🔘 VEGETABLE MOMOS 🔘

 

“Momos”, most sought-after

In company of friends ‘n’ laughter

South Asian dumplings

Packed with a melange of fillings

Served alongside a dip

A zesty relationship

Steamed or fried

Have you ever tried?

Making of Momos

Preparation time: 30 minutes; Cooking time: 15 mins; Makes : 15 -20

Ingredients:

For the dough

• 1 cup All purpose flour (Maida)
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Cooking oil
• Water as required

 For the stuffing

• 3/4 cup finely shredded Cabbage
• 2 finely chopped Green chilies
• 1/2 cup shredded Carrots
• 3 minced Garlic cloves
• 1 1/2 inch minced Ginger
• 1 medium finely chopped Onion
• 1/3 cup finely chopped Spring onion
• 1 tsp Soy sauce (optional)
• 1 tsp Cooking oil
• 1/3 tsp Black pepper
• Salt to taste

Method :

1.    Mix flour and salt in a medium bowl, make a well in the centre, add water little at a time and mix well. When it all comes together, knead well into a soft, smooth dough. Then add the oil and knead again for a minute. Cover the bowl with a plate and let it rest  for about 15 minutes or more.

2.      To make a filling, heat oil in a kadai/skillet. When hot add the chopped onions and white part of the spring onions. Reserve the green part of the spring onions for the garnish. When the onions turn translucent, add the minced garlic and ginger and sauté for a minute. Then add carrots, shredded cabbage and mix well. Add soy sauce, salt and black pepper powder and mix well. Cook covered for 5 minutes till the vegetables are tender but still have some bite.

3.      Open, mix well, taste and adjust seasoning. Let cook for another 1-2 minutes uncovered. Switch off. Add the green part of the spring onions and mix well.

4.      To make the momos, pinch a small ball of dough and roll out with a rolling pin into a small disc about the size of a poori. Make these discs as thin as possible. To make perfect uniformly sized rounds, use a metal lid with sharp edges to cut off discs from your rolled out dough. Keeping the disc on the rolling board, place a tablespoon of filling in the centre of the disc and bring together the edges of the disc towards the centre and pleat like you would a saree. Pinch closed the pleated ends together at the centre for a purse shape. In the pictures the momos are made by making them into a crescent shape and then sealing the 2 ends of crescent to get a rose bud shape. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. 

5.      Place in a single layer in a bamboo basket or idli steamer and steam for 8-10 minutes. Serve hot with Red chilli dip or tomato ketchup.

Notes:

1.      To quicken the rolling out process, roll out a big ball of dough into any hideous shape (it doesn’t matter) and then using the metal lid cut out several discs at one shot.

2.      Roll out the dough real thin so that the momos are not too doughy. You’ll need to generously flour your work surface to roll out paper thin discs.

3.      You could try other shapes too as shown in the video link below.

4.      The bamboo basket usually fits well inside a kadai or idli steamer. Pour about a cup of water into the kadai or steamer and place the bamboo basket on top. The basket should fit snugly into the kadai or steamer but not touch the water. The bamboo basket has a slotted base through which the steam enters. Alternately you can use an idli or idiappam steamer as well.

5.      To avoid the momos sticking to the surface, line the surface with parchment paper, or lightly oiled banana leaf or cabbage leaves.

6. Crumbled paneer and crumbled soya chunks can also be included in the stuffing.

Gluten free version:

Rice paper sheets can be used for the cover.

Ah…Steamed!Ah…Stoked!

Click on this well made video to see a live demonstration

♧ QUESADILLA ♧

“Howdy Y’all?”, miss hearing this quintessential Texan welcome greeting, with a long drawl or a twang and of course Texas, where as the saying goes, everything is Big!

When we were posted in Texas, a couple of years back, we had to face evacuation due to Hurricane Katrina, closely followed by Hurricane Rita – Alphabetical order of women names – why women?! cause they rock your world and could leave you with out your car and house!

‘Hunkering down’ (a phrase new to me, until then) was an option we took for Hurricane Rita, were we stayed put and had a camping adventure in our own house without electricity for a few days.

Notable, was the way evacuation was handled. I was awe struck by a calm | composed | polite | respectful | organised | orderly evacuation, in times of adversity. Hats off Houston, Texas!

Quesadilla, one of the Tex-Mex dishes, is a jackpot or should I say piñata, I hit upon, when in Texas, as T loves it and this healthy recipe is a keeper!

