How to Make Pancakes

Well today would like to share a video on how to make pancakes...its simple,clear and easy to cook. Pancakes may be served at any time of day, with a variety of toppings or fillings including jam, chocolate chips, fruit, syrup or meat. Enjoy



                                                                                                                                                                  
With love Rabella                       

Sweet Dumplings/Kaimati

Well here is another most famous  and delicious dish in E/Africa. When i was in Malaysia this dis was always on the table for Iftar but now am too lazy to cook, inshaAllah soon i will cook and share the picture with you guys. Sweet Dumplings/ Kaimati can be a light dessert with tea or coffee, breakfast, or as a starter during Ramadhan.

First, prepare the sugar syrup:
INGREDIENTS
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
half tsp. powdered cardamom
lemon rind or saffron threads (whatever flavor you prefer)
Boil syrup and cool completely.

Next, prepare the batter:
INGREDIENTS
1 cup white flour
½ cup yogurt plus a little water
1 tbsp. ghee or butter
1 level tsp. instant yeast

INSTRUCTIONS 
Mix the flour with all the above ingredients and beat thoroughly with your hand. It should be thick enough for you to be able to pick without it flowing down between your fingers, but not so thick that it’s a dough. Not runny and yet not too thick.
Cover and let it rise for about half an hour. Touch some oil with your fingertips and mix the mixture again.
Heat oil, then pick small portions and drop in the hot oil, then immediately lower the heat and fry on very low heat, stirring the Kaimatis continuously so that they color on all sides and get super crunchy.
From heat place directly into the cooled sugar syrup. Its crunchy and finger licking good.

With love RaBella

Mini Vitumbua

Today we are going to start with the most famous n favorite dish in Tanzania. Vitumbua is everyone's favorite dish in Tanzania, either for breakfast, lunch, dinner of for Iftar.  So today we are going to look at mini vitumbua although they are also made in bigger size it depends with your karai/pan.

INGREDIENTS
1 ¾ cups thick/heavy tui/coconut milk
1 ½ cups rice (the thick variety if possible, don’t use the thin long grain if you can avoid it, we need these to be able to mash up nicely)
1 cup sugar (level)
1 tsp. instant yeast
½ tsp. cardamom powder
oil for frying

INSTRUCTIONS
Soak the rice overnight, and then drain completely. Make sure no water remains in the rice, and you can do this by leaving it in a sieve to drain for as long as you can.
Put the rice, coconut milk, yeast and cardamom powder into your blender and blend until completely smooth. This may take a while but stick to it. Keep blending for a full minute at a time, giving the blender a rest of a few seconds between pulses. Once you’re satisfied that the rice has been mashed completely and your batter is smooth, pour it out into a bowl, cover and set aside to rise for 30-60mins.
Once risen, add the sugar and mix it in using your hand. Make sure the sugar is completely mixed into the batter.
Now put some oil in your Appam pan or any tiny karai and heat it up. Then add batter using a spoon into your pan and fry the vitumbua, first on one side and then turn it over to do the other side until golden on both sides.
Serve warm!

Step 1:   Blend the rice, coconut milk, cardamom powder and yeast until completely smooth, it will be a thick batter like consistency. Pour it out into a bowl and cover. Set aside until doubled in volume, about half an hour to an hour depending on the weather.
Makes about 50 mini vitumbua:


Step 2:   This is how thick the batter will look after 30-60 mins. Add the sugar and mix it in using your hand. Make sure you mix it completely such that no sugar granules remain.

Step 3:   Once the sugar is mixed in, the batter will become lighter and slightly more runny in consistency as shown in the pic.

Step 4:   If you have an appam pan like the one in the pic, use it for smaller sized vitumbua. Otherwise use the smallest karai that you’ve got. Add oil into it, half a tsp. per slot if you’re using an appam, otherwise more if using a bigger pan. Heat it up on medium.

Step 5:   Carefully, pour your batter into the pan. Do not over-fill.

