Archive for the ‘Nepali food’ Category

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The Pig Out Dinner

Sunday, January 30th, 2011

I wanted to make an entire meal made of all pig meats after watching the TED talk by Christien Meindertsma. She is the author of the book “Pig 05049″, which discusses at least 185 non-pork pig products, from soaps to artificial hearts. I would call it – “The Pig Out Dinner”.

I had also been meaning to invite a few friends for a dinner, but was not following through my intentions. During one happy hour, some of my friends suggested an impromptu party at my place. I took advantage of the opportunity to host the pig themed dinner.

All of the invited friends were Nepali expats. I wanted to make the dinner in a style of a typical Nepali meal, but with non-traditional ingredients and using spices outside of the Indian subcontinent. The challenge was to make each dish consisting of pork from different parts of the world as well as to cook something that brings back memories of a typical meal from Nepal – dal, bhat and masu.

The Pig Out Dinner

Here’s what I made for the pig out dinner;

Bacon Vodka – Pig Out Signature Drink
For a signature drink, I made bacon-infused vodka.

To make: add the left over bacon fat from cooking the bacon to vodka (or bourbon) in a mason jar, shake, let it stand, freeze it, remove the top hardened fat portion, filter the vodka through a paper coffee filters.

Fat from 2 lb of bacon
2 cups of vodka

The bacon flavor in the vodka was too strong. In order to reduce the total alcohol content and the bacony taste, I served the drink with twice the amount of chilled lime seltzer.

The bacon vodka was not a hit. People stuck with the beers and wines they brought. It might have been a more successful if I had delivered the bacon vodka differently. Next time I plan to serve the bacon vodka in Bloody Mary – that should work.

The Pig Out Appetizers

Pork Salami and Prosciutto with Brie and Bleu cheese
Simple, all I needed to do was buy them.

Pork Rinds
I served spicy and regular pork rind snacks from Utz. Again it was simple and tasty. Pork rinds are potato chips or cracker like snack, made by cooking and removing off most of the fat out of the pig’s rind.

Spicy and Regular Pork Rinds

Bacon Guacamole
Bacon with chopped crispy bacon. I cooked the bacon the night before the party. I chopped the refrigerated bacon into small pieces and prepped guacamole by adding tomatoes and onions (see how not to brown guacamole). Just before guests arrived, I added most of the chopped bacon to the guacamole and mixed them. I used remaining chopped bacon as garnish on top.

Bacon Guacamole

Even though, the guacamole was little toward the salty side, my guests still liked it. Note to self; add less salt if adding bacon.

The Pig Out Dinner Entrée
I served “a-typical” Nepali meal consisting of dal bhat masu.

Beans with Smoky Shredded Pork
As the dal (lentils), I served black bean cooked with smoked pulled pork. I made the black beans from dried Goya beans. I used the similar techniques from as the last time I made black beans (see how to make black beans) except for adding smoky pulled pork.

Rice with Pork Kielbasa Sausages
I made bhat (rice) with sliced pork kielbasa sausage. I added lime zest along with pinch of black pepper and salt for the flavor. Surprisingly, cooking the rice was the most difficult part because I was not used to making a large quantity of rice.

Slow-braised Pork Tenderloin
For masu (meat), I made pork tenderloins slow cooked in a crock-pot for about 18-20 hours. For 7.5 lb pork, I added 2 onions, 2 chopped bell peppers, 1 bunch or green onions, and 3 cans of chipotle abodo sauce.

Chipotle Peppers

The 3 cans were a bit too much of heat. I should have stayed with the 2 cans as I initially planned. The pork dish was similar to chipotle chili verde I made half a year ago.

Slow cooking the pork
The slow cooked pork

The Pig Out Dessert (Idea only)
For dessert I was planning on baking cookies with chocolate chips, bits of bacon, some bacon fat, and maple syrup. However, I ran out of time and energy. Instead, I served them store bought cookies.

Should-be Bacon Cookies

Making bacon cookies can be a separate pork related project sometime in the future – maybe all bacon dinner. Any takers?

Bacon – Future dinner theme?

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Posted in American Food, Meat, Nepali food, Produce | No Comments »

The dinner that made me respect my sister’s cooking

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

The story of how I started respecting my sister’s cooking dates back to our college days.  My younger sister and I went to the same college. I started cooking at that time. Most of the cooking I learned was either by self-experimenting or by talking to my parents on the phone.

