Where cool cats linger
I’m just a cat-loving Malaysian who loves to eat, cook, and bake. I also modify recipes from various cuisines into Halal, Muslim-friendly versions, and share them here so you don’t have to figure it out all by yourself.
My Recipes
My experiments with cuisines from all over the world, using Halal ingredients.
Treats from my home state of Terengganu, Malaysia, as well as a few family recipes.
My best recipes, guaranteed to be crowd pleasers and a hit at potlucks and dinner parties.
My endless pursuit of the yummiest bread and dough recipes, either baked, fried, steamed and more.
Copycat recipes you can make at home, to satisfy your curiosity or cravings.
My collection of recipes by gadget, from air fryers to pressure cookers and other handy kitchen appliances. Anything to help speed up our prep work!
MY MOTTO
#nakmakanbuatsendiri
(Wanna eat? Make it yourself)
Latest Posts
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Super Supreme Pan Pizza: Pizza Hut Copycat
CONTINUE READING: Super Supreme Pan Pizza: Pizza Hut CopycatEvery now and then, during busier times and I just didn’t feel like cooking, we’d get pizza. In KL, junky Pizza Hut pan pizza is our guilty pleasure. Meanwhile, in the States, we’re lucky enough to have Pizza Twist nearby as a halal option. The thing is, “halal” pizzas in the States inevitably means “Indian.”…
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Shepherd’s Pie
CONTINUE READING: Shepherd’s PieI’ve been cooking at home for many years now. Nowadays, I prepare simpler dishes for my family’s daily meals. However, when I first started cooking I was still working a full-time job, so cooking was more of a weekend affair, focusing on “fancier” dishes, or exotic dishes from other cuisines I was curious about. One…
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Simple Chicken Soup
CONTINUE READING: Simple Chicken SoupAfter a string of binge-eating sessions and potlucks and indulgence, sometimes we just want something simple for a change. One of my go-to options for a quick (and healthier) meal is this simple chicken soup. This is a Malaysian style soup, with a very hearty, herbal broth. Perfect for cold rainy days, served with a…
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MENU IDEAS
Having a Party?
I used to organize dinner parties with my friends, dubbed The Dinner Club. I’d propose a menu along with the estimated cost, and we’d set a date. I’d do all the cooking, and my friends chip in for groceries. Here are the menus for my past Dinner Club sessions, in case you need some inspo.
MAKE YOUR OWN INGREDIENTS
To Make, or To Buy?
Sometimes I’m just lazy to run to the store to get something. Sometimes certain ingredients cost a bomb, or simply aren’t available to buy. Take a look at spice mixes and other ingredients I’ve made myself, for use in recipes in this site.
Made a copycat of Pizza Hut’s Super Supreme Pizza.
Super easy, incredible crust recipe by @seriouseats. I scaled the dough up for a 12” pan with some mathing 😆. Bought a ton of halal deli meats from @midamarhalal, beef pepperoni, beef frankfurters, and chicken bologna. Made my own seasoned ground beef topping, then completed the look with mushrooms, pineapples (yes this is how it is from Pizza Hut Malaysia), olives, onions and peppers. With so many types of toppings, it was very tempting to overload the pizza and I tried my best holding back with the toppings. Baked the pizza at max temp on my oven, I actually set off the smoke alarm in the process 😂.
This was so so good. The crust was light, fluffy, and crispy on the edges. Now I’m thinking about what toppings to use next.
#homemadepizza #supersupreme #pizzahutcopycat
I think I finally did it. Tony Roma’s shrimp scampi pasta.
Completely forgot I had to use linguine, and grabbed the usual spaghetti instead 😆. Made tomato pesto using fresh tomatoes. Jazzed up the sauce with minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, which really gave the dish a nice kick. I added more fresh tomatoes, which may or may not have been too much 🤔 Tasted good though. Parmesan added at the end really completes the dish. Definitely will make this part of my regular meal rotation. Yum!
#shrimpscampipasta #copycatrecipe #pasta
Made homemade kaya today.
Not out of curiosity, but more of necessity 😅 Late this morning, I started throwing together the dough to make roti Bengali with kaya. As the dough was mixing along in the mixer, I went through my pantry, and realized I did *not* have any more kaya on hand 😅.
