CURRIES

It's Curry season which is strange given it's Christmas. But take it from me Curries appear to be all the range here.

One of my personal favourites. Egg Sambal - Malay style.
Pandan rice with spices.
Chicken Curry Captain - Malay/Singapore Dish. Rich with coconut creme and dried onions.
Pumpkin and Green Bean Curry - Singapore Style with dried shrimp.

Brinjal Curry (Aubergine) cooked in a Sri Lankan way with crushed toasted peanuts and seasame seeds.
Gustaba lamb balls - A dish from Kashmir, creamy with yoghurt and delicate spices.

IMPROMPTU CAKE DECORATIONS

Sometimes you don't have time. Sometimes you just have to improvise. Recently I put together a cake decoration inside 5 minutes. The day before I had made an angel food cake ready to decorate it elaborately but another job came in at the last minute and the decoration of the cake (which was for a friend) had to take second place. To be honest I love what I managed. It certainly looks as if it too longer and had a lot more thought to it but sometimes gut instinct works better on personalised cakes. I thought of the person the cake was for and the colour pink bounced out at me. She reminds me of a bit of a hippy. Someone more esoteric than logical. Someone who still believed in the desire to believe in fairies and a perfect sweet dreamy world and I think I achieved it. She certainly loved it.

CATERING AT LA VIE EN ROSE

Great evening last week catering at La Vie en Rose. In case you don't know this amazing shop in Cihangir is run by a witch. Or rather someone who knows how to concoct potions for all sorts or ailments. The lady who owns the place, Jayda Uras also has massages and other therapies on her books. In order to celebrate 5 years of business he asked me to cater for an expected crowd of 100 and gave me 36 hours to prepare. Those that cook will know that 36 hours is a bit of a joke in terms of menu preparation, pricing, shopping and delivery. I had to tell Jayda, that given the late request she would just have to not question anything and accept the menu I put together. There was no time to throw in some untried but interesting ideas. 2 hours before launch I was in her kitchen putting it all together. Jayda had stipulated that everything had to be vegetarian and given the hot weather conditions I felt it was a wise suggestion. In case you don't know cocktails are a lot more work than sit down meals. However, Jayda provided me with ample help and I even pulled a couple of guests into the kitchen to help me out. Not to mention my long suffering children who, once again came to the rescue as unpaid skivvies, carrying plates from the kitchen to the guests. I am happy to say everyone liked the food. Judge for yourself. Here is the menu:

1. Yoghurt and dill dip

2. Hummus

3. Potato and pea samosas.

4. Spinach and cheese parcels

5. Spring rolls

6. Cheese balls with plum sauce

7. Jordanian Falafal with tahini sauce.

8. Herbed egg pancakes with red pepper cream cheese

9. Tomato and feta cheese crostini.

10. Smoked Aubergine crostinis.

11. Pesto sourcream with beetroot crostinis.

12 Lentil rissoles

PANDAN CAKE

My kid's absolutely insisted I put this recipe up since they are convinced at least half of you out there have or will be buying Pandan essence when you travel on holiday to the Far East. Thailand is a good place for buying this as is anywhere in Malaysia and Singapore.

Pandan is actually screwpine leaves and has such a distinct flavour that there is no substitute for it so pretty useless recipe if you don't have it. You could put another essence in the basic recipe if you wish but it won't be pandan cake.

My son first tasted this last year in Singapore and I was convinced he wouldn't like it (the green of the cake attracted him to it). We spent 6 weeks traveling around South East Asia and it became his daily diet. So without more ado this is the tried and tested recipe:

Invest in an Angel Cake Tin. If you can't find one (it's not that easy in Turkey) buy two normal cake tins with the fluted hole in the centre (These you can get anywhere) or half the recipe.

8 egg whites

6 egg yolks

1/2 tsp cream of tartar (this helps firm up the egg whites - if you don't have this don't worry, pray though)

1 cup self raising flour (sieved 3 times - get a lot of air in). You won't get self raising flour in Turkey so add 1 sachet of baking powder (kabatma tozu)

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup coconut creme (you can buy this in tins at the supermarket)

2 tsp pandan extract

green food colouring (mix the food colouring with a little water if it is in powder form as mostly sold in Turkey)

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until still then gradually add 1/2 the sugar.

Beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until well mixed. Gradually add the other ingredients. Now spoon in 2 tablespoons of egg white mixture to the yolk mixture to break it up a little before adding the rest. Fold in by hand making sure you don't beat out the air. Bake in a moderate oven 180C, 375F for 45mins.

Turn upside down and leave to cool for at least 2 hours. Remove and Eat.

Outside Catering

It's been a busy May for Kay's Kitchen with outside catering working well. I wish I didn't have to turn down the other work that came up because my kitchen cannot cope with venues that require the sort of setup that only hotels can provide i.e. tables, chairs etc.

June has been quieter for business as I suspect many are getting ready to leave the city for the summer. However I've been commissioned next week to provide satay (beef, lamb and chicken) for 60 at someone's BBQ night. I'm happy to say I won't be fanning the charcoals this time but will make the delivery of these marinated morsels including the satay sauce of course.