Recipe: Bangers & Mash with Onion Gravy and Peas

Bangers and mash is a traditional British dish, comprising of sausages and mashed potatoes and is usually served with an onion gravy, and peas. The term "bangers" is attributed to the fact that sausages, particularly the kind made during World War II under rationing, were made with water so they were more likely to explode with a "bang" under high heat if not cooked carefully.

This classic British dish kick-started our British-themed dinner, with sausages from Wales, onion gravy made using a recipe from an English chef, and cooked by my superstar Scotsman Hubby. This is quick and easy to make, with extremely satisfying results. The Cumberland sausages were nicely spiced and meaty, complimented by the smooth mash and thick, delicious onion gravy.  A lovely comforting dish, which went down a treat with the whole family :)

We then finished off our meal nicely with a Melton Mowbray Pork Pie and a hot cuppa English tea. :)

Bangers & Mash with Onion Gravy and Peas
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from here
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking time: 35-40 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the sausages and onion gravy

8-12 good quality sausages, preferably Cumberland

2 large onions, sliced

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp English mustard
600ml beef stock

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp butter, softened 

2 tsp plain flour

For the mash

4 Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into thick chunks
3-4 tbsp of butter
1 tbsp milk
Salt and white pepper

To serve

Fresh thyme, for garnish

200g frozen peas


1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. 

2. Place the sausages into a roasting tin and cook in the preheated oven for 10 minutes then turn the sausages and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until they have a good colour on the outside.

3. Add the sliced onions to the tin. Mix the dried herbs, mustard and stock together and pour over the sausages and onions. Return the tin to the oven for a further 20 minutes, or until the sausages are cooked through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. For the mash, boil the potatoes in a pan of boiling water, about 12-15 minutes until tender. Drain and mash with a potato press and mix the butter and milk in until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Cook the peas in a saucepan of boiling water for 1-2  minutes. Drain and set aside.

6. For the sausages and onion gravy, mix the softened butter and plain flour together to form a paste. Remove the sausages from the baking tray, set aside and cover to keep warm. Place the baking tray onto the hob, add the flour and butter mix and whisk until combined. Stir over a medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the gravy has thickened slightly. Add the sausages back to the tray and warm through for 1-2 minutes.

7. Place mash on plate, then top with the sausages with the onion gravy spooned over and peas on the side. Garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme.

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Dim Sum @ Restoran Jin Xuan Hong Kong, Kuchai Lama, KL

We love going for dim sum on weekends. One day we tried Jin Xuan in Kuchai Lama, after some friends recommended it to us. Although the outlet here is pretty big, it can get very busy especially during peak hours, so you will find yourself having to queue for a table.

Scallop shrimp dumpling (RM4.50)

Clean and air-conditioned restaurant

Lots and lots of dim sum choices here

You tick off what you want on the order chit and they will bring the food to your table. Some of the waiting staff will also walk around with some of the deep fried items for you to choose from. Service is pretty quick. There are a variety of steamed dim sum, pau, steamed rice rolls, congee, pan fried/deep fried items and desserts. We found most of the dim sum items to be pretty good and reasonably priced.

Deep fried savoury pastry - ham sui kok (RM4)

Fried beancurd roll (RM4.50) with prawn filling

BBQ Pork bun (RM3.60 for 2)

Siu mai (RM4.50)

Steamed fish balls (RM4)

Steamed spare ribs (RM4.50)

Shrimp rice roll (RM4.80) served with a spicy shrimp paste

Golden egg tart (RM3.60 for 2)

Baked custard bun (RM4), not the flowing lava type

Deep fried sesame balls (RM4)

Golden Bun (RM3.60)- the flowing lava type, love this!

They also have outlets in Damansara Jaya, Damansara Utama, Puchong Jaya, Dataran Sunway, and PJ Oldtown.

Opening times: 7am to 11.30pm.

Price: As stated above, though prices may have increased since our visit.

Location: Restoran Jin Xuan Hong Kong (Kuchai Lama) Sdn. Bhd, A32, 34, 36, Jalan 1/116B, Kuchai Enterpreneurs’ Park, 58200 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03- 7982 6812

GPS Coordinates: 3.090286, 101.689556



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Recipe: Indian Naan Bread with Garlic Herb Butter

During our Indian-themed dinner, I delegated the job of making naan bread to Hubby (a.k.a. Roti-boy) to go with our lamb rogan josh. A couple of months ago, we made Jamie Oliver's flatbread, and loved how easy it was. Could it get any easier? Apparently so - Hubby whipped these delicious naan in less than 30 minutes.

