When I can smell again…
>> Wednesday, October 03, 2007
I have to fill my kitchen with wonderful aroma of food to compensate for those painful days. Don’t you think so?
Thanks to all of your lovely comments, I get better now. Sure I still have runny nose but at least my senses of taste and smell are back. With the warmer weather, hopefully my full recovery is just the matter of time…
As you see, I make something to celebrate the return of my senses! The inspiration for these puffs comes from a lovely blog called Arabic Bites, which is run by two sisters Zainab & Hameeda"meedo”. The original recipe is for Khanfarosh, a traditional Arabic sweet. Since I want to get a combination of fragrances for my puffs, I adapt the recipe a little to include orange zest, cardamom and some poppy seeds.
I really love these puffs. With the combination of three types of flours, its texture is very similar to a Vietnamese deep fried pastry called ‘drumstick’ (literal translation). It is a little chewy but not too heavy or overly sweet. Drizzling with some good honey and almond flakes, I just pop the whole thing to my mouth and savour not only the taste but also the fantastic aroma! Isn’t it just so good to be able to taste and smell good food?
Fried Zesty Spiced Sweet Puffs
Recipe adapted from here
Ingredients (I didn’t count how many puffs I got, but enough as snack for 3 people)
1/4 cup fine semolina
½ cup cake flour
1/8 cup wholemeal flour
1/2 cup castor sugar
½ tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Zest of ½ large orange
1 Eggs
3/4 cup milk (I used low fat)
2 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp instant yeast
Pinch of salt
Pinch of saffron
Honey & almond flakes, to serve
Method
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Cover let it rise for 1 hour up to 5 hours. (I left mine to rise for about 3 hours)
Using 1 tablespoon as measurement, drop the dough into hot oil and fry until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper towel. Serve with honey and almond flakes.
PS: I dropped that beautiful leaf plate and broke it yesterday. So sad! Now I have to find a store that still sells such plates to get another one. :(
35 comments:
Ooooh, I don't know how you can feel like cooking when you're not feeling well. I usually just want to crawl into bed and drink chicken soup until whatever ails me goes away. Hope you feel better soon.
What bite-size goodness! I'm sure saffron honey puts it over the top! I am so sorry about your plate! :( but I'm glad you're feeling better :)
Glad you are feeling better. Wonderful photos in this post, and thanks for steering us to Arabic Bites. I love that type of food and there are so few blogs that specialize in it.
Not being able to breath through your nose or smell is hell. Hugs! The sweet bites look gorgeous. I just love Zainab and her sister. Their site has taught me so much about Arabic culture. :D
How sad about the plate. I love those plates. A friend of mine has them. I don't know where she found them. :( Wish I could help!
BZ
Isn't that worse? Not smelling the aroma of food we eat? Specially for foodies like us!:D
Glad you are better and yeah, these reminds of sweet Bajjis we make.Looks yum.
So sorry about the broken plate.My son dropped a beautiful black dish I had last week, fortunately I could find a similar one a week later!:)
My snack round up post is up, more frying for ya!:D
Glad you are feeling better Anh! I am down with a terrible cold this week and have not cooked or even had a good wine to post about! But your post has given me hope that my taste and smell should be coming back to me in a few days. Lovely looking treats, those puffs. Sorry to hear about your plate. I am sure you will find something new!
What a wonderful looking snack to treat yourself (and your returned senses) to!! I don't think I've ever had anything like this, but they sound and look delicious!
Even if my comments sound monotonous, I have to say how beautiful and refreshing that photo and presentation is......can we bake this? I dont want to deep fry :P Hope you find a similar plate again :)
Take care
Shn
Sorry about that lovely plate. Glad you are feeling better today. The flu bug is going to hit us soon when winter comes.
Hi anh,
we glad that you are feeling better today,your Spiced Sweet Puffs looks delicious!
Thanks so much for mention our blog.
zainab & meedo
woah lovely looking sweet. I first thought it was falafel.
This recipe looks so delicious. Can you please pass me one of those? I would love to try them. Sorry about your plate. I hope you have luck finding a replacement. The photos are wonderful too :)
Bummer about the plate! :(
Gorgeous looking sweets though. So unusual.
Beautiful food! I find it so hard to make myself eat when I'm sick because I can't smell anything and it all sounds unappetizing.
Hope you are well your way to recovery. I hate it when I have stuffed nose - can't smell, can't taste, it's a terrible feeling.