Step 6:   As the vitumbua cook, you will notice tiny bubbles forming all over the batter in the pan. This is a good sign, it means your vitumbua will have the perfect sieve-like texture. Keep the heat on low so that the vitumbua cook through without burning

Step 7:   When you notice the vitumbua firming up and their bottoms look colored, gently turn each one over and cook the other side. You can use a skewer or flat wooden stick for this.

Step 8:   Cook the other side to a good golden color. Remove and continue this method for the rest of your batter.
Of course if you are using a bigger pan they will be bigger, and that’s okay too.

with love RaBella

Khaliyat Nahal (HoneyComb Bread),Mzinga wa Nyuki

As we are still on the Holy Month of Ramadhan this recipe might help you in Iftar for those who are fasting. This dis is called Khaliyat Nahal is one of the most delicious Arabic bread. It has an english meaning by HoneyComb Bread and also known as Mzinga wa Nyuki in swahili. The bread is softer than cotton and with cheese filling in every bun and sweet graze on top.

First you need to make the glaze/syrup. You will need:

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sugar
¾  cup water
1 tbsp. honey
pinch of saffron

Boil the sugar, water and saffron together for a few minutes until it is slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and add the honey. Mix and set aside to cool completely.

For the dough you will need:

INGREDIENTS

3½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
2 tbsp. milk powder
½ cup water (might use less)
1 egg
3 tbsp. sugar
4 tbsp. oil
4 tbsp. melted butter
1½ tsp. instant yeast
½ tsp. salt
6-8 portions/triangles of cheese spread (I used The Laughing Cow, but you can use any available to you, like Kiri or Al-Marai, etc.)
1 egg for egg wash before baking

TIP: The egg wash I prefer to use for a lovely glossy finish is made this way. Take 1 egg, beat it with 1 tsp. of milk. Brush on the bread/rolls/buns and bake as directed!

INSTRUCTIONS
Sieve the flour, then add milk powder, sugar, yeast and salt. Then add the oil and butter and the egg, and mix together. Now add all the milk. Start kneading together and gradually add the water a little at a time. You might not need it all, so add it sparingly until your dough is nice and soft. Knead for a good 8-10 minutes. The more you knead it the softer the buns will be.
Touch a bit of oil with your fingertips and apply all over the ball of dough. Cover in a bowl and set aside for 40mins to an hour for it to double in size.

Punch it down, and break off tiny bits of dough. You should get about 40 tiny pieces out of this. Take each piece of dough, and stretch it out with your fingers, then add a small piece of cheese in its center. Bring the edges together and form a ball so that the cheese is completely enclosed within the dough. Repeat this with all the dough.
Grease your pan/pans with butter. Place the balls of dough in a ‘honeycomb’ pattern. Try to get them close to each other so that there are no or very little spaces in between.
Cover the pans and set aside for a second rise, about half an hour.
Now apply egg wash on the balls, preheat your oven to 180 C and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the bread is nice and golden on top.
Remove from the oven and pour your syrup all over the hot bread. Remember that the syrup needs to be cool and the bread needs to be steaming hot straight from the oven. Turn it out and place on a rack to cool and for the syrup to glaze slightly.

TIP 1: If you want to cut down on the sweetness, use less syrup or instead of pouring it onto the bread, just apply it using a brush on the tops of the bread.

TIP 2: If you do not like cheese, you can use chocolate instead in the center. Just cut any good quality chocolate bar into cubes and use them instead. Even nutella works but might be a little bit messy during closing it into the dough, unless you solidify it a bit first.

You can have HoneyComb Bread for breakfast, iftar, and it goes with tea, coffee, soup anything as long as you enjoy your meal

With love RaBella

Individual Chocolate Cup Cake

As we all know that there are different kind of cup cakes with different recipes on this earth. Well today would like to share a recipe for individual chocolate cup cake. So here is the recipe for chocolate cup cake as i promised yesterday to share it with you guys.