Naan bread with garlic herb butter

Naan is a type of flatbread, and is typically served hot and brushed with butter or ghee. It is traditionally cooked in a very hot clay oven (tandoor), however it can also be easily made at home using the grill function on your oven. The baking tray is first placed in the oven to heat before baking, as it helps the dough puff up and brown. Cooking time is a mere 1-2 minutes, easy and quick!

Our Roti-boy did good :)

We love the simplicity of this recipe, and how it yields gorgeous, delicious naan bread. The garlic herb butter is optional, as it tastes good even without the butter. Both our kids especially loved mopping up the rogan josh curry sauce with the naan bread. A fantastic recipe!

Make naan in 4 simple steps - mix, knead, rest and bake, all in under 30 minutes.

Our boy enjoyed this very much

Naan Bread with Garlic Herb Butter (Indian)
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from BBC Food
Preparation time: 10 -15 minutes
Cooking time: 2 minutes
Makes 5

Ingredients
For the dough
250g plain flour
2 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
110-130ml milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing

For the topping
A small handful fresh herbs, such as coriander or parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp salted butter, softened at room temperature
1 clove garlic, minced

1. Sift the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into a bowl. In another bowl, mix together the milk (start with 110ml) and oil.

2. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the liquid mixture. Slowly mix together the dough by working from the centre and incorporating the flour from the edges of the 'well', to make a smooth, soft dough. Knead well for 8-10 minutes, adding a little flour if the dough is too sticky or more milk to help it come together.

3. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea-towel and leave in a warm place for 10-15 minutes. Form the dough into five balls.

4. Preheat the grill to high heat and place a heavy baking sheet on the upper shelf of the grill to heat.

5. Roll the dough balls out quite thinly, ideally in a teardrop shape, but really this is just aesthetic. Place the naans onto the hot baking sheet and grill for just 1-2 minutes, or until lightly browned with some dark brown spots.

6. For the garlic herb butter, place the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Brush the naans with the butter and serve hot.

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest- Indian Subcontinent hosted by Chef and Sommelier. I'm also linking this post to Little Thumbs Up (May 2014: Milk) hosted by Tze of Awayofmind Bakery House.


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Recipe: Asparagus and cheese muffins + Asparagus ends soup

After a few days of eating asparagus, I've gathered up quite a lot of asparagus ends (which I usually throw away because they're woody and fibrous).  I've always felt that it's wasteful to throw them away, so this time I will be making a soup with them.

To go with the asparagus soup, I've also made some savoury asparagus and cheese muffins. The original recipe uses Cheshire cheese, which I couldn't find in the supermarkets here, so I substituted with Cheddar cheese. These were really easy to make, a simple mix-and-bake recipe.

This is only my second time making savoury muffins, but we really enjoyed them. I was especially surprised that Baby D ate 2 whole ones (cheese-lover!). I like how the asparagus stems peek out of the muffins, which gives it an elegant appearance. These muffins were moist, with a lovely top crust and pretty substantial. They're best eaten warm with some cold butter.

For the soup, the asparagus ends are boiled with the chicken stock, and then pureed using a hand blender. This then needs to be sieved to remove the inedible fibrous bits. Using asparagus ends, the soup was pale green in colour (my head went "oh-no!") - I've made asparagus soup before with the stalks and it was a vivid green. I googled and saw other asparagus ends soup images which was a similar shade, so this colour is perfectly normal... phew.

Despite the colour, the asparagus flavours really came through. The soup was silky smooth, creamy and comforting. So next time, don't discard those woody ends... they make a good asparagus soup.

Asparagus and cheese muffins
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from Good Food Channel
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes
Makes 9

Ingredients
9 asparagus, woody ends removed, stems cut into 1cm pieces, leave the tips a little longer
200 g self-raising flour
100 g cheddar cheese
62g butter
1 spring onion (green parts only), snipped
75ml milk
50ml natural yogurt
1/2 tsp English mustard
1 egg

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (no fan) and line a muffin tin with 9 cases.

2. In a large bowl, mix the flour with the cheese. Melt the butter and pour into a jug. Add the spring onions, milk, yogurt, mustard and eggs into the melted butter. Mix well until combined and season generously with salt and pepper.

3. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the flour and cheese, and stir in the chopped asparagus stems. Be careful not to over mix and stop as soon as the mixture is combined.

4. Spoon the mixture evenly between the muffin cases and push an asparagus tip into the middle of each. Bake in the oven from 25-30 minutes until golden. Best eaten hot out of the oven, spread with a little cold butter.

Note: I halved the original recipe, to yield 9 muffins. I could not get Cheshire cheese here, so I substituted with Cheddar cheese.

Creamy asparagus ends soup
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from here
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients
300g asparagus ends
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 onion, finely chopped
Salt
2-3 tbsp cream
A knob of butter

To serve (optional)
Asparagus tips
Parmesan cheese
Bacon


1. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and add onions and cook for 2 minutes until they have softened. Make sure that they do not brown. 

2.Then, add the chicken stock and asparagus ends and cook for 15 minutes until softened.

3. Remove from heat and use a hand blender to puree the asparagus ends. Pass the soup through a sieve to remove the inedible fibrous bits. Place back into saucepan, and season with salt and pepper, simmer at very low heat and add the cream. Serve immediately.

* I'm linking this post to Little Thumbs Up (May 2014: Milk) hosted by Tze of Awayofmind Bakery House.


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Recipe: Lamb Rogan Josh

Without a doubt, lamb rogan josh is our all-time favorite Indian curry dish. I was first introduced to rogan josh, a signature Kashmiri dish when I was living in the UK and whenever we went on our Indian date nights, we would order this without fail. It is an aromatic lamb dish which was brought to Kashmir (northern India) by the Mughals, whose cuisine was in turn influenced by Persian cuisine.

Since returning home to KL, I have only found a couple of restaurants that serve rogan josh. I finally summoned up enough courage to try making this curry at home and to my delight, it turned out really well. This curry was surprisingly very easy to make - it just requires some time to simmer down to a lovely consistency. I would advise making this at least 6 hours in advance (I made mine at 10am and served it for dinner) to give the flavours a chance to develop.

To complete our Indian-themed dinner, Hubby was given the task of making the naan bread to go with the rogan josh, and I also made some mango lassi. Rogan josh is a pretty mild curry, fragrant and packed full of flavour, so even the kids loved this a lot. The meat was really tender too. This recipe yields an authentic-tasting rogan josh, just like the ones we used to have in British Indian restaurants. Absolutely fantastic!

I was glad to see my whole family enjoying this, and both my husband and mum hailed this as "the best curry they have ever had" - such high praise, it definitely put me on cloud-nine. Would I make it again? Definitely YES!

Thumbs up from Baby C! She had 2 naan breads to soak up the lovely curry sauce

It's OK to have a curry moustache ;D

Lamb Rogan Josh
Recipe adapted from Food & Wine - Chef Vikram Sunderam
Preparation time: 15 - 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 1/2 - 2 hours
Serves 4-5

Ingredients
1/4 cup canola oil
900g boneless lamb (or mutton) shoulder, cut into 1-inch pieces
Sea salt
2 onions, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp Madras curry powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
14-oz can tomato puree
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
2 cups water
1 tsp garam masala
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Basmati rice and warm naan, for serving

1. In a large, enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the oil. Season the lamb with salt and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the lamb is browned, about 8-10 minutes. Once browned, transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon.

Madras Curry Powder contains a blend of spices such as coriander, cumin, turmeric, chilli powder, red lentils, bay leaf, cardamom, fenugreek powder, cloves and more.

2. Add the onions to the casserole and cook over moderate heat until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, Madras curry powder, turmeric, cayenne pepper and bay leaves and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato, yogurt and water and bring to a boil. Season with salt.

3. Return the lamb and any juices to the casserole. Cover partially and simmer over low heat until the lamb is very tender and sauce has reduced to a thick-ish consistency, about 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Stir in the garam masala; cook for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with rice or naan. Leftovers can be stored overnight in the fridge and reheated before serving.

Note: Madras curry powder can be purchased at Jaya Grocer if you are living in Malaysia. It can easily be purchased at any supermarkets in UK. If you want it to cook faster, then you can reduce the water to 1 cup and reduce cooking time to 1 hour.

Mango lassi to complete the experience

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest- Indian Subcontinent hosted by Chef and Sommelier.


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*This recipe was featured on Asian Food Channel's Facebook page on 1 November 2014.