Eid Mubarak Special

In every celebrations,family and friends gather and celebrate together.Its very rare for most to have the opportunity to do so therefore it should be enjoyed to the fullest.The rush to complete Hari Raya shopping is evident everywhere. There is a heavy traffic in the town, shopping complexes are crowded with many  selecting clothes etc for the festive season.This year, the Melaka town is packed with stalls along the Hang Tuah Mall .Many offering promotions as they want to clear their stocks.
As our Muslim friends and families look forward to the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri/Eid Mubarak celebrations on Thursday , Malaysian Delicacies would like to share a few special recipes one can try out during this holiday .

The first recipe comes from the Saudi Arabia , being Kabsa Rice.Kabsa is a family of rice dishes that are served mostly in Saudi Arabia — where it is commonly regarded as a national dish. Fragrant basmati rice is topped with chicken pieces or meat cooked in a tomato sauce with aromatic spices, and garnished with toasted or fried  slivered almonds .There are many kinds of kabsa and each kind has a uniqueness about it.Many parts uses par boiled rice to make kabsa but basmati rice is also equally favoured as well.

Pre-mixed Kabsa spices are now available under several brand names. These reduce preparation time but may have a flavour distinct from traditional Kabsa. The spices used in Kabsa are largely responsible for its taste; these are generally Black Pepper, Cloves, Cardamom, Saffron, Cinnamon, Black lime, Bay Leaves,Coriander seeds and Nutmeg. If you can get the 9 spice powder ,then you are in luck.Its the correct powder to use to make kabsa rice.Unfortunetly ,I cannot get the 9 spice here. There are only 5 spice powder available  in Malaysia!If you are using 5 spice powder than you have to find dry lime powder and black cardamom to complete the list. I had opt to use All spice powder.At the last moment , I managed to get a ready made kabsa spice mix.Try finding it from malay ladies selling dates,kismis and malay cosmetics .I was walking along Giant Supermarket, when suddenly  came across the pre mixed powder.Of course ,the most important ingredient one must have is the dry lime powder.I went throug many recipes from the net and have created a recipe base on the spices available here

The second recipe is Buttered Harissa Satay.Harissa is a hot chili paste that is commonly found in North African cooking, mainly Moroccan, Algerian, and Tunisian cuisine. It is added to couscous, soups, pastas and other recipes. It can also be purchased in Middle Eastern stores in a can.

For a very spicy harissa: use a blend of cayenne, chile de arbol, or cayenne with a milder chile like ancho chillies. I have made some changes to the original harissa spices to suit Malaysian palate.

One ingredient that is rather tough to find was the pickled lemon for this recipe!Pickled lemon is not something that is easily available  in Melaka.So I prepared it a week earlier. Place ½ cup sugar to 1 ½ cup of water in a saucepan or enough water to cover the lemon. To it add in 1 cinnamon stick.Leave to simmer until liquid thicken. Cool and keep refrigerated for at least 1 week before using. When using, squeeze the lemon to drain excess liquid .

To go along with the rice and chicken, a curry or stew ,the Vegetable Dalca was felt most suitable.Dalca is a stewed vegetable curry with lentils (Dalca Sayur in Malay) which is famously served with Briyani Rice,Tomato Rice or Nasi Minyak; normally cooked during special occasions and it is also a staple dish for a Malay wedding lunch menu. Dalca is cooked in curry lentils, tamarind (asam) fruit juice and mixed vegetables. Everyone has their own interpretation for Dalca. Mutton bones or beef is sometimes added to enhance the flavour for this dish.Today’s recipe is purely vegetarian. I had omitted the use of meat. The tamarind  and meat powder are commonly used when one uses meat in their dish.I have omitted the use of tamarind juice in this recipe as I felt it was more to my taste.This dalca complimented well with Kabsa Rice.

And to quench once thirst ,we have Lemon Lychee.This concoction is not something new. We, my sister and I, created this combination when we had a prayer ceremony. I catered food, but decided to prepare the drink .I  had enough of rose sirap/syrup and orange , that I went and bought 2 bottles of concentrated lychee. After mixing , there were still a lot of lemons on hand, that we decided to cut thinly  sliced lemon and orange into the concoction.The colour combination was just fantastic.It was a blast, we were complimented for the drink. The drink is suitable for any functions or parties. Impress your guests with elegant and eye-catching garnishes  ! You can  even  rim the glass with coloured sugar. After mixing the ingredients, taste it and adjust according to personal preferences!!

Now lets check out the recipes:

Kabsa Rice

























As mentioned earlier,Kabsa Rice is a famous rice dish from Saudi Arabia.The rice is rich with spices.The lady that I bought the spices from had the unpowdered kabsa spices in a plastic as well.One can choose to buy the ready made powdered spices or the un powdered one.You can use a mixer prepare it yourself.Meat for Kabsa can be cooked in various ways. According from a source in the net, a popular way of preparing meat is called Mandi. This is an ancient technique, whereby meat is barbecued in a deep hole in the ground that is covered while the meat cooks. Another way of preparing and serving meat for Kabsa is Mathbi, where seasoned meat is grilled on flat stones that are placed on top of burning embers. A third technique, Madghoot, involves cooking the meat in a Pressure cooker. I had prepared a Harissa Butter Satay and had excluded meat in the kabsa rice.

