Homemade Yogurt 【自制优格】

My son A is a yogurt lover, when I used to buy store-bought organic yogurt, he can downed 4 squeezers in no time. I also used a lot of yogurt in cooking and as condiments in Indian foods. I started feeling it when I have to bring 2-3 boxes of yogurt every trip to grocery stores, it could add up to quite a bit especially we only consume organic ones.

It is also very hard to find full cream/whole yogurt, most store-bought yogurt, even the organic ones are mostly low fat, which we have been trying to avoid for a long time now.

I started making yogurt at home few months back since I have a steamer that comes with yogurt function. Making yogurt at home is pretty easy, you don't really have to invest in a yogurt maker or steamer, there are many incubators you can try on, such as a thermos, crockpot, covered container, a microwave, heating pad.

It also takes literally only 5 minutes to make the yogurt as long as your tools are sanitized and cleaned beforehand, I normally make mine before going to bed and let it incubate overnight.

Try making it at home if you are not already did, it is worth the while and tasting so much better!

俊宝很爱吃优格/酸奶，每次给他买水果口味的优格他一次就可以吃四只squeezer。我平时做菜优格也用得很多, 宝宝出生后一直都买的是有机优格，价格比较贵。后来我买了个带有优格制作功能的蒸笼，就开始在家里自制优格，后来一直都没有再买过市售的优格。

优格制作方法很简单也不费时，只要器具干净，菌种新鲜，几乎从来不会失败。大家可以试试看哦！

Tau Yu Bak 【豆油肉】

I gotta insist that one pronounce the name of this dish in Hokkian (Minnan), light soy sauce is called "Tau Yu" and meat in Hokkian is called "Bak" thus the name of this dish, Tau Yu bak means meat braised in light soy sauce! It is a very typical Hokkian/Minnan dish and the recipe is often heritage and passed down from mother to daughter, so you can now guess where I got mine from!

The preparation is a little similar to its close cousin  "Hong Shao Rou/红烧肉", but Tau Yu Bak has thinner gravy and is almost always prepared with fried tofu cutlets and hard boiled eggs.

My dad's favourite way to enjoy this dish is to drizzle the gravy over steamed rice and mixed before digging in. I did the same for my son A and he had a big bowl of it!

这款炖肉要用闽南语来说，酱油闽南语里叫“豆油”，Tau Yu Bak (豆油肉）就是酱油肉的意思。有点类似卤肉，但没有卤肉那么浓郁，汤汁也更稀一些。我爸很喜欢用豆油肉的汤汁拌饭吃，前两天我也这么拌了给俊宝吃，他很喜欢哦！

Bhatura（Deep-fried leavened bread）【印度发面油饼】

I made puri not long ago and many of my friends (especially Chinese) told me that it looks like a kind of fried bread in XinJiang, China.

I wouldn't be surprised as Batura might as well be one of the type of food in India, which trace its origin way back to the Arabian/muslim influence!

I personally think Batura actually looks more like the deep fried bread they refer to in China!

Whoever interested can check out my previous post on : Chole Masala & Poori Bhaji。

我上次做过一个油炸的Puri,很多朋友说很像是新疆的油饼，其实我个人觉得Bhatura更像。

Bhatura体积比Puri要大一两倍左右，因为是发面油饼，所以更加的外脆内嫩，口感和味道都跟Puri不太一样，还有另外一点就是Puri是用全麦粉做，的而Bhatura是白面做的。

Methi Thepla (Methi Paratha)【葫芦巴叶饼】

Thepla is a type of Gujarathi flat bread, this type we have today is made with fresh fenugreek leaves, whole wheat and chickpea flours along with some spices. It is full of flavors and tastes best with just yoghurt and pickle.  