Vegetable Quesadilla

Prep time : 20 mins; Cooking time : 20 mins ; Serves : 4 – 6

Ingredients for the tortilla (organic and unrefined) :

• 3 cups of Wheat flour
• 1 cup Corn flour
• 2 cups of water approx.
• salt to taste

Ingredients for the filling (organic and unrefined) :

• 3 onions
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 capsicum | green bell pepper
• 1/4 lettuce or cabbage
• 1 – 2 Jalapenos or green chilies
• 3 sprigs of Cilantro | coriander leaves
• 1/2 a lemon
• 1/2 tsp Cayenne | Paprika | Red chilly powder or flakes
• Rock salt to taste
• 200 gm s or as required Cheddar Cheese or any melting cheese

Perfecto!

Directions :

1. Prepare the dough by kneading the wheat flour, corn flour and salt together to get a soft dough. Cover with a damp cloth, till ready to roll out the tortillas. Set aside.

2. Prepare the filling by finely chopping the onions, tomatoes, capsicum, cabbage or lettuce and green chilies. Squeeze in the lemon juice, add paprika powder and salt just before you prepare the quesadillas, as the vegetables will ooze out water, once salt is added. Set aside.

3. Grate the cheese and set aside.

4. Make round balls with the soft dough and roll out the tortilla on a tortilla maker manually or make them with an electric tortilla press. Cook the 2 tortillas well on both sides on a pan or an electric press.

5. Spread out on one tortilla, about a tbsp of the filling and sprinkle, grated cheese the amount you desire, all around on the vegetables. Cover by placing the other tortilla on top. If one is cooking, on a electric tortilla maker, then close the top plate over the bottom one but if one is cooking on the pan, place a heavy weight, like a heavy plate on top of the tortilla such that the 2 tortillas are sandwiched, well together and cook for 1 – 2 mins. Flip carefully, so as not to let the filling spill out and on this side again, close the 2 plates of the electric tortilla maker or if on a pan then place a heavy weight on the tortilla and cook for another 1 – 2 mins. Make sure to turn the tortillas around while cooking, so that they cook and brown evenly.

6. Cut them into even wedges or quarters and serve hot with salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

Vegan and Gluten Free Version :

Replace wheat flour by Pearl millet flour | Sorghum flour | Bajra atta | Kambu maavu or Amaranth flour | Rajgheera atta and dairy cheese by vegan cheese or tofu in the above recipe. Use only electric tortilla press to make gluten free tortillas. Serve hot with guacamole, salsa and tofu sour cream.

Buen Provecho. Adios, amigos!

Si, por favor, Gracias!

♧ SAMBAR | ARACHIVITTA SAMBAR | HOTEL SAMBAR | TIFFIN SAMBAR ♧

Sambar, the grand dish of South Indian cusine is a brimful of spicy goodness. Prepared with red gram lentils and assorted vegetables, it tastefully reflects, the broad and ancient tradition of lentil based vegetable stews of Southern India. It is a versatile, nutritious, everyday fare. Sambar is had along with steamed rice as a main course, for lunch or dinner.

Hotel Sambar | Tiffin Sambar, a fine variation, goes well as a side dish with idli, dosa, vada, upma, pongal….the list is endless! To put it simply, say just about any south indian snack | tiffin item.

Here I share with thee, 3 recipes for Sambar

1. Hotel Sambar | Tiffin Sambar made with a lot of spices. Fabulous tasting and popularly served in restaurants. The inevitable use of good quality and fresh spices at home, will make this sambar, a lot more flavourful than in restaurants. ‘Hotel Sambar at a Hotel’ is overrated! recreation of this spicy sambar recipe, by a jubliant you will lead to the dawn of this realisation!
2. Arachivitta Sambar meaning Sambar with ground paste of coconut and spices, generally made for special occassions, functions or festival days and 
3. Sambar  homestyle, a near daily fare in most South Indian homes.

“Aaha! Inda kaikhuzlku thanga valayal senji podulam” (voice it like Tamil cinema’s, king of melodrama – Nadikiyar Thilakam Shivaji Ganeshan! ‘Orai the feels, eh?!’ No offence to his fans and pardon ‘the local Tanglish baashai’, the situation calls for it!) – a filmy tamil compliment which is received when a lip-smacking dish is prepared and served well. Literally meaning “Hands that made this dish deserve gold bangles!”.

Must try recipes! Go on work your Midas touch! Hail the yellow metal! Aim for the ‘Naghazha Kadai Thanga Maligai’ a.k.a ‘The whole jewellery showroom’!

