
Home Made Oyakodon
The oyakodon is a classic Japanese bento dish.served in many Japanese restaurants including here in Malaysia. Check out this recipe and try making your own.
Ramadan season is here along with teeming stocks of fresh dates and kurma in supermarkets and retail stores. There’s nothing quite like biting into the succulent, creamy texture of a nutrient-rich date, a fruit so complete it can be enjoyed as a meal substitute. It is quite common to bukapuasa (break fast) with simply a date and a glass of water, however there are many other ways to appreciate their unique taste – here are five mouth-watering recipes for you to try during Ramadan:
Cool down with the natural sweetness of this scrumptious cashew date shake! We’ve used the almighty Medjool dates in this recipe, but you can use any other variety of dates you have on hand.
Yield: 2 pax
Prep Time: 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Cashew, soaked in warm water for 2 hours | 1 cup |
Medjool dates, de-seeded and soaked in warm water until softened | 1 cup |
Frozen banana | 1 no |
Almond milk | 1 cup |
Cinnamon | A pinch |
Salt | A pinch |
Maple syrup | As needed |
Method:
1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until you have a thick and smooth consistency. You may add ice to your shake according to preference.
Image source from: http://www.healingandeating.com/2015/01/coconut-date-ice-cream.html
Perfect as a dessert to enjoy after Iftar, we hope you’ll have as much fun making this satisfyingly simple recipe as we did!
Yield: 6 pax
Prep Time: 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Whipping cream | 2 cups |
Condensed milk | 250 ml |
Coconut milk | 1 ½ cup |
Dates, de-seeded and coarsely chopped | 1 cup |
Salt | 1/8 teaspoon |
Method:
1. Using mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the whipping cream until it the peaks have a stiff consistency.Add in condensed milk, coconut milk and salt to the cream.
2. Continue to mix it until well integrated.
3. Fold in dates and transfer to a freezer-safe bowl, and let freeze for 4 hours before serving.
It may be hard to resist popping a few Medjool dates into your mouth while making this recipe, but remember to leave enough for your delicious loaf! For those unfamiliar with streusel, it is simply the crumbly topping you often find on muffins, breads, and certain cakes.
Yield: 6 pax
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Baking Time: 8 minutes
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Unsalted butter, melted | 43g |
Brown sugar | 1 cup |
Ripe banana, mashed | 3 nos |
Egg | 1 no |
Ginger, grated | ½ teaspoon |
Vanilla extract | 1 teaspoon |
All-purpose flour | 1 ½ cups |
Baking soda, sifted | 1 teaspoon |
Salt | A pinch |
Medjool dates, de-seeded and chopped into smaller pieces | |
Streusel | |
Castor sugar | 1/3 cup |
Cinnamon powder | ½ teaspoon |
Unsalted butter, softened | ¼ cup |
All-purpose flour | ½ cup |
Method:
1. For the streusel: In a bowl, place all the ingredients together. Using your fingertips, mix it well until its consistency resembles wet sand. Cover and place it in the fridge.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C and line loaf pan with parchment paper.
3. Using mixer with a whisk attachment, beat melted butter with brown sugar for 3 minutes.
4. Add in mashed banana, egg, grated ginger, and vanilla extract. Continue mixing until it all ingredients are incorporated well.
5. Fold in dry ingredients and medjool dates into the batter.
6. Transfer mixture to a loaf pan and top with the streusel mix. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes, and use a toothpick to test when ready – insert a toothpick into the center of the bread and it should come out clean. Let the loaf cool before slicing to serve.
The pistachios in this recipe tastefully complement the flavour of the dates, yielding a batch of delicious cookie balls that will keep you reaching for the next one – do stop yourself from finishing them all because your family will be pist-at-chio.
Yield: 6 pax
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Baking Time: 8 minutes
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Unsalted butter, softened | 113g |
Castor sugar | 2/4 cup |
Brown sugar | ¼ cup |
Egg | 1 no |
Baking soda, sifted | ½ teaspoon |
All-purpose flour | 1 cup |
Coco powder, sifted | 1/3 cup |
Dates, deseed and chop into small pieces | ¼ cup |
Toasted pistachio, ground | 1 cup |
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 160°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a mixer, beat unsalted butter with sugar using the paddle attachment until it turns fluffy and pale yellow in colour.
3. Add in egg and continue mixing for another minute.
4. Fold in dry ingredients and dates into the batter using a spatula.
5. Using a small ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, scoop some of the dough and roll it into round balls. Coat the ball with ground pistachio and place it onto baking tray.
