Kuzi Ayam (Kelantan Style Chicken Curry)

Yay! I am so glad I got to make a dish for MFF event earlier this time! Hate it when I had to do the mad rush all the time. Ehh...not that I am particularly free now but it was all due to Phong Hong's fabulous recipe and urged me to cook it proto, haha! After the Kay Hong dish (which I cook so often now), I knew I can trust her dishes. :) I had to hand it to her that she shares one the yummiest curries. Thanks Phong Hong! :D So this time in support of MFF event featuring Kelantan, I've made Kuzi Ayam (Kelantan Style Chicken Curry), yummy!

I actually had a hard time trying to take nicer pictures out of this curry dish, lol! I bet all bloggers have this annoying problem when it comes to brown colored food...so hard to capture a good one *sigh*. :P But I tell you the taste is so yummy...even though it is the first not spicy curry I made. I was thrilled to make it because my little ones can enjoy it together with me, haha! Plus the ingredients were not hard to gather at all. :) Here is the recipe as adapted from Phong Hong:

Ingredients for Kuzi Ayam (Serves 4-5ppl)
Dry spice powder mixture:
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground fennel
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp freshly grated/pounded peeled ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

800g chicken thigh and drum
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil (I completely omitted ghee)
250g thinly sliced onions
30g slivered almonds
80g California raisins
150ml tomato puree
50ml ketchup
200ml coconut milk
300-350ml water

1 tbsp sugar (optional: to counter off the tangy taste from the tomato)

• In a mixing bowl, marinate the chicken pieces with the chopped garlic and salt and let sit for 10-15 minutes.
• In a frying pot, add the vegetable oil and heat up at medium fire. Fry the onions till golden brown, dish up and drain on paper towels.
• Fry the slivered almonds for just a minute to get it slight golden brown. Don't over do it, or it'll char and taste bitter...not good eats. :P (I did not fry the raisins because it plums up after boiling in the curry sauce)
• Remove most of the oil leaving only 1 tsp amount. Add in the marinated chicken pieces and cook till lightly brown .
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• Add in coconut milk, water, tomato puree, ketchup and stir a while. Then add in all the ground spices and again stir to mix well.
• Add in the fried onions (which I didn't ground also), silvered almonds and raisins. Bring mixture to a boil and add in sugar and salt to taste. Reduce fire to low and simmer mixture for about 15-20 minutes till tender.

My kids really like this curry! And I was really glad the spices didn't give off a strong spice taste...really creamy with a slight tangy taste. I actually added a potato and some hard boiled eggs, haha...Sedap!

Unfortunately I didn't try to make nasi tomato as what Phong Hong as suggested...but it was still very good! :P And I am very sure I will be cooking this again ...and again! :)

I am very happy to submit this post to Malaysian Food Fest Kelantan Month hosted by Gertrude of My Kitchen Snippets.  

Have a great day all!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

Ever wonder if you can have gourmet breakfast, served right at the comfort of your own cosy home? Plus it is much more economic and you can eat at your own comfort, i.e. in your bed, in front of the TV, haha! Well, I love to serve up a nice breakfast every weekend. It's a time where there's no rushing involve, my family and I can have the delicious meal together. We enjoy some quality family bonding as well. So no boring slice bread with same old spreads please Mommy! I seriously don't mind waking up a wee bit earlier too...because it's all worth it when you see their happy faces when they eat the awesome breakfast, hah!

 

Who doesn't love french toast? It's one of those comfort food that makes you all warm inside! And I decided to make it even more awesome by stuffing them with delicious Strawberry cream cheese, yum! No worries if you don't have brioche (rich egg bread), just get any loaf from the bakery but unsliced. You will need to slice the loaf to the thickness you want in order to make the stuffed french toast. Yes, white loaf or wheat loaf is absolutely fine. :) Without further ado, here is the recipe:

Strawberry Cream Cheese Filling (This can be made the day before)
1 tbsp strawberry compote / jam
120g cream cheese, room temperature
1 tsp powdered sugar

• In a small mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients together until everything is well combined. 

Ingredients for Stuffed French Toast: (Serves 4) 
1 loaf of bread, will have left over (mine was pumpkin oat loaf)
200ml fresh whole milk

2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon powder 

• In a large bowl or wide plate, add milk, eggs and mix well with a whisk. Add in cinnamon powder and whisk well again.
• Slice the loaf so that each slice is about 2 slices in thickness.
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• Then use a small knife to cut a cavity in each slice but not all the way through.
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• At this point, stuff about 1/4 of the cream cheese stuffing into the bread cavity. Making sure not to push too hard to break the bread. Repeat for the remaining slices.
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• Get ready a non stick pan (I used my happycall) and heat at medium low fire. Take a stuffed bread and dipped one side facing down into the egg milk mixture. Bare in mind not to push the whole bread in. Gently turn lift up and turn over the other side and dip again.
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• Now carefully place the dipped bread on to the pan. Repeat with the other stuffed bread.
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• I fried each side about 8 minutes, or when it has become golden brown and crisp up. Flip and cook for another 8 minutes.
• Repeat with the rest of the stuffed bread until all is cooked.
• You can either serve as is or slice diagonally like what I did and show off that stuffed cream cheese. Dust some powdered sugar over the surface and with some fresh strawberries or fruits. Bon Appetit!

My family loved this very much! I was very thrilled that it turned out well on my first attempt. :) When biting into the crunch bread and creamy sweet cream cheese, it was heavenly! Love it!

Looks good eh? Lol! You can even make it even more yummy by drizzling hot chocolate sauce over it! Hope my post is enough to motivate you to make this delicious breakfast for your love ones. :) 

Have a good week everyone! Cheers! ;)