Ingredients

• For the cupcakes:

• 12 oz (340g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 0.4 pt (250 ml) freshly brewed coffee
• 3.9 fl oz (110 ml) water or milk
• 2 oz (60g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa
• 1 lb 3 oz (540g) plain flour
• 1 lb 9¾ oz (730g) caster sugar
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ¾ tsp fine salt
• 0.3 pt (190 ml) sour cream
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• Icing sugar, for dusting

• For the chocolate coconut glaze:

• 6¼ oz (175g) milk chocolate, finely chopped
• 4.4 fl oz (125 ml) tinned unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 to 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 5¼ oz (150g) unsweetened coconut chips or dessicated coconut, lightly toasted
• Equipment: 5¼ pts (12 cup) jumbo muffin tin

Method

How to make Individual Chocolate Cakes

To make the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Line the large muffin tins with large paper cupcake liners.

Put the butter, coffee, water, and cocoa in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on HIGH until the butter melts, about 2 minutes. Whisk to combine.

Meanwhile, whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a large bowl. Beat the sour cream with the egg and vanilla in a small bowl. Whisk the hot cocoa mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir in the sour cream mixture just to combine;

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin tins, filling each paper case about 3/4 of the way full (about 160ml per cupcake). Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Cool the cupcakes completely in the tin on a rack. Remove from the paper cases and return the cakes to the rack.

For the glaze:

Put the chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring the coconut milk and golden syrup to a boil, stirring constantly, then pour it over the chocolate. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes, then stir until smooth.

Spread one tablespoon of the warm glaze evenly over each cake, then scatter the coconut chips or shredded coconut over the top.

Cook's Note: We prefer Dutch-process cocoa here over natural cocoa for its fuller, deeper flavour.

NOTE:
As time to time please bare with us for more recipes of  cup cakes.

With love RaBella

BlackForest cake

This is my number 1 favorite cake ,i love it and so many people do like it too...its black forest and its ideal for bdays, or just as a dessert or snack...

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup kirschwasser
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon strong brewed coffee
• 2 (14 ounce) cans pitted Bing cherries, drained
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon kirschwasser
• 1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line the bottoms of two 8 inch round pans with parchment paper circles. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
2. Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, until combined. Pour into 2 round 8 inch pans.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool completely. Remove paper from the cakes. Cut each layer in half, horizontally, making 4 layers total. Sprinkle layers with the 1/2 cup kirshwasser.
4. In a medium bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add confectioners sugar, pinch of salt, and coffee; beat until smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add a couple teaspoons of cherry juice or milk. Spread first layer of cake with 1/3 of the filling. Top with 1/3 of the cherries. Repeat with the remaining layers.
5. In a separate bowl, whip the cream to stiff peaks. Beat in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon kirshwasser. Frost top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with chocolate curls made by using a potato peeler on semisweet baking chocolate.

                                             
 Lots of love... RaBella

Chocolate Chip Brownie Bars

So I have been craving for chocolate cup cake and brownies since last week, and here is the recipe for Chocolate Chip Brownies Bars.

 

Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
• One 6.5-ounce box brownie mix
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions 

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil with a 2-inch overhang. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar at medium-high speed with a mixer until fluffy. Add 2 eggs, beating until well blended. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating until the mixture forms a soft dough. Stir in the chocolate morsels.

In another large bowl, combine the brownie mix, oil, 1/4 cup water and remaining 2 eggs, beating until well blended.

Spread the the cookie dough in prepared pan. Pour the brownie mixture over the dough. Using a knife, swirl the mixtures together. Bake until the edges start to pull away from sides of the pan, 40 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours. Cut into bars.

 And here is another picture for my craving...stay tuned for the recipe..

 

With love RaBella

Stir-Fried beef with cashew nuts

Hey guys,okay now its time to turn back to MEAT we all know meat is delicious and mouth watering "to some of us who love good meat" when cooked in a good way, so today got a recipe for a fried beef and the good part is it only takes 10 minutes to make it  and it has CASHEW NUTS so kwa wale wapenda CASHEW NUTS and people who dont have the time to stay in the kitchen this is the dish to prepare all we need is the following





Ingredients for the beef:
 2tbsp sunflower oil
1/2kg of Rump steak cut into desired shapes (preffarably thin strips)
1tbsp of black pepper
2 fresh chillies finely chopped without seeds (optional if you like chillies)
bunch of spring onions cut into fine shapes
100g of cashew nuts