6. Bake for 7 – 8 minutes and remove from oven. The cookies will be quite soft at the moment but once it has cooled down, it will harden.
Biryani rice is normally decorated with raisins and dried fruits, but we’re excited about this version using luscious chopped dates – truly a Ramadan special!
Yield: 6 pax
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 3 hours
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY | |
Lamb Leg | ||
Lamb leg | 3 kg | |
Onion, sliced thinly | 2 nos | |
Garlic, chopped | 3 cloves | |
Ginger, julienne | 2 inches | |
Cinnamon stick | 1 stick | |
Cloves | ¼ teaspoon | |
Cardamom pods | ¼ teaspoon | |
Star anise | 1 no | |
Coriander powder | 2 tablespoons | |
Cumin, whole | 1 tablespoon | |
Salt | As needed | |
Sugar | As needed | |
Cooking oil | 1 cup | |
Biryani Date Rice | ||
Basmati rice, washed and drained | 4 cups | |
Ghee | ¼ cup | |
Onion, sliced thinly | 4 nos | |
Garlic, chopped | 4 cloves | |
Ginger, julienne | 3 inches | |
Cinnamon stick | 2 sticks | |
Clove | ¼ teaspoon | |
Cardamom pods | ¼ teaspoon | |
Star anise | 3 nos | |
Coriander powder | 3 tablespoons | |
Evaporated milk | 3 cups | |
Water | 5 cups | |
Salt | As needed | |
Dates, de-seeded and cut into smaller pieces | 2 cups | |
Mint leaves, chopped | ½ cup | |
Coriander leaf, chopped | ½ cup | |
Fried onion | 1 cup | |
Cashew nut, fried | 1 cup |
Kurma Gravy | |
Cooking oil | 3 tablespoons |
Onion, thinly sliced | 1 no |
Garlic, julienne | 2 cloves |
Ginger, thinly sliced | ½ inch |
Cinnamon stick | 1 stick |
Cardamom pods | ¼ teaspoon |
Cloves | ¼ teaspoon |
Star anise | 1 no |
Biryani powder | 1 tablespoon |
Coriander powder | 1 teaspoon |
Evaporated milk | ½ cup |
Water | 1 cup |
Salt | As needed |
Method:
Lamb Leg:
1. Heat up cooking oil in a pan. Sauté sliced onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add incinnamon, cloves, cardamom pods, and star anise, and stir for a few minutes.
2. Once the onion has turned light golden brown, add in cumin and coriander powder. Stir until the oil floats on the surface, which will be roughly around 3 minutes. Season with salt and sugar and leave the paste aside to cool.
3. Place lamb leg in a baking tray and rub the cooled paste all over it. Cover with cling wrap and let it marinade in the fridge overnight.
4. Allow the lamb leg drop to room temperature before roasting it. Preheat oven to 130°C and loosely cover the lamb leg with aluminium foil. Put to roast for 2 hours while covered, and roast it uncovered for another hour. Once done, remove from oven and set aside.
Biryani Date Rice:
1. Melt ghee in a pot. Sauté sliced onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant.
2. Add in cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods and star anise, and stir for another minute.
3. Add coriander powder and salt into the pot and continue stirring, until the paste has released oil.
4. Transfer the paste into rice cooker pot and add in washed basmati rice. Pour in water and evaporated milk. Cook the rice following the instructions according to your rice cooker.
5. Once cooked, transfer the rice into big bowl and leave to cool for a short while. Toss in coriander and mint leaves, chopped dates, fried onion and cashew nuts.
Kurma Gravy:
1. Heat up oil in a pot and sauté sliced onion, garlic, and ginger for a few minutes. Add incinnamon stick, cardamom pods, star anise and cloves and sauté for a minute.
2. Add in biryani and coriander powder. Once the oil has floated to the surface, stir in water and evaporated milk. Let it boil for a few minutes until the gravy thickens and season with salt to taste.
We hope you’ll relish in preparing and sharing these recipes with your friends & family this Ramadan (For more fun & easy recipes, head to http://bit.ly/BIGRecipes. Find everything you need for the above at Ben’s Independent Grocer, and do join us from 15th May to 24th June for our Raya ‘Ramadan Dihayati, Syawal Dirai’ Fair! We’ve got duit Raya packets, Raya hampers and so much more! Click here [link here] for more info on what’s happening in-store.
The oyakodon is a classic Japanese bento dish.served in many Japanese restaurants including here in Malaysia. Check out this recipe and try making your own.
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