New Youtube Video

It's been 13 years since I learn Farsi for the first time. I still remember vividly my boyfriend that time told me that I have to learn Farsi so I can converse with his mom. Understanding Farsi makes me easier to learn Persian culture and most importantly makes the gap between me and my husband smaller. There are people who told me that it's not fair for me because my husband didn't do the same (learning Malay). But it's not an issue for me. If he learns of course I'll be happy, but if not it doesn't matter. 

Anyway...my point of writing here today is to share my new video speaking Farsi. After some years I decided to upload a new video. This time I made a video of making pickled vegetables - Persian style. I have a passion for cooking..like I love to share recipes of the foods I made. In my Instagram (aroose_malayi), I share the foods that I cooked and lately I share recipes because some followers asked me to do so. Then I said why don't I record and share it on my Youtube channel. So here you go, my first cooking video. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVCL1QTNRlI&t=5s

Ta daafeye baad...khoda hafez...

Stir Fried Pucuk Midin with Oyster Sauce

Ingredients:

~ 1bunch RM1 pucuk midin from Satok

~ 1 small onion, sliced

~ 4 garlic, shopped

~ 1 small red chilli

~ 1 tbsp oyster sauce

~ 1 tsp msg

~ salt to taste

~ Water

~ Oil

Methods:

1. Heat some oil, fry onion, garlic and chili until fragrant.

2. Add oyster sauce and msg, add in pucuk midin. Add some water if its too dry.

3. Fry until the vege cooked it must be crunchy not overcooked, taste with salt. 

Befarmaeed Sham: Nasi Goreng Ayam Kunyit

Nasi goreng ayam kunyit is one of bff's favorite Malay foods. From our first visit to malay restaurant 6 years back until now, this is the ultimate menu that he will order without fail. Even we order side dish like tomyam or bbq chicken or anything that best to eat with plain rice, he still wants nasi goreng ayam kunyit. Sometimes he eat two plates. I dont know is it very delicious? Coz I dont really like it coz I see there is no special with that. Simple nasi goreng with fried chicken pieces. B.O.R.I.N.G.

Nevertheless, I have to try to cook nasi goreng ayam kunyit. When I go to Iran later, where the heck  to find it in restaurant if bff's craving it? So the last time he was here, I got the chance to show my skills and he certified it. :)) 

Nasi goreng cina. For recipe. 

Stir fried kangkong. For recipe. 

Ingredients:

~ Chicken breasts. cut into cubes. marinate with some turmeric powder and salt.

~ 4 garlic cloves, minced

~ 1 onion, cut into rings

~ Carrot slices

~ Green beans cut 1 inch long

~ Chicken powder 1 tspn

~ Salt

~ Cooking oil

Methods:

1. Deep fry the chicken until tender. About 10-15 minutes coz I dont like it to be too crispy. Set aside.

2. In another pan, heat some oil. Saute garlic until golden.

3. Add the veges, chicken, chicken powder and salt.

4. When everything well blended and the vege a little bit cooked, turn off heat and serve.

5. Mind that you need to use high heat and cook it fast.

I served with nasi goreng cina and kangkung goreng.

:) thats all. recipe from kad banoo azreen ;P 

oh azizam cheghard miss kardam ghaza bepazam baratoon

Fried onion - Piaz Daagh

Piaz daagh, direct translation will be "hot onion" is very important in Persian cuisine. Even in Malay we also used piaz daagh many times to garnish our foods. For example in soto, mee sup, chicken soup or any kind of soup. In Persian foods, they used piaz daagh as a garnish in aash reshteh, maash polow, adas polow or any dishes as you wish to. 

Making piaz daagh for me is not an easy task. First you have to "cry while slicing the onion. Then, your house will smell onion the whole day. You need a bottle of febreez to get rid the smell :) It also need good techniques to get crispy golden piaz daagh.

So my trick to overcome these problems are:

1. Make a big amount of piaz daagh in one time so that you no need to challenge yourself very often. Keep in refrigerator to use when needed.

