Gulai Kambing Kak Timah, Kak Timah's Lamb Curry - "Malaysian Monday 92" And A Very Exciting Announcement!

My Malaysian Monday post is fashionably late this week due to work and lack of cooking at home. Well it is better late than never and this is another very special dish from my nanny Kak Timah who taught me so much about the Malay customs and cooking.

After weeks of planning, cooking and tasting, my very first menu is upon completion. And as of Monday the 15th of October I will be running the kitchen of a Nyonya restaurant in Docklands, Melbourne. I must thank tummy and my friends for their emotional support during the past weeks, and the blessing of Kak Timah for using all her recipes.

Two years ago Sharon from Test With Skewer and I started Muhibbah Malaysian Monday to better promote Malaysian cuisine through blogging, now I am doing it in a physical way, who would have thought?

This is a mild but extremely aromatic curry that is heavily influenced by the cooking of Sumatera. It will go well with roti canai, nasi lemak, nasi minyak, nasi kunyit or roti jala. Give this a try or come say hello to me at Little Nyonya @ rear of building 818 Burke Street, shop 2. All 3 hungry tummies readers and blogger friends will enjoy a 20% discount if you mention the magic words - 3 hungry tummies that is! See you then!

Announcement! - I officially left my job on the 10th of August 2013 having spent almost 10 months cooking the food that I know and love best. Unfortunately the lack of support from skilled staff and management's direction (or the lack of it)  for the restaurant have made my job untenable. 

It is all good on my end; my new job does not required me to work on nights or weekends and it is only a 10 minute bike ride from home leaving me plenty of time to cook and blog again! 

recipe from my nanny Kak Timah
serves 6 to 8 as part of a Malaysian meal
you'll need;
2 kg of diced lamb (ask for meat from the leg)
1 tbs of coriander powder
1 tbs of cumin powder
1 tbs of fennel powder
a pinch of salt
3 cloves
2 star anise
1 cinnamon cassia bark
3 bay leaves
5 tomatoes, cut into wedges

for the rempah (curry paste);
2 red onion or 20 shallots, chopped
15 cloves of garlic
5 cm knob of ginger
2 lemongrass (white part only), chopped
2 cm knob of galangal
1 heaped tbs of turmeric powder
12 candlenuts, crushed
12 dried chilies, removed seeds, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
pinch of salt

Blend spices to a fine paste and set aside.

Add coriander, cumin and fennel powder to the lamb in a large bowl, mix well and allow to stand for at least 10 minutes.

Pan fry lamb pieces in batches until well brown all over, remove and set aside.

Fry curry paste with a cup of cooking oil until oil separates, stirring constantly to prevent catching at the bottom. Add in dried spices and bay leaves and continue to cook for a minute more.

Return the lamb to the pot and mix well, fry lamb in the paste for 2 to 3 minutes. Add coconut milk and simmer for 45 minutes or until lamb is almost tender. Season with salt and sugar.

Add tomatoes and coconut cream and cook for a further 15 minutes. Check for seasonings.

Serve with one of the dishes suggested... preferably with a view such as this :)

The interior of the restaurant.

My friend Sharon will be hosting the October event, so please send all your entries to its.sharon@gmail.com

To find out more about the event and on how to enter, please click here.

Spiced Lamb Mince And Salsa Tart - A Leftover Special

I woke up to a wet and windy Sunday morning, I must have spent another hour in bed contemplating what to do next. In the end I decided to stay in and catch up with both my reading and those episodes of Downton Abbey that I had missed.

Not wanting to venture out and brace the elements, lunch must come from whatever I could find in the kitchen. Fortunately there were some spiced lamb mince and salsa left from the previous night, not quite enough for another wrap but just the right amount for this tart/pizza hybrid.

oven preheated at 220 C (conventional)
recipe per serve
you'll need;
1 piece of shop bought puff pastry, allow to thaw
2 tbs of tomato puree
about 3/4 cup of leftover spiced lamb mince
1/4 cup of tomato and cucumber salsa
4 cherry tomatoes, sliced
1 egg, lightly beaten
8 basil leaves, torn
a drizzle of olive oil

Lay puff pastry on a non stick tray, spread tomato paste over leaving a 2 cm border. Scatter spiced lamb mince and tomato slices, fold the pastry over using the border as a guide. Brush some egg wash over the exposed pastry.

