Archive for the ‘Nepali food’ Category

In Joyous Memory of Newah Bhoye

Saturday, July 30th, 2011
Image based on photograph by Iryna Kuchma

I grew up surrounded by the smells of plethora of Newah dishes, often prepared just for everyday meals. But I lacked passion for food or had any desire of engaging in elaborate Newari cooking. Being the eldest expat family in the United States, many frequented my home – often expecting a home cooked meal. This compelled me to cook dishes from my childhood. Slowly as my cooking evolved, I began adapting Newah cuisine from my childhood to my American-Nepali meals.

Newah Bhoye (Bhoj) is an iconic feast celebrating intimate family gatherings to lavish big weddings.  Newars of the Kathmandu valley are known for their love of good food. There is even a running joke in Nepal that goes like “others ethnic groups may ruin themselves with polygamy, but Newars would ruin themselves just by feasting”. Newah Bhoye showcases Newah culture’s deep relationship with its food. In the recent years, many Nepalese immigrated to the west, which forced them to exchange their traditional food with items from dollar menu.  As a Newah immigrant, I can only reminiscent days of Bhoye, when I accompanied my family to a wedding Bhoye of my older cousin, or Bhoye celebrating Yenyaye puni (Indra Jatra), or one during Mohani (Dashain).  Many Newars in Kathmandu valley still prepare Bhoye during traditional festivities, despite the demands of modern day lifestyle, and growing homogenization of the culture. However, this Bhoye culture is slowly getting lost somewhere between a newly opened KFC and microwavable dinner from Bhat Bhateni.

Bhoye is feasted while sitting down in a long line on a hand woven paddy straw mat on the floor. The straw mats, called Sukul, are usually 18 to 20 inch wide and 15 to 20 feet long. Diners are seated according to the family hierarchy, such as the father followed by his eldest son and so forth.

Vendor carrying straw mats on a bicycle. Image: Prashant Shrestha

The food items in Bhoye are sequentially served to signify the harmony between food and our body. Bhoye starts by laying a leaf plate, called Lapte, in front of each seated guest by servers who are known as Bharin. The plates are handmade by stitching together leaves of Sal (botanical name Shorea Robusta) tree by blunt needle-thin bamboo sticks into a shape of  about 14-inch round plate.

Lapatee (Leaf plates and bowl). Image: Benjamin Vander Steen

Here is how Bhoye progresses in a sequential order;

1.  Baji (Chiura or beaten rice)
Bharins start Bhoye by putting Baji (Chiura or beaten rice) on the leaf plates.

Baji (Chiura or beaten rice)

2. Aaloo (potato salad)
Next, Achar is put on the plate next to BajiAchar is a salad made by mixing diced boiled potatoes (Aaloo) with small green peas, seasonal root vegetables such as radish, carrot. It is seasoned with ground sesame, chili, lemon juice, oil, turmeric, salt and fried fenugreek seeds. Often, Achar is served in a separate leaf bowl called Bohata, which is 3 to 4 inches bowl made similar to the leaf plate (Nepali Potato Salad Recipe).

Aloo Achaar (Potato sesame salad)

3. Water buffalo meat
The third item served is curried stewed of water buffalo meat called Dayakugu Laa. Dayakugu Laa with its gravy is served over the Baji. The rich gravy soaks Baji with its umami flavors as well as softens the crispy Baji. After serving of Dayakugu Laa, guests may begin to eat.

4. Boo Bo (Geda Gudi or mixed beans)
The water buffalo stew is followed by Boo Bo (Geda Gudi or mixed beans), which is served as the fourth item.  The Boo Bo consists of three types of beans such as Mee Kegu (Methi Kerau) is a mixture of soaked fenugreek seeds mixed with small green peas simmered in aromatic curry. It is seasoned with garlic, ginger, salt, turmeric, cumin, chili, vegetable oil, and cilantro.  Kegu (Kerau or yellow peas) and Simpu (Simi or white beans) are two other beans made in the similar way as Mee Kegu. All three Boo Bo are put on the side of the same leaf plate next to Baji by three different Bharins.

Boo Bo (Beans)

5. Kauli (cauliflower)
The next item served is a seasonal vegetable curry, usually Kauli (Cauliflower) sautéed with garlic, ginger, salt, turmeric, cumin, chili, oil, cilantro and tomatoes.