2. Buy chewing gums and eat it while slicing onion. Or bite a tooth pick to hinder sore eyes. Both thee methods work for me!

3. Open all windows and turn on your cooker hood to have good air circulation so that the smell does not stay in house.

4. Patience.

Ingredients:

Lots of onion and some garlics. 

Methods:

Make sure you slice the onion very finely. Heat oil. Make sure the oil is hot enough when you wanted to put in the onion or else your piaz daagh will not be crispy. Medium heat not high heat or else piaz daagh will burnt. Deep fry with lots of oil. Stir continuously. Once the color turn to yellow, beware because it will burn easily afterwards.

Fry onion and garlic separately. Place on kitchen towel to absorb the extra oil. Done!

 Movafagh bashid!!

Mirza Ghasemi

Mirza ghasemi. Sounds like a human's name right? I know a malay boy's name Mirza, while Ghasemi is a Persian family name. Hehe. But i havent know anybody with name mirza ghasemi yet. He/she might be delicious. :p 

Back to the dish, this is one if the pish ghaza (appetizer or side dish) that i really like. Previously i always ordered mirza ghasemi from a persian restaurant nearby, but unfortunately the taste of mirza ghasemi there is not as tasty as before. I also ate mirza ghasemi at naab restaurant at kl but the way they served it was different as they did not mix egg in the mixture but top it with fried egg. For me, i prefer the one that mix everything together. So yummy, with lots of garlics. Make sure if you make it at home, open your windows to let the air circulate well. If not, you'll smell like a garlic the whole day. :)

Lets check out the recipe!

Ingredients: 

2 medium eggplant, grilled, peel skin and chopped

7 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped

1 tspn tomato paste

1 large egg, slightly beaten

1 tspn turmeric

Salt and pepper

Cooking oil

Methods:

1. Heat some oil, fry garlic, add some turmeric, add chopped eggplant, cook for 5 minutes.

2. Add chopped tomatoes and tomato paste

3. Cook and stir continuously for 10 minutes

4. Pour the egg, sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste, stir gradually

5. Cook for another 5 minutes, done.

6. Serve with noon lavash

Khoreshte Bamieh - Okra/Lady Fingers Stew

Okra is one of my favourite vegetables. Unfortunately it is not for bff. After almost 5 years, the last time we went to PG cafe, I ordered khoreshte bamieh (because was on lunch offer)and tasted it for the first time. As a fan of okra, of course I love the khoresht. Normally I dont like khoresht at restaurant because they used too much limoo amani which make it tastes too sour. But then, at PG cafe, the khoresht is so khosmazas that I came for another visit for that.

Khoreshte Bamieh dar PG Cafe - Forget my diet every time I eat here :)

After 2 months, I am craving for it again but bff is not here to accompany me to the restaurant. I just dont like to go to any Iranian restaurant alone. Therefore, I tried to make the khoresht by myself.

Ingredients:

~ Stew meet

~ 1 large onion, diced

~ 5 garlic cloves, finely diced

~ 2 tbsp tomato paste

~ 1 ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced

~ Okra

~ Juice of 1 lime

~ 1 tsp turmeric powder

~ Water

~ Salt and pepper

~ Oil

Methods:

1. Heat some oil and fry onion with garlic until translucent. Sprinkle turmeric and pepper. 

2. Add in meat. Fry until both sides brown. Add in the tomato paste and diced tomato.

3. Pour water, let it boil and simmer for about 30 minutes.

4. In a pan, heat some oil and fry the okra for about 5 minutes until wilted.

5. Add the okra into the stew and simmer for another 30 minutes, until both meat and okra soft. I likethe okra to be super soft which falls apart, just like at the restaurant.

6. 10 minutes before finish, add in lime juice and taste with salt. 

Serve with Persian rice and some pickles. Yummy...