I stared at my running mixer for a while, thinking about my options. Seeing that I had a healthy supply of eggs, coconut milk, gula melaka, even frozen pandan in the freezer, I decided to make my own kaya.
The process wasn’t as difficult as I thought. During the dough bulk rise, I took my time to separate the yolks from the egg whites, making sure I got rid of any egg white residue. I chopped up the gula melaka, then heated it in a saucepan with coconut milk, sugar and pandan over low heat. I then tempered the beaten egg yolks with the heated mixture, before pouring it into the saucepan. After stirring continuously for a short while, I got some decent homemade kaya. 😄
Left it to cool just in time for use in my Bengali bread. So darn good.
#homemadekaya #kayabuatsendiri #serikaya #srikaya #coconutjam
Made limeade. It’s winter but, hey, we have too many limes 😆.
Our neighbor next door has a lime tree near the fence between our houses. The tree is huge, and parts of it hang over our side of the fence. Our neighbor has kindly allowed us to help ourselves to any fruit growing on our side.
One day Faizal noticed a whole bunch of fallen yellow limes on the ground, and they were all still in excellent condition. I grabbed a basket and went to collect them. I also noticed a couple of large green ones on the branches, and picked them for use in my cooking. The yellow ones we juiced to make refreshing limeade, to enjoy after a long day working on our toolshed.
Recipe:
– Juice from 4 limes, about 2/3 cup. Note that yellow limes are less acidic, maybe try using a little less lime juice to start if using green limes.
– Dissolve 2 tbsp honey and 2 tsp sugar in about 1/4 cup hot water. (Adjust to taste)
– Add the juice and honey-sugar syrup into a measuring jug and add enough water to make 3 cups liquid
– Add ice and enjoy!
I’ve been cooking at home for many years now. Nowadays, I prepare simpler dishes for my family’s daily meals. However, when I first started cooking I was still working a full-time job, so cooking was more of a weekend affair, focusing on “fancier” dishes, or exotic dishes from other cuisines I was curious about. One of the earliest dishes I’ve ever attempted was shepherd’s pie.
Like many of the earliest dishes I’ve ever attempted, I made this shepherd’s pie based on the recipe by Emeril Lagasse, with a few tweaks here and there. It’s been over a decade since I last made this dish, but recently I made this pie again, as a potential candidate for food to bring during our camping trips. We loved the result, and will definitely pack this in our cooler on our next trip.
You can save time and use store-bought mince, but I prefer to chop the meat myself, either by hand or using a food processor. In this recent attempt the lamb shoulder chunks I used had a little bit of bone here and there. After removing the meat from the bones, I threw the bone pieces into the pot to simmer with the rest of the meat filling. This really brought a lot of flavor to the mixture. If you’re not a fan of lamb, make this with beef (your shepherd’s pie will then be called “cottage pie”) or chicken (“farmer’s pie”).
Serve this hearty, comforting pie with a side of coleslaw, peas and gravy. To my fellow Malaysians who feel a little nostalgic for Dave’s Deli’s delicious shepherd’s pie, give this version a try!
For the recipe, search “shepherd’s pie” on my blog, linked in my profile.
#shepherdspie
Throwback to the Million Dollar Spaghetti I made.
This was some time back. Served this at a small gathering with my girlfriends. I made a small mistake of simmering the bolognese sauce covered, and it didn’t reduce as much as I would have liked. I felt that this made the sauce less flavorful, but it wasn’t too bad thankfully. Still an excellent option for potlucks and large gatherings.
For the recipe, search “million dollar” in my blog, linked in my profile.
#milliondollarspaghetti #pasta #pastacasserole
Yesterday we made Grandma’s red bean cookies.
I made the filling the night before, to save some time. We doubled the recipe, for a total of 128 cookies. It still took us practically the whole day 😂. So so worth it though. Melt-in-your-mouth flaky pastry with tender ref bean paste. Every bite so perfect. Mmm.
For both the cookie and filling recipes, search “red bean” in my blog, linked in my profile.
Made cream of mushroom soup for a potluck with my girlfriends recently.
One of my top dishes , and it never disappoints. Used apple juice + apple cider vinegar as a non-alcoholic substitute for white wine. Search “wild mushroom” in my blog for the recipe!
#creamofwildmushroomsoup #creamofwildmushroom
