Vegetable Momos | Steamed Vegetable Dumplings

Momos are quite famous more in North/North-East compare to South India and mostly wrongly presumed as Indo-Chinese food where it's actually native from Tibet and Nepal. 

First time I had Momos was in Delhi and immediately liked it, though I have tried the same in Singapore at few Indo-Chinese restaurants but it was so-so.  Momos can be either steamed or fried, fried momos called 'Khotey Momos'. It taste wonderful if served steaming hot with sauce, it actually very easy to make except the flour rolling part, that's the only tedious job I find but neither the less the end result makes up for all the hard work :)

Ingredients:

Makes - 20 medium size momos

For outer layer

Maida/APF - 1 1/2 cups

Sesame Oil - 1 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Water 

For Filling 

Cabbage - 1/4 cup finely chopped

Carrot - 1/4 cup finely chopped

Beans - 1/4 cup finely chopped

Paneer - 2 tbsp shredded 

Onion - 1 finely chopped

Green Chilies - 2

Garlic & Ginger - 1 tbsp finely chopped

Freshly Grounded Pepper - 1 tsp

Light Soya Sauce - 1 tsp

Sesame Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Spring Onion - 2tbsp divided [ I didn't use]

Method:

 1. In a bowl mix all the ingredients for outer layer, add water in small quantities and make smooth pliable dough.  Cover with damp cloth and keep aside for 15 minutes or until we are ready to use it for filling.

2. To make the filling heat a wok or pan, add 1 tsp of oil, chopped ginger-garlic and green chilies sauté until light brown.

3. Add chopped onion and fry until light pink, add carrot, beans and stir for a minute.  

4. Now add cabbage and mix well, cook for 2 minutes in high flame.

5. Add paneer, salt, pepper, soya sauce and stir for a minute. 
~ Add less salt and soya sauce contains salt too.

6. Off the flame, the veggie should be crunchy and  not  over cooked.  Add 1 tbsp of chopped spring onion and let the filling come to room temperate.

*My paneer had little extra moisture, make sure yours is dry.

7. Till we wait for the filling to cool down, take lemon size pinch from the dough and roll in to thin roti.  Always keep rest of the dough covered with damp cloth.

8.  Use a cookie cutter, or any steal bowl, cap and cut into rounds puri.  The size depends on how big you want your momos to be.

9. Add 1 tbsp of filling each disc and bring the sides together in the center, pinching firmly together, pinch out extra dough OR make a half moon and pinch the edges.  

I simply bring the edges together as it was faster compare to doing the half moon.  

10. Heat water in steamer or idly maker.  If using idly cooker then brush the plates with little oil and place momos on them, do not over lay but give lot of space in between.  Brush all the momos with sesame oil and steam for 8 to 10 minutes or until it gets cooked.

Garnish with remaining spring onion and serve hot/warm with any sauce of your choice.  I made soya sauce dipping and also used plum sauce.  

For Soya Sauce Dipping

Light Soya Sauce - 3 tbsp

Water - 2 tbsp

Green Chilies - 2 finely chopped (I used green n red chili)

Mix all the ingredients and serve.

Enjoy the hot steaming momos.

 Note:

~ Use minced chicken instead of vegetables for a chicken momos.
~ You can deep fry the momos.

And this goes to Chinese Cuisine event by Radhika.

Have a nice day ...

Cucumber and Mango Raitha

I wanted to make a raitha with Bisi Bela Bath and decide for cucumber raitha but then I change my made and wanted to add a twist with raw mango.  It turn out to be too good, tangy, refreshing and so simple to make just perfect for this summer.  

Ingredients:

Cucumber - 1/2 Cup grated

Raw Mango - 1/4 Cup grated

Green Chiles - 2

Fresh Curd/Yoghurt -2 Cups

Fresh Cumin Powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

1. Wash, peel and grate cucumber and raw mango, finely chop green chilies.

2. In a bowl add cucumber, mango, green chilies, salt and curd.

3. Mix everything well and add cumin powder, mix again. 

Serve chill and garnish with cumin powder.  Goes well with any paratha, variety rice, we had it with Bisi Bela Bath. 

Notes:

~ You can add cilantro for garnishing.  

~ You can also sprinkle little of red chili powder for that extra touch to the raitha.