Stir fried pucuk paku

Among many kampung vege, i love pucuk paku most. Pucuk paku usually can be find near ditch or river. It has crunchy texture and i bet once you have it, you will ask for more. This vege only can be find at kampung. You wont find it at hypermarket and hardly at city market. Pucuk paku will healthyly grown during rain season like now. Yesterday my neighbour gave a bunch of it, so i cooked it for today's lunch.

Ingredients:
- A bunch of pucuk paku, extract from its stalk and wash clean
- 1 large onion*
- 3 garlic cloves*
- 5 chillies bird eye
- a handful of dried anchovies
- salt, sugar, msg to taste
- oil
*pound with mortar and pestle

Methods:
1. In a wok, heat some oil and fry the pounded ingredients.
2. Add in the pucuk paku, season with salt sugar and msg.
3. When the pucuk paku wilted, turn off heat. You dont want the crunchiness gone.

Easy right...

Lontong Semarang

Lontong is one of the dishes normally served during hari raya. It is time consuming to prepare this meal because there are several side dishes to be prepared too..but i found this recipe from kak jee's blog which is very easy and it is a one complete meal dish. I cooked this last weekend to finish up my nasi impit stock.

Ingredients:
- 2 medium onions*
- 4 garlic cloves*
- 2 inch fresh turmeric*
- 2 inch shrimp paste*
- 4 candlenuts*
- 2 lemon grass
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 2 thai chillies*
- 2 red chillies, sliced thinly
- water
- oil
- eggplant, halved and cut about 2 inch
- cabbage, roughly tear
- petola (dont know what it is in english) halved and cut about 2 inch
- pucuk melinjau (same goes with this) roughly tear
- 200g daging tetel (same goes with this)

*Grind

Methods:

1. Boil daging tetel until tender for about 1 and half hour.

2. In other pot, saute grounded ingredients and lemon grass until aroma rise.

3. Add in daging tetel along with its water.

4. When everything mix well, after about 5 minutes, add in the eggplant and petola.

5. Follow by other veges.

6. Pour in coconut milk. Let it boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.

7. Taste with salt, msg and sugar. Sprinkle the red chillies. Done

Serve with nasi impit (pressed rice cubes). This time my mom requested kuah kacang (red sauce at bottom) to accompany the lontong. 

Stir Fried Water Spinach with Shrimp Paste

Ingredients:
- Water spinach, cut into 1 inch long
- 1 medium onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/2 inch shrimp paste
- 1 tspn soy sauce
- salt to taste
- oil

Methods:
1. Pound onion, garlic and shrimp paste
2. Saute the pounded paste, when the aroma arise add in water spinach. Add in a little water if the bottom stick.
3. Taste with salt and dash of soy sauce

Tips for stir frying: Use high heat and cook fast to keep the freshness of vege. Dont pour too much water becoz vege will turn out mushy.

Khoresht Loobia Sabz (Green Bean with Meat Stew)

Ingredients:
500g meat - cut into 2cm cubes
green beans - remove ends and cut into 3cm pieces
1 large onion - small dice
4 garlic cloves - small dice
3 ripe tomatoes - boil, remove skin, dice
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp lemon juice
turmeric powder
blackpepper
salt
oil

Methods:
1. Saute onion and garlic, when translucent add turmeric powder.
2. Put in meat with some pepper. When meat has brown all sides, pour water covering the meat. Add tomatoes and tomato paste, mix well, cover and simmer in medium heat for one hour.
3. In other pan, saute green beans with some oil for about 3 minutes.
4. After an hour, mix the sauted green beans into the khoresht with lemon juice and salt. Simmer another one hour or until the meat is tender.
5. Serve with saffron rice.

Fried Oyster Mushroom (Gharch Sorkh Karde)

Ingredients:
~ Oyster Mushrooms
~ 1 cup of plain flour
~ 1/2 cup of rice flour
~ 1 tsp chicken  powder
~ Salt & pepper
~ Egg, beat

Methods:
~ Mix flour, rice flour, chicken powder, salt & pepper
~ One by one, dip mushroom into egg mixture and then to the flour
~ Deep fry until golden
~ Done! Crispy fried mushrooms!