Lamb Biryani

Due to his busy schedule, hubby seldom goes into our kitchen stadium these days. Busy with work and business school, he has now even lost touch with the arrangement in the kitchen! I mean, being the (self-confessed) organizing junkie I am, it is NOT possible for you to get lost in my kitchen...all the spice containers are labeled, items in the drawer arranged in appropriate drawer organizers etc...etc. Yeah, but then again, my hubby just likes calling out to me to ask for something that can be as close to him as right in front of his eyes! :)

Aaanyhoo, despite calling me a thousand time to the kitchen to find the utensils and ingredients he needed, hubby managed to create a wonderful dish using his favorite meat - lamb. So yeah, he may have forgotten where I keep the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks, but he has not lost his magic touch every time he indulges in some culinary therapy!

Lamb Biryani (Hyderabadi Style)....our Jr.'s favorite, too!

Homemade Sloppy Joe with Oven-Crisped Garlic Bread

This recipe was inspired by Chef Bobby Flay, just so you know. I actually got some ground turkey this time to make some meatballs when I happen to watch Throwdown with Bobby Flay featuring the all-American sloppy joe.

Although I have never cooked it previously or even ordered this sandwich in restaurants, I was tempted to try out because I already have all the ingredients needed at home and to be more exact, Chef Flay made it look super simple! After trying out, I know now it is really the case…

The ground turkey is cooked in rich tomato sauce (I used diced fresh tomatoes and some tomato paste), with diced onions, green peppers, celery and spices (cumin, ground black pepper, chili powder) and a pinch or two of brown sugar with salt to taste.

As usual, I modified the featured recipe by adding less brown sugar and a little more chili powder to suit our taste.

Another thing different is that I served my sloppy joe on garlic bread which I toasted till crispy in the oven. Originally the sloppy joe is served on soft buns so that the gravy will be absorbed by the bun but I wanted something to hold the content better.

A rather interesting take on the regular bread-with-meat meal…just don’t complain about the sloppiness when eating – the name should have given you an idea :)

'The No Claypot' Claypot Chicken Rice

Thanks to technology advancement, I not only got to browse the web for the recipe to make my version of the famous claypot chicken rice dish, I also got tips and shortcuts to help me make this dish in my kitchen :) If I were living in Malaysia, I doubt I’d ever consider making this special Chinese dish at home, especially when it is easily available at my favorite hawker’s center!

As the name suggests, the claypot chicken rice is cooked and served in a claypot in restaurants. I still remember the wonderful whiff that hits your face and fogs your spectacles as you open the cover of the pot!

After searching for sometime, I decided to stick with this recipe I got from a fellow blogger. Although easier and faster than the original version, the reason why I liked this recipe is because the blogger kind of shares my kitchen viewpoint: even though I like quick and simple cooking, “I never sacrifice taste or authenticity when it comes to my cooking.”

No claypot, no problem…the rice cooker or the pressure cooker (that steam-cooks the rice in a jiff), like in my case, works just fine. With rice, mushrooms, chicken being the main ingredients, I happily gathered the rest of the sauces and spices needed for the dish and adjusted some details like no pork sausage and fried dried prawns instead of salted fish for garnish and voila, a contented cook, happy hubby and baby (yes, he loved it too!).

I also prepared a must-have condiment: chopped garlic and bird’s eye chilis soaked in light soy sauce for that added kick!

Yet another satisfying one-pot dish!

Chicken Rasam - Indian-spiced Chicken Soup

A bowl of soup may take up so many other names – broth, gumbo, stew, chowder, consommé, bouillabaisse, potage, bouillon – according to its texture, ingredients and also the cuisine it belongs to. Nevertheless, a bowl of soup by another name would be as comforting :)

There is this particular soup which is a famous fare in Malaysia, popularized by its mamak community – the Tamil Muslim community. This dish is so popular that it was even featured in Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservation (episode Malaysia). It is basically beef, chicken or mutton soup cooked with a variety of spices and then served alongside cubed bread pieces (the croutons’ counterpart!).

