinnamon
  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • 1 tbsp grated ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
  • 1 can tomato puree 14.5oz or 411g
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 heaping tbsp brown sugar
  • 3/4 tsp garam masala
  • 4 tbsp heavy cream
  • Salt to taste
  • Chopped cilantro to garnish

  • Add all the ingredients for the chicken except oil into a bowl and toss to combined.

  • Leave to marinade for 30 minutes.

  • Heat wok on med high and add oil.

  • Brown chicken, then set aside.

  • In the same wok, heat on med high and add oil.

  • Saute onion until softened, then add cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaf, cloves, and garlic.

  • Saute for 30 secs, until fragrant.

  • Then add tomato puree, cumin, garam masala, coriander, cayenne pepper, and tomato paste.

  • Stir to combine.

  • Add sugar, and season with salt to taste.

  • Bring to boil, add browned chicken pieces, and add enough water to cover chicken.

  • Stir to combine, and lower heat to med low.

  • Allow to simmer, covered for 20-25 minutes until sauce thickens, and chicken is tender.

  • The sauce should be of thick pasta sauce consistency, so add water or turn up heat to adjust to that consistency.

  • Turn heat to low, then pour in cream.

  • Season with more sugar, salt, cayenne pepper, garam masala if needed.

  • Remove from heat, and fish out bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon stick.

  • Serve on spiced basmati rice, garnished with chopped cilantro.

 

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Bon appetit!!

I am linking this post to the event “Little Thumbs Up (May 2015: YOGURT)” organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Cheryl of Baking Taitai

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Lemon Basil Cream Linguine – Delishar

Don’t you just love a complete homecooked meal that you can whip up for the whole family in 30 minutes or less? Well, this is one of those recipes that is rich, creamy, filling, but thanks to the fresh herbs and lemon used in the recipe, it leaves you feeling satisfied but not overly heavy/sluggish.

The girls enjoyed their dinner as much as the husband and I did. So much so that my fussy 4 year old requested for it to be made again the next day. My 3 year old will slurp down anything with prawn in it. In her words, “Prawn is my favourite, you know?”.

Talking about the girls, remember this cake that I decorated for my 3 year old?

 

I’ve had readers asking me what kind of piping tips I used to pipe the flowers and roses, and where did I get it. I used a Wilton 2D, and I’d like to give you that piping tip, and a few common ones used to frost gorgeous cakes and cupcakes!

Delishar is giving away a set of Wilton 12 Piece Cupcake Decorating Set! This set consist of 4 decorating piping tips (2A, 1M, 4B, and 2D) and 8 disposable quality piping bags! To qualify, simply complete the Rafflecopter at the end of this post! 

But first, here is the recipe for my Lemon Basil Cream Linguine.

Lemon Basil Cream Linguine

Delishar

  • 4 servings of linguine
  • 12-15 large prawns shelled and cleaned (or use chicken/scallops)
  • 1 cup cooking cream
  • 1/4 cup chicken stock
  • 1 shallot diced
  • 2-3 cloves garlic minced
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Handful of fresh basil
  • 2-3 tbsp divided
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Chilli flakes to taste optional

  • Cook your pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water for about 8 minutes, just shy of al dente.

  • Season prawns with salt and pepper.In a large saute pan, over med high heat, add 1-1.5 tbsp oil.

  • Cook prawn on both sides, 2-3 minutes.Set prawns aside.

  • In the same pan, on med heat, add remaining oil.

  • Saute garlic, shallot, and chilli flakes, stirring often making sure it doesn’t burn.

  • Lower head to med-low, then add cream and allow to simmer until cream thickens.

  • When cream as thickened, add pasta, prawns, lemon zest, parsley, and basil.Toss to combine.

  • Use chicken stock to adjust to desired consistency. If it’s too wet, don’t worry. The pasta will absorb the sauce.

  • Season with salt and pepper to taste.Remove from heat, squeeze in lemon juice, and give it one last toss.

  • Serve immediately.

Get the pre portioned cook kit for this amazing dish and
cook it in your own kitchen! Order Now

To take part in the giveaway, simply complete the Rafflecopter below!