Kauli  (cauliflower curry)

6. Aaloo Chwon (Aaloo Tama or  potatoes and bamboo shoots)
Immediately after the seasonal vegetable, another Bharin serves Aaloo Chwon (Aaloo Tama). Aaloo Chwon is a stew of potatoes, sour bamboo shoots, and black-eyed peas or green beans. It is seasoned with lots of chili, garlic, ginger, salt, turmeric, cumin, oil, cilantro and tomatoes. The Aaloo Chwon is often served on a Bhota, the leaf bowl.

Aaloo Chwon | Aaloo Tama (potatoes and bamboo shoots)

7. Khashi ya Laa (goat meat) or Kha ya Laa (chicken meat)
Next Bharin comes with a meat dish called Khashi ya Laa (goat meat) or Kha ya Laa (chicken).  These meats are not cultural norm in a typical Bhoye, but serving these meats signifies the higher social and financial status of the host.

Khashi Ya Laa (goat curry)

8. Puk Laa (Bhuton or offal)
By this time another Bharin comes to serve Puk Laa (Bhuton), which is fried internal organs of water buffalo seasoned with some spices and salt.

Bhutan (Fried offal)

After serving of Puk Laa, all Bharins line up to serve a second serving of the dishes, which may continue again.

9. Ayela (rice alcohol)
In between the first and second rounds, usually ladies of the host family line up and start to lay Salicha (small earthen bowl) in front of each guest. Salicha is a round clay glass about 2 inches in diameter that is used for serving Ayela (alcohol made of millet or rice) from a special long vase-like container called Aanti. The ladies pour Ayela slowly starting close at Salicha and gradually lifting up to the waist level to aerate the alcohol similar concept as aerating the wines.


Image based on photograph by Ritesh Man Tamrakar

10. Wauncha (Saag or green leafy salad)
After finishing second servings, Bharins begin serving cooked seasonal green leafy vegetables called Wauncha made usually from spinach or mustard leaves.

Wauncha (Saag or green leafy salad)

11. Paun Kwa (Amilo or sour soup)
Immediately after serving leafy vegetable, a sweet and sour soup-like dish called Paun Kwa (Amilo) is given to cleanse the palate. Paun Kwa is served in the empty Bhota previously used for Aaloo Chwon or in empty Salicha that was used for Ayela. Paun Kwa is made of fruit called Aamli (Lapsi – botanical name Choerospondias axillaris ).

12. Dhau (sweetened yogurt)
After serving of Paun Kwa, once again the Bharins come around serving Baji. This time the Baji is meant to be eaten with Dhau (sweet yogurt) as part of dessert.

Then the next Bharin starts to serve Dhau.

13. Sisabusa (diced vegetable salad)
In the end Bharins serve Sisabusa with a pinch of salt.  Sisabusa is mixture of vegetables and fruits such as diced carrots, radishes, cucumbers, soaked small green peas, peeled pieces of oranges or any other seasonal fruits and vegetables.

After the serving of Sisabusa, the Newah Bhoye officially completes.  Despite the completion of the Bhoye, the seated guests do not stand up right after finishing. Everyone waits until the elder member stands up, as a sign of a respect towards the elders.

14. Newari Desserts
Additionally, depending on the economical status or caste of the host, some tidbits, called Tuchha, are also served prior to the main Bhoye begins. Tuchha may contain pieces of boiled eggs, Chhoyela (grilled water buffalo meat), spiced soybean or black-eyed pea, and a small portion of fried Baji. Likewise, especially during the wedding Bhoye, a sweet snack called Lakhamari is also given to the guests as a favor to take home.

Newari Desserts. Image: Ritesh Man Tamrakar

It is indeed a daunting task to organize a Bhoye for anyone, but some Newah expats are preserving this vibrant Bhoye culture by making part of some festival celebration. I hope my writing about Bhoye would at least inform about this ancient food culture, if not encourage a few to adopt it for their next festivities.

This writing was prepared with the assistance of family members Sahana Shrestha in Nepal and Bindesh Shrestha in the United States. A form of this article was published in Laskus magazine 2011 issue.

The best Jalebi in the world

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

If above Jalebi video does not play, click here.

Everyday in Delhi, I ate Jalebi from a roadside stall close to where I was staying. Jalebi is a thin pretzel shaped pastry made from leavened fried dough dipped in sugar syrup. Similar are dessert are also found in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya and is known as Zlabia.

Delhi Jalebi

The Jalebi stand was setup in front of a local mithaiwala’s (pastry chef) dessert store selling hundreds of Indian desserts – most shinny silver wrap and all made from flour, butter, milk, sugar, and pinch of spices. The video clip shows making of Delhi Jalebi.

