(Nepalese) Momo and Tomato chutney

To end the month on a high note, I would like to include one of the traditional delicacies of Nepalese cuisine. The mouthwatering momos and tomato chutney. I used to have momos and tamatar achaar during weekends at our house owner's place when we used to live in Nepal. Three years of schooling in Kathmandu was absolute bliss.

 Speaking of Momos, it comes in different types...fried, boiled and steamed. Am gonna show you the steamed version and the most tastiest of all. It definitely looks complicated and difficult when you see it for the first time but trust me, if you got the patience and time....nothing is impossible. And yeah...forget about perfection!! Love and time is what goes in every tasty dish!! Momos ramro che!! ;)

 Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 kg minced chicken (Buy boneless and blend it in a mixer)
• 1 Big Onion (finely chopped)
• 5-6 cloves of garlic(finely chopped)
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp chilli sauce
• 1 tsp Black pepper
• 2 tsp oil
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

1) Mix the flour, salt, oil and add a little water to make a dough.

2) In a bowl, put the minced chicken and add the onions, garlic, soy sauce, chilli sauce, black pepper, salt to it. Mix everything together with hand.

3) Divide the dough into equal-sized balls and roll into very thin circles of roughly 4" diameter.

4) Dab a tiny bit of water on the edges of the circle. Put a tablespoon-full of chicken mixture in the centre of each circle.   Fold the edges over the mixture and pinch and twist to seal (like a modak) or fold the Momo in half (like a gujiya) and pinch the edges shut. Get as creative with the shapes. It needn't be perfect as we are not working for some restaurants. We are Kitchen goddesses.

5)Place the Momos in a steaming dish and cook for 10-15 minutes.

For the Vegetarians:

You can substitute the chicken with spring onion, shreded cabbage, grated paneer and red pepper and follow the same process mentioned above.

Tomato Chutney

Ingredients:

• 3 Tomatoes (large & bright red in color)
• 3 Garlic pods
• 3 Green chillies
• 1 tsp Red chilly powder
• Coriander leaves (Garnishing)
• Salt - to taste

Preparation :

1. Put the tomatoes in boiling water for a few minutes. Remove from water, cool and peel the skin.

2. Mash the tomatoes and add the garlic, green chillies, red chilly powder and salt to taste.

3. Pour the chutney mixture into a mixie and mix into a smooth blend.

4. Transfer the chutney to a small flass bowl and sprinkle a few coriander leaves for that

special flavor.

Kozhi Varutha Curry (Sauted Chicken in a spicy gravy)

Kerala- God's own country is an exotic mixture of nature's very best. The culture, the scenic beauty of the coconut lagoons and the delicacies of this state is an "out of this world" experience. And am proud to be called a "Malayalee". Speaking of delicacies, Coconuts grow in abundance in Kerala, hence grated coconut and coconut milk is widely used in every single keralan dish.

The recipe of Kozhi (Chicken) Varutha (fried) Curry is what am going to share with you today but without the coconut!! That's right...In this fast paced life, no one has really time to break a coconut, grate them and grind it in a mixer and later on washing all those used vessels...Aaaah...ask me about it!

"Love and Calories" promises to bring the same taste but without the coconut! Adipoli!! ;)

Ingredients

• Chicken - 1.2 kg (with bone) or 700 g (boneless)
• Black peppercorns - 1/2 tsp pounded
• Cardamom pdr - 1/2 tsp
• Clove pdr - 1/4 tsp
• Cinnamon pdr - 1/4 tsp
• Coriander leaves - 4 tsp chopped (Garnishing)

Coriander pdr - 1 tspyou can use 2 tsp of garam masala powder if you don't have time to grind cardomom, cinnamon and cloves)

• Curry leaves - 12
• Garlic paste - 6 tsp
• Ginger paste - 3 tbsp
• Groundnut oil - 1/3 cup (you can use vegetable oil also)
• Lemon Juice - 3 tsp
• Onions - 1/3 cup chopped
• Red chilli pdr - 2 tsp
• Tamarind - size of a lemon wedge
• Tomatoes - 1/2 cup chopped
• Turmeric pdr - 1 tsp
• Salt to taste

Method

1) Clean the chicken and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes.

2) Mix 1 tsp of red chilli pdr, turmeric pdr and salt with half of the ginger- garlic pastes and rub this marinade onto the chicken pieces. Keep aside for 30 min.

3) Soak the tamarind in 5 tsp of water. After 10 min, mash well, squeeze out the pulp and discard. Keep extract aside.

4) Heat oil in a deep based pan (kadai), add the marinaded chicken and saute over medium heat until evenly light golden brown. Remove the chicken and reserve the oil.

5) Reheat the reserved oil, add the curry leaves and stir over medium heat for 30 sec. Add onions and saute until light brown. Add the remaining ginger - garlic pastes. Stir for a minute.

6) Add the tomatoes and stir. Cook till the oil appears on the sides of the pan. Add the cardomom, coriander pdr, clove and cinnamon pdr, 1 tsp red chilli pdr and stir for a minute. Add the tamarind extract and cook for 5 min.

7) Add the chicken pieces and simmer for 8-10 min. Add 1 cup water and bring it to boil. Do not cover the pan with a lid. Reduce to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly until the moisture has evaporated and the masala coats the chicken pieces.

8) Sprinkle with pepper and lemon juice. Serve with love. :)

Fish Cakes with Winter Coleslaw

I am residing in England for the past 4 years now, and it will be a bit rude if I don't include at least one English recipe in my blog. Pies and pasties, Internationally famous Fish and Chips, The English Breakfast, cuppa tea, clotted cream and cheese and meaty stews and sausages are some of the English trademark. There's something royal about each and every dish. They didn't rule the world, just like that!! ;)

Since I have already started off my blog with a chicken and 2 vegetarian recipes, its high time I provide something for my Fishetarian friends too. I come from a family where, fish is considered to be the ultimate of all the delicacies. My dad has taught me to respect all kinds of sea food or rather I call it the "Seafruit" ;) So, without wasting your time and mine, I thought of an easy English fish recipe for this winter season. Yeah,...Its still chilly out here!!

