Pizza Margherita

THE JOURNEY...as is

From kitchen counter....to oven


















From oven to..where else? Our tummies :D

Vegetarian Laksa Lemak

In my opinion, if there's one thing that anyone who's lived in Singapore misses once they leave the place, its the food. Although there are some pretty good Thai and Malaysian restaurants in Atlanta, getting authentic Singapore fare is almost impossible.

Some of the best food in Singapore is not available in restaurants, but in hawker centers or food courts. For those unfamiliar with the concept, these are open air complexes, with numerous varieties of food stalls by independent vendors. Here is a picture of Newton Hawker Center in Singapore at 2am! Yes, that's another speciality of Singapore....the city never sleeps and people never stop feeling hungry.

Back when we were undergrads cramming the last week before our exams, we'd just walk down to Fong Seng, a popular NUS hangout on Pasir Panjang Road sometime around 2 or 3 am. Here's a pic of the place I found!! The place gets crowded only wayyy after midnight with everyone turning up for their supper. *Sigh* the good 'ol days!!!












Sorry for the digression, and back to my story. When I started working, I frequented this excellent vegetarian stall in Alexandra village. Every Thursday, the guy sold Laksa - not just any laksa, but one of the best I've had ever (the other was in Orchard Emerald, but sadly its closed down!). Traditionally Laksa Lemak or Curry Laksa contains shrimp, fish ball and chicken (among other things non-vegetarian), but the vendor used to substitute it with mock meat (not just the seitan kind) of everything.

Ever since I've come to Atlanta, I've looked hard for some quality mock meat, but only had moderate success at the Chamblee Farmers Market. Recently we went to this veg restaurant on Monroe called Green Sprouts and I mustered up courage to ask the guy where they got their mock meat from! Yea ...I do things like this and sometimes embarass K...but hey...it was definitely worth it! We found all that we wanted and could ask for at Ranch Market on Buford Highway (there...the secret is out!). K also got a stone mortar and pestle that he's been eyeing for a long time!! Well...the bargain was, he'd make Laksa for me...he kept his side of the bargain and that too very well! Here's K's own creation... Laksa Lemak!

Ingredients

Rempah (for the recipe...click here)
Sambal bajak to taste
3 cups veg stock
3 cups coconut milk (use a combi of normal and lite)
Mock chicken, fishballs and prawns
Deep fried tofu (cut in half to absorb the sauce…yum!)
Hard-boiled eggs - 2
Laksa leaves (aka Vietnamese mint – very important and crucial otherwise you don't get the flavor!)
Rice noodles
Bean spouts (not in the pic)
Salt and sugar to taste

Method

• In some oil, fry the rempah paste until fragrant, oil separates and color deepens.
• Add stock and bring to boil
• Add coconut milk and simmer (The longer the better! )
• Now add the mock chicken, fishballs, shrimp, fried tofu puffs, salt and sugar.
• Bean sprouts should be put in 1 min before serving.
• In a separate saucepan, bring water to boil and blanch the rice noodles until cooked and serve in serving bowl with a bit of sambal bajak. (if you cut the noodles into small spoon-able pieces, its called Katong Laksa)
  
• Pour the laksa lemak over the noodles.
• Garnish with finely chopped laksa leaves and halved boiled egg.
• There you go....sedap di makan! (good to eat)

Appa's Mixture Bhel

A twist to appa's original recipe!

My dad prides himself on being a very 'unconventional cook'. At least thats what he calls himself when he makes beetroot sambhar, choco panchamrutham, and the best of them all - mixture bhel!

Bhel puri as it is called, is typical Bombay or Mumbai street snack. It mainly consists of puffed rice, sev, papdi (fried little puris), tomatoes, onions, boiled potatoes, chilies and some sweet (date) and sour (tamarind) sauces.

This recipe of appa's contains the south indian mixture as the base for the bhel. The mixture contains sev(called omapodi), boondhi, peanuts, ribbon pakoda (flat papdi-like muruku) and puffed rice crispies all tossed together with some salt, chilli powder and lots of asafoetida (which is what gives it the distinct south indian flavor). The base is more or less the same as bhel, but the flavor is uniquely south indian. My take on how appa came up with this is that getting Bhel ingredients was not all that easy in Trivandrum in the early ninties and since we all loved bhel, appa came up with the next best. Surprisingly, I love this version much more than the actual bombay bhel itself!

True to being an appa-ponnu I try to recreate the easy mixture bhel snack as often as possible. K too is hooked on to it these days. So....without further ado...here it goes!

What you need:
1 cup of madras mixture (available at indian stores)
½ cup of chopped red onions
1 tbsp boiled lightly mashed potatoes (optional)
1½ tsp chilli sauce (hot and sweet is good)
½ tsp lemon juice
½ tsp sugar
1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1 tbsp chopped raw mango

Add all the ingredients to a big bowl, and mix just before serving! A piping hot masala chai or filter coffee makes a perfect complement to this tasty snack!