Mouties birthday!

Ok, this has been one of those weekends that you say to yourself I definitely have to do the sunnah fast on a Monday and Thursday inshallah! To top it all off it was my brother inlaw's (moutie's) birthday yesterday and my sister rizqah invited the family and friends over for cake and tea .

walking in the table was layed with Johnsons specials , snow balls , milk tart ,chocolate cream puffs , pavlova , malaysian pudding , eclairs , apple strudel , chocolate mousse cake , caramel and cream swiss roll and fatima's perfectly round bollas! I gave myself a "pep talk' and decided that I would select only three of the delicacies infront of me , I will not over indulge, laysian pudding by auntie Sabie Siers ( smooth , creamy and fruity ) , pavlova made by Shamiela fayker (melt in the mouth ) and chocolate cream puffs ( fluffy and sweet ) made by my sis Rizqah siers .Here goes the recipe for the choclate cream puffs recipe:

Recipe :
4 eggs
1/2 cup of fish oil
1 cup of sugar
4 tsp baking powder
2 cups self raising flour
2 tbls cocoa
5ml vanilla essence
3/4 cup lukewarm water

Method
Mix eggs, fish oil and sugar well. Add baking powder, self raising flour and cocoa, mixing on medium speed. Lastly add vanilla essence and lukewarm water on high speed until light and creamy. Bake in muffin trays about half full .
Bake at 180 C for plus minus 15 - 20 minutes

This recipe is great as you may use caramel and cream for the filling and dust it with icing sugar yummy yummy! Let me know what you think ? Go for it and enjoy yourself .

Rushaan

Gran's 80th birthday bash

I am stuffed , really stuffed !Algamdulilah what a great evening this was , seeing old family and friends that I havent seen in ages , (bout twenty years or more ) met up with a school friend that I was in class with in sub A at Douglas Road Primary school (yes , grade 1) .

Food , glorious food and this was a real feast , so much to eat and so little time ! Desserts my favourite , what to choose first , well naturally the choclate mousse is a definate and to top it off with a sweet delicacy of pavlova topped with strawberries and kiwi , and yes , the peppermint pudding was great too! Here goes my my " custard and caramel fridge cake tart " soft and sweet mmm......

Ingredients:
1 pkt tennis biscuits
90ml orange juice
ready made custard (you may make your own)
1 tin caramel
50ml lemon juice
1 large fresh cream
1 large flake
Method:
Use a large pyrex dish and place biscuits into the dish , spoon the oranje juice over the biscuits till it's soaked into the biscuits . Place in the fridge for about 15 minutes.Once out pour the custard over the biscuits , if you makin the custard please ensure that its cool before pouring over the biscuit.Place in fridge again for 15 minutes.Place caramel in a bowel with the lemon juice and stir this through well until caramel is smooth , you may now put this over the custard mixture. Whip up th fresh cream , place it on top of the caramel and decorate with flake or a few left over crushed tennis biscuits . Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours .

This pudding is really tasty and not much effort at all , so go for it and enjoy !

How grateful Iam to have my 80 year old granny still around , may Allah (swt ) grant her many more good and healthy years inshallah amin . Shukran to all my aunts and cousins for their delicious mutton curries , frikkadels , rice , potatoes , barbeque chicken strips , roasted chicken , salads , baked veggies, half moons , daltjies , cold and hot desserts it was all very , very yummy!

Now , what to make for my cousin Aisha 's wedding tomorow inshallah ?

Rushaan

Middle of the month trifle

This recipe is a true middle of the month dessert, (you know when you running on reserves) when the family nags for dessert and you scratch your head and wonder how am I going to manage this? Algamdulilaah I always try to keep a few packets of jelly and custard powder in the cupboards for a rainy day! Middle of the month trifle.........here goes!

