Dodo's Kitchen : The Sunflower SurpriCe

Making the 'sunflower' is easy.
Ingredients  :-
1) 2 eggs
2) half a big carrot (thinly sliced like potato chips almost)
3) 1 small tomato (finely chopped, seeds removed)
4) some salt, pepper, McCormick's Italian Herbs (optional)
5) Butter

Cooking Steps
First, saute the carrots and tomato with butter until it softens and blends in well. A little caramelized. Then pour in 2 well beaten eggs. Cook both sides. Add salt and pepper to season.

Black Pepper Chicken with Cashew-nuts Filling
Ingredients:
1) About 100 grams of chicken or less.
2) Quarter of a big juicy onion
3) 1 dried chili cut into a few pieces
4) 3 cashew-nuts (halved)
5) Ready made black pepper sauce (I used Puteri brand)
6) Salt and pepper

Cooking Steps
1) Marinade some chicken pieces in ready made black pepper sauce. (20 minutes will do)
2) Fry the onions, dried chilli and cashew-nuts on medium heat.
3) Add the chicken and stir fry. Increase the heat for about a minute or two when you add the chicken, then lower the heat again. (Ummm....at first I was very confused with the aroma I was getting. Honestly, it smelt like shit. I began looking around to see if there was cat shit or something but it was coming from the pan. Lo and behold! That's how it's supposed to smell like but after a while it dies out. Thus why you should increase the heat when you add in the marinated chicken! )
4) Optional: Put a dash of McCormick's dried Basil.

How to get the SurpriCe Effect!
1) Put some rice into a small bowl and press the rice down while making a hollow center for the filling.
2) Put the filling in and press down. Make sure it's compressed well.
3) Flop it on the egg and do not remove the bowl immediately. Give it a minute.
4) You can garnish to your taste. Ta da! I think kids might have fun eating this. I know I did ;p

Dodo's Kitchen : Melinsung Fried Rice

Ingredients
1) some sardine (dont throw in all the tomato sauce from the can if you want it dry) 
2) egg
3) 1 dried chili ( torn into pieces)
4) carrots (thinly sliced)
5) a pinch of tumeric powder
6) pinch of salt 
7) pinch of pepper
8) cooked rice
9) some cashew-nuts
10) quarter of an onion


Cooking steps


1) Fry some cashew nuts in oil and remove. keep aside.
2) Then fry onions, dried chilli, carrots, and sardine (mash the sardine as you do this.)
3) Add in the tumeric, salt and pepper. Give it a good mix for a minute.
4) Add the rice and fry.  
5) Lastly, add the cashew nuts in ( this is if you don't like charred nuts. I on the other hand like it charred so i don't remove it from the pan as I cook)


Yup, that's pretty much it. Melinsung is the name of my apartment building. Couldn't think of anything else ;p

Dodo's Kitchen : Chicken Curry

I was once told by a very enthusiastic Kadazan man , "It's appalling that you're an Indian but can't cook a damn curry!"  . Well, now I can and so can you! I modified this recipe because I didn't have much of the ingredients needed and wasn't gonna spend money buying chunks of stuff,  then waste it. This curry, although simple, actually turned out quite good and I didn't feel it lacked much. However, you can decide for yourself :)

Ingredients:

1)  About 300 grams of diced chicken (Remember, I'm cooking for just 1 big eater)
2) A stick of cinnamon
3) 5-6 pieces of cardomom
4) A big onion, some garlic and ginger (I blended these ingredients and I feel that is best)
5) 1 tablespoon of chilli powder
6) 1 teaspoon of tumeric to marinade the chicken before cooking
7) 2-3 tablespoons of curry powder (go with the flow on this as some powders are pungent)
8) 150 ml of low fat milk (coconut milk is best but if you're watching your cholesterol ....)
9) Some curry leaves (which I think is a must but didn't have so screw it!)
10) A potato (diced)
11) Some salt and pepper

Cooking Steps:

• First, marinade the chicken with turmeric and salt for about 30 minutes before cooking.
• Once done, you can begin by frying the spices first. Next, the blended ingredients. When the aroma starts ummmm...floating around in mid air, it's about time to put in the curry leaves (some people put it at the end, you decide), potatoes and chicken. Fry and stir and flip and do whatever you want so that it cooks evenly.
• When chicken begins to brown a little, add the chilli powder and curry powder. Once again, fry evenly but don't burn it ya.
• Then add in the milk and a small cup of water as you stir. (if you're using coconut milk then only add at the end of your cooking)
• Salt and pepper. Once everything comes together, taste and decide if you need more salt, water...etcetera. 
• Cook on low/medium heat (depending on how patient you are ;p )  for about 25-35 minutes or until the potatoes are done.

P.S. If you put it in the fridge overnight, it tastes even better! No idea why but I'll find out! Enjoy.

The Theme!

 I've finally decided on the direction in which I'd like to go where this blog is concerned.  I want to visit "virtual kitchens" of friends, family and people in general who love to cook! I am not sure if I ever will, but am currently not interested in recipes by famous chefs/cook/etcetera. I am interested in everyday people and everyday recipes!

The idea of this blog began a few weeks back when a friend of mine, Sarah, stayed over for a couple of weeks and we ended up spending some time cooking. Well, one morning I decided to make an omellete for another friend who was staying over (Thulsy) but all I had were tomatoes and eggs. Because it was early in the morning, I was too lazy to chop the tomatoes into tiny bits so I thought "why not half the tomatoes and stuff scrambled eggs into it and cook them in a pot for a while so the tomatoes will get all warm, mushy and nice?" The result: very impressive for an idiot like me! The feeling I had that morning was unexplainable. I felt it was my 'aha' moment. This is what I should be doing.This should be my hobby. I' ve never had one by the way.

I am a 'dodo' when it comes to cooking because I lack experience. I can't even fry an egg right. However, my cooking experiences in the last few weeks have changed my own self-perception about me not being able to cook. It's like Chef Gusteau's motto 'Anyone can cook!' is actually possible. I used to make simple pastas, maybe whip something up and my friend Naza who was one of the first to try my cooking (and when I mean cooking - I mean from start to finish and not out of a can) would mouth words of encouragement. I did have my Sardine Rolls, which Arween loves, but that too is technically can food rolled in bread and toasted in an oven.

On FB, many have been asking me how I make the time. Well, I canceled my Astro subscription  a few weeks back too. A social experiment on myself. Reason: TV is depressing ;p and I was turning into a couch potato but now when I look at all the things I have been doing with my time, even I am shocked that I actually have the time! 24 hours seems a lot now. I'm learning a skill now with the help of people and the internet! Proud, proud, proud...and haven't cared that I haven't been for a long time!

Okay I'm being long-winded and full of me again. Anyway, these past 3 weeks have been amazing! When I started following my gut, creativity and simple recipes (i'm not into the serious science of cooking), for the first time in my life, I've begun feeling like a real you-can-eat-my-food-cook :) . I actually feel happy! I will be posting my own self-conjured recipes, simple recipes from the internet etcetera but  I hope, more than anything, to visit as many virtual kitchens around Malaysia before the year ends and from there....who knows :)

There's no stopping me!