Pulut Inti - Steamed glutinous rice with coconut

Pulut Inti one of my favourite kuih that I enjoy at tea time when I am home. I have been stopping by at my favourite kuih stall almost daily to enjoy my daily tea time treats.The term kuih ( plural - kuih- muih) means bite sized sweet and savoury treats much like Spanish tapas. Kuih- muih in could be fried, baked or steamed.

I am still in Malaysia and have been celebrating Deepavali ( festival of lights) with family and friends.


Pulut Inti
If you are unable to use fresh or frozen coconut, you could use unsweetened dessicated coconut. Frozen banana leaves are often found in frozen section of ethnic grocery stores.

1 cup glutinous rice
2 screwpine/pandan leaf - washed & knotted
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut ( or use frozen coconut)
a pinch of salt
5tb grated gula melaka / palm sugar
3 tb water

To prepare the rice :
Soak glutinous rice for 1 hour and drain. Steam rice in a steamer lined with a wet cheese cloth or a sheet of banana leaf if you are able to get some . Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the rice and tuck in the knotted pandan leaf and steam until rice is cooked well. This usually takes around half an hour.

Cook palm sugar with 3 tb water and grated palm sugar until the sugar melts. Strain the sugar and cook the strained sugar with freshly grated coconut and a pinch of salt for 3 minutes. Serve steamed rice with coconut topping. Pulut Inti is traditionally served wrapped in a banana leaf as shown in the picture above.

Gobi Mattar - Cauliflower and peas

I am visiting my family in Malaysia and have been faithfully coming to Starbucks almost daily.What the....... My mother has been in the hospital for 2 weeks now and there is a Starbucks right in the lobby, charging an arm and a leg for a cup of cappuccino ( my mom almost choked on her chicken rice porridge when she saw Starbucks coffee and extolled the virtue of thriftiness). I have been here daily since Oct 4th for at least 8 hours a day, at the hospital not Starbucks ;) AND they have FREE wifi- got to love that.

There have been numerous dinner requests from family members - especially for fish and vegetarian briyani. I made this dish for my sister in law, a recent vegetarian.



You have probably heard of aloo mattar - an old standby in the repertoire of most north Indian kitchens. I have used cauliflower instead of potatoes here. This is not a spicy dish but is huge in flavour. Florets of cauliflower and peas are gently simmered in a mixture of aromatic spices and tomatoes. This is kinda short post because my laptop is running out of juice.


Gobi Mattar
Go easy on the chili powder if you are not a fan of spicy foods. I would start off with 1/4 tsp and work from there.

3 tb vegetable oil
1 medium onion - thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tb minced ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tb chili powder
1 tsp chopped fresh mint
1 medium head of cauliflower - cut into florets
1/2 cup water
1 cup peas - I used frozen peas
salt to taste
2 medium tomatoes - chopped
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 1/2 tb chopped cilantro
5 curry leaves - dried or fresh - optional
1/2 tsp toasted cumin seeds

Heat oil in a pan on medium heat and saute finely sliced onions till it starts to turn golden, add cumin seeds, curry leaves if using, ginger, garlic and saute for another 2 minutes. Add turmeric and chilli powder to mixture and stir well (mixture will be dry), pour in chopped tomatoes, salt and cauliflower. Stir well. Pour in water and bring to a gentle simmer covered. This will take around 6 to 10 minutes. Check the vegetables periodically to make sure that the bottom does not burn! Add more water if necessary ( if the cauliflower is not cooked). Remove lid from the pan and stir. Add chopped mint, garam masala and and frozen peas. Stir and adjust seasonings. Sprinkle chopped cilantro over the vegetable just before serving.