For the sauce:
3 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of rice wine
1 tbsp of  brown sugar
1 tbsp of the five spice powder (beef masala)

PREPARATION:

• Heat the oil in a preheated cooking pan untill smoking, add the steak strips the crushed black pepper,chillies and spring onions and cook fom 3 to 4 minutes tossing the cooking to cook evenly.
• Mix all the ingredients for the sauce togethr in a bowl and pour into the cooking pan, cook for 3 minutes tossing the ingredients untill everything is heated through
• Add the cashew nuts and toss to combine.
• Serves immediately

this fried beef can be served with eithe rice,noodles, or even Ugali for some of us who prefer it.

Lots of love, RaBella

Home made ( Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken)

So today we tried to cook Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken. The results were good  as you can see in the picture above. We used the ( Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken recipe) as seen below. The chicken tasted like Heaven and delicious. The best part is that it took us 30mis to make the dish, not 6hrs as shown on the recipe. You should try this dish as we are waiting for your feedback.

Stay tuned  for more recipes...with Love RaBella

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

Well today we take a look at "KUKU" kwa wale wapenda kuku tushazoea kuku wa kuchoma,kukaanga sijui,supu and all that,today lets try and make this brown sugar chicken ts simple to make the tricky part is the time ya kupika 6-8hrs really??sisi na manjaa yetu tutaweza kweli kungoja mda wote huo?? but come to think of it na mwezi huu wa Ramadhan inakuwa poa sana coz utakuwa unaipika wakati unatayarisha vengine vya kuliwa as Iftar ok lets see the ingredients

1 large chicken — cut into pieces
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup vinegar
1/4 cup 7-Up®
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon pepper
Place chicken in the cooking pan that ul use and then pour the rest of the ingredients on the chicken..the chicken was to be ccoked for 6-8hrs in a low heat buh if u dont have time and the crockpot then u cun use use normal pan n cook t with low heat...

Making a coconut cake

hey, as we all know many of us in the world love Cake, whether its for an occasion or just at a regular day whether as a dessert after meal or just a snack.So today we going to try and see how to make a coconut cake its not that hard for some of us who actually would want to try and bake since most of the ingredients can be found at our local supermarkets......

Coconut Cake

Coconut Cake Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions for cake:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar, beating well untill fine
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Beginning and ending with dry ingredients, add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with milk and vanilla.
6. Pour into 3 greased and floured pan or any dish that u can use to bake.
7. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes..

Coconut Cake Frosting Ingredients:

3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup Water
8 egg whites, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flaked coconut (or more according to your preference)

Coconut Cake Frosting Directions:
1. Combine sugar, cream of tartar, salt and water in heavy saucepan.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is clear. Without stirring, continue cooking until mixture reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer (soft ball stage).
3. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Let mixer continue to run and slowly pour the hot sugar mixture in a thin stream down the side of the mixer bowl (don't let the sugar mixture come into contact with the beaters.
4. Add the vanilla and almond extracts. Continue beating until stiff peaks form and frosting thickens to desired consistency.
Assembling the Coconut Cake
1. Level each layer by carefully slicing off with a serrated-edge knife any high spots. If your layers are fairly level, you can skip this step. (Slicing is easier if layers are placed in the freezer for an hour or so.)
2. Remove any crumbs from the layers.
3. Center one layer, upside down, on the serving platter. Tuck waxed paper strips under the cake to protect platter from frosting. These will be removed later.
4. Spread the first layer with frosting.
5. Place the second layer, upside down, on the first layer.
6. Spread the second layer with frosting.
7. Place the third layer, right side up, on the second layer.
8. Frost the sides of the cake liberally. Spread remaining frosting on top of cake, making sure cake is uniformly covered.
9. Keep a glass of hot water on hand and dip spatula into it to ease spreading the frosting. (You may not need it.)
10. Sprinkle top of cake with coconut. Lightly press coconut to sides of cake so that it adheres.



im sure after trying the cake that we have made wunt look exactly kama hii but it will sure as hell taste good.