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This giveaway ends on Wednesday, May 27, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. Singapore time (GMT+8). The winner will be selected by random.org and will contacted by email. If there is no response after 48 hours, another winner will be selected. Winner will need to self-collect prize at my convenience. Due to the nature of this giveaway, it is open to Singapore entrants only. Terms & condition apply.

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Honey and Sriracha Glazed Chicken – Delishar

Another speedy chicken dish? Oh yes, please! Yup, this dish requires basic ingredients, and 15 minutes of your time. Yes, it’s that simple. ANYBODY can make this, trust me.

Some of you may have knowledge that I just went for a sinus surgery. Part of the recovery is that I will lose my sense of taste and smell. I know, it’s terrible to not be able to taste or smell glorious food!! So cooking this super easy dish came as a tough challenge to me! I has to use my other senses to ‘feel’ this dish. Cooking without taste and smell is like finding your way out around the house in complete darkness.

I asked my helper to do a taste test, and it was a relieve to say I still got it! The husband said I did an awesome job with the chicken, he gave 2 thumbs up! I used 1 tbsp of Sriracha for this recipe, and the husband rated the spice level to be a 5 out of 10. Considering he has pretty good threshold for spicy food for a white guy. Although he did say that he will be able to handle it if I make it spicier.

Here is a little story about how I bought my first Sriracha Sauce. I went to the supermarket to pick up my usual milk and bread, and was browsing the aisle beside the chiller. Then I saw this bottle of Sriracha sauce staring at me, begging me to take it off the shelf, and into my basket. Having no self-control, and really empathising that little fellow, I did just that. I adopted it (went through all the paperwork of signing on the dotted line), walked it home, and housed it comfortably in my spice and condiment cabinet. So now it’s happily hanging out with all it’s other spice brothers and sisters. With it residing in my spice cabinet, I have to think it can contribute to the household.

I’ve never cooked with Sriracha sauce before, but I’ve always like the idea and visual appeal of a sweet and spicy glaze. In this case, the sweet comes from honey, which always gives a nice sticky glaze, and the spicy from the Sriracha sauce. It makes a good snack on its own or serve it as part of a meal. Here’s how I made it.

First marinate the chicken cubes in salt, pepper, and corn flour.
Then heat up pan and add some oil.
When oil is hot, add chicken and cook until almost cooked through.
Add garlic and ginger, then stir fry for a minute.

Pour in sriracha, honey, and water mix.
And toss to combine, then let it reduce to a glaze.
Tossing to make sure the glaze coats the chicken.
Allow the chicken to brown a little.
Remove from heat, garnish, and serve.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

  • 2 chicken breast / or thigh (about 300g), cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 heaping tbsp of corn flour
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp Sriracha sauce or to taste
  • 1 tbsp hot water
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1-2 tbsp cooking oil
  • Wedge of lime
  • Chopped spring onions to garnish
  • Toasted sesame seeds to garnish (optional)

First marinate the chicken in salt, pepper, and corn flour.

Mix Sriracha, honey, and hot water together.

Heat up pan on med high, and add some oil.
When oil is hot, add chicken, searing both sides, and cook until almost cooked through.
Add garlic and ginger, then stir fry for a minute.
Pour in sriracha, honey, and water mix.
And toss to combine, then let it reduce to a glaze.
Adjust your heat if needed.
Tossing to make sure the glaze coats the chicken.
Allow the chicken to brown a little for that added depth and caramelised flavour.
Remove from heat, give it a spritz of lime juice.
Toss, garnish, and serve.

Don’t forget to take part in the current GIVEAWAY! This time Delishar is giving away a Wilton 12 Piece Cupcake Decorating Set! Go to this page for details.

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Wonton Noodle Soup – Delishar

When I asked my older daughter what she wanted for dinner, she replied, “Dumplings, long long noodles, and soup!”. So I decided to make this Thai-Chinese fusion version of wonton noodle soup. I’ve made a Chinese/Local dried version of Wanton Noodle in the past before. 

The difference is the filling of the wonton. This version uses fish sauce as seasoning and uses all pork. The previous version was made using a mixture of pork and prawn, and seasoned with soy sauce. The Char Siew or Red BBQ Pork is marinated and cooked differently too. I like both version equally well! However, this version was easier to make. 

