Category Archives: Foodie

Momo

Posted on December 8, 2011 | 19 comments

Momo is one of the popular food of Nepal. Yesterday I had a day off so I decided to make momo. There are different ways of making momo but I think the way I do it is the simplest. So here is the process.

 Ingredients for momo:

  • 3 Wonton Pastry wrappers from an Asian grocery store, 30 pieces in each pack (In Nepal, they make their own from scratch. It is like making roti  but only as big as your palm.)

momo (2)

  • ½ kg chicken mince

momo (5)

  • ¼ of cabbage finely chopped

momo (6)

  • ½ kg red onion finely chopped

momo (7)

  • 1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 fresh red chilli, diced
  • 2 tablespoons mustard oil
  • Salt to taste

 Process

  • Mix the chicken mince, cabbage, red opinion, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, chilli and salt in a bowl.
  • Heat oil in a pan and add turmeric powder. Pour the oil on top of the mixture prepared in above step and mix well.

momo

  • Leave the mixture in the fridge for ½ hours so meat is will be well seasoned.
  • In the mean time, make the golbheda (Nepali tomato sauce) ko achar as mention below.
  • Now we need to pack the meat in the wonton pastry.
  • Take one sheet of pastry on one palm and fold as shown in the video below.
  • You can choose to make a semi circle one (my attempt) or round one (AS’s attempt).

  • Pinch and twist the pleats to ensure the absolute closure of the stuffed dumpling, this keeps the juices inside for a tasty momo.
  • Make at least one pack (30 pieces) before heating the water.
  • Heat water in the steamer.
  • Oil the steamer racks and transfer the dumplings onto the rack. Make sure you leave enough room between two momos to expand during cooking.

momo (3)

  • Once the water starts boiling, put the heat on medium and stack the rack on the steamer.
  • Steam for 10 minutes.
  • Serve the cooked momo with achar.
  • Momos are best when served hot.

 Ingredients for achar

  • ½ kg tomato
  • ½ bunch of coriander
  • 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • ½  teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 fresh red chilli, diced
  • 1 tablespoon mustard oil
  • Salt to taste

Method for achar

  • Dice tomatoes into small cubes.

momo (8)

  • Heat the oil in the pan.
  • Add turmeric powder, ginger and garlic and fry for few minutes.
  • Add diced tomatoes and cumin power, coriander powder, chilli and salt and fry for few minutes.

momo (1)

  • Add 2 cups of water and let it simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes.
  • When the paste becomes thick, it is ready to be served.
  • Cut fresh coriander into small pieces.
  • Now add the chopped fresh coriander and mix it in the achar.

Enjoy Momo with Golbheda ko achar.

PS: If you can find momo masala in Asian grocery store, you can use that instead of cumin and coriander powder. It tastes better with momo masala.

You may also like :

*Yomari *Chatamari *Gundruk Aloo Bhatmas Curry

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Warm mud cake with chocolate sauce and ice-cream

Posted on December 6, 2011 | 2 comments

If you are in Sydney and feel like a mud cake, do go and visit Maisy’s café in Neutral Bay. They sell the best mud cake and open 24 hours. I have been their fan for 10 years now and recently I took AS there and he agreed with me too :). The cake just melts in the mouth and they have good coffee as well. They serve cake with chocolate sauce, ice cream  and strawberry.

 

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Besan ko ladoo

Posted on December 2, 2011 | 1 comment

I made a Besan ko Ladoo for the first time in my life from a recipe I found on the internet. It turned out good so I am sharing the recipe here. It is taken from the website Manjula’s kitchen and the pictures are from my attempt to make them.

Ladoos are rich, sweet dessert-snack made from gently roasted gram flour (besan). This recipe will make approximately 16 ladoos.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups gram flour (basen)
  • 2 tablespoons semolina flour (fine sooji)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted melted butter
  • 3/4 cups sugar (I used only ½ cup sugar as I don’t like my ladoos too sweet)
  • 4 tablespoons sliced almonds (badam)
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarsely grounded cardamom seeds (ilaichi)

For Garnish

  • 1 tablespoon melted butter or ghee
  • 1 tablespoon sliced pistachios (pista)

