Dum Aloo（Roasted Potatoes in Creamy Gravy) 【腰果土豆咖喱】

I have been a little lazy lately, not working out as much as I should. It has got to do with my poor sleeping pattern. So I was really looking forward to the long weekend so that I could get some much needed rest.

As planned,this weekend was a quiet one, our dear friend A came from NYC and spent the afternoon with us on Saturday, we had fun chit chatting and went out for a good Indian dinner at a nearby restaurant. Sunday was rainy again so we decided to stay in and enjoyed a few movies at home.

N had requested potato curry sometimes ago, since I have been wanting to blog on Dum Aloo for a long time, I made this yummy dish for lunch, it is really creamy and delicious!

这道有名的克什米尔素食入口即化,浓浓的腰果香味让这道菜带有迷人的贵族气息。据说是一道从前只有皇族和贵族才能吃上的美食哦！

Spinach Pan Mee 【菠菜板面】

I planted some Amaranthus last year during the summer, but the yield was low, I did not uproot the plants and let it die on its own. Little did I know that Amaranthus is so hardy that it survived the winter and came out on its own again this year, only stronger.

It gave me palm size leaves that look amazing, though I have not planted much this year, my Amaranthus did give me a chance to enjoy home grown vegetable! I harvest some to make this Pan Mee today, which I made the dough using spinach, I liked that the red Amaranth makes the soup a little pinkish in color, beautiful and full of nutrients!

去年夏天的时候我种了一批红/绿苋菜但长得都不好，后来我就没收成，让它自生自灭了。今年播种期家里一堆事情，所以就休耕了。谁知不久前苋菜自己钻了出来，长得还特别好，叶子都成巴掌大了。 摘一盆煮一锅菠菜汁做的板面，吃得营养又满足，真是老天送我的礼物呢！

Rempeyek Kacang (Crispy Peanuts Fritters) 【炸花生饼】

I always buy this fritter as a snack from Kopitiam (Coffee shop) near my house when I was young. I remembered paying 5 cents apiece years back, I loved the taste of spices and the crunchiness of it. 

Rempeyek is normally made in round shape using a special metal mould back home. Since I do not have a mould here , I used the Javanese method to make it, which is to flow the batter by the side of hot wok and later push it down into hot oil using a turning spade to deep fry.

小时候很喜欢这款炸花生饼，是每次去咖啡店都要买的一款小点心。我还记得多年前一块炸花生饼是5分钱。不晓得现在一块多少钱呢？

炸花生饼在马来西亚一般是圆形的，用一种类似勺子的平底模子铺上米糊和花生炸酥。我手上没有模子，所以就做了印尼款的花生饼，把米糊淋在锅边定型后再铲到热油里炸酥。

Blue Chai (Blue Pea Flower Tea) 【蓝花茶】

When I made Nyonya dumplings not long ago, many friends asked me about the blue coloring I used to dye the rice. It is from blue pea flower/butterfly pea flower, it is a natural food coloring with a lot of health benefits.

According to Wikipedia:

Clitoria ternatea, common names including butterfly pea, blue pea, Aprajita, Cordofan pea and Asian pigeonwings, is a plant species belonging to the Fabaceae family.

......Names in other languages include bunga telang (Malay), อัญชัน `anchan (Thai), đậu biếc (Vietnamese), अपराजिता Aparajita in Hindi and 蝶豆 dié dòu (Mandarin Chinese), 'Sankhu Poolu/Sankham Poolu' in Telugu, "Shankupushpam" in Malayalam language and অপরাজিতা (Aparajita) in Bengali.

In Thailand, a syrupy blue drink is made called nam dok anchan (น้ำดอกอัญชัน), it is sometimes consumed with a drop of sweet lime juice to increase acidity and turn the juice into pink-purple.

前阵子做娘惹粽 的时候好些朋友问我娘惹粽漂亮的蓝色是怎么来的。它是用天然色素蝶豆花染的，出来的效果非常好。蝶豆花是个健康保健的好东西、有抗氧化、提升脑力、护发、提高抵抗力的效果。

在泰国，人们会把蝶豆花泡热水做成蓝色的饮料，有消暑养生的效果。

 夏天来一杯蓝花茶，不仅消暑，是不是还很梦幻呢！

Thai basil chicken recipe (pad kra pao gai ผัดกระเพราไก่) 【泰式打抛鸡丁】

I had previously made Pad Ka Prao using minced Chicken, Turkey and Pork, all turned out very nice and tasty.

This time I have used diced chicken and added some long bean, it allows us to have more vegetables and hubby loved it so much, he had 2 plateful!

我之前用肉末做过好吃的泰式打抛肉，今天用了鸡丁加上豇豆。能够多吃蔬菜，味道很好，俊爹吃了两大盘还不够呢！

Jaljeera 【孜然饮料】

Jaljeera is the Indian way to deal with lost of appetite and indigestion on hot summer days. The taste is so rich and flavourful that it almost instantly brighten your mood! Try it out if you haven't already!

夏天总有胃口不开，消化不良的感觉。在印度的时候，那里的夏天是超乎想像的热，当地人就会做些开胃而且帮助消化的冷饮喝。这个Jaljeera就是其中一款。

Banana Chocolate Chips Cake 【香蕉巧克力蛋糕】

My husband have this obsession of bananas that it's almost absurd, he has to bring a bunch of banana back whenever he goes to the grocery store. Needless to say, he goes to the store a little too many times this month, and I was left with a bunch of overripe bananas again.

So I made this cake with the help of my son A yesterday night and had it for breakfast today, the chocolate chips really kick the taste up a notch!

俊爹有很奇怪的香蕉情意结，他每次去超市非得带一梳香蕉回来不可，这两周我比较忙，日常购物就让他去得比较多。单看我家香蕉的数量，大概就可以知道最近是谁在购物了。

香蕉一过熟，我们家就没人肯吃了。昨晚带着俊宝把熟透的香蕉都用来做了这款蛋糕，加入巧克力豆真是个精明的选择，让这款蛋糕好吃得不行哦！

Bamboo Shoots Rice【竹笋焖饭】

When mom was here in the States, she loves to buy fresh bamboo shoots from The Asian market, she will stir fry it with tofu or made stew with pork belly.

She told me about this rice dish that she used to eat as a kid couple of weeks back. When I saw fresh bamboo shoots in the market, I brought home some and made this rice dish and shared with a few friends. 

My friends loved it so much that one of them even brought me more bamboo shoots days later and request me to make it again!

我妈很喜欢吃鲜笋做的菜，她在美国的时候只要看见鲜笋就会买几只回来炒豆腐干或炖肉。

几个星期前妈妈跟我提起鲜笋焖饭，是她小时候很爱吃的美味咸饭，我问了做法后，到亚洲超市买了鲜笋，处理好后留起一大半来做菜，一小半做了这个焖饭。

做好的焖饭送给几个朋友吃，大家都好喜欢。一个好友还在几天后买来一大包的鲜笋，让我再做一次！