今天做的葫芦巴香饼是我最喜欢的面饼之一，不仅是因为饼有股吸引人的奇香。也因为葫芦巴拥有很高的药用价值，是真正的健康食品。这款面饼可以用新鲜的葫芦巴叶，也可以用干葫芦巴叶。干的葫芦巴叶有股奇香，一打开包装那个香气慢慢地渗出，带点香草精的香味，又有点奶油的甜香，但吃入口却有点苦涩。那个味道和感觉要亲自尝过才会知道。

我听说中国一些地区的朋友们也会用葫芦巴叶做饼和花卷。葫芦巴叶是学名，也有别名叫香豆叶，香草等等。知道的朋友可以来对号入座一下。

葫芦巴也是中药的一种，在四川、河南、甘肃、安徽等省也有栽培，抄一段网上有关葫芦巴药效的文字和大家分享分享。

葫芦巴何时传至印度与中国已难以考证。我国现存中医药著作中最早收载葫芦巴一物的是《嘉本草》，此后历代编修的本草著作均收载有葫芦巴条目。据记载,葫芦巴入肝.肾二经，味苦，性温，无毒，补肾阳，祛寒湿，属于常用中药材之一，目前我国中医常将其作为补肾药。祛(肠)风药与健胃药使用。[在]印度与阿拉伯国家,民间医生常将葫芦巴用作强壮剂。催欲药、镇痛药、口腔清凉剂与通经药。印度一制药公司已将葫芦巴开发成为一种外用制剂,用于治疗关节痛.淋巴炎.痛风.外伤.足痛.肌肉酸痛以及痈疖痛等症。

文档来源：葫芦巴

Aloo Tikki (Potato Cutlets) 【马铃薯块】

We had a Chaat party over the weekend, our friend Iena helped boiled some potatoes for the Papdi Chaat and left me with two.

Since my husband N has been in the Chaat mood lately, I turned the potatoes into these cutlets, N enjoyed it in the afternoon with a cuppa hot Chai.

上周末我们家和几个朋友聚在一起做Chaat派对，Chaat是印度街头小点心的统称，用很多不同的脆饼，土豆，酱料混合配搭而成。

派对上用的土豆还剩下两只，我今天就拿来做了这个马铃薯块，下午就着热热的Masala chai吃，很是不错！

Three-cup chicken 【三杯鸡】

The first time I tried Three-cup chicken was made by a Taiwanese friend. It was a love at first sight！ It goes so well with steamed rice and I can't seems to have enough of it!

I planted some Thai basil this summer and made this dish a couple of times!

Original recipe posted on September 2009.

第一次吃三杯鸡是爱厨做的，真的非常好吃。后来根据她网站的食谱做过好几次，俊爹也都很喜欢。

今天把家里几棵九层塔比较大的叶子剪下来做这个三杯鸡都不怎么够，妈妈说九层塔是越摘越长的。

自家无公害九层塔做的三杯鸡，好吃下饭哦！

食谱来源 （根据自己口味做了点调整）爱厨网站 -- 

http://www.euphocafe.com/recipe/recipe.asp?rid=26

Mumbai Tawa Pulao 【孟买平底锅炒饭】

This pulao is made in the same Tawa/frying pan that the hawker prepared the world famous snack-- Pav Bhaji in Mumbai, with the same spices/masala. It has the fragrant of Pav Bhaji yet is so much more filling.

I made this for hubby's classmate gathering, it turned out so well and they finished it all!

“Tawa”在印度语里是”平底锅“的意思，所以此款炒饭全名的意思就是平底锅炒饭。它的名字来源是孟买街边小贩在制作有名的小吃“Pav Bhaji”（蔬菜和煎面包）的平底锅上用相同的香料和蔬菜加米饭炒制而成的。它即带有Pav Bhaji的香气，又比小吃更饱肚。渐渐地名气也和Pav Bhaji不相上下了。

俊爸前几天有几个大学同学从瑞士来探望我们，他约上了几个在美的老同学聚餐。我就做了这款炒饭和几道家常菜。炒饭很是受欢迎，一大锅的吃得一点都不留哦！

Samosa (Indian Fried Pastry) 【印度咖喱角】

Samosa is a stuffed pastry, a common snack in India, we have a similar version in Malaysia called "curry puff" made in different shape, but tasting as good. Nothing is more enjoyable to have some hot samosa with a cup of tea in a cold, cozy afternoon.

A few friends decided to come over and visit this weekend, I made this samosa for snack, and our friends love it very much!

Samosa也称为咖喱角，是印度和南亚地区很有名的小食。在印度定居时每逢下雨天我们都喜欢来一杯热茶，再加上两只热辣辣炸得酥脆的咖喱角，一边享用一边赏雨，非常的悠闲惬意。

今天俊爹几个大学朋友和家人约好一起来看望俊爹，我趁俊宝和俊爹午觉的时候做了这个咖喱角，等下午朋友们来了一起喝茶吃咖喱角。