Rice Ingredients:

3 cups of parboiled long grain rice(I used Faiza parboiled Basmati rice,image above)
1 cup chopped tomato
1 1/2 cups chopped onion(use the yellow variety)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tsp all spice powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp  kabsa powder
1 tsp cayenne powder
4 tablespoons of butter
6 -7 cups of stock ( amount of stock depending on the type of grain you are using)
2 screwpine leaves(knotted)

Spices

2 cinnamon stick

3 cloves

3 cardamom

Garnishing

1 cup raw sliced almonds(fried in butter)

½ cup crisp fried shallots

Some edible flowers

Stock Ingredients:
8 cups water

Some chicken bones and fats
1 chicken cube  
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks (broken)
12 cloves
12 cardamon pods (crushed)

Steps:

For the stock

In a stainless pot, add in all the ingredients for the stock.Crumble in the chicken cube.Simmer gently .Keep the stock boiling until its time for it to be used.

For the rice:

Wash the rice and drain immediately in a colander.Do Not soak the rice in water.

I used the rice cooker to make this dish. Heat 3 tbsp butter  in the cooker.Add in the spices, cinnamon stick,cloves and cardamom.Stir for a few seconds than add in chopped onions.Saute until the onions soften. Then add in chopped tomatoes and stir further until tomatoes turn slightly mushy.Then add in turmeric powder,kabsa powder,all spice powder and cayenne powder.Stir to incorporated all the powders in the dish.

Add in washed rice and combine with the spices.Spread the rice evenly in the rice cooker.Place the knotted screwpine leaves in the middle.Pour in sieved chicken stock into the rice,. Do Not stir the rice with the stock.This will prevent the rice from turning mussy. Cook until rice is done. Garnish with shallot crisp and fried almonds.

cooked kabsa rice

Buttered Harissa Satay

Ingredients:

·         3 tablespoons toasted cumin seeds, roughly ground

·         2 teaspoon cinnamon

·         2 teaspoon paprika

·         1 yellow onion

·         8 garlic cloves

·         2  tablespoon fresh ginger

·         90g fresh coriander, chopped

·         Large handful flat-leaf parsley

·         1 whole preserved lemon, with pulp

·         1 tsp dried rosemary leaves

·         1 ½  tablespoon dried chilli powder

·         3 fresh chopped red chillies

·         4 tablespoons tomato purée

·         5 tbsp lemon juice

·         ½ cup olive oil

·         5 tbsp butter

·         5 tbsp Brown sugar

·         1.2 kg chicken meat,cut into cubes

·         25 to 30 bamboo skewers (soak the skewers for 2 hrs)

Steps:

In a bowl, add in the chicken pieces, to it add in all the ingredients. 

Marinate for at least 2 to 3 hrs.

Place 3 pieces of chicken in each bamboo skewer.
Heat up a hot grill.Grease with some butter.

Grill the chicken on each side for about 3 to 4 mins.In between brush with some marinate on the chicken.

Dish out. In a skillet, pour  the left over marinate,some raisins, 2 cups of water , and about 2 tbsp of sugar and simmer gently. You can thicken the sauce with cornflour mixture,if preferred. Serve the sauce with grilled chicken. You will be rewarded with a juicy, succulent meal with all the flavour on your plate .

If you do not have a grill, bake in the oven on 190°C. 

Vegetable Dalca

3 tbsp ghee

2 sprigs curry leaves

2 dried red chillies,broken

2 cardamom pods

3 cloves

2 in cinnamon stick

2 star anise

1 cup australian dal /kadala parupa(soaked for at least 5 hrs)

2 tomotoes,chopped

1 large brinjal, cut into small pieces

2 greed chillies,slit in the center

1 large potato(cut into 6 or 8 parts)

½ a carrot, cut rounded

You can add vegetables like long beans as well, which I had omitted.

1 ½ cut coconut milk

1 ½  tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp chilli powder

Salt to taste

Grind into a paste

10 shallots

4 cloves of garlic

1 ½ cm ginger

1 tbsp fried shallots(shallot crisp)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

 Pressure cook the dal. In a wok, heat ghee, add in dried chillies,followed by curry leaves and then cardamom, cloves,cinnamon and star anise. After a few seconds, add in the grind ingredients.Saute for a few minutes.Add in chilli powder and turmeric powder.Saute until aromatic and oil floats on top.Then add in the dal, vegetables and well combine all the ingredients.Add in 1 ½ cup water and leave to simmer.Close with a lid.Once vegetables are ¾ cooked, pour in th coconut milk.Add in salt to taste.Leave to simmer.You can add more coconut milk if desired. Close fire once you have the desired consistency .

2^nd version of dalca vegetables: http://malaysiandelicacies.blogspot.com/2008/03/vegetable-dalca.html


Lemon Lychee

500ml concentrated lychee

750ml to 800ml of ice water(you can add more if desired)

6-7 lemons

2 oranges

½ to ¾  cup of sugar

Ice cubes

Some mint leaves for decoration

In a  bowl, mix in concentrated laici, juices of 4 lemons, sugar and stir. Cut the balance 2 lemons and the oranges into thin slices. Keep a few lemon and orange slices separately.Mix into the drink the rest of the lemon and orange slices. The slices will float on top.

Quarter the separated  lemon and orange slices. When serving, garnish with a quarter lemon and orange pieces with some mint leaves.

Note: You can make ice cubes by mixing some concentrated lychee and lemon juice, priorly. This will ensure the drink remain  flavourful even after the cubes melt.

I did not use fresh orange juice in this concoction .The oranges were used as garnishes only .


Four special dishes from Malaysian Delicacies specially for Eid Mubarak:

Wishing all muslim friends:

**Eid Mubarak /Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri**

The above recipies are heading  to:
Foodie Friday - A Room With A View For Two

 I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest ( West Asia) December Month,2013 hosted by Shannon fromJust As Delish