Homemade Curry Ketchup

Im a big fan of lists. Grocery lists. To-do lists. Not to-do lists. To-read lists. Covet lists. I-totally-want-to-drink-that lists. Im-jealous-of-your-hair lists. Wake-up-early-and-change-the-world lists. Sweep-the-dang-kitchen-floor lists.

My favorite, and most recent list is the Summer Bucket List: a dreamy list of things I want to do while the sun (and I) stay up late. Do you have one of these lists? ooh I hope so! Tracy and I have talked about our Summer Bucket List on the Joy the Baker Podcast (are you hip to that yet!?). Heres a peek at the Bucket List happenings:

- Go on and Get Crafty!

- Walk around New York City like I know whats up! Sometimes this is hard for a California girl but Im totally doing it riiiight now!

- Its time for a public dance spectacle. Oooh ya. Its real. As soon as I learn some moves Im doing this!

- Eat too many hotdogs, in a pool, wearing floaties, during sunset. Sounds like the weirdest, most romantic eating contest ever. Awesome.

- Beach bonfire. With a trampoline. Does this only happen in The Big Lebowski?

Also on my list: Make Homemade Ketchup! Its happening!

Yes you can totally buy ketchup at the grocery in a squeeze bottle. Pffft. Its so satisfying to make and majorly easy to customize. Buck-it! Its summer!

Ketchup starts with onion, garlic, and spices.

Did you know that ketchup has so many spices in it? Heck yes! A good base to start with is clove, allspice, mustard powder, and smokey paprika.

As a kick in the pants, I added a big bit of yellow curry powder!

Other ketchup heavy-hitters are: crushed canned tomatoes, vinegar, brown sugar, and tomato paste. It just needs a good boiling. About an hour of slow boiling turns this mixture into a luscious ketchup creation.

I like to blend the ketchup with an immersion blender and strain it through a fine mesh strainer.

No seeds and super smooth!

Just look at this! This is inappropriately exciting.

The presence of ketchup really just means one thing: FRENCH FRIES!!! You best believe Im showing you how to make these little fried potato gems on Friday. Get your ketchup going in preparation. Its totally a weeknight activity.

The curry in this ketchup lends a subtle yet really enticing flavor to the mixture. Its sweet and round, has just the right amount of acid, and the combination of clove, mustard, paprika, and curry r! eally ju st knows how to work. I love that I can boil this in my kitchen. It feels like magic.

I hope youre inspired to make this! We have fries in our future!

Homemade Curry Ketchup

makes about 3 cups

recipe adapted from Whats Gaby Cooking and Saveur

Print this Recipe!

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground yellow curry

1 teaspoon ground mustard

1/2 teaspoon smokey paprika

big pinch ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with juice

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Place oil in a medium saucepan, over medium heat. I used a 3 quart sauce pan and it seemed like the perfect fit. Saute onions until they are transparent, tender, and begin to brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute more. Add the tomato paste, salt, and all of the spices to the pan. Stir until the tomato paste is evenly distributed, and the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute. Add brown sugar, vinegar, and crushed tomatoes. Stir to combine.

Let mixture simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes. Mixture will thicken to a ketchup consistency. Stir occasionally.

Remove pan from heat, and use an immersion blender to blend to the chunky ketchup smooth. If you dont have an immersion blender, you can carefully place the warm ketchup in a regular blender to blend smooth. Just be sure to leave the blender lid slightly ajar so the warm contents dont burst. After using either an immersion or regular blender, strain ketchup through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. This will remove any unwanted seeds.!

T aste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Store ketchup in glass jars in the fridge. Ketchup will last for up to 1 month in the fridge!

PappaRich @ Chadstone Shopping Centre, Melbourne

Guess what? PappaRich has landed on Melbourne shores.

For those unfamiliar, PappaRich is all over Malaysia, a place where people hang out and have a quick bite in an air conditioned environment. The concept is pretty simple, they charge more than a hawker stall but less than a western cafe would for a meal and drink. They are everywhere, in suburbs and shopping centres and they open till late. It is one of those places where you can order a variety of Malay, Chinese and Indian under one roof at any time of the day. To me, PappaRich is a bit of a jack of all trades and master of none kind of an eatery.

So when they opened up in Melbourne, I wasn't really keen to join the massive queues until one day the Wife said we had to try. The craving for Malaysian food had obviously got to her.