HOTEL SAMBAR | TIFFIN SAMBAR

Prep time : 15 mins; Cooking time : 35 mins; Serves : 4 – 6

Yummy delicious ‘ The Hotel Sambar | Tiffin Sambar’

Ingredients for the Hotel Sambar :

• 3/4 cup Thuvaram paruppu | Toovar dal | Red gram lentil
• 3 cups  of water for pressure cooking the dal
• 6 cups  of water to be added later
• 3 small onions or 15 – 20 shallots
• 2 tomatoes
• 250 gms of assorted vegetables (depending on their availability or the desire to experiment) like drumstick, radish, carrots, white pumpkin, ladies finger, french beans, potatoes, small round brinjals, squash, zucchini, chayote, bottle gourd.
• Gooseberry sized,seedless tamarind
• 1  tsp of sambar powder
• 1 1/2 tsp of powdered jaggery
• powdered rock salt as per taste

for tempering :

• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp oil
• 3 stems of curry leaves

 for grinding into a paste :

• 1 tsp bengal gram dal | channa dal
• 1 tsp coriander seeds | dhania
• 1 tsp raw rice
• 2 – 3 whole red chilies
• 1 green chilli
• 1 inch ginger piece
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 small onion or 3 – 6 shallots
• 2 tomatoes
• 1/4 of a fresh coconut

for garnish :

• 3 sprigs of coriander leaves

Method :

1. Soak the tamarind in warm water for 15 mins and fully extract the tamarind juice. Set aside
2. Wash and rinse the lentils in water well. Boil the lentils in 3 cups of water, in a pressure cooker for 8-9 whistles on medium to high flame. The lentils should be soft and mushy. It can roughly smashed with the back of a ladle or a hand blender. Set aside.
3. Finely chop all the vegetables to be added to the Sambar.  Finely chop the coriander leaves. Grate the coconut. Set aside.
4. Next prepare the vegetable ingredients under ‘grinding into a paste’.  Peel and roughly chop the onion, ginger and garlic. Then roughly chop the tomatoes and green chilly too.
5. Heat up 1 tsp of oil in a skillet. Fry the ingredients for ‘grinding into a paste’ as per the listed order, till there is no raw smell of the vegetables and they are soft and done. Blend well into a fine paste in a blender or grinder.
6. Heat oil in large vessel. Add mustard seeds and after they splutter, add the onions, curry leaves. Saute well, till the onions are translucent. Now add the finely chopped vegetables, tamarind water, sambar powder and about 3 cups of water. Cook covered on a medium flame, till the vegetables are soft and there is no raw smell of the sambar powder.
7. Finally add the pressure cooked lentils, ground paste and remaining 3 cups of water to the stew, salt and jaggery. Cook till it thickens. Check the seasoning, balance the flavours by adjusting salt,  jaggery and sambar powder if required. Let it boil well. Once it is frothy and the fantastic aroma engulfs the whole neighbourhood, be sure it is done. Serve hot.

Dunk any south Indian snack item in the Tiffin Sambar and gorge on this delicious spicy goodness!

‘Mini idlis float’ – Mini idlis dunked in ‘Hotel Sambar’

  ARACHIVITTA  SAMBAR

Prep time : 15 mins; Cooking time : 35 mins; Serves : 4 – 6

Arachivitta Sambar made with radish and ground coconut paste is called ‘Rooba kuzhambu’ at our home as the Radish roundels in the sambar, resemble olden days rupee coins. S loves this dish and more so because she is fascinated by the aptness, of this interesting name!

Ingredients for the Arachivitta Sambar :

• 1 cup Thuvaram paruppu | Toovar dal | Red gram lentil
• 3 cups  of water for pressure cooking the dal
• 3 cups  of water to be added later
• 250 gms of any one vegetable or assorted vegetables (depending on their availability or the desire to experiment) like drumstick, radish, carrots, white pumpkin, ladies finger, french beans, potatoes, small round brinjals, squash, zucchini, chayote, bottle gourd, kohlrabi  or even green leafy vegetables.
• Lemon ball size,seedless tamarind,
• 1 1/2 tsp of sambar powder
• 1 tsp jaggery (optional)
• powdered rock salt as per taste

for tempering :

• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp bengal gram dal | channa dal
• 1 – 2 whole dry red chilies broken into halves
• 1 tbsp oil
• 3 stems of curry leaves

 for grinding into a paste :

• 1 tsp bengal gram dal | channa dal
• 1 tsp coriander seeds | dhania
• 1 tsp raw rice
• 2 – 3 whole red chilies
• 1/4 of a fresh coconut

Method :