I flavoured the broth with lemongrass and ginger because I wasn’t feeling too well. Lemongrass has been known to have anti-bacterial properties, and ginger has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties too. With healing properties like that, it should be helpful to fight my infection. 

The girls totally enjoyed their dinner, and cleaned their bowl really quickly. Not one drop of broth was left. That was the greatest compliment and appreciation my girls have given me. It made every little effort worth while, especially when I was aching all over and fighting a fever while making this meal for them. That’s the joy of cooking for the people you love. 🙂

For pictorial guide on how to wrap the wonton, go to this post.

Wonton Noodle Soup

Sharon from Delishar

Moo Dang (Thai style bbq roast red pork)

  • 500 g pork shoulder cut to long strip like pork fillet or use pork fillet
  • 7 cloves garlic smashed
  • 2 bunches of coriander roots smashed
  • 1 tbsp Chinese 5 spice powder
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup fish sauce
  • 1 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp red food colouring optional

Lemongrass Broth

  • 8 cups pork or chicken broth
  • 2 stalks lemongrass bruised
  • 6 slices galangal
  • 4 slices ginger
  • 1 yellow onion whole but paper peeled
  • 4 garlic cloves smashed

Ingredients for wanton (Makes about 45 wantons)

  • 500 g minced pork or chicken
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp shao xing wine
  • 1-2 tsp sesame oil
  • Ground white pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp grated ginger
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 2 tsp corn flour
  • 1/2 egg
  • 1 stalk spring onion chopped
  • 1 packet of wanton wrapper
  • Little bowl of water to seal dumplings

Dish Assembly

  • Fresh egg noodles blanched as per packing
  • Left over minced pork mixture blanched
  • Chye sim blanched
  • Cooked wonton
  • Moo Dang Thai roasted red pork
  • Lemongrass broth
  • Chopped cilantro
  • Thai chilli flakes optional
  • Garlic oil optional

Moo Dang

  • Mix fish sauce, honey, sugar, white pepper, and chinese 5 spice in a mixing bowl.

  • Whisk to combine, then add garlic and coriander.

  • Use a fork to pierce the pork shoulder / fillet for marinade to penetrate in.

  • Place pork into marinate and use your hands to massage the marinate into the meat.

  • Use a glove to prevent staining.

  • Cling wrap the bowl, and allow to marinate for 1 hour to 24 hours.

  • Preheat oven to 200C.

  • On a foil lined and lightly greased baking tray, place pork on top without touching each other.

  • Spoon some of the marinade on to pork.

  • Allow to bake for 40 minutes, basking once again with left over marinate half way through.

Lemongrass Broth

  • Place everything into a stock pot, and bring to a boil.

  • Lower to a simmer, cover, and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes.

  • Scoop out ginger, galangal, lemongrass, garlic, and onion before serving.

Wonton

  • Put all the ingredients for wanton except for the wrapper into a large mixing bowl.

  • Use a wooden spoon or chopsticks to mix meat in one direction until meat is stringy.

  • Set up wrapping station. Dust plate and tray with a little plain flour so that the wanton will not stick.

  • You will need a little bowl of water to seal the wanton.

  • Place about 1 tsp of meat filling on wanton wrapper.

  • Dip finger into water and apply around the bottom edges

  • Fold and seal the edges.

  • Fold in half again length wise and pinch the ends together.

  • Continue until done.

  • I lay mine out on a tray so it will not stick together when I freeze it.

  • To store it for later use, freeze it on tray for an hour, then transfer into ziplock bag for storage in freezer.

  • If cooking immediately, then no need to freeze.

  • There is no need to defrost wonton before cooking.

  • Cook wanton in a boiling pot of water for about 3 minutes or until cooked.

  • After wanton is cooked, take it out and set aside.

Noodle Assembly

  • Assemble by adding noodle to bowl.

  • Cook your noodle serving by serving.

  • Top with blanched minced pork, chye sim, wonton, moo dang.

  • Scoop broth over toppings.

  • Garnish with chopped cilantro, thai chilli flakes, and a little drizzle of garlic oil.