We took a number, waited 20 minutes and sat down to a familiar looking menu, a menu that actually got me drooling. The drooling continues when you see roti being made fresh on the spot as well.

While latte may be my norm drink on a regular weekend, I can't go past a "cham" if I see one on the menu. A concoction of coffee, tea and condensed milk, this was good or simply a Malaysian who has been deprived of his Malaysian drinks.

If you have to order one item on the menu, it has to be their roti canai, make it the roti telur bawang (or the roti with egg and onions). Freshly made and cooked on order, this was very close to what you can get in Malaysia. Although for Malaysians who convert everything to local currency, you won't be happy to know that a plate of this will set you back $6.50 or a tad under RM20.

If you have gotten over paying RM20 for a roti telur bawang, my tip for you is to avoid paying over RM30+ for the nasi briyani with fried chicken. The chicken was pre-cooked which meant it didn't come out hot and crispy. The rice was just well rice and the sides of brinjal and prawns didn't do it for me.

The positive is the Ipoh Kuey Teow soup. It's good to know that you can get decent quality rice noodles in this part of town. Paired with chicken and prawn broth, it makes for a nice hot meal especially in the freezing winter we have been experiencing.


Overall, a good job. Now fingers crossed, if the quality remains as it is, I am sure I will fork out the occasional 6 bucks for a roti telur bawang when the craving hits.


Address and contact details:

Verdict: 3.5 stars out of 5 stars. It's funny how I wouldn't really pop into a PappaRich in Malaysia but after the roti telur, I am willing to go back again and pay heaps more compared to the prices in Malaysia!

Buffet Ramadhan 2012 CINNAMON COFFEE HOUSE, ONE WORLD HOTEL

** For more Ramadhan reviews click HERE > Ramadhan Buffets Wheres your favourite?

I visit Cinnamon Coffee House quite regularly. The proximity of it to my office and home plays a part and so does dealing with the wonderful people from One World Hotel.

Over time and many visits I realized that while the variety improved; some stations remained a hit and miss. The spread however, offers good value for money and One Worlds Cinnamon Coffee House has always been renowned for the fantastic and diversified selection.

Heres a video I did last year for their Ramadhan buffet.

This year I was there last week for a preview, thus the spread wasnt as extensive as the actual Ramadhan buffet. I have included the menu here so you have an idea of what to look out for!
Ensuring variety not only in terms of quantity, Cinnamon Cafes Ramadhan buffet spread for 2012 has a total of 8 rotating menus but Im only including ONE here. For your convenience, you can download the full 8 menus HERE.

MAIN COURSE

Steam white rice

Nasi bercendawan bistari

Ayam pesmol

Daging masak lada hitam

Udang rendang berkerisik

Ikan sembilang masak lemak tempoyak cili padi

Ketam masak padang

Pajeri terung dara

Masak lemak telur itik terung telunjuk

Wok-fried vegetable with garlic

Wok fried egg plant with dried shrimp in mamite sauce

JENIS JENIS IKAN PERKASAM

IKAN SEPAT, ikan tilapia

INDIA SECTION(NASI KANDAR)

BERIANI Claypot

Dhall masala

Chicken Varuval

Meon moiled

Aloo Ghobi

ASSORTED chutney

Tandoori

Murgh malai tikka

Chicken tikka

Fish tikka

Seekh kebab

GORENG-GORENG BEREMPAH

Chicken,fish,crab,squid

CHINESE CORNER

Nasi ayam calpot

CARVING STALL

Roast New-Zealand whole lamb with western style and sauces

(Mint sauces, black pepper sauces, vegetable)

SPECIALITIES DISHES

Nasi kerabu belauk

Nasi dagang Kelantan with condiment

Ayam tangkap Malaysian style

Lemang, ketupat pal! as, ketu pat nasi, pulut kuning

Serunding ayam, serunding daging, rendang ayam

Roti jala & Chicken curry

DEEP-FRIED ITEM

Pisang goreng, cempedak goreng, sukun goreng

LIVE COOKING

Karipap goreng & popiah sambal

Apam balik

Puyuh goreng berempah dan chicken wing

Keow Teow goreng

Mee mamak goreng

Nasi goreng sea food thai

Jagung bakar istimewa

So as you can see from the above, the spread is separated into sections of :