Place it in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Top with some salsa and basil and drizzle with some olive oil.

Season and slice before serving.

Spiced lamb, Tomato And Cucumber Salsa Wrap

We had another wrap dinner, this time with my favourite spiced lamb mince (see spiced lamb, sultanas and pine nuts in filo pastry and spiced lamb, sultanas and pine nuts and spinach pinwheel pie). It settled my craving for both lamb and carbs on a rather chilly night.

You may change the ingredients around to suit your taste; use beef or chicken mince instead and serve it with your favourite salsa.

Apart from the other two dishes I mentioned earlier; you can also use this delicious spiced lamb mince as a sauce for pasta or noodles, base for shepherd's pie and filling for pie or empanada.

recipe from the tummies' kitchen
serves 4
you'll need;

500g of minced lamb

1/2 an onions, finely diced

1/2 an onion, slic

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tbs of cumin powder

1/2 tbs of coriander powder

1/4 tbs of cinnamon powder

1 tbs of hot paprika powder

1/2 tsp of turmeric powder

2 tbs of yoghurt

2 tbs of tomato puree

salt and pepper to taste

chopped coriander leaves

a handful of baby coz lettuce

8 to 10 shop bought flat breads 

for the salsa;

2 large tomatoes, diced

1 continental/telegraph cucumber, diced

1 spanish onion, finely diced

2 tbs of chopped coriander leaves

2 tbs of chopped mint leaves

4 tbs of olive oil

juice from half a lemon

salt and pepper to taste

for the yoghurt sauce;

3/4 of a cup of Greek yoghurt

a handful of mint leaves, finely shredded

1/2 tbs of cumin powder

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tbs of grated lemon rind

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the onion, season the lamb mince with a little salt and pepper.

Saute onion and garlic til lightly brown then add in the minced lamb and continue to cook til lamb is no longer pink.

Add spice, tomato puree and yoghurt, continue to cook for 5 minutes.

Add sliced onions and season well, turn off the heat and allow to cool down slightly when the onion is soften.

While waiting for the spiced lamb mince to cool down, prepare the salsa by combining all the ingredients in a large bowl, check for seasonings and set aside. Also prepare the yoghurt sauce.

Place a tortilla or flat bread on the workbench, place some lettuce over then top with some of the spiced lamb mince, salsa and yoghurt sauce.

They can then be rolled up and eaten as they are or lightly grill on a hot plate which is how we like it.

Serve wraps with extra salsa on the side.

Lamb Kebabs And Warm Beetroot Salad With Spiced Yoghurt Sauce

As promised a post on one of our recent meals using the colourful warm beetroot and cumin salad as a side dish - It paired wonderfully with the delicious smokey lamb kebabs, with a little spiced yoghurt sauce on the side and we are talking about a very memorable meal indeed.

This is a very good example on how one can prepare an impressive looking dish without spending too much money and time. It is colourful and very inviting, all you need are some very basic everyday ingredients.

We are expecting hot weather ahead for the coming days; if you are panning to fire up the bbq and want something a little different, this might be the answer for you. 

serves 4 as a one dish meal
you'll need;
1kg of minced lamb or beef
1 onion, finely chopped
3 tbs of chopped parsley
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tbs smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste
lemon wedges to serve
warm beetroot and cumin salad to serve

for the spiced yoghurt sauce;
300ml of Greek yoghurt
2 tbs of olive oil
1 tsp of cumin powder
juice from half a lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Place mince, onion, parsley, spices and seasonings in a large bowl and mix well. 

With wet hands form mixture into sausage shape, you should get about 16 - 18 pieces. This can be prepared beforehand, just chill until needed.