Enjoy your day ~~

Eggplant and Potato in Oil Gravy | Ennai Karthirikkai Kuzhambu

I didn't knew there is anything call Ennai karthirikkai Kuzhambu until one day I tasted it from my colleague's lunch box and the poor him felt the aftermath of it as I bugged him each n every day to get the recipe, finally I got the recipe and tried with my add modification to it.  The end result was better than I expected.  Normally baby eggplants are used in this recipe but I used long ones and also add a potato.    I'm blogging this for my own reference. 

Ingredients:

Eggplant - 2 Cups chopped

Potato - 1 Medium

Onion - 1 Medium

Tomato - 1Medium

Green Chilies - 2

Tamarind - marble size

Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Fresh grounded Pepper - 1/2 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Sesame Oil - 3 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Water - 2 cups

Cilantro - 2tbsp chopped

Curry Leaves - 1 sprig

For Spice Powder

Toor Dal - 1 tbsp

Channa Dal - 1/2 tbsp

Urad Dal - 1/2 tbsp

Fenugreek/Methi Seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chilies - 2

Method:

1. In a pan heat 1 tsp of oil and roast all the dals and methi, cumin seeds until golden brown.  Allow to cool and grind to fine powder ( I made it little coarse)

2.  Chop eggplant & potato in bite size pieces and mix with spice powder.  

3. Chop onion and slit the chilies.  Puree the tomato and keep aside.  Soak tamarind in little hot water for 10-15 minutes and extract thick pulp.

4. In a pan heat 2tbsp oil add mustard seeds and let it crack.  Add onion and chiles and saute until onion becomes pink. 

5. Add eggplant and potato and saute for 3-4 minutes in slow-medium heat.  

6. Add all masala, pepper powders mix well,  now add puree tomato and cook until oil  starts to separates or for 2-3 minutes. 

7.  Add 1-2 cup of water, salt and boil until potato gets cooked for around 5-6 minutes in medium heat. Add tamarind paste and simmer for 2 minutes.

 

8. Add 1tbsp of oil simmer again for a minute off the flame and garnish with chopped cilantro and curry leaves. 

Let the curry sit for 5 minutes before you dig in, enjoy with hot steamed rice or for a change try with Idly ..it goes so well with idly too.

Eggless Banana Cake | 200th Post

How you guys doing? I know I had kinda unexpected break due to various reason which we should not focus on.  I'm so glad to say this is my 200th blog post and it took me almost 3 years ...infact just 1 one more month and it will be 3 years of blogging.  And as the norm goes everything celebrated with sweet/dessert so how can I miss this occasion?  I had some plan for 200th post but then I settle myself with simple banana cake. 

The cake is so good you have to try this.  In a week's time I already made this cake 4 times, yes it's that good, easy and super hit with everyone at my place.   This makes a perfect tea time cake, very soft, dense and delicious.  

Ingredients:

Plain Flour - 1 Cup

Granular Sugar - 3/4 cup [1 cup if using caster sugar]

Ripe Banana - 1 Cup mashed [I used 2 long bananas]

Cooking Oil - 1/2 Cup

Fresh Curd/Yogurt - 1/4 Cup [ OR 1 egg]

Fresh Milk - 1/2 Cup

Walnut - 1/4 cup chopped

Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp

Baking Powder - 1 tsp

Salt - a pinch

Method:

1. Peel and mash bananas with a pinch of salt, chop walnut and keep aside.

2. In a bowl beat sugar with yoghurt until fluffy.  Add mashed banana and mix well until thick.

3. Add milk and beat well, fold flour in small quantities with baking soda & powder and combine everything well.

4. Add oil and mix well until oil blends with mixture.  Lastly add walnut and mix it.

5. Pour the mixture in a greased tin and bake at 200C for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean, mine was done in 20 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack and cut in desire shape.  Every time this cake comes so well, I have used bread tin, round cake tin, square cake tin to bake this cake.  

Well the uneven shape is cause I cut the cake before it cool completely, so you let the cook gets cool and enjoy the delicious yet easy banana cake. 

Have a good day ~~~

Kathrikkai Rasavangi | Eggplant in Tangy Gravy

 Wishing Everyone Happy Tamil New Year

There was a time I didn't use to like eggplant but that was then, now a days mostly I eat eggplant once a week.  I never knew when I fell in love with eggplant, so when I see some interesting eggplant recipe in blogs I try and most of time loves it.    

