Black Sesame Paste With Almonds Using Cuisinart Hot And Cold Blender

Black Sesame Paste is one of the common dessert found in dessert chain outlets such as Ah Chew Desserts, Dessert Hut, Er Gu Dessert (二姑糖水) and etc. And some believe that by consuming black sesame paste it also helps to nourish the blood, lubricate the intestines and clear "wind" in the stomach too.

On the down side, for those suffer from spleen troubles, diarrhoea or loose stools should avoid over-consumption of these small seeds.

BLACK SESAME PASTE WITH ALMONDS

After the previous recipes on Broccoli And Spinach Soup, Pumpkin And Meat Porridge; this post I would be sharing another quick Asian dessert which I am sure most of you would love it. The consistency of this Black Sesame Paste could be adjust with additional 100 - 150ml more of water during cooking if you prefer a more dilute and watery paste.

(Serves: 4 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 20 minutes)

Ingredients:
150g Black Sesame Seeds
50g Uncooked Rice
4 Cups (1000ml) Water
150g Caster Sugar/Rock Sugar
1 Stalk Pandan Leave, knotted
50g Roasted Almonds, roughly chopped

Method:-
1. Pre-soaked the rice for at least 30 minutes, drain well and set aside.

2. Rinse the black sesame seeds, drain well and pan-fry till completely dry and fragrant.

3. Place sesame seeds and rice into Cuisinart Hot And Cold Blender glass jug together with water. Set the timer to 20 minutes, blend the mixture for 30 seconds using SPEED 1.

4. Next add in pandan leave and sugar, bring the mixture to boil on HIGH for 5 minutes before switching it to SIMMER and continue to cook until end of the cycle.

5. When everything is cooked, remove the "pandan leave" and PULSE the mixture twice or more to achieve your desire texture.

6. Ladle Black Sesame Paste between serving bowls, garnish with roasted almonds and serve immediately.

To serve you could top it with some roasted almond to enhance the taste or even with a scoop of Vanilla Ice-cream if you are open to some adventure new combination. Till then I would update more recipes such as "Watermelon Granita", "Porridge", "Bolognese Sauce" using Cuisinart Hot And Cold Blender soon.

STAND A CHANCE TO WIN CUISINART SILICONE WARE

Just for your information, I saw from ToTTs Facebook page that they already round-up the 8 Finalists for Cuisinart Soup Making Competition (Singapore region) which will take place on 01 December 2012. After which the winning team will represent Singapore in the regional competition in Hong Kong for the championship! So why not "VOTE" and support your favourite soup shown above at ToTT Facbook Page (link here) and be one of the 4 Lucky Voters to win a set of Cuisinart Silicone Ware worth S$80.00!

I have "voted" the Healthy Prawn Broccoli Soup (2nd row, 2nd soup), what about you?

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How to Blanch Almonds

Turning raw almonds into blanched almonds is easy peasy.

Blanching Almonds

Boil some water (saucepan, kettle, microwave, etc.), enough to cover your almonds.

Place your almonds in a heat proof bowl and pour boiling water over them. Cover with a plate or lid and let it sit for 1 minute only, any longer and your almonds will get soggy.

Drain them in a sieve and run them under cold water and drain again. Do not let the almonds sit in water. Then use your fingers and squeeze them out of their skins. The skins will have separated off the nut and will come off very easily. Be careful of the almonds shoot out of your fingers and onto the kitchen floor.

Dry the almonds on a paper towel then bake them at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 to 10 minutes.

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