Zlabia (Image adapted from photo by Amekinfo)

Jalebi is an evening time snack in Delhi, India. In Kathmandu Nepal, where it is known as Jeri, it is considered a breakfast food often served with a thin deep fried flatbread called swari. Both go well so together that people normally get them together and referred to the dish as Jeri Swari. Most of Kathmandu roadside Jeri (Jalebi) stalls serve a simple Jeri. While in India, there is tendency of serving spiced up Jeri.

Jeri (Jalebi) from Kathmnadu Nepal

Often one can even find a pretty good quality Indian dessert in the United States – thanks to huge exodus of talented Indian pastry chefs. However, I have yet to find even edible Jalebi in the United States. There is a simple reason behind it – Jalebi is not served fresh in the United States.  Jalebi is a fresh dessert – fry batter, soak in sugar syrup and bite into crispy warm dessert – all done within a few minutes.

Often many mithaiwalas (pastry chefs) prefer serving cold Jalebi made in a big batch since it is cheaper to make. They try to beat the flavors of fresh Jalebi by adding other flavors such as saffron, cardamom or adding bright food coloring. Here’s the news for them – a simple Jalebi fresh off the fryer beats any of stale concoction any day.

Jalebi (Jeri here) made with adding food coloring in streets of Kathmandu

The small Jalebi stall in a regular neighborhood of Delhi served the best Jalebi I ever ate in my life. The stall was not in a famous tourist or commercial district or had decades of history behind it. They simply made fresh Jalebi.

The flour batter for Jalebi was fermented few hours before in morning. Jalebis were fried to order. The batter was put in cheesecloth and dispensed through a small hole to make a desired shapes (see video). After fried golden brown, it was dipped in sugar syrup for few seconds and put in colander to remove excess syrup. The resulting Jalebi was thin crusted goodness – such a simple thing in life can bring such a big joy.

After nearly two weeks of eating Jalebi everyday, the Jalebiwala (Jalebi maker) gave me his recipe for what I consider the best Jalebi in world. Many us will disagree on where is the best Jalebi in the world. However, those who disagree also have a easy consensus  that a good Jalebi or Jeri or Zlabia is always fresh and often simple.

Here’s the  simple recipe for Jalebi from the Delhi Jalebiwala.

Maida (substitute all purpose flour) 300
Yogurt 200 g
Besan (chickpea flour) 100 g

Let it stay for at least ½ hour to few hours.

Fry in medium heat.

Dunk in sugar syrup.

Eat warm.

To see more photos including photos of the same Delhi Jalebi with the flash, go to DesiGrub’s Facebook Page.

Counting Calories in Momo

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011

Generally momos, curried dumplings, are steamed and consumed during cold winter evenings in Nepal. Hot steam used for cooking momos keeps the rooms warm between the batches (pakh) of momos, which also warms the body of the eater, in turn giving warmth to their hungry souls.

Momos are steamed in multiple batches every 15 minutes or so at the home in small steamer consisting of 2 or 3 levels/floors. Everyone ends up with only a few momos couple of times in an hour. So momo party usually takes a shape of a slow snacking all evening long usually resulting in bloated stomachs caused by the shared gluttony.

How many calories are in momo?

Nutritional analysis of momo meal to find calories per serving is an approximation at the best because there is no standard recipe for momo and there is no data on numbers of momo people consume per serving.

Nutritional Analysis on published Momo Recipes

The initial sets of nutritional values were calculated the four meat based momo recipes selected from published momo recipes. The first recipe chosen was the turkey momo recipe published on the DesiGrub by Anita (my favorite American momo recipe). The next recipe was khasi (lamb) momo recipe from the book Asian Dumplings by Andrea Nguyen. The final two recipes were lamb momo and chicken momo from the most comprehensive Nepali cookbook, The Taste of Nepal by Jyoti Pathak.  The size of momo was based on what was suggested by the author.

Publications DesiGrub Asian Dumpling Taste of Nepal Taste of Nepal
Momo Description Turkey Momo Lamb Momo Chicken Momo Lamb Momo
Total Calories (kcl)
57
92
71
150
Total Calories from Fats (kcl)
19
32
22
53
Total Fat (g)
2
4
3
6
Total Saturated Fat (g)
0
1
1
2
Total Transfat (g)
0
0
1
1
Cholestrol (mg)
5
8
20
17
Sodium (mg)
314
225
223
223
Carbohydrate (g)
7
11
7
8
Dietary Fiber (g)
1
1
0
0
Sugar (g)
0
0
0
0
Protein (g)
3
3
5
5
Vitamin A (i.u.)
5
44
15
76
Vitamin C (mg)
2
4
0
7
Calcium (mg)
12
7
4
9
Iron (mg)
1
1
1
1

All these values are calculated based on the USDA estimates. The quality of ingredients may change these values slightly.