 Ingredients:

Eggplant - 5-6 [I used one long Japanese eggplant]

Pigeon Pea/Toor Dal - 1 cup [Cooked]
Tamarind Water - 1/2 cup

Sambhar Powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Jaggery - 1/2 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Water - 1 Cup

Curry Leaves - few

For Spice Powder 

Channa Dal - 1/2 tbsp

Urad Dal - 1 tbsp

Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp

Dry Red Chillies -2 [if using long one, 4 if using round variety]

Coconut - 2tbsp grated

Method:

1. Wash and cut the eggplant in long/lengthwise and soak in water.

2. Soak tamarind in little water for 10-15 minutes and extract the juice, keep aside.

3. In a wok or pan heat 1tsp of oil and roast channa, urad dal, red chili and coriander seeds until golden brown.  Once all the ingredient gets cool grind with coconut into fine powder.

4. In the same pan heat remaining oil add asafoetida, mustard seeds and let it crack.  Add eggplant and sauté for 2 minutes.

5. Add sambhar and turmeric powder mix well, add tamarind water, salt and cook for 7-8 minutes or until eggplant gets cooked.  

6. Now add cooked dal and grounded spice powder, mix well.   Add 1/2 or 1 cup of water and bring it boil. [Add water depending on how you like your rasavangi to be, I added 1 cup of water.]

7.   Now add jaggery and mix well.  Adjust salt if required and off the flame.  Add curry leaves and let the rasavangi sit for 5-10 minutes.

Serve warm with rice, I also made broccoli stir fry. 

Note:
~ Try not to skip jaggery, that's add good taste.
~ You can use leftover dal, it saves time and great way to use leftover.
~ Eat while rasavangi it's hot/warm.

 Have good day ~~

Vada Kari | Lentil Curry

Vada Kari, Vada Curry, Vadai Curry or Vade Curry whatever we may call it but it's the same curry which is just delicious infused with spices.  I love vade curry, a delicacy in Chennai but its pity that now a days it's so difficult to get this wonderful dish in Chennai restaurants or udupi hotels.  Few of the upudi hotels still server this wonderful dish but one has to go there early morning, so why not make of our own and enjoy? It's a simple recipe only list of ingredients may look long but then it's quite simple, lot of people use leftover masala vada to make this & you can do the same.

 

Ingredients:

For Vadai

Channa Dal - 1 cup

Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp

Green Chiles - 2

Ginger - 1 tsp chopped [optional]

Onion -1/2

Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped

Salt - to taste

Water - 1-2 tbsp [if required]

Oil - To brush pan

For Curry

Oil - 1 tbsp

Bay Leaf - 1

Clove - 2

Cinnamon - 1" pieces

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tps

Onion - 1 large

Tomato - 2 large

Minced Ginger-Garlic - 1 tbsp [or ginger-garlic paste 1 tbsp]

Green Chilies - 2

Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Coconut - 1/4 cup grated

Salt - to taste

Cilantro - 1 tbsp chopped

Water - 2-3 cups

Method:

1. Wash and soak channa dal either for 2-4 hours or overnight.  Chop onion, tomato, and cilantro, slit the chilies and keep aside.

2. Wash, drain all the water from soaked dal and grind coarse with fennel seeds, ginger, chilies.  Add 1 tbsp of water only if required.  

3.With the grinded mixture add 1/2 chopped onion, cilantro, salt and mix well.

4. Heat a skillet or pan, brush oil and make small adai of dal mixture, drizzle little oil and cook both sides until brown.  Don't worry about the shape, it's not we are focusing on.  Do the same for remaining dal mixture.

[To make the adai use small amount of dal mixture and spread over tawa, wet hand with water so it will be easy to spread the mixture]  

5. Meanwhile we can start making the gravy, in pan heat oil, add bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, and cumin seeds allow it to crack.  Add ginger-garlic, onion and green chilies sauté until onion becomes pink, add all the spice powder and mix well.

6.  Add chopped tomato, cook with lid until tomato mash well, add salt and 2-3 cups water; bring it to good boil and simmer for 5 minutes.  