Being the older brother and a foodie, I instructed her on how to cook everything. At first, I was helpful. Later, when she became a decent cook, I was probably a nagging voice in the background. For example, I was someone who kept on telling her when to flip her food or what to add or substitute to enhance the flavors of the dish.

After years of living apart, she often brought a few things she made – usually desserts. Slowly, I started accepting the fact that she was a better baker than me.

I still considered myself a better cook – after all I had a food blog and I knew more about food.

The belief lasted until the last time I visited her. She made the most amazing dinner from the Indian subcontinent. I was genuinely pleased – I was not surprised.

The Nepali/Indian themed dinner started with mango lassi, a mango yogurt smoothie.

Her main course included the spicy chicken curry recipe published at DesiGrub by Minnat. The chicken curry was nearly as good as the one Minnat made.

Among all of her dishes my favorite was the paneer tikka masala or shahi paneer. This dish, made from Indian cottage cheese and paneer in a creamy tomato based sauce, was one of the best I ever had. It was rich without being too greasy. It was a perfect balance of savory and spicy. Paneer tikka masala was the dish that made me respect her cooking. She made it better than I could have ever done.

Mushroom curry made with button mushrooms was simple and reminded me of mushrooms my mom makes.

Kielbasa chili was made in a similar fashion as chicken chili. Instead of using chicken she used spicy kielbasa. This kielbasa dish is a perfect example of fusion cooking. She made a classic dish from home with with an influence from her current home in northeastern United States.

The other dish was lentil stew/soup, dal (see my best lentil soup).  She made a rich and thick dal, which was the favorite of one of the dinner guests.

Alongside everything, she served perfectly cooked basmati rice. She also served chopped onions and fresh green chilies, which are often served as the salad/condiment with the meal throughout the Indian subcontinent.

From now on, I accept that my little sister is better at making Indian/Nepali food than I am – although I still know more about beer and liquor.

Next post: Grand Marnier Tiramisu made by my sister

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Posted in Indian food, Nepali food, Pakistani food | 3 Comments »

Pomelo salad (Bhogatee Sadeko)

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

One of my favorite salads growing up in Nepal was Pomelo (Chinese grapefruit) salad made in a similar style as coleslaw. However, instead of a mayonnaise-based dressing, which is used in coleslaw, pomelo salad has a yogurt based dressing. The pomelo salad is known as Bhogatee Sadeko in Nepali, which roughly translates to marinated/seasoned (sadeko) pomelo (bhogatee, often spelled bhogate and mistranslated as grapefruit). It is also known as bhogatee (polmelo) paun (sour) in Newari language.

Pomelo salad (Bhogatee Sadeko)

Pomelo, Citrus grandis or Citrus maxima, is perhaps the largest citrus fruit, about 7 inches or more in diameter, with a pale greenish yellow rind, which is a inch or so thick. Pomelo tastes like a bit like grapefruit but is sweeter, less tart,  and is not bitter.

Pomelo (Image based on photo by John Loo)

Pomelo is native to southeastern Asia, and is cultivated and consumed in countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Thailand , Nepal, Philippines, Vietnam, etc. The attempts to introduce pomelo to the United States in the beginning of the twentieth century failed mainly due to inferior cultivar and enthusiasm. Currently, pomelo isn’t easily found in your everyday local grocery stores in the United States. However, it can be easily obtained at most local gourmet, Asian grocery stores and often in big box discount stores such as Costco.

In Nepal, pomelo is harvested around the beginning of the winter. A typical warm winter weekend may involve the family basking in sun on roof deck or porch and peeling off thick pomelo rinds for salad. The chef of the house, which is usually mom, marinates/spice up (sadeko) pomelo, while kids make hats out of pomelo rind and play.

Pomelo rind hat on cat (Image based on widely circulated digitally anonymous photo)

During this thanksgiving, my cousin Sabi surprised us by making this traditional pomelo salad. This is how she made it. There is no exact amount for the recipe because there is no standard way of making it. Sugar and salt is added according to taste and also depends on the flavors, sweetness, and tartness of fruits used.

1 part pomelo
1 part other fruits (apples, bananas, oranges or any other fruits)
½ part plain yogurt
¼ part roasted ground sesame powder
salt
sugar
red chili pepper and/or paprika (a pinch per cup of salad)

1/8 part vegetable oil
fenugreek seeds (¼ teaspoon per cup of salad)
turmeric (a pinch per cup of salad)

Peal citrus fruits and add cut fruit pieces. You can substitute pomelo with sweet grapefruit, if you couldn’t find pomelo.