1. Soak the tamarind in warm water for 15 mins and fully extract the tamarind juice. Set aside
2. Wash and rinse the dal in water well. Boil dal in 3 cups of water, in a pressure cooker for 8-9 whistles on medium to high flame. The dal should be soft and mushy. It can roughly smashed with the back of a ladle or a hand blender. Set aside.
3. Chop any one vegetable or combination of assorted vegetables into big chunks i.e. 1 inch square pieces or roundels in case of vegetables like radish | carrot.
4. Grate the coconut. Set aside.
5. Heat up 1 tsp of oil in a skillet. Fry the ingredients for ‘grinding into a paste’ in the listed order, till lightly brown and fragrant. Blend well into a fine paste in a blender or grinder.
6. Heat oil in large vessel. Add mustard seeds and after they splutter, add the broken red chilies, channa dal and curry leaves. Saute till light brown. Now add the chopped vegetables, tamarind water, sambar powder and about 2 cups of water. Cook covered on a medium flame, till the vegetables are soft and there is no raw smell of the sambar powder.
7. Finally add the pressure cooked dal and remaining 1 cup of water to the stew, salt and jaggery. Cook till it thickens. Check the seasoning. Boil well till frothy. Switch of heat.

Note :

If onions | shallots | madras onions are used for the Sambar, then after adding the tempering ingredients to the oil add the onions and saute them well till translucent and followed by other chopped vegetables and tamarind water in Step 6 of the above method.

Serve Sambar hot with steamed rice.

SAMBAR 

Prep time : 15 mins; Cooking time : 35 mins; Serves : 4 – 6

Homestyle daily fare Sambar made with greens and tomatoes.

Ingredients for the Sambar :

• 1cup Thuvaram paruppu | Toovar dal | Red gram lentil
• 3 cups  of water for pressure cooking the dal
• 3 cups  of water to be added later
• 250 gms of any one vegetable or assorted vegetables (depending on their availability or the desire to experiment) like drumstick, radish, carrots, white pumpkin, ladies finger, french beans, potatoes, small round brinjals, squash, zucchini, chayote, bottle gourd, kohlrabi or even green leafy vegetables
• Lemon ball size,seedless tamarind,
• 1 1/2 tsp sambar powder
• 1 1/2 tsp rice flour
• powdered rock salt as per taste

for tempering :

• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp bengal gram dal | channa dal
• 1 – 2 whole dry red chilies broken into halves
• 1 tbsp oil
• 3 stems of curry leaves

Method :

1. Soak the tamarind in warm water for 15 mins and fully extract the tamarind juice. Set aside
2. Wash and rinse the lentils in water well. Boil lentils in 3 cups of water, in a pressure cooker for 8-9 whistles on medium to high flame. The dal should be soft and mushy. It can roughly smashed with the back of a ladle or a hand blender. Set aside.
3. Chop any one vegetable or combination of assorted vegetables into big chunks i.e. 1 inch square pieces or roundels in case of vegetables like radish | carrot.
4. Grate the coconut. Set aside.
5. Heat up 1 tsp of oil in a skillet. Fry the ingredients for grinding into a paste in the given order, till lightly brown and fragrant. Blend well into a fine paste in a blender or grinder.
6. Heat oil in large vessel. Add mustard seeds and after they splutter, add the broken red chilies, channa dal and curry leaves. Saute till light brown. Now add the chopped vegetables, tamarind water, sambar powder and about 2 cups of water. Cook covered on a medium flame, till the vegetables are soft and there is no raw smell of the sambar powder.
7.  Mix the rice flour well, with about 1/4 cup of water, making sure there are no lumps. Add it to the broth and cook for another 5 – 10 mins.
8. Finally add the pressure cooked lentils, remaining 1 cup of water and salt. Cook till the stew thickens. Check the seasoning. Boil well till frothy. Switch of heat.

Note :

If onions | shallots | madras onions are used for the Sambar, then after adding the tempering ingredients to the oil, add the onions and saute them well till translucent followed by other chopped vegetables and tamarind water in Step 6 of the above method.

Serve Sambar hot with steamed rice.

‘Rooba Khuzhambu’ Radish sambar with steamed rice. Check out these edible gold coins!

Another way to remember these recipes would be to keep the Hotel Sambar as the base recipe and make the following changes to make Arachivitta Sambar and Plain Sambar.