In Melaka, there’s this food court in Jalan Bendahara (between City Bayview and Orkid Hotel) that includes a mamak stall serving this well-spiced beef/mutton/chicken soup. I remember my dad used to take us there for supper and hmmm I can still remember how the aroma of the spices excited my sense of smell even before my tongue got in-synced!

Besides that, the only other times I used to enjoy this kind of spiced soup is at home when my mom made chicken rasam. Rasam is a spicy South Indian soup compulsory in most Indian vegetarian cuisine. But for her chicken rasam, mom uses the same spices used in the regular rasam – cumin seeds, fennel seeds, black/white peppercorns, mustard seeds – minus the tamarind essence and hing. These spices are pounded with ginger, garlic and onions, fried in a little oil before adding the boney chicken pieces (the meatier part gets into the chicken gravy!) which are then simmered in water on low flame till the chicken flavor is well infused in the soup.

I did the same here for my chicken rasam. The taste was pretty good and the comforting effect of having a bowl of hot soup was there, except that whenever I feel like having a bowl of hearty soup like this, I wish I could have it from the mamak stall in Jalan Bendahara :)

Cumin-Peppercorn Chicken

The one thing I have realized since I started cooking regularly is that simplicity in cooking always brings out great taste. This is of course not applicable for those special dishes (especially traditional dishes) that require a long list of specific ingredients and detailed preparation. Most often than not, one would need to stick to the original recipe to create the exact traditional flavor. Otherwise, I find simple steps and fewer ingredients usually help in enhancing the taste of a dish.


This delicious chicken entrée is one such dish that can be prepared almost effortlessly. Pepper chicken is something that I have tasted regularly at my home in Malaysia but I have recreated it in my kitchen by making cumin the star ingredient alongside its counterpart, ground black peppercorns.


Chicken pieces (coated with needed amount of cumin powder and ground peppercorns) are cooked to perfection with a generous amount of diced up shallots, ginger and garlic. A fulfilling lunch/dinner entrée indeed!

Ayam Masak Merah: Red Chili Gravy Chicken

This dish is so popular in Malaysia that I have never failed to find it being served at all the Malay weddings I have attended.

Having tasted the dish served by Malay chefs (at homes or restaurants), I realized that the Malay version of this is sometimes sweet as well as spicy. My mom, the expert chef when it comes to making ayam masak merah at home, usually makes the version that she has mentioned to me as my grandma’s version (her mother-in-law).

Cut chicken pieces are marinated in a spicy paste made of dried red chili paste (boiled to soften and then blended), onions, ginger and garlic. I think the best part of the marinade is the roughly chopped tomatoes that are just squished in to bring out the juices. This really adds a little zing to the dish and just a hint of sweetness from the tomatoes are infused into the dish. To the marinade also, a little turmeric for bringing out the bright color and some crushed black pepper is added for more kick. After about 30 minutes or so, the marinated chicken is cooked in oil infused with cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom and curry leaves for a wonderful aroma.

Kung Pao Chicken

This is a variation of a dish more popularly known in Malaysia as sweet-and-sour chicken. In India, this dish would probably be tagged as Manchurian Chicken because of the combination of two major flavors: spicy and sweet.

I first tried this dish in U.S in an Asian diner as Kung Pao chicken. It is basically boneless chicken stir fried with vegetables (bell peppers+celery), along with peanuts in a special sauce that is a mixture of peppercorns, sweet chili sauce, oyster sauce, tamari (soy sauce - dark and light) and rice wine vinegar.

Turkey Kheema

A kheema dish originally refers to any kind of minced meat (typically lamb, chicken and beef) fried with onions, ginger, garlic and a certain spice mix. Kheema is so versatile as it can be used as a filling in almost anything. In Malaysia, one can savor either chicken or beef kheema as a filling in kebabs in pasar malam (night market). My mom used to make chicken/lamb kheema as a filling for her homemade currypuffs. In the U.S, one can find kheema in tacos, tortilla and burritos or even chili dips. Here, I used minced turkey meat and fried it with Indian spices. This goes well with sandwiches and chapatis too!