Pomelo with orange, banana, and apple

Yogurt is used as the base for this pomelo salad dressing.

Making yogurt-based dressing from scratch

Spice up salad dressing by adding spices.

Adding spices in pomelo salad

Yogurt and ground roasted sesame are the key ingredients for the pomelo salad dressing. Add roasted sesame powder. You can make your own roasted sesame powder. Start by pan roasting sesame until it slightly browns, but be careful as it will start crackling and jumping off the pan. Let the roasted sesame cool. Ground it.

Pomelo salad mix without sesame and oil

In the final step of its preparation; you temper the fruit salad mixed with yogurt and spices by adding warm oil seasoned with fenugreek. To season the oil, heat it with fenugreek seeds as shown in aloo sadeko. After fenugreek seeds turn black, turn off the heat, wait a bit and add the warm (be careful!) oil to the salad. Mix and eat.

After tempering with fenugreek infused oil

Eating the pomelo salad after a long time brought back fond memories of my childhood — next time I will be sure to make a pomelo hat for myself.

Pomelo salad (Bhogatee sadeko)

I wish I took a second serving….

 

Bhogatee sadeko!

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Posted in Appetizers, Nepali food, Salad, Vegetarian | 10 Comments »

Spicy chicken curry

Friday, September 24th, 2010

My passion for cooking started at a very young age – fueled by watching cook shows and browsing through cookbooks. My mother’s cooking skills and father’s desire for eating good food inspired me to learn good cooking. Finding out about food and trying new recipes was always fun and exciting.

The spicy chicken curry

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I cherish memories of “Saturday cookout session” back home in Nepal, which was also called “meat day”, where meat is usually served on weekends. Chicken curry used to be one of the most common dishes during those weekends. Every time I cooked a chicken curry, I always found there were new ways to prepare it. The chicken dishes came out perfect every time albeit with a new taste and style.

Lentils and spices at a vendor in Kathmandu (Based on photo by Lavenderstreak)

Last month, I made ‘spicy chicken curry’ dish for a friend’s surprise birthday dinner party. I was flattered when the chicken dish got so much attention. People complimented me on its deliciousness and on my wonderful culinary skills. The funny thing is that my spicy chicken dish is simple to prepare. All you do is put in the correct amount of ingredients and it’s done.

“Spicy chicken curry” in the menu was set in stone when another friend voiced his wish of having an authentic Nepali meal for the dinner. I gathered ideas from other people on how they prepared their version of spicy chicken curry. In the end, I created a new spicy chicken curry recipe that was a true amalgamated mishmash of all the recipes that I collected. I think chicken curry came out perfect, and my friend for whom the surprise dinner was set seconds my vote!

Spicy chicken curry recipe
Preparation and cooking time: 1 ½ hours
Serving: 4/5 persons

Marinade for spicy chicken;
2 lb boneless and skinless chicken thigh cutlets (washed and cut into about 1 inch pieces)
1 tablespoon ginger/garlic paste
1 finely chopped medium onion (red is preferred)
1 tablespoon dark soya sauce
1 teaspoon red chili powder (more if you can take it!)
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
Salt to taste

Spicy chicken curry sauce;
2 big onions finely chopped (again, red is preferred)
1 large tomato finely chopped
1 inch cinnamon stick
3-4 dry curry leaves
3 cloves
4 to 5 green cardamom pods
2-3 red chilies
1 tablespoon of fenugreek (methi) seeds
2-3 tablespoons oil
2 big onions finely chopped (again, red is preferred)
1 large tomato finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger and garlic paste
1 teaspoon coriander powder
3/4 teaspoon black pepper powder (adjust to suit your spice level)
¼ teaspoon cumin powder
2 tablespoon coconut milk
1 teaspoon curry powder
¼ cup cilantro leaves for garnish

Steps for making spicy chicken curry:

Marinate chicken pieces in chili, turmeric and black pepper powder, salt, ½ teaspoon oil, soya sauce, ginger/garlic paste and onion for 30 minutes. The key ingredient in the chicken curry recipe is choosing a boneless and skinless thigh meat. Don’t substitute with chicken breast. According to USDA, chicken breast and chicken thighs have similar calories, but the chicken thigh has about one third more fats. Red meat of chicken thighs is more flavorful and well suited for chicken curry. It won’t turn into dry and chewy chicken, which is often the case when you use chicken breast meat.

