Cucur Badak ( Spicy Sweet Potato Balls)
Ingredients :
For the dough
500 grms sweet potatoes (boiled and mashed)
10 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Small shrimps for garnishing (with shells and heads on)
1 tablespoon of sugar
A pinch of salt
For the filling
4 cups of grated coconut
1/2 cup of dried shrimps
1 garlic*
3 shallots *
6 fresh red chillies*
1 lemon grass (use only the white part)*
1 1/2 teaspoon tumeric powder
5 slices of peeled fresh ginger*
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste (palm sugar preferred)
2 tablespoons cooking oil
Method:
For the dough
Boil the sweet potatoes in hot boiling water for 15 minutes.
Peel the skin off the boiled sweet potatoes and mash them in a big bowl
Mix the mashed sweet potatoes with flour, sugar, and salt till a soft dough is formed. The dough shouldn't be too sticky. If too sticky, add more flour to the mixture.
For the filling
Pound all the (*) ingredients.
Soak the dried shrimps in hot water for 15 minutes and then pound them. Set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and add in the pounded ingredients plus the pounded dried shrimps. Fry till fragrant.
Add in the grated coconut and mix well.
Add in salt and sugar to taste.
Set aside and let it cool.
To make the balls.
Dust your hands with some flour and take a bit of dough (about the size of a small ball), flatten it and put the filling in the middle.
Cover the filling and press one small shrimp on top of the dough.
Heat oil and fry till golden brown.
Spicy Soo Hoon Salad
500 gm soo hoon (you can get this in Asian Mart - it is fine rice vermicelli. Kavitha has given a picture of this previously)
150 gms fresh prawns, shelled and deviened
10gms dried prawns
2-3 red chillies
1-2 pips garlic
1 stalk lemon grass - sliced finely - only the white part
fresh coriander - chopped
spring onions - chopped
fish sauce (or light soy sauce
lemon juice (to taste)
shrimp paste (optional)
olive oil
onion crisps (get this from Asian mart as well)
I ts sugar
Method:
Prepare soohoon according to the packet instructions and set aside.
Boil water and blanch the prawns. Set aside. In a little oil fry dried prawns. Pound (or blend), red chillies, fried dried prawns, shrimp paste, sugar and garlic together until fine. Add fish sauce and lemon juice and taste for seasoning. Set aside for at least an hour.
In a large bowl, add soohoon and prepared chilli paste together. Mix until the soohoon is well coated with the chilli paste. Then add the prawns, onion crisps, lemon grass, spring onions and coriander leaves. Mix well again. Taste for seasoning. Serve on a plate and deco with more coriander leaves and fried onion crisps
The above dish should have spicy, sweet, sour and salty taste. This is dish or recipe belongs to a clan called peranakan - This clan is a blend of two cultures - Chinese and Malay. In 18th century, Chinese arrived to Malaysia and when they settled down here, they married the locals. Hence the integration of two races/cultures and they are called Baba (for male) and Nyonya (for females). You will see that the food, dressing and culture have both identities. They have chinese features, malay dressing and the food is of both cultures. Similarly, the Indians and Malays have the same and they are called "Chittis".
Just a small info for you guys. 😉
Edited by Caryn - 16 years agoMeen Kuzhambu (Fish Gravy)
Ingredients:
Fish slices - 10 to 15 (small pieces)
Onion - 1 (Big)
Tomato - 2 to 3 (medium)
G.chillies - 3
Garlic - 4-5 gloves
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek (vendhaiyam) - 3/4 tsp
Whole peppercorns - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Fish curry/masala powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Tamarind - small lemon size (soak and take out the water) OR Tamarind Paste, Curry leaves - a few , Oil - preferably sesame oil (Nalla ennai)
Method:
Wash and keep the fish fillets ready.
Cut onion & tomatoes into small pieces.
Put oil in a wide-deep pan.
When the oil is hot - do the thalippu... mustard, vendaiyam, peppercorns, then add cut onion and fry well.
When the onion becomes transparent, add slit g.chillies and fry for few seconds.
Now add the tomatoes and fry until the tomatoes start to cook a little bit.
Add curry leaves and add turmeric powder too.
After frying it for few more minutes, add the Tamarind water/Tamarind paste diluted in water + chilli powder + fish masala powder + Coriander powder and mix well.
Add salt too at this point and add a very little water, if the gravy at this point is too thick.
Let it boil for few minutes. Check for salt and spicey and adjust as needed.
You should be able to see the oil coming to the edge and now add the fish pieces and mix the gravy very gently.
Let this cook for few minutes until the fish is done. Switch off the stove.
Tip: While checking do not mix harsh and be very gentle so that the slices won't break.
This kuzhambu goes well with white rice and also for Dosa, Idli as a side!
Enjoy!