Adapted from Moo Dang adapted from Foodtraveltv

 
2 wonton noodle soup

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Thai Chilli Paste & Basil Clams Spaghetti – Delishar

Believe it or not, this was actually the first time I cooked with clams. Clams are not something that I’d crave for, and I’ve had many sandy experiences with Clams when I ordered them at food centres. I wanted to make a dear friend lunch, and knowing that she loves clams, I decided to try cooking them.

 

I’m really glad that my friend enjoyed her lunch. She eats like a bird (very small portions), but after one regular portion, she said she was still hungry and wanted more! 🙂 Even I enjoyed the meal, given that I am not a big fan of clams. 

 

Being me, I had to make something Thai fusion, so I thought of Hoi Lai Pad Nam Prik Pao. I bought a bottle of Thai chilli paste from Bangkok during my last trip, and this recipe gives me a reason to use it! Thai chilli paste is mildly spicy, sweet, sour, and has a hint of shrimp paste. It taste a little like sweet sambal chilli, I’ve not seen it selling at the local supermarket. But I’m sure you can get it at golden mile, or substitute for a sweet chilli paste. Better yet, if you feel up to it, make it from scratch using this recipe HERE. 

 

Cooking this dish was really simple and took less than 30 minutes from prep to finish. The only inactive time was the soaking of the clams for it to purge out the sand. After rinsing the clams and gently scrubbing its shell. Lay them out on a tray with shallow salt water, then loosely tent it with aluminium foil. Remember to leave vents! Soak for 30 minutes to an hour in a cool area. Rinse again, drain, and you are ready to cook dem clams! 

 

Thai Chilli Paste & Basil Clams Spaghetti

Delishar

This gorgeous mess is also known as Hoi Lai Pad Nam Prik Pao Spaghetti

  • 4 servings of pasta
  • 600 g clams
  • 1 stalk lemongrass minced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 shallot minced
  • 2 red chilli seeded & minced
  • 1/2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 2 tbsp Thai chilli paste Nam Prik Pao
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 cup fresh basil
  • 2 tbsp chopped coriander
  • 1/2 cup seafood stock/chicken stock
  • 3 tbsp cooking oil
  • Juice of 1/2 lime
  • lime wedges to serve

  • Cook your pasta 1-2 minutes shy of al dente.

  • Heat pan on med high, and add oil.

  • When oil is hot, add garlic, chilli, shallot, and lemongrass.

  • Saute until soft and fragrant.

  • Add oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and Thai chilli paste.

  • Saute for 30 seconds, until combined.

  • Add clams, and stir fry until half cooked.

  • Pour in stock, and bring to boil.

  • Lower heat to medium, and cook till clams are cooked through, and opened up.

  • Add cooked spaghetti, toss to combined.

  • Remove from heat, and toss in basil and parsley.

  • Add juice of 1/2 lime, toss to combined.

  • Serve immediately with lime wedges on the side.

clam pasta 2

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Pulut Hitam Ogura (Black Glutinous Rice Sponge Cake) – Delishar

Sometime back I shared a Pulut Hitam Chiffon Cake recipe. As mentioned before Pulut Hitam is one of my favourite dessert. A few weeks ago, I had a chance to dine at a friend’s place and she made pulut hitam. I was over the moon! Just thinking about a hot bowl of sticky black glutinous rice dessert make my mouth water uncontrollably!

After making the chiffon cake, I knew I had to make an Ogura version. I much prefer Ogura to chiffon although they are very similar in terms of method of making and texture. Ogura yields a moister cake due to the steam baking, and tighter crumbs.

This is how it should look like. A tray of warm water on the lowest rack then your metal rack on the 2nd lowest. This is where your cake tin should sit. Preheat the oven while you prepare the batter. When you are done, the tray of water should be almost at boiling point.

What I like about this cake is that it is gluten-free, low in sugar, and free of baking agent. This ogura has a slightly gritty bite to it because it uses glutinous rice flour instead of top flour or cake flour. It is something different and a love every bite of it!

Check out my Milo Ogura and Tri-flavoured Ogura too.

