Monday 19 March 2012

Easy peasy recipe: Mashed potato and gravy

This is my family's favourite and I'm sharing the recipe here. The gravy recipe was taken from myresipi.com with slight adjustment due to available ingredients and my convenience ;)

Both hubby & son's favourite dish

Mashed potato
Ingredients:
- 5 potatoes (medium size)
- 2 tbs butter
- fresh milk
- salt & pepper

Method:
1. Peel off potatoes and boil til soft.
2. Drain the water and mash the potatoes while they're hot.
3. *Melt the butter and mix with the potatoes.
4. Add fresh milk bit by bit to the mixture and stir to combine, til soft up to your liking. 
5. Add salt & pepper to taste.

*Notes: for those who like it more creamy can add 1 more tbs of butter. (in step 3)


Mashed Potato gravy - credit to myresipi.com 
Ingredients:
- 650 ml water (I roughly put 2-3 mugs of water)
- 5 tbs of chicken stock (I used a cube of maggi brand stock)
- 1 onion chopped (I used half of big onion)
- 1 celery (I didn't use)
- 40 g butter (I didn't add any)
I don't like it too buttery since butter has been added in the mashed potato.
- 20 g flour (I used 1 tbs of flour)
- 1 tbs tomato sauce
- 1 tbs of oyster sauce
- few drops of soy sauce
- salt & pepper

Method:
1. Boil the water in the pot and add chicken stock, celery and onion. Simmer for ab 10 mins.
2. Then filter the sauce into a bowl (to discard the onion & celery).
3. *Pour back the sauce into the pot and put on a low heat. 
4. Dissolve the flour in the water before adding into the pot and stir.
5. Add the oyster sauce, tomato sauce and few drops of soy sauce (for colouring).
6. *Add salt & pepper to taste.

*Notes: 
1. taste first before adding the salt as the oyster sauce & the chicken stock is already salty.
2. If prefer to add butter, melt the butter in the pot before pouring the sauce into it. (in step3)

Serve the mashed potato with the gravy and it's yummy! I can say, more or less like the kfc version;)


Saturday 17 March 2012

Gabungan tradisional dan moden di Souq Waqif



Souq Waqif (سوق واقف) is literally translated to "the standing market", a very popular place among locals and expatriates. This place dates back at least a hundred years and has been recently restored back to its original glory. As for me, it's kind of a unique 'souq' (market) as we can see a mix of traditional and modern character in it. We love to go there, sometimes just for dining. We enjoy strolling along the shops and dining in an open air during winter when the weather is cooler. There are dozens of good restaurants serving cuisines from all over the world and it is also famous for shisha lounges.

In Souq Waqif, we can find almost everything from clothes, handicraft items, spices, pets, jewellery, perfumes and souvenirs.  There are also shops selling 'ihram' clothing and other  essential materials for those who wish to perform Hajj / umrah. We like to buy dried nuts (I mean pistachios, almond, walnuts, etc). There's also a money changer which offer reasonable rates for those who'd like to exchange the currencies.

During holiday seasons, it sometimes hosts mini concerts and also some other art events at night. It's indeed very cheerful and lively nights. It's a 'must-visit' place for tourist while in Doha!! I'll definitely take my family and friends to Souq Waqif when they come to Doha :)


Let's scroll some of the pics taken in Souq Waqif...

a shop selling shisha pipes
@one of the pet shops
along the handicraft shops
Restaurants 
Yummy Haagen Dazs is here too!
Malaysian cuisine - famous nasi lemak, nasi goreng and satay 
rows of clothes shops

Officers on horses
Street show - Avatar theme

one of the art shows 
art show @ night
shop selling traditional rugs