Ingredients:
2 pkts jelly (your preferance)
Big tin sliced peaches
Custard powder
2 cups milk
5 tablespoons sugar
1large fresh cream
Vanilla Essence

Method:
Empty jelly in a large glass bowl, add 2 cups of hot water till dissolved then add 2 cups cold water (kids love doing this part), open tin peaches , drain juice and add it to jelly mixture and refrigerate, keep peaches in fridge too. When jelly is setting make the custard by heating the milk and mixing custard powder with sum milk to form a paste.

Just before milk starts to boil lower heat and add custard mixture to milk, mix through and add sugar. When custard thickens take off stove and let it cool off completely. Once jelly is set place peaches on top and the cold custard . Whip fresh cream with some vanilla essence and teaspoon of sugar. Place fresh cream on top of the custard mixture.

You may serve as is or sprinkle with a flake on top of trifle. We had it without the flake but everyone still kept coming back for seconds!

Personally I am a such a sweet tooth that I prefer chocolate brownies with fresh cream over trifle anytime, but my family loved this and it was bowel empty before bedtime.........algamdulilaah.
Rushaan

I love winter,the only real problem I have with winter is that when night time comes one tends to "lus for something lekker".After having supper last-night my eldest daughter Sukaynah asked what we would prefer flapjacks or fairy cakes (cupcakes).After a vote of five against two it was decided on cupcakes with chocolate icing.How is one ever suppose to lose weight and being a sweet tooth myself abstinence is a great battle!This recipe i found in the Boeka Treats but i have changed the sugar to castor sugar,but you may use sugar instead.Here goes the cupcake recipe which even a twelve year old can make , all by herself without any supervision and it tastes good too.

Ingredients:
1 cup castor sugar
4 large eggs
vanilla essence
1\2 cup milk or orange juice
1 cup oil
3 cups self raising flour
2 tsp baking powder

Method:
Beat ,sugar,essence together till sugar is dissolved add oil and beat till light and fluffy.Sift flour,pinch of salt and baking powder, mix through and now you may add milk or orange juice,beat well.Bake at 180 c for 15 minutes.
You may decorate this with fresh cream and caramel in the middle and dust with icing sugar on top.Or cover with chocolate icing (or any icing of your choice) and hundreds of thousands sprinkled on top.

After returning home from a thought provoking lecture(presented by my husband),I was now ready to relax with my mug of rooibos tea and a yummy sweet fairy cake.Enjoy !
Rushaan

fast food!

Woke up with only one thing on my mind ......what do I cook today?Went straight to the bootom cupboard,opened the thick file, once again pieces of paper falling out!What,what,what today.....ah its pouring outside and defnitelly must be food with rice.Here it is Auntie Faiza Booley's mince breyani recipe ,great,quick and easy hence fast food!Checking through the cupboard I realized I ran out of lentils,no problemo I'Ll simply improvise here and there and it turned out to be what we would term in afrikaans 'mengel moes". I got this recipe way before I got married about twenty years ago.Auntie Faiza and I taught madrassa together at Masjidul Munowarah,I remember telling her that I want to cook something for my mom and dad on sunday (yes ,the days when we actually had an option to cook!).She had just cooked this meal the very day and wrote it down for me,so yes I still have the same paper with the recipe in her handwriting!Here goes my mengel moes or mince breyani.....

Ingredients;
1Kg mince
4 onions
fresh garlic and ginger
Stick cinnamon
Star aniseed
cloves
all spice
3 cups of mixed veggies (frozen) this I used instead of lentils.
4 cups of rice (basmati or Jasmine)
Spices:
1 heaped teaspoon Leaf masala(spice mecca0
1 heaped teaspoon Gharum masala
1 heaped teaspoon Pakco roasted masala
1 heaped teaspoon Mother inlaw masala (spice mecca)
1 Heaped teaspoon Jeera
2 teaspoon crushed chillie
1 teaspoon turmeric
Danya
Fresh lemons
3 teaspoon tomatoe paste
7 potatoes (medium)
Method:(Very simple)