MAIN COURSE
JENIS JENIS IKAN PERKASAM
INDIA SECTION(NASI KANDAR)
GORENG-GORENG BEREMPAH
CHINESE CORNER
CARVING STALL
SPECIALITIES DISHES
DEEP-FRIED ITEM
LIVE COOKING

That however, doesnt include the INTERNATIONAL and usual buffet spread as yet which is as below:

DO YOUR OWN SALAD BAR

ROJAK BUAH-BUAHAN WITH TRADITIONAL CONDIMENTS

CAESAR SALAD WITH CONDIMENT

SAVORIES AND PICKLES

Aneka Keropok, Aneka papadom, tempeh ikan bilis berlada, telur masin, paru goreng,

hati goreng kicap, ikan masin talang, acar jelatah, acar buah, acar rampai, ikan masin sepat,

jeruk kedondong, jeruk anggur, jeruk betik, jeruk kelubi, jeruk cermai, jeruk mangga muda,

jeruk pala, lemang, ketupat palas, nasi himpit, serunding ayam, serunding daging

.MALAYSIAN SAMBALS

Sambal tempoyak, sambal budu, sambal belacan, sambal cincaluk, sambal hijau, sambal cili manis,

sambal mangga pedas, sambal kicap pedas, sambal kacang, sambal asam jawa

HOMEMADE FUSION BREAD COUNTER

Assorted bread laoves & roll, pandan croquant bread, serunding bread, massala rolls, spices zoft roll,

grissini stick & lavash

INTERNATIONAL APPETIZERS

Penne pasta with Cajun chicken

Mexican salad with prawn

Herbed Potato Salad

Ulam-ulaman serantau, petai, jering, kacang botol, timun, tomato, DaunCeylon, pegaga, ulam raja

4 types Chinese salad

GARDEN OF VEGETABLES AND MIX LETTUCE

Mesclun mix, tomato cherry, sweet bean, broccoli, artichoke, asparagus and cucumber

SELECTION OF DRESSING

Thousand I! sland, F rench dressing, Italian vinaigrette & Orange Yoghurt

DEEP BLUE SEAFOOD ON ICE WITH CONDIMENTS

Oyster, green mussel, tiger prawn, crab and lemon wedges, cocktail sauce

f

ANIKA KERABU STATION

Ikan masin goring berlada

Kerabu kacang panjang

Acar buah

Urap daun puvuk ubi

Tauhu sambal

Kerabu timun berkelapa

BURGER CORNER

Chicken, beef and lamb with condiment

SOUP STATION

Soup kambing berempah keledek

Soup tulang rawan

Indian Soup

Roasted tomato soup with basil

BUBUR LAMBUK ONE WORLD

With varieties of condiment

CARVING OF THE DAY WITH CONDIMENT AND SAUCE

Whole roast lamb with roasted vegetables and briyani rice and sauce condiments

- mint sauce, black pepper sauce, air masam, dalcha and vegetable-

The lamb is hugely popular as you can see!

MALAYSIAN WOOD FIRE PIZZA

Seafood percik pizza, beef rendang pizza, chicken satay pizza, masala veggie & seafood pizza

PASTA STATION

Freshly knead pasta cook with cream & spinach topped with grilled prawn

DIM SUM SECTION

Assorted pau with chili & sweet sauce, putu piring, putu mayam, kacang rebus

MALAYSIAN HAWKERS FARE

NOODLE SOUP OF THE DAY

Baksom noodle soup

Laksam Kelantan with condiment

HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE

Wi! th steam ed or roasted farm chicken

YOUNG TAU FOO CONER

Blanched and dip with your choice chili, sweet or peanut sauce

POPIAH BASAH CORNER

Prepare live with condiment

ANEKA PANGGANG SERANTAU

Charcoal grilled chicken wing, beef, lamb, squid, mini steak, green mussel, crab, otak-otak, lamb chop, terubuk, cencaru, tenggiri, kembong, selar, pari with kicap manis, cincaluk, air asam tomoto, cili manis, rice cake, cucumber, onion, pineapple & peanut sauce

MIDDLE EAST SPECIALITIES

Shawarma

ORDER YOUR FAVOURITE ROTI CANAI

Roti pisang, roti tissue, roti cheese, roti kosong, roti susu dan gula, roti john, roti bom