Cook kebabs on a wedge skillet or on the bbq until just cooked. They should be a little charred but still juicy and moist. Always undercook the kebabs just the little as they will continue to cook further during the resting time.

While the kebabs are on the grill prepare the yoghurt sauce by mixing everything in a bowl, check for seasonings.

Serve kebabs with warm beetroot salad, yoghurt sauce and some lemon wedges.

Grilled Marinated Lamb Cutlets With Greek Chopped Salad And Tzatziki

During N's brief stay with us he introduced many Greek ingredients to our kitchen, these days it is hard to imagine not having them in the pantry. Greek oregano is of course one of them and it is now on my list of top 5 herbs, it is also used in both the marinade and in the chopped salad here.

I also learnt to make the best tzatziki and the most delicious chopped salad from him which grace our table quite often these days. This is a typical meal when N was doing the cooking; simple, healthy and very delicious indeed!

If you are not a lamb eater, how about replacing the lamb cutlets with pork chops instead? A grilled whole snapper would go very well with the chopped salad too.

serve 2 as a one dish meal
you'll need;
1 lamb rack, sinew and excess fat removed cut into individual cutlets
3 garlic cloves, chopped
juice from half a lemon
1 tsp of Greek oregano*
a drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
tzatziki to serve
lemon wedges to serve

for the chopped salad;
1 cos lettuce, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 small red onion, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
1/2 a cup of chopped parsley or coriander
a sprinkle of Greek oregano

for the dressing;
2 tbs of apple cider vinegar
6 tbs of olive oil
1 tbs of honey
salt and pepper to taste

Pound lamb cutlets with a kitchen mallet, this helps the marinade to penetrate better especially if you only have time to marinate the meat briefly.

Marinate cutlets with garlic, lemon juice, Greek oregano and olive oil for at least an hour or overnight. Pork chops are delicious in the same marinade.

While the meat is marinating, prepare the ingredients for the chopped salad and set aside. Dress the salad just before serving. This is such a delicious salad I can just have it on its own!

Cook marinated lamb cutlets on a hot griddle, be careful not to overcook the cutlets and always rest the meat before serving.

Serve lamb cutlets with the chopped salad and tzatziki.

Lamb Burger With The Lot

Lamb burger is a favourite at the tummies'; with quite a bit of beetroot relish left from our last meal the decision was an obvious one, besides what's a good Aussie burger without some form of beetroot in it? Although the other tummy would have preferred a bunless buger but I decided that the real deal with chips on the side was more appropriate considering how cold the evening was. Dinner was served when our favourite show was just about to start, so we did the unthinkable - hunkered down in front of the tv with our plates of sinful treats!

P.S It is a glorious winter day here in Melbourne and I had just spent a wonderful morning with my very old friends and their beautiful twins. I plan to take full advantage of the beautiful weather, some good food with a few glasses of wine in the sun perhaps?  Enjoy the rest of the long weekend and I see you on Tuesday with a Malaysian Monday post.

serves 4

you'll need;

500 g of lamb mince or mince of your choice

1/2 an onion, chopped

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tsp of smoked paprika

1 tsp of cumin powder

1/4 cup of bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

a handful of mixed lettuce

2 vine ripen tomatoes, sliced

1/2 a cucumber, sliced

1/2 an onion, cut into thin rings

4 burger buns

beetroot relish to serve

tzatziki to serve

oven ready thick cut chips

tomato ketchup to serve

Prepare the vegetables.

Mix mince with beaten egg, chopped onion, spices, bread crumbs and season well.

With wet hands, divide meat mixture into 4 portions and mould into patties. 

Grill meat patties on a hot griddle or on the bbq.

Grill the buns under a hot grill, spread some butter over each bun if your heart desires.

Assemble the burgers, drizzle a generous amount of beetroot relish atop the lamb patties follow by some tzatziki. 

These oven ready chips are godsends and one simply can have chips with a good burger I think.

Our tv dinner is ready!