Geezzz, you better refrain from fried food when you are not well. But I know these fried snacks are hard to resist. :)
Hi Anh! I'm glad to hear you are feeling better, and I see you are cooking up wonderful little treats! These sound so intriguing, with the exotic blend of ingredients. And they look beautiful in your lovely photos. I'm so sorry about your pretty leaf plate, and I do hope you can find another to replace it. Take care of yourself, and don't overdo things while you are recuperating. :-)
Hope you are feeling better!
The honey oozing over them makes them look super yummy.
Lydia, I am just too bored sitting or lying down and doing nothing. Besides, my body calls for sweet fried food so I just go for it!
Veron, thanks honey. I love small deep-fried puffs.
Kalyn, thanks. Arabic Bites is an excellent blog. I have tried at least 2 recipes from them, and both are winners!
BZ, *hugs hugs*. I adore Middle Eastern food in general, so their site is an excellent source for me to learn!
Asha, thanks buddy. I need to check ur blog out now! And about the plates, I will get a replacement soon when I have time to go shopping. :P
Winedeb, I hope you feel better now. Just take some time to rest, you will feel better.
Deborah, fried puffs are very popular in Asian countries. I'm glad they have similar version in Arabic cuisine! It's like donuts in western culture, but a bit heavier in texture and more fragrant!
Shn, I am not sure if you can bake this. But hang on there, I'll email you something. *hugs*
The Cooking Ninja, thanks. I hope you will be strong this year!
zainab & meedo, I have to say 'thank you'! Your recipes are always very delicious!
Sharmi, falafel is so yummy, too! I just ate them yesterday in one of my fav local Lebanese restaurant :P.
Maryann, thanks dear. I would love to make some for you!
Wendy, i am over the plate now... I may get some other plates later.
Kelly, yeap I agree. When you are sick, there's nothing that tastes good. :(
tigerfish, i am just a bit naughty for once :P
Belinda, you are so sweet! I am feeling 100% for the last 2 days. So I guess things are back to normal now!
Peabody, thanks! I love the honey with these puffs!
oh poor you, I hate it when I break a nice plate too.
These aromatic gems are calling my name... you know I crazy for fried food.
Anh, this plate is really gorgeous! Sorry it's broken. If in the States I know where I can get it ... I'm just being helpless here.
good to hear you're on your way to recovery. i am still not so inspired to eat/cook. after a cold, it's now hayfever that's dulling my taste buds:( but your puffs sound so exotic. all those wonderful flavours. your presentation also makes whatever you make extra special
I'm glad to hear you are feeling better. Your puffs look lovely. Really light and fluffy.
Nabeela, I guess accidents happen in the kitchen so... :)
Gattina, I always try to limit my deep-fried food intake... But sometimes it's really hard to resist!
maybahay, hope you feel better soon!
KJ, thanks.
Nice to know u're felling better now. And .... oh wow these look so exotic !!! my i really want to try these .
...and as for th eplate...its good luck...u will not only find the same plate ...u just might find a better one:p
Printing now your recipe... I have to get semolina though. Glad you are feeling better, this recipe seems very comforting. Hope you can replace your beautiful dish... Pictures as usual, are stunning!! Oh, Anh, I tried the pear pudding with apples and heavy cream instead, so yummy! I still want to make changes to make it more like a flan. Will let you know...
I'm sorry that the plate broke. It was such a pretty one, so I hope that you'll be able to find one to replace it.
Glad that your sense of smell is back and what a way to reward your nose! I can just imagine the aroma. Would love to pop one (or more!) of those in my mouth.
oh you take so beautiful pics!! Its so sad you broke that beautiful plate. Sweet puffs looks yummy.
You make it almost worth getting sick, if you're going to make wonderful food like this! :):) I hope you feel completely well soon.
Gosh, those puffs look and sound amazing - I'm so glad that you're starting to feel better. :)
Wow, I'm truly amazed, at first sight, I thought they were baby potatoes but I was wrong. They're so cute Anh!
p.s: Sorry to read about your broken plate, I do hope you'll find one soon, & maybe a prettier one;)
Sorry to hear you broke your plate! :( But at least you can smell and taste food now. Your puffs look so very delicious. I think it's a bad idea for me to be looking at food blogs when I'm so hungry!
A stuffed-up nose is so dreadful.
Without a sense of smell, life is surely dismal.
Your puff recipe, however, looks like mouthfuls of pleasure! I'm bookmarking it right now...
Fantastic!!! Well done.
They look very nice..A lovely treat.
I also like the addition of the daisy in the picture!! ...sorry to hear about your plate and hope you find a similar one soon.
Cheers
Swati
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