lamb shank n DURAN DURAN

LAMB SHANK CURRY

Ma, you tumis curry yang you selalu buat utk tulang rusuk tu, shank is on its way back!

That's the instruction I received from Mr hubby who was outside groceries shopping with our two kids . I was at home with my eldest at that time.There was Duran Duran:One Night Only on TV2 and I wouldn't want tomiss it for the world! being a long time fan of the group and SimonLe Bon especially, with their song REFLEX ,Wild Boys, Hungry Like The Wolf,Rio, and many other great songs.

Those 8os era,when Spandau Ballet was famous with it's 'True',GeorgeMichael with his Careless Whisper or wasit WHAMwith Wakemeup before you go go",Love 'em.....watching the programme yesterday brought me backto Ilford Lane,Barking,EastLondon., although Iwas doing my A Level inMalaysia when Ifirstheard Duran Duran.The sametimeIknew Prince,WhenDoves Cry.

DURANDURAN 30 YEARS LATER

Where's thelamb shank?

haha...side track a little bit.

ok, here's how Imake my version of LAMB SHANK CURRY:

First and foremost , boil the shank in a pressure cooker ( I do the same ifIwere to cook my ribs)
in the mean time, in another pot,heat up cookingoil,and fry 'sambal' ( acombinationofblended dry chillies,onion, and garlics)
Add in:
cinnamon stick/kulitkayumanis
cloves/bunga lawang
staranise/bungacengkih
anddaunkari/curry leaves
fry till it is cooked.
Add in curry powder ( mixed with water) and stir till the spice is well cooked
Add in some water from the shank stock if the spice is a bit dry
Then,add in THE SHANK(  not SHARK YA!...HEHE...)

Stir till you feel that they bond together (mesra mesra gitu), add in some more water,milk ,salt and sugar to taste.
transfer allinto the PRESSURE COOKER and simmer for anothertwo hours or more ( to ensure that the meat is really tenderandjuicy)
You caniadd in some diced tomatoes if you like which what I would normally dowhen making my ribs currybut for last nite's dinner SHANK,didn't put in the tomatoes because my hungry other halfkept coming to the kitchen and was asking if his shank was ready.

And it WAS READY!!!!

It was a success,he said. He loves it, my kids love it,me, I am not abig fanof lamb but am glad everybody loves it. So,since it was a success,Iguess we will be making more shanks in the near future.in the mean timeIwill still try tolook for the other recipe which I had been Longing to try.This recipe will also go into my other recipe book,justin case I forgot how to make them.

CREAM PUFF

CHOUX PASTRY


250 ml water
75g butter, cut into even pieces
150g plain flour
3 eggs
1 pinch salt

Water and butter in a pan, place over low heat and bring to a simmer
when the butter has melted and the water has come to the boil, shoot the flour into the liquid all at once. Stir over a steady heat until the mixture comes together into a coherent mass and leaves the sides of the saucepan ( word for word from a book )
.
Transfer to a bigger bowl and let it  cool for a minute or , and then
Add in 3 eggs ( with a pinch of salt )- which was beaten lightly with a fork., bit by bit, beating either with by hand or an electric mixer until even.
continue to add the eggs until the mixture reaches a smooth , stiff dropping consistency. The batter is now ready for use.

bake 200C- 20 minutes

( note: make sure you get the ingredients right, i learnt my lesson when I accidentally miscount the eggs. It didn't rise !!!!but don't panic, it is still within repair.....trust me, i have done it......hehe...learn from your mistake )

CUSTARD:
1 tbsp custard
1 tbsp corn flour
3-4 tbsp sugar ( i prefer 3 only)
1 cup fresh milk
1 egg or 2 egg yolks
1 tbsp butter.

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

8 pieces of white bread - cut into triangle, spread butter on each slice
lay the pieces in a baking dish ( greased with butter too,toavoid it from sticking)

spread raisins ( about 50g) on the bread slices.

meanwhile, heat up 3 cups of milk in a pan ( but not to boiling point)

in another bowl, whisk 5 eggs and 100g sugar,
pour onto the milk ,mix well and then pour on to the bread. Leave for about 10 minutes ( soak the bread)

sprinkle some sugar on top before baking.

Bake in a pre heated oven ( water bath method )  at 175C for 35 minutes

I made this yesterday,on the 6th day of Ramadhan, this evening I saw two other vesions of howtomakethis bread andbutter pudding,one is called Bread peanut Butter Pudding ( Anna Olson ) and bread andApple Puddingby our very own topChef, Dato' Chef Wan. They both look appealing. I might try tomake their versions some other day ( I wonder when that 'some  othee day' will be. It took me quite sometimetoeven make thistraditional versionof the good old Breas andButter pudding.
I like things the traditional way, traditional applepie, traditional trifle and traditional B&B pudding

Traditional apple pie

TRADITIONAL APPLE PIE ( Mak Muda, this one's for you) :

PASTRY:

350g plain flour

pinch of salt

85g butter or margarine, cut into small pieces

85g white veg fat, cut into small pieces

about 6 tbsp cold water

beaten egg or milk, for glazing

method:

sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. add the butter and fat and rub( gaul dan ramas ) in with the fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the water and gather the mixture into a dough.Wrap the dough and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

preheat the oven to 220c.
FILLING:

750g - 1 kg cooking apples peeled, cored and sliced

125g soft brown sugar or caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1/2 to 1 tsp ground cinnamon. mixed spice or ground ginger

1 - 2 tbsp water ( optional)

methods:

mix the apples with the sugar and spice and pack into the pastry case ( roll out almost two thirds of the pastry thinly and use to line a deep 23 cm/ 9 inch pie plate or pie tin)

the filling can come up above the rim.Add the water if needed, particularly if the apples are not very juicy.

roll out the remaining pastry to form a lid.Dampen the edges of the pie rim with water and position the lid, pressing the edges firmly together.

trim and crimp the edges.

Using the trimmings, cut out leaves or other shapes to decorate the top of the pie, dampen and attach. Glaze the top of the pie with beaten egg or milk, make 1 or 2 slits in the top and place the pie on a baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180c, and bake for another 30 minutes, or until the pastry is alight golden brown. Serve hot or cold, sprinkled with sugar.
Vanilla sauce recipe:

( yet to google.....:-) )

but this apple pie can be eaten with vanilla ice cream too.

happy baking!