Pulut Hitam Ogura

Sharon of Delishar.com

makes an 8-9 inch pan

  • 6 eggs separated (60g Each)
  • 1 whole egg
  • 65 g coconut oil melted or corn oil
  • 80 g coconut milk
  • 70 g sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste / vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp pandan paste
  • 65 g black glutinous rice flour available at bake king
  • 1/4 tsp cream of tar tar optional
  • Black gel colouring optional
  • 1/4 tsp salt

  • Preheat oven to 160C.

  • Line bottom of pan with parchment paper.

  • Prepare oven for steam baking as shown above.

  • In a large bowl, beat the egg yolk, one whole egg together, and drizzle oil while beating.

  • Then continue beating and drizzle in milk, vanilla paste, pandan paste, and colouring gel if using.

  • Mix salt into rice flour.

  • Sieve into yolk batter and mix until combined.

  • Beat the egg whites together with cream of tar tar.

  • When whites turn foamy, slowly add in sugar while beating.

  • Until you get firm peaks.

  • Add 1/3 of the meringue into your yolk batter, and fold it in.

  • Then fold in the rest of the meringue.

  • Be sure not to deflate your batter.

  • I like to use a balloon whisk to fold, but you can use a spatula if you prefer.

  • Pour batter into prepared pan.

  • Give it a few taps on your kitchen top to get rid of large air bubbles.

  • Steam bake for 10 mins on 160C then 50-55 mins on 130C.

  • Or until skewer comes out clean.

  • Invert immediately to cool for 5-10 minutes.

  • Then use a knife to release the cake from the sides of the pan.

  • Invert to unmould, and carefully peel off the baking paper.

  • Allow to cool completely before cutting.

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Oyakodon (Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl) – Delishar

Oyakodon, literally means “parent-and-child rice bowl or donburi”, a cute reference to the combination of chicken and egg in this recipe. This donburi is a Japanese rice bowl dish, in which ingredients are simmered together in a sauce, and served over a bowl of rice. The sweet sauce is a mixture of mirin, soy, sake, and dashi, a flavour profile that screams umami. 

 

The preparation of this dish is such a joy and a major ease, making this dish great for last minute meals. The ingredients are so basic, you should have them all in sitting in your fridge. After making this for the first time, I questioned myself, why did I not make this earlier?! And this is so easy, I can almost make it with my eyes closed. 

Needless to say, we wolfed down our bowl at record time. There is just something very comforting about donburi, and I foresee myself making this over and again! It’s a personal preference, but I like to cook my oyakodon individually in a small frying pan. You can multiple the ingredients and cook it in a bigger pan if you want. Like Japanese rice bowl? Check out my Gyudon. 

oyakodon steps 

Oyakodon (Chicken and egg rice bowl)

Delishar

Simply multiply recipe to cater for more.
I like to cook mine individually.

  • 1 boneless skinless chicken thigh cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1/4 cup Dashi
  • 1/2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 tbsp Mirin
  • 1/2 tbsp sake
  • 1/2 tsp chopped garlic
  • 1/4 yellow onion thinly sliced
  • 1 egg lightly beaten
  • Dash of white pepper
  • Chinese parsley or wild Japanese parsley
  • Steamed rice

  • Add dashi, sugar, mirin, soy, and sake into a pan and bring to boil.

  • Add in onion and garlic, then cook for a minute.

  • Add chicken, cover and lower heat to med.

  • Cook until chicken is cooked through, flipping halfway.

  • Pour in egg, lower heat to med low, sprinkle the chinese parsley on top, and cover.

  • Allow to cook until egg is almost cooked through. (30 sec to 1 minute).

  • Remove from heat and pour everything over rice.

  • Serve immediately.

Adapted from japanesecooking101

2015-05-21-17-45-40_deco

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Moist Banana Chocolate Chip Bread – Delishar

 Most banana bread recipes that I’ve tried yields a denser texture. However, this recipe produced a moist, soft, and fluffy banana bread! The secret ingredient used in this recipe is the greek yoghurt. It gives the banana bread it’s moistness. The brown sugar gives it a deeper, richer flavour.