MURTABAK STATION

Chicken, lamb, beef murtabak with onion red pickle

JAPANESE APPETIZER

Japanese kim chee, anchovies aie, su! nomono, unagi su, kurage chukka, edamame, hotate chukka, wakame chukka, parikozuke, shibazuke, takuan, ama rakyo

JAPANESE TEMPURA STATION

Deep fried seafood, meat, & vegetable served with soya sauce, grated white radish &wasabi, tempura prawns, kani tempura, kisu hiraki, asparagus, long egg plant, okra, sweet potato, yam

SUSHI & SASHIMI BAR

Maguro & salmon sushi, baby octopus & unagi sashimi

Futomaki rice rolls with prawns & vegetables

Californiarolls with avocado & cucumber

Served with kikoman, wasabi, pickles radish

FRESH SLICED FRUITS STATION

Red watermelon, honeydew, yellow watermelon, papaya, pineapple, dragon fruit with asam powder

SEASONAL FRUIT OF THE DAY

Longan, rambutan, jambu air and banana mas,jambu batu,ciku,duku lansat

DESSERT SELECTION

Varieties of Ramadan kuih, black forest cake, mix fruit pound cake, mix nut pie, pandan layer, opera cake, blueberry tigeroll, chocolate moist, mile famileu, kurma cake, dodol, bahulu, kuih ros! , kuih b angkit, strawberry jelly, blueberry cream cake, suji, makmur, cakar ayam, mini popia, American cheese cake, kuih kacang, tapai pulut, tapai ubi, kuih koci, kuih jala emas, kuih ketayap, kole kacang, kuih lapis, kuih talam jagung, lepat pisang, puteri ayu

ICE CREAM BAR

Chocolate ripple, creamy vanilla, strawberry, peppermint chop chip, sweet corn, vanilla mix berries, yam, ice cream potong 4 type

CHOCOLATE FOUNTAINS

Strawberry, grapes, marshmallow, wafer biscuit, chocolate clair, profiterole, chocolate brownie, selection of dates

DESSERT STATION

One world ice kacang with condiment

Ice cream goreng, pop corn

Bubur jagung manis (m)

Dried longan with white fungus and red dates (CB)

LIVE DESERT F! ROM CHEF VERA

Wajib, assorted bahulu

AIR MANISAN STATION

Air kiwi, pink guava, air masam boy, sirapbandung, air jagung, air laychee

So remember what I said earlier about One World Hotels Ramadhan Buffet? Cinnamon Coffee House isrenowned for the fantastic and diversified selection and you can see why cant you?

Warisan Bonda Ramadhan Buffet
VENUE: Cinnamon Coffee House, One World Hotel
01 July 18 August 2012

TIME: 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm
PRICE:
01 17 July RM93++ per adult,RM47++ per child aged 4 12 years
18 July 18 August RM118++ per adult,RM59++ per child aged 4 12 years

For reservations, call 603 7681 1157.

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Browse more if you wish:

Dorsett Regency, Kuala Lumpur

MayTower Hotel & Serviced Residences, KL

The Mill, Grand Millennium Hotel, Bukit Bintang

The Lounge, GTower Hotel, KL

The Living Room, Westin KL

Cinnamon Cafe, One World Hotel

Latest Recipe, Le Meridien KL

Paya Serai PJ Hilton

These are for last year Ramadans!
Im running the Beckys 30 Days 30 Giveaways and for coming days it will be mostly Ramadan buffets for 2 pax. So do visit my pageRebeccaSawBlog FB here and stay tuned for the announcement.

Heres the round-up for 2012Ramadan Buffets.Ill include the links once I published the posts this week. Im trying to write as fast as I can!

1. Ramadhan Buffet at Melting Pot Cafe, Concorde Hotel, KL
2. Ramadhan Buffet at Soi 23, Pacific Regency, KL
3. Ramadhan Buffet at Fuzion, Sunway Spa and Resorts
4. Ramadhan Buffet at Checkers Cafe, Dorsett Regency, KL
5. Ramadhan Buffet at Flavors, Swiss Garden Hotel, Pudu KL
6. Ramadhan Buffet at Cinnamon Coffee House, One World Hotel
7. Ramadhan Buffet at Kitchen Art Brasserie, Empire Hot! el Suban g
8. Ramadhan Buffet at The Mill, Grand Millenium Hotel, KL
9. Ramadhan Buffet at JW Marriot, KL

10. theres more for sure let me eat first and Ill update!