Nutritional Analysis on the Same Momo Recipe – Different Meat

All those four momo recipes are inherently different. Many ingredients change from one momo recipe to another. What would happen if we just change the meat? Thus, keeping everything else same, we calculated nutritional value for the DesiGrub momo recipe by changing the type of meat. For this nutritional analysis, the size of a momo was about 28-32 grams each, which we found was about an average size for momo based on our quick measurements.

Meat>>
Turkey
Lamb
Chicken
Buffalo
Beef
Total Calories (kcl)
57
58
58
64
59
Total Calories from Fats (kcl)
19
21
23
28
22
Total Fat (g)
2
2
3
3
3
Total Saturated Fat (g)
0
0
0
1
0
Total Transfat (g)
0
0
0
0
0
Cholestrol (mg)
5
5
6
5
4
Sodium (mg)
314
314
313
314
313
Carbohydrate (g)
7
7
7
7
7
Dietary Fiber (g)
1
1
1
1
1
Sugar (g)
0
0
0
0
0
Protein (g)
3
2
2
2
3
Vitamin A (i.u.)
5
5
5
5
5
Vitamin C (mg)
2
2
2
2
2
Calcium (mg)
12
12
11
12
12
Iron (mg)
1
1
1
1
1
Weight
32
32
32
32
32

We found an average number of standard (generic) size momo has 59 calories. We can safely assume each momo is ~ 60 calories depending on the recipe and exact size.

Average Number of Momo Consumed per Person

After getting average calories per momo, we still need to know how many momo an average person eats to calculated the total calories of momo dinner. Momos sold as a fast/street food is served usually in a plate of 10 momos. However, during “steamout” with friends and family, who is really counting? We performed a quick survey on the Facebook (Join DesiGrub @ Facebook!) and got 37 responses up to the point of writing.

The average numbers of momo per person per meal is 18±13. However we found these averages changed depending on national origin and sex of the respondent. The highest average was for a male of Nepali origin, who typically consumes 27±10 momos per meal. The lowest number of momo eating group was non-Nepali female with just 10±3 momos per meal.

Both male & female Female Male
Non-Nepali 12±6 10±3 15±11
Nepali 24±14 21±16 27±10
Average for Everyone 18±13

Average Number of Calories Consumed per Person During Momo Dinner

Here are average calories we are consuming per momo dinner. This estimate still underestimates the total caloric value of momo meal because we don’t account for the sauce (achaar) consumed with momos.

Both male & female Female Male
Non-Nepali 686±377 612±192 907±627
Nepali 1389±841 1255±935 1608±598
Average for Everyone 1085±764

Hopefully, we have not deterred you for eating momos. In next blog post, we will talk about lesson one of the authors learned by being on all momo diet for a week.

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Momo Recipe – In Memory of Kathmandu’s Momocha

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

Momo: the sound, the ambience and the memory of its smell could bring water to the mouth. In Kathmandu valley, this steamed dish used to be commonly cooked by the Newar community. Momo is primarily made with the ground buffalo meat wrapped in thin dough about 3 inches in diameter from all purpose flour called maida.

Changu Narayan in Kathmandu Valley (Photo:TheDreamSky – Dhilung Kirat)

Water buffalo meat could be the primary reason that momos were limited to the Newar and handful of other community in the past. Due to the religious taboos, the buffalo meat was prohibited amongst other castes. Many Nepalese believe momo originated from Tibet, but similar dishes are found throughout the Central Asia. In recent years, the popularity of momo has risen very high – you probably won’t find anyone in Kathmandu who doesn’t like momo or at least have heard about it. Now, you can easily find momos with turkey, chicken, goat, beef or mixed vegetables. The prevalence of vegetarian Momo is the proof of the momo mania.

Water Buffalo in Cambodia rice field (Photo: IRRI Images)

Momo is normally eaten with a sauce made out of tomato, cilantro and sesame seed and/or combination of one or many types of nuts such as cashews, peanuts, walnuts. Adding nuts to the sauce not only provides a good source of needed fat for your body but also gives a unique taste that makes a “plate” licking dish. Although momo comes in many different shapes/sizes and with varieties of meat, the best and the authentic Kathmandu Momo would be the one made with the ground buffalo meat.