I am simply in love with how the banana topping caramelised itself during the baking process. It took me a lot of self-control not to peel off those caramelised banana slices and stuff my face with it. Those melted chocolate bits inside of the banana bread comes as a pleasant surprise with every bite! The best part about this recipe is that it is a one bowl bake. You don’t even need a mixer for this. Just measure, mix, pour, and bake.

Since you are here, do check out my Chia Seeds Banana Bread and Healthy Wholemeal Banana Dark Chocolate Chips Bread recipes too!

moist-banana-choc-chip-bread-process

 

Moist Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

  • makes adapted from
  • 3/4 cup wholewheat / wholemeal flour or all purpose / plain flour if you do not have
  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour / plain flour
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup castor sugar
  • 1/2 cup greek yoghurt yes, you can substitute to plain yoghurt
  • 2 eggs 60g
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
  • 1 cup mashed ripe bananas about 2-3 large bananas
  • 1/2 cup semi sweet mini chocolate chips
  • thinly sliced banana slices to top

  • Preheat oven to 175C.

  • Grease your loaf pan.

  • In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flours, sugars, chocolate chips, salt, and baking soda.

  • In a large measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, yoghurt, oil, and vanilla extract.

  • Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients.

  • Mix until just combined.Pour into prepared load pan.

  • Top with sliced bananas on the sides.Bake for 50-60 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

  • Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, then remove from loaf pan.

  • Eat warm or completely cooled.

moist-banana-choc-chip-bread

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Pan Seared Halibut with Yuzu Mushroom Butter Sauce and Pomme Puree – Delishar

It’s been a while since we had a nice piece of fish. Lucky for us, we had 2 beautiful fillet of wild Alaskan Halibut from The Alaska Guys, and almost straight away I know we are going to have a really nice dinner.

Not trying to blow my own horn, but quite honestly, everything on the plate was amazing! The quality piece of halibut doesn’t need much doctoring up. The gorgeous crispy golden crust was Oh My Yum! That mushroom yuzu butter sauce was out of this world. I secretly wished that I had made more of it.

You can never go wrong with Caprese Salad. Mozzarella balls, fresh basil, and sweet cherry tomatoes drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette. I can eat that every single day!

The pomme puree was a game changer. It was quite a lot of work, but it was well worth the effort. I believe every single mouthful I had, I murmured “Mmmmm…”. It was smooth, buttery, rich, creamy, and fluffy, all at the same time. Sounds almost impossible, I know. You have got to try it at least once, please.

This was another one of those dinner, that the husband rewarded me with a big sloppy kiss. His special way of saying “Thank you for the really nice meal”. And he usually only does that for meals that he really enjoyed. Putting the fish and sauce together took me about 20 minutes, the salad comes together in 5 minutes. The Pomme puree was the most time consuming, but it was worth it. If you want something simpler, try my garlic mashed potatoes or rosemary mashed cauliflower.

Don’t forget to take part in the current giveaway! Win 1kg of wild caught Alaskan Halibut valued at $82! Click here to go to giveaway page.

halibut-yuzu-mushroom-butter-sauce-process1

Pan-Seared Halibut

  • 2 pieces of wild halibut fillet 230g each from TAG
  • Olive oil or other preferred high smoke point oil.
  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • Allow thawed fish to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.

  • Pat dry both side of the fish to minimise oil splatter.

  • Season both sides of halibut generously with salt and pepper.

  • Heat pan on med high, and add oil till about 1/8 inch of side of pan.

  • When oil is shimmering, add halibut presentation side down.

  • Hold it down for 30 secs.

  • Leave it to cook for 4-5 minutes until bottom is golden brown.

  • So not move the fish, we want a nice sear!

  • Flip the fillet, reduce heat to med-low, and cook through (about 3 minutes).

  • Transfer fillet to paper towel to remove some of the excess grease.

  • Use the same pan for the sauce.

  • Pour out all but 1 tbsp remaining oil.