Parboil your rice with salt ,1 tsp turmeric few drops of oil(you may use olive for healthier alternative!) drain excess water and place in strainer.Set aside and now braise onions with oil/butter add fresh garlic and ginger as well as allspice,stick cinnamon,star aniseed and cloves mmm already smells great.When completely brown(careful not burnt, add sum water all the time but not too much!)At this point add the above spices , tomato paste it may vary according to your taste,mix it through and add little water let it cook for about 5 min before adding your mince.Let the mince simmer for about 20 minutes then you add your frozen mixed veggies,not too much water ok.Just before adding your cooked rice you can add chopped danya fresh or frozen can both work.Cook on high for about ten minutes and then let it simmer on very low.In a pot heat sum oil and fry potatoes (cut in wedges) till its almost done.When potatoes are done you place it on top of the rice and after about 15 minutes you may mix it through and it is now ready to be dished, from the bottom up and its definitely ready to eat,great for a cold day.This is great with fresh lemon squeezed on top before eating but my kids favourite mayonnaise and hubbies lemon atchar!

This is a realy fast food if you find that your huband has invited guests and its already after five!Always be prepared for the unexepected!happy cooking.
Rushaan

Family feast!

Today was my dad inlaws birthday (74 yrs)mashallah a generous man with lots of wisdom, seven kids and nearly 40 grandchildren, twelve and a few more gran kids on the way !Obviously with such a big crowd of family members it was decided to make 4 potjies, two chicken akni and two vegetable potjies.There is no credit for me today, except that i mixed the spices for the veggie potjie that my hubby was cooking.To say the least his veggie potjie was mouth watering,in the words of his neice "this is the best food i have ever tasted,no really",so without much exageration it was delicious!So here goes the recipe for you guys who wants to try a healthy vegetable potjie

Dish: Vegitable Potjiekos (Malay style)

Ingredients:
Onions
Fresh garlic and ginger
allspice
cloves
lamb pieces (you may use beef shin if you prefer)
butternut
cauliflower
green beans
beetroot
pumkin
baby potatoes
corn(mielies)
You may use any vegetables of your choice.Variety is the spice of life!
Spices:
potjie kos spice (spice mecca)
gharum masala
jeera
leaf masala
salt
Heat butter/oil in your potjie ,when the oil sizzles add onions with your fresh garlic and ginger.Add allspice an cloves.When onions are braised well add sum water as not to burn onions,but keep fire going well.Once onions are transparent add your meat adding sum water (careful not too much!),once sizzling add the spices to the meat and let it cook through until meat half done.Now you may add your veggies,place your potatoes on top of the meat ,layer with the rest of the veggies adding sum water to pot.Everything should simmer through and once meat is done the potjie is ready to be served,either with white rice,bread or rolls.Personally I love the soft white rice mmm yummy yummy!
As you know no party is complete without cakes and dessert.What a variety of chocolate mousse cake,snowballs,chocolate muffins,fairy cakes,marble cake(auntie Saabie Siers recipe which i made!)and my personal favourite apple crumble with fresh cream (baked to perfection by my sister inlaw Shanaaz Philander).What a feast !Great how good food brings family together what lovelly day we had and how blessed we are algamdulilaah.Hope Shanaaz keeps the apple crumble ready for friday evening insha Allah.

New beginnings

ok so Iam not a writer defnitely not jamie oliver or our local lady Shanaaz Parker,but iam a great cook to my family and my huband being my worst critic is also my inspiration to cook to perfection (according to my standards anyway).So what led to this blog was the search for Auntie Saabie's marble cake recipe,searching through the hundreds of recipes in the bottom draw ,looking in between files I finally got it!Sat next to my husband in the kitchen going through the recipe making sure i have all the ingredients in th cupboard,i tell my beloved of all the recipes I have of so many of my friends,neighbours,family and acquintances ,this leads to an idea to try all these recipes atleast one per day.Thats it ,i will try and test it and post it to.Wish me luck and enjoy!