Exploring Nepali Cousine

A cooking class to benefