Nasi Tumpeng

Hi... Hello... 

It's nice to be back again to this blog, after more than 2 months absence... Why? What happened? How are you? Where were you? Maybe you will ask me those questions... He he, I am really just fine, everything is okay and I am still here, in Semarang Indonesia, though not in my house...yup, last February I moved from my little home sweet home to a rent house. That's why I am so sorry I couldn't visit and update this blog. I was really busy cleaning, sorting, packing and rearranging all stuffs...so many things, I can't believe I have and keep all those things, big and small even tiny things in my house.

I remember we built that house when we were just a newlywed, only the two of us, me and my husband. A small house with only 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom seemed really fit us. But, now, ten years later, our 4 little angels are already here with us, and they all grow up soooo quick ... we feel like we are all squashed ... We need more rooms, a wider space to stretch and run around ... So, we think it is the time to renovate our home...

It is not easy to leave the house, really. So many memories there, mostly happy of course. But the thought of having a more proper home reduced the sadness a bit. 

Before we started the renovation, we had a selametan with some of the builders. Again, I served nasi tumpeng and ayam ingkung. I chose nasi tumpeng kuning as my children love nasi kuning (yellow rice). That nasi tumpeng was designed for about 12 - 15 people with fried chicken, fried noodle, kering tempe, sambal goreng kentang dan ati ayam, perkedel kentang and telur rawis.  They were all served in a big bamboo platter. The ayam ingkung was served separately, in another smaller bamboo platter. Everybody liked them so much. They were so yummy. Unfortunately, just like my previous nasi tumpeng, they were all not made by me. I asked my friend to help me because I didn't have the time of course. 

At that time we prayed together, hope Allah SWT always bless us and the renovation process will run smoothly without any difficulties. Amien...

Roti Maryam

For health reason, I try to avoid margarine recently. I prefer to use oil or butter in baking. But for this one, I break it. That one is roti maryam, my favourite flatbread that I grow up with. 

Other region called it roti canai, roti cane, or roti konde. Since I was a kid, I often bought this yummy bread at Bahyan store. I do not know exactly is it the name of the store or the owner. Everybody in Pekalongan just said Bahyan for that store. Until now, when I visit my hometown, I still come to Bahyan to buy it ... :)

I found this recipe at tabloid nova and tried to make it myself this morning. The ingredient part is so simple, but the 'how to' is a bit tricky. We need to pay attention on spreading the dough as thin as possible to form its flaky texture. Then, the dough should be really elastic. I found that the longer I let the dough rest, the more elastic it will be. So, don't be in a rush in making this bread, the longer it rest the better ... ^^

Roti Maryam
By tabloid Nova

Ingredients:

250 gr flour

1/2 tsp salt

175 gr margarine

125 ml warm water

Direction:

• Combine flour, salt and 25 gr margarine in a bowl. Add water a little at a time. Knead until the dough is smooth and pliable. (I used a hand mixer with the dough hook and added an extra 10 gr margarine to make the dough more elastic). 
• Roll the dough into a big ball. Brush with oil. Cover with plastic sheet and kitchen towel. Let sit for at least 30 minutes or so.
• Cut the dough into 10. Roll it out and place on a greased baking pan. (Because the dough seem not elastic enough after the first rest, I brush them again with oil, cover with kitchen towel and let sit for another 1 hour or so)
• Transfer one dough to a greased tabletop. Roll it out with a rolling pin until really really thin. Spread margarine evenly (15 gr according to the recipe but mine is just about half of that). Roll it up into a long rope shape. Twist and pull to make it even longer and thin. 
• Coil both side until they meet in the center and stack one on top of another.
• Repeat for all the dough. (I let them sit for another 1 hour or so).
• Heat a non stick pan on medium. Brush with margarine. 
• Take one dough, gently flatten it and fry until golden brown on both sides.

Enjoy!

Rujak Pepaya

The 8th challenge from idfb, an Indonesian foodblogger group at facebook, is rujak. It is Indonesian fruit salad with spicy sauce. I am a fan of rujak, so tasteful, a nice combination of sweet, sour and spicy. I love to eat cold rujak at the hot days, very nice and so refreshing. In fact, I am so surprise that I do not have any post about rujak in this blog because I often eat it and it is so easy and simple to make. 

Well, I'll try to post some rujak that I know then. Start with this easy rujak pepaya from  sajian sedap. The sauce is only made of chili, salt, sugar and lime water. Simple, right? If you can access young unripe mango, it is a good substitution for the fruits to be rujak mangga.

Ingredients:

200 gr papaya
150 gr pineapple
100 gr young coconut
4 tsp lime water (I used as many from 1 lime)
100 gr sugar (adjust to your liking)
400 ml water
3 bird's eye chilies (as many as you like)
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Peel the fruits. Shred the papaya and young coconut, cut the pineapple into matchstick. Combine them in a big bowl.
Grind chilies and salt. Transfer to a saucepan, pour in water and boil until fragrant. Add the sugar, cook until the sugar dissolve. Remove and let it cool slightly. Pour in the lime water. Mix well. 
Pour the sauce over the fruit. Mix well.
Enjoy cold ...

So, this is my entry for Indonesian Foodblogger challenge#8

The Rujak

Pisang Goreng Pasir

It is raining almost every day here in semarang. I can't stop thinking of something warm for the always hungry tummies on these cold days. That afternoon pisang goreng (fried banana) sounds a yummy choice, since I saw saba bananas on the basket of the veggie seller.

This time I made pisang goreng pasir. Back about 2 or 3 years ago, this kind of fried banana was so popular in Jakarta. It is a banana that is coated in thick flour batter then breadcrumbs and deep fried. The breadcrumbs gave a crunchy sandy (pasir) texture. From many recipes I found, I chose one from mba Yulyan's blog. It sounds simpler, doesn't need egg and baking powder or soda but milk powder. The result was sooo good. My daughter gave it a thumb. She asked me to fry some again the next morning for her school snack and said that they were still crunchy and crispy at recess time... Bravo!

Ingredients:

Saba bananas, medium ripe

For batter:

200 gr flour

2 tbs milk powder

2 tbs caster sugar

1/4 tsp salt

200 ml water

Enough breadcrumbs for coating

Oil for deep frying (I used coconut oil)

Methods:

Peel banana, put it between 2 plastic sheets, flatten it using a cutting board 

(I thinly slice lengthwise the banana and open it like a fan). Set aside.

In a bowl, mix well all ingredients for the batter until smooth and thick.

Place breadcrumbs on a plate. Set next to the batter.

Heat oil on a wok. Dip a banana in the batter, then coat with breadcrumbs.

Fry until golden brown.

Remove from the heat and drain on a paper towel. 

Enjoy  warm.

Source: Cooking with Love

After taking photos and gobbled up most of the bananas and coffee, thought in my mind to practice low-key lighting photo using the rest of them. Here they are. What do you think? 

Tahu Telur

I made this for our breakfast on the first day after I got home from our new year holiday. I saw the recipe for this tahu telur at mba Wulan's blog. She said that this yummy dish comes from East Java.

Tahu telur is a kind of omelet-style dish that contain cubed fried tofu (tahu) with bean sprout and peanut-petis sauce. I used some leftover fried tofu. Some people like to fried the tofu medium cooked but some directly put it in the batter without frying. To adjust to my Javanese tongue, I added a little palm sugar to the sauce. We can eat it with warm rice or on its own. Yum...