Marinated chicken thighs

While the chicken pieces are being marinated, heat 1½ tablespoons of oil in your choice of cooking vessel. Add fenugreek seeds, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and curry leaves and red chilies.

Frying spices

Add the finely chopped onions and sauté until brown with a pinch of salt. Add ginger/garlic paste and sauté further for another 3 to 4 minutes on medium heat.

Sautéing diced onions

Add the marinated chicken and cook on high heat for 10 minutes, reduce the heat and cook covered for another 15 minutes.

Add coriander powder, cumin, pepper powder and combine well and simmer for another minute.

Add the tomatoes and let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes and mix well. Simmer until a layer of oil separates from the chicken sauce.

Sautéing chicken

Add any curry powder and mix well. Add a cup of water to adjust consistency of gravy. Cook until chicken pieces are soft and you get the desired consistency for sauce. Don’t forget to adjust salt.

Add 2 tablespoons of coconut milk that thickens the gravy.

Making chicken curry

Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves.

Spicy chicken curry with cilantro


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Posted in Meat, Nepali food | 7 Comments »

My attempt at making vegetarian momo

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

Momo is my favorite food. For those who don’t know about momo, it’s a very similar to Chinese potstickers/dumplings or Japanese gyōza. To be honest, I was quite conflicted either to call my dish, momo or gyōza or dumplings, before writing this post. Other words are probably understood more widely but momo was what I was set to make, and how I know it from my heart. So be it, it’s “momo”. Oh well it’s not that I am calling a burger as “masu ko dalla”.

Vegetarian Momo!

Often, I get asked by my vegetarian Nepali friends (Sau’bh, A’ya, A’u, S’e, Dha’na) how to make a good vegetarian momo. The easiest answer is to use any meatless sausage from your local grocery or homemade seitan instead of meat. However this time, I wanted to make a healthy and less processed vegetarian filling from scratch.

Many converted vegetarians don’t like momo much because they use watery vegetables that results in soggy overcooked momo. It’s complete blasphemy to art of momo making with complete disregard to the fact that momos are the texture food with meaty texture. You need to get the right texture not just flavor for your momos.

This is my journey on how to make a partially successful veggie momos. Partial success, because I’m still not satisfied with the final vegetarian momo. It’s definitely not as good as my favorite classic meat (masu) momo.

I used defrosted frozen spinach because it is has somewhat neutral flavor, is convenient, and has healthy overtones.

Defrosted spinach for vegetarian momo

This is the most important step of making vegetarian momo — giving it texture. I added texture by adding lentil flour (urad dal) and use egg to bind the concoction. You can use other lentil flour such as chickpea flour or besan, now conveniently available in your local Wholefoods. I added imported momo masala for spicing my momos. If you don’t have momo masala, add any garam masala or make one. Please remember that all garam masala (or curry powders) are not created equal. Invest in a good one since it will last for many meals to come.

Adding texture to spinach momo

Here I’m improving my momo recipe by adding flavorful cilantros.

Adding cilantro (because I love them)

For more flavors, chopped onions, tomatoes and ghee were added. Everything could be added earlier but this shows how I was improvising (or was nervous about) my momo.

Adding more things to momos (onions and tomatoes)

I used Nasoya wonton wrappers from a generic grocery store to wrap my momos.  My momo looked awful, but I was really tired and hungry. I just wanted to get done (also I can’t wrap momos well). For comparison, see some of the finest momo in this momo facebook album.

Nasoya Wonton Wrappers for momo
My ugly momos

Steam it for about 10 minutes around when momo wrappers are cooked showing its shiny exterior.

Serve with classic momo sauce made with roasted tomatoes and fresh cilantro. As you can see from image of one open momo that the texture of even spinach momo was meaty like momo – not watery. Even though , the texture was fine, the momo was lacking something else.

Steamed vegetarian momos

I made a quite a few of these momo – so luckily I had the leftovers for dinner the next day. One of the classic ways to serve leftover momo is to deep fry or pan fry them. I decided on going a healthy route and baking my momos. Lightly coat with oil – maybe those Pam oil spray will come handy here. Bake 20 minutes in 375 °F oven. This still remains an attempt because I was not completely satisfied with it. Trust me the photo looks tastier.

Baked momos

Related Link:

Classic momo sauce - tomatoes with cilantro

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Posted in Nepali food, Newari food, Vegetarian | 6 Comments »

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