Arachivitta Sambar

Follow the Hotel Sambar recipe with the respective changes :

1.  Changes in the Ingredients for Arachivitta Sambar from the Hotel Sambar list :

• 1 cup Thuvar Dal | Red gram lentil
• 250 gms of any one vegetable or combination of assorted vegetables
• 1 1/2 tsp Sambar powder

2. Add the following ingredients for Arachivitta Sambar to the Hotel Sambar list of ingredients for tempering :

• 1 tsp bengal gram dal | channa dal
• 1 – 2 whole dry red chilies broken into halves

3. Skip the following ingredients for Arachivitta Sambar from the Hotel Sambar list of ingredients for grinding into a paste :

• 1 green chilli
• 1 inch ginger piece
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 small onion or 3 – 6 shallots
• 2 small tomatoes

4. Skip the garnish.

5. In Step 3 of the Method for Hotel Sambar, any one vegetable or combination of assorted vegetables are to be chopped into big chunks i.e. 1 inch square pieces or roundels in case of vegetables like radish | carrot.

6. If using onions | shallots | madras onions, then after adding the tempering ingredients to the oil add the onions and saute them well till translucent and then add then follow with other chopped vegetables and tamarind water in Step 6 of the above method.

Serve Sambar hot with steamed rice.

PLAIN SAMBAR 

Follow the Hotel Sambar recipe with the respective changes :

1.  Changes in the Ingredients for Plain Sambar from the Hotel Sambar list :

• 1 cup Thuvar Dal | Red gram lentil
• 250 gms of any one vegetable or combination of assorted vegetables
• 1 1/2 tsp Sambar powder
• 11/2 tsp Rice flour

2. Add the following ingredients for Plain Sambar to the Hotel Sambar list of ingredients for tempering :

• 1 tsp bengal gram dal | channa dal
• 1 – 2 whole dry red chilies broken into halves

3. Skip the ingredients for grinding into a paste and garnish of Hotel Sambar for Plain Sambar.

4.  Mix the rice flour well, with about 1/4 cup of water, making sure there are no lumps. Add it to the broth and cook for another 5 – 10 mins at the end of Step 6 of the above Method for Hotel Sambar.

5. If using onions | shallots | madras onions, then after adding the tempering ingredients to the oil add the onions and saute them well till translucent followed by other chopped vegetables and tamarind water in Step 6 of the above method.

Serve Sambar hot with steamed rice.

 

¤ UTHAPPAM ¤

My Ms. College, victorious with numerous event trophies, is the newly crowned Ms. Culturals. She sure does stack up the display shelves well!

“Gosh Maa, with all this information on the net, we are so public right now, that ‘Being Sassy with the Srivatsans’ is not far away and when it happens, don’t forget to give me credits for our show name!” pearls of wisdom, literally pouring out from my younger one. Do we really need that?! Got to work low key, lest the Kardashians feel threatened!

Adhering to the stance taken, let’s get to the subject for today – Uthappam, another interesting offshoot of the Idli batter. This soft, spongy, vegetable rice pancake is healthy, vegan, gluten free, tasty and easy to make for breafast or tiffin.

Vegetable Uthappams

Prep time : 10 mins; Cooking time : 20 mins; Serves : 4

Ingredients (organic and natural) :

• 3 cups fermented Idli batter (rice | millets)
• 2 onions
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 – 3 green chilies
• 1 inch ginger
• 3 sprigs of coriander leaves
• 3 stems of curry leaves
• salt to taste
• 1 – 2 tbsp coconut oil | sesame oil | any cooking oil of choice

The various faces of the Uthappam!

Method :

1.  Finely chop the onions, tomatoes, green chilies, coriander leaves and curry leaves. Finely chop and crush the ginger or grate it. Toss all these into the Idli batter, add salt, keeping in mind the salted Idli batter. Mix well.

2. Heat up the  iron tava | flat skillet. Lightly and evenly grease the tava with a few drops of oil, applied with an onion, cut in half or a tissue paper. Pour a ladle full of the prepared batter onto the pan. Make it into a large, approximately 5 – 6 inches diameter and about 1/4 inch thick circle on the pan with the back of the ladle. Make a few holes, on 4 sides of the circle and the centre, with the flat flipping ladle. Drizzle about 1 tsp of oil around the circle and one drop into each of the holes. Let it cook for 2 – 3 mins till the bottom side is roasted brown and the top side batter is cooked. Flip it and cook the other side too, till slighty brown, about another 2 – 3 mins.

3. Serve golden brown sunny side up along with chutneys, sambar and molaga podi.

Variations :

Grated carrot, grated coconut, finely chopped capsicum, few chopped spinach leaves or any greens of choice, individually or in combination, also work well here.