No one could dispute momos is the mostly eaten street food in the Kathmandu as well as a party dish for Nepal expat community living abroad. In the United States, I make Momo with the turkey meat. This is not by my choice but what I can commonly find in local grocery stores. Many people make momo with wrapper that is freshly made using all purpose flour. For me, that is an extra chore. Thus, for my own convenience, I use wonton wrapper, easy to wrap and readily available in most Asian (e.g., Korean) grocery stores. Oh yeah- wrapping the momo requires a skill. If your momo is wrapped too tightly and close to the meat, it might not be as good as the one that has a small space between the meat and the wonton.

Ingredients:

Ground Turkey (approximately 1.5 lb)
1 pack of wonton wrapper – about 45 pieces
Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon
Black Salt – 1/8 – teaspoon
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Black pepper -  ¼ teaspoon
Ginger paste – ½ teaspoon
Garlic paste – ½ teaspoon
Momo masala – 1 tablespoon (optional)
Vegetable oil – 1/5 cup
Cinnamon  - ¼ teaspoon
Butter – 2 tablespoon
Timur – 1/6 teaspoon (similar to sezuan pepper)
Chopped or crushed Cabbage – 1 cup
Crushed dried onion – ¼ cup
Tomoato paste – ¼ cup
Crushed parsley – 2 teaspoon
Crushed red pepper 1/4 teaspoon

How to prepare Momo?

Chopped cabbage and other veggies for momo

Add all the ingredients together (beside wonton wrapper) mentioned above in a bowl that is large enough to mix them all together.

Momo filling with all spices

Best if mixed with bare (cleaned) hand for about 10/15 minutes.

Momo filling

Upon mixing, you can put one tsp of mixed meat on to each wonton wrapper and wrap it leaving a space between meat and flour. Spray some vegetable oil on the steamer or rub some hardened butter or ghee. Place wrapped momo on steamer.

Momo ready to be steamed

Steam for 10/12 minutes. The good indicator is when the dough just turns from dull matte texture to slightly shiny.

Momo

Serve with sauce of your choice.

Momo is the dish that can be most enjoyed making and eating with group – rather than just by yourself.

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My Momo

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

A textbook definition of momo, for those who don’t know, is a steamed dish with spiced minced meat wrapped inside a  pocket made of a thin sheet of flour dough.

Momo, in its basic construction, is similar to the following dishes. Most of these dishes originate in Central Asia.

Name Language or Region
Buuz Mongolian
Gyoza Japanese
Jiazo Chinese
Khinkali Georgian
Mandu Korean
Manti Turkish, Kazakh, Kyrgyz
Momo, Momocha, Mo: Mo Nepali, Tibetan
Potsticker English
Wonton Chinese, English

The difference is that the meat filling inside the momo is spiced with curry or related spices from the Indian subcontinent such as cumin, turmeric, coriander seeds etc.

Technically, momo is a potsticker with curried meat. For me, momo is a lot of fond memories; my mother making momos for 17 consecutive nights on our request, savoring cheap “especial” Mo: Mo in a local pasal against my parents wish, hitchhiking 100 miles to Philadelphia to buy my first steamer, Friday night weekly momo dinner at my cousin’s house in Virginia, loud momo parties at friends, last minute mad dash to accommodate a vegetarian momo eater or just a quite weekends with a special someone and lot of momos.

Although I have lot of special memories associated with momo, I hate making them. At first, I believed that I despised the repeated task of pinching dough and filling meat. I still hated it even when I got creative with each pinching of the dough and shape of individual momo.

I finally realized that more than disliking the monotony of making momo, I love the idea that someone made that “momo” just for me. To me, momo carries the warm feeling of someone taking care of me – maybe my ma, bhauju, fufu, bahini, sathi or just a complete stranger.  Each packet of dough filled with the curried meat is just made for me, someone took care of my needs and pampered me with my favorite dish.

For you many other Nepali people, momo would probably symbolize something else, it may mean comradery of working together in a group, taking care of people by feeding, sharing a plate with someone you just met, learning to cook as a child, finding innovative ways to steam momo in a college dorm, casual weekend gluttony, a bout of rebellion by eating meat against the religion, not giving into the peer pressure by staying vegetarian, or getting warmth in a winter night with the family. Whatever the reason maybe, lets celebrate talking, making, steaming, sharing, and eating momo this first week of February.

Making momo in a Massachusetts college (Photo Nepaliketi)

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