Process

  1. Put the besan (gram flour), sooji, and melted butter in a large frying pan and mix.
  2. Turn on the stove to medium heat and begin to roast the besan mixture until besan becomes light golden brown in color.  Stir the mixture continuously with a spatula to prevent burning. Cooking on high heat will not allow the mixture to cook thoroughly.
  3. When the color has changed you will also start to smell the sweetness of roasted besan. This should take about 7 to 10 minutes.
  4. Remove the pan from the heat and let the besan cool until it is warm to the touch but don’t let it cool to room temperature.
  5. While the mixture is warm add and mix cardamom seeds, almonds, and sugar.
  6. To make the ladoos, take about 2 tablespoons of warm besan mixture into your palm. Gently press the mixture between your palms to form a smooth, round ball. The ladoos are usually about the size of a ping-pong ball, but you can adjust the size as you prefer.
  7. When you have finished making all of the ladoos, take one ladoo at a time and dip the ladoo  a quarter-inch into melted butter or ghee. Then lightly touch the part of the ladoo with the butter into the sliced pistachios just enough so that some pistachios stick to the ladoo.
  8. Put ladoos back on the plate with the pistachio side facing up.
  9. Leave the ladoos on the plate to cool to room temperature before putting into a covered container.

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How to make Newari “Wo” / Bara with Mugh beans

Posted on November 10, 2011 | 5 comments

Wo is a Newari word which is mashed lentils cake and it  is prepared from the black lentils or green lentils (Mugh beans). Wo  is called Bara in Nepali. There are different kinds of Wo depending on what is put in it and how it is cooked but I am making vegetarian one today.

This recipe was given to me by my MIL.

Ingredients

  • ½ kg Mugh beans (Split or whole)
  • Vegetable oil
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 small onions
  • salt according to taste
  • 2 teaspoon ginger paste
  • 2 teaspoon garlic paste
  • water

Steps 

  • In a big container, pour Mugh beans and add at least 1000ml of water. As these beans increase in size after soaking, it is a good idea to add lots of water in a deep, large container.
  • Leave them overnight to soak if possible otherwise soak for at least 5-6 hours.
  • After 5-6 hours, they will absorbed water and will be swollen and soft.
  • Wash the beans and take some of the green bean coats out. The green coating is very healthy so no need to take a lot out.
  • Put the beans in the mixer with salt, ginger and garlic and grind until it becomes a thick paste.
  • Grind carrots and onion separately.
  • Now mix the bean paste and the carrot onion mixture..
  • In a flat frying pan, add one tea-spoon of oil and let it heat.
  • Put two table spoons of the mix and make a circle around 4-5 inches using  the spoon.
  • Cook on low heat and when the Wo is crispy and brown on one side turn it over.
  • It is best to use slotted(as shown in picture) as it is easier than other spoons.

    Slotted turner

  • Pour one spoon oil again and cook this side till it is crispy and golden brown.
  • Your “Wo” is ready. This is best served hot.  You may also like :

    *Aloo chop *Chatamari *Gundruk Aloo Bhatmas Curry

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How to make Lal Mohan with instant mix

Posted on November 4, 2011 | 13 comments

Lal Mohan is a sweet made from flour into balls and dipped in sugar syrup. It is called Gulab Jamun in India. 

This is one of the dishes I had made for Tihar. I made it for the first time and it turned out to be quite yummy. It is one of the easiest sweets I have made. 

AS, my brothers, my colleagues at work all loved it so I am sharing the recipe here for anyone who wants to try it. 

Ingredients

  • 1 Lal Mohan Mix (Gulab Jamun Mix)
  • 1 kg Sugar
  • Water
  • Oil to fry 

Steps

  • Add around 250ml water to the content of the pack. I used Priya mix which was 500g. Check the pack for other brands.
  • Mix it slowly until there are no lumps left. It will be very mushy and sticky but don’t worry. That is how it is supposed to be.
  • Make sure you don’t knead the dough.
  • Leave the dough for a while (5 – 10 mins). In this time make the sugar syrup.
  • In a big container, add 5 cups of sugar and 5 cups of water. Let it heat for 10 -15 minutes on medium heat.
  • Do not overheat as that will caramelize the sugar and we don’t want that.
  • Back to the dough. Lightly coat your hands with some oil, take a bit of the dough and make small balls of about 1 inch or 1 ½ inches.
  • Try to make all the dough into balls and leave them on the tray. Cover with a kitchen towel which is a bit damp.
  • Heat some oil in a deep pan. The oil must be enough to cover the dough balls.
  • To test the temperature of the oil, add a small ball. If the ball rises slowly to the surface from the bottom then the oil is ready.
  • Add the balls and fry them very slowly under medium temperatures
  • You have to constantly move the balls so it doesn’t stick and cooks all the way through and are brown evenly all around.
  • Once the balls are brown, take them out of the pan and put them on a kitchen paper to soak the excess oil.
  • Now drop the balls in the warm sugar syrup and leave it for an hour. Make sure you use a large container as these balls will expand as they absorb the syrup.
  • Your Lal Mohan is ready. Enjoy !!! 

 

 

 

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