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Leave me a comment if you have any enquiries onRamadhan Buffets this year ok?

Hanging Roast Chicken @ LYJ Restaurant, Sungai Buloh

I've been to LYJ countless times because of it's proximity to my workplace. However time and time again we have never ordered their signature Roast Chicken which is seen hanging on so many tables with diners using plastic gloves tearing the meat apart. This time round we made sure we ordered the Chicken and a bunch of other dishes we have never tried.


LYJ's Signature Roast Chicken


The Skin of the chicken is super crispy and the meat was very tender. What I'm surprised was the seasoning which drew out the natural flavor of the chicken really well.


Char Siew

This is one of LYJ's signature dishes and rivals in my opinion Overseas. Their Char Siew has a nice caramelized crust that's not too sweet. The addition of Fried Garlic gives it a depth in flavor that surprisingly makes the Char Siew more aromatic.


Minced Pork and Eggplant Noodles

My first time having Fried Yee Mee cooked this way. I loved the myriad of textures coming from the soft Eggplant, Meaty minced Pork a! nd Crisp y Noodles.


Paku-Paki

A signature of their sister restaurant Jeff Lee's the Paku here is a little sweeter than their sister restaurant.


Stir-Fried Clams with Bitter Gourd

My first time having this dish. I'm not a fan of Bitter Gourd so it was ok in terms of flavor


Salt Baked Tilapia

The Tilapia is pretty good. It was very moist and the skin had a gelatin like texture. It went well with the green chili dipping sauce.


We definitely had a lot of first time dishes today. Their Roast Chicken is definitely a must to order together with their Char Siew and Egg Plant Noodles.


Food: 4.5/5
Service: 4/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Price: $$$ (USD $10 per person)


Contact Information
Address: PT 11-12 & PT 16-17, Jalan Perkhidmatan, Kg Baru Sg Buloh, 47000 Sungai Buloh, Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel: +603-6140 2678
Map:

View Larger Map

MyBurgerLab @ Sea Park

Witness the mad science of burger-making engineered into an art form _ the men behind MyBurgerLab opened their long-awaited outlet this week, cracking the code for between-the-buns masterworks.

There's no Nobel Prize for the physics of patties, but we'd back MyBurgerLab for beefy brilliance; this precisely graded "A+ Burger" (RM15) sparks culinary chemistry with sharp cheddar, caramelized onions and shiitake and enoki mushrooms. Safety goggles and gloves not included.

Spontaneous combustion is possible in a burger like the Spicy Hawaiian chicken concoction (RM14), featuring fowl with red sauce, pineapple and mozzarella. Biologists haven't learnt if the chicken or the egg came first, but we hypothesize this chicken would come together nicely with some egg to moisten it further.

It doesn't take an Einstein to figure out that a vegetarian component completes MyBurgerLab's patty-rif! ic table of elements. Try the "Bella Luna" (RM14), which boasts an explosively juicy grilled portobella mushroom with cheddar and a secret sauce.

MyBurgerLab experimented for months to nail the formula for which buns go best with what patties, sauces and toppings; even the fries were subjected to strict scrutiny, assuring an alchemy of crisply succulent savoriness in each herb-sprinkled strip of potato.

MyBurgerLab will create more monsters in the months ahead (though we think these are more the Mona Lisas of burgers than Frankensteins), including a possible beef-banana-peanut butter-and-beef-bacon extravaganza to have customers all shook up. If cryogenics had kept Elvis alive, now would be the time to wake up The King.

Guinea pigs galore (we're guilty too!) lined up as soon as MyBurgerLab's doors were flung open (business hours are 5pm-11pm for now, Tuesdays through Sundays). Speaking of pigs, this is a pork-free outlet, but try not to complain; a beef burger done right beats a so-so pork one.

MyBurgerLab sold over 200 burgers in its first six hours of business; survival of the fittest will determine its long-term fate in the cutthroat cafe scene, but the bugger-all burger inventiveness here makes us hope it'll evolve from cult favorite to smashing success.

My Burger Lab @ Seapark,

14, Jalan 21/22, Seapark, Petaling Jaya.