Ingredients

• 500 gm Boneless Fish (Preferably Cod, Haddock or Salmon)
• 3 Big Potatoes (Boiled and peeled)
• 1 bunch of Spring onions (finely sliced) (you can substitute it with 1 big onion)
• 1 Capsicum (finely chopped)
• 2-3 Green chillies (finely chopped)
• A handful of coriander leaves (finely chopped)
• 1 Egg (slightly beaten)
• 1 tsp Black pepper
• Bread crumbs (for coating)
• Olive oil (or use any other oil to shallow fry)
• Salt to taste

Method

1) Boil the fish in water with a little salt for 10 min and no more. Take the fish out and break it to little chunks with your hand.

2) Mash the boiled potatoes and mix it with the cooked fish. Fold it slowly and make sure the chunks don't fully mash away with the potatoes.

3) Heat a pan with 2 tsp of oil and saute the spring onions and capsicum for 2 min. Add a pinch of salt and 1/2 tsp of black pepper.

4) Put this into the potato - fish mixture. Also add the green chillies and the coriander leaves. Add the remaining 1/2 tsp pepper and salt accordingly. add the egg too and mix everything together.

5) Make 4 -5 palm sized round patties (like cutlets) and dredge them in the dried bread crumbs. Coat the patties well with the crumbs and shake to remove the excess.

6) Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and shallow fry the fish cakes. 3 min each side. The heat must be kept in medium. The fish cakes are ready.

WINTER COLESLAW

1) 1 cup Carrot (Grated)

2) 1 cup Cabbage (finely sliced)

3) 1 cup Lettuce (finely sliced)

4) 1 cup Beetroot (grated)

Actually you can choose any veg you like for your coleslaw!!

5) 100 ml Curd

6) 1 tsp Dijon Mustard

7) 1 tsp olive oil

Place all the veggies in a bowl. Pour the curd, mustard and olive oil. Mix it all up.

Aloo Nawaabi

Potato - The most delicious vegetable in the whole world, is often taken for granted. Be it fried, baked or boiled, be it any national or international cuisine, vegetarian or non vegetarian,this root vegetable is used in every form and by every one in their daily diet.

A spud blends in almost all the Indian dishes as well.

Aloo Nawaabi is a dish taught by my maternal aunt (Viji) and am gonna share it today with you all. Its a simple tangy royal dish with a LAC (Loveandcalories) twist to it. ;) Wah aloo....

Indgredients

• 4 large potatoes (Boiled and peeled)
• 2 dry red chillies
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 inch ginger
• 1/2 bunch of coriander leaves
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• a pinch of sugar
• 1 tsp of black pepper
• oil for deep frying (approx 250 ml)
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1) In a bowl, soak ginger, garlic, coriander leaves and red chillies with a little water.

2) Cut the boiled potatoes into 1 inch cube and deep fry until golden brown. Spread the fried potatoes on a tissue to strain out all the excess oil.

3) Grind the soaked ingredients to a paste.

4) Heat a deep based pan (kadai) and pour 2 tbsp of oil in it. Put cumin seeds and let it splutter.

5) Add a pinch of sugar to it. Then add the ground paste and stir for 30 sec. Now add the tomato ketchup, salt, pepper and mix well.

6) Now add the fried potatoes in it and coat well the mixture. Stir well for 2-3 min. Serve as a side with rotis and dal.

Italian Bruschetta

From my gourmet kitchen, I present to you my very first recipe, which is an Italian antipasti (starters). An original Italian Bruschetta is a toasted crusty bread, rubbed with garlic and topped with chopped tomatoes and fresh garden basil (tulsi). As I am an Indian and my taste buds cannot handle bland food, I customized the recipe to my own taste. And did I tell you, its a healthy eating option as well. ;)

Serves : 4

Ingredients

• 1 Loaf of Pane Toscano(for traditional bruschettas) (if not, try with any thick crusted bread)
• 6-7 Ripe tomatoes (finely chopped)
• 1 Red onion (medium - finely chopped)
• 3-4 Cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1/2 Capsicum (finely chopped) (optional)
• 2 tbsp of Extra Virgin olive oil
• 6-7 Fresh Basil leaves
• 2-3 Strands of coriander leaves (chopped)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Mozzarella cheese (Shredded) (completely optional)

Instructions

1. 
   

1) Cut the Bread into thick slices.

2) Mix the tomatoes, onion, garlic, capsicum, basil and coriander leaves together in a bowl.

3) Add one tbsp of EV Olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Option 1 (Traditional Method)

1) Cover the mixture and let it rest in the refrigerator for 15 - 30 min.

2) Meanwhile, turn on the oven to 450F to preheat.

3) Coat one side of each bread slice with olive oil.

4) Place the bread slices on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. and toast them for 5-6 min in the oven.

5) Take out the bread slices and place them on the serving dish, olive oil side up.

6) Spoon the cold tomato mixture on top of these warm bread slices and serve.

Option 2 (Love and Calories Way)

1) Turn on the oven to 450F to preheat.

2) Coat one side of each bread slice with olive oil and spoon the tomato mixture on it.

3) Place the bread slices on a cooking sheet.

4) Top all the Bread slices with a little amount of shredded mozzarella cheese. The mixture should be covered with cheese.

5) Toast the bread slices for 5-6 min or till the cheese melts.

6) Voila! Serve Hot.