7. Once all the adai done, tire them into small pieces and add in to the curry mix gently.   

8. Grind coconut with little water in to smooth paste and add to the curry, mix carefully, adjust salt if required.  Simmer for 5 more minutes and off the flame. Garnish with cilantro.  

If the vade curry kept for long time the dal mixture will absorb all the gravy so have it while it's warm with dosa/ idly or even with roti it goes well. 

 
And this goes to Srivalli's Breakfast Mela.

Have a good day ~~

Beets and Carrot Juice

Lot of you asked me about the drink I posted along with Palak Dhokla well it's a pity simple drink but works wonder specially during these summer days.  Since palak dhokla was prepared on the world cup finals day, I wanted to make some drink to sip during the match.   I made this juice to suit my taste bud; you can modify it according to yours :)

Ingredients:

Beetroot - 1 medium size

Carrot - 2 medium size

Ginger - 1" piece [optional]

Lemon Juice - to taste

Rock Salt/Salt - to taste

Cilantro/Mint/Lemon Wedges - For garnishing

Water - As required

Optional:

Cumin Powder and/or Chaat Masala

Method:

1. Wash and peel beetroot, carrot, ginger and chop into chunks.

2. In a mixer or blender add beets, carrot, ginger, salt and blend until everything become smooth puree add water as required.

3.  Strain the juice if you prefer add lemon juice and more water if required.  Adjust salt if required.

~Now how much water is depends on how you like your juice to be. You can add upto 1 litre of water; just add more of lemon and salt.

Garnish with lemon/Cilantro or Mint, serve chill or with ice.  Enjoy the drink and it's better to consume it on the same day. I also added chaat masala and it taste good.  

Note:

One can do lot of variations

1. Add an apple to make it ABC juice

2. You can also add half of cucumber 

3. Instead of salt you can add sugar or honey

4. Ignore the ginger if you don't like

Enjoy your day ~~

Sabudana Kheer | Tapioca ~ Sago Pudding

 

India WON the match ...Yahh of course we all know this but hurray how exciting is this, still can't believe it.  Once again it was awesome game along with facebook friends whom makes the game more exciting.  So as we decide to post something on Saturday for which I did Palak Dhokla, here again we decided a post to celebrate the victory and sweet comes first in mind once we think about celebration isn't it? 

Palak Dhokla

So you all are ready to watch the finals today?  I'm all geared up too and before that this post is coming as during Ind Pak match I had lot of fun in facebook watching the match together and commenting with other bloggers friends and decide to cook something up n post for the finals to munch on and enjoy the game.  We call it Chak De India event :)

I never ate palak dhokla before but was try for a long time and today seems to be perfect day it's one the quick, simple, tasty, healthy and filling snack to enjoy with game :)

 Ingredients:

Spinach/Palak -1 bunch [makes 1 cup puree]

Chickpeas Flour/Besan - 1 cup

Semolina/Suji - 1tbsp

Yoghurt/Curd - 1/2 Cup

Green Chillies -2

Ginger - 1" piece

Oil - 2tsp + for greasing

Cooking Soda - 1/4 tsp

Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp

Eno/fruit salt - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste 

Water - if required

Cilantro - for garnishing [optional]

For Tempering

Oil - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Green Chillies - 4 slit

Curry Leaves - few 

Method:

1. Clean and blanch spinach and grind to smooth puree with green chillies and ginger, keep aside.

 2. In a bowl mix chickpeas flour, soda, salt, suji and curd and make a smooth paste.

3. Add spinach puree, oil, lemon juice and mix well, if required add little water to make thick pouring consistency batter with no lumps.

4. Prepare a steamer or steam water in pressure cooker and grease a bowl or plate with oil.

5. Mix well eno salt with batter, pour in grease bowl and steam for 15-20 minutes or until a fork/toothpick comes out clean.  Do not put whistle on the cooker lid.

6. Meanwhile prepare tempering, heat oil add asafoetida, mustard seeds once it starts to crack add slit green chillies, curry leaves and sauté for a minute off the flame.

7.  Take out the dhokla once it slight cool to handle and remove from the bowl, pour the tempering over it and cut in desire shape.

Serve with green chutney and enjoy the dhokla 

 I also made this drink to sip and enjoy the game :)

 Have good day :)