Yuzu Butter Sauce

  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp of remaining olive oil from searing fish
  • Handful of Shimeji or clamshell mushrooms
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 1-2 tbsp yuzu juice or to taste I got my small bottle of yuzu from meidiya
  • 2 tbsp butter

  • Melt 1 tbsp of butter in the olive oil over med high heat.Saute mushroom for a minute. Pour in water and scrape out the pan goodness.Add garlic and saute for a minute.Reduce heat to low.Pour in yuzu juice, and add butter.Allow butter to melt and when sauce thickens, remove from heat.Stir in chopped parsley.Serve over pan-seared halibut fillets.

halibut-yuzu-mushroom-butter-sauce-process2

Pommes Puree

  • 500 g russet or yukon potatoes skin on and cleaned
  • 1 tbsp sauce
  • 150 g room slightly soften butter
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • Add potatoes into a pot of tap water, and add 1 tbsp salt.

  • Bring to boil, and allow to cook until potatoes are fork tender. (about 25-30 minutes)

  • Drain and peel skin off potatoes while hot. The skin comes off very easily!

  • Push potatoes through a ricer, if you do not have one, then mash it like I did.

  • Meanwhile, heat milk and heavy cream until it comes to a simmer.

  • Add butter to the potatoes and mix until combined.

  • Then slowly pour in the hot cream and milk mixture while stirring to combine until desired consistency.

  • Season with salt and pepper.

  • Lastly, push the potatoes through a sieve to get this incredibly smooth, rich, and fluffy potato puree.

halibut-yuzu-mushroom-butter-sauce

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Fish Tacos with Mango Pico de Gallo – Delishar

My usually night routine is to flip through a couple of pages of one of the cookbooks from my ever growing collection. Buying and owning those delicious looking books is so addictive, and I admit that I have no self-control. I. Want. Them. ALL!

So as I was going through Bobby Dean’s Everyday Eats, this recipe was just too good to pass. The book promises healthier recipes that are 350 calories or less, and all under 30 minutes. As it is the mango season now, I adapted his Avocado Pico de Gallo, and made it with Mango instead. Spiced things up a little with cayenne, because you know, I like it hot. If you can get your hands on some jalapeños, you can use that instead of cayenne. The sweetness of the mango cuts through the spices and leaves you wanting more!

fish-tacos-mango-pico-di-gallo

This was so sooooooooo good! I could not stop eating it. I was going in spoonful after spoonful. I suppose I can have this alone as a meal. :p

The whole meal was so simple to make, and as promised, dinner was served in 30 minutes. I also made a little cucumber yoghurt relish as a side dish or in place of the sour cream to extinguish the heat for le husband. Because you know, he can’t handle my hotness. (just kidding! I’m still training his tolerance for spicy food)

If you only have 30 minutes to spare in your kitchen, I highly recommend you try this recipe! The husband said that there was an explosion of flavours when he took his first bite. One that he doesn’t quite know how to handle, the combination of flavours blew him away (in a good way).

fish-tacos-process

Fish Tacos with Mango Pico de Gallo

  • 500-600 g meaty white fish cut into 1 inch slices
  • 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning or other seafood/all seasoning
  • 1-2 tbsp Sriracha hot sauce or to taste
  • 1 mango peeled and diced
  • 2 to matoes seeded and diced
  • 2 tbsp chopped red onion
  • 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Shredded cabbage to serve
  • Low fat sour cream to serve optional
  • 8 corn tortillas

  • Toss fish with old bay seasoning, salt, pepper, and sriracha sauce.

  • Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. If you have more time, allow to marinate for 30 minutes to an hour in the chiller.

  • In a bowl, mix together onion, tomatoes, mango, cilantro, and cayenne pepper.

  • Season with lime juice, salt, and pepper.

  • Toss to combine, and set aside.

  • Heat non-stick pan on med-high heat.

  • When it’s hot, add 1/2 tbsp olive oil.

  • Cook half the portion of the fish for 2-3 minutes on each side or until cooked.

  • Continue cooking the other portion with remaining oil.

  • Tend plate with aluminium foil and allow fish to rest for 5 minutes.

  • Warm up tortilla in microwave for 30 seconds, with a damp paper towel over it.

  • Serve with shredded cabbage, dollop of sour cream or more hot sauce, prepared fish, and mango pico de gallo.

Adapted from Bobby Deen’s Everyday Eats

Get the pre portioned cook kit for this amazing dish and
cook it in your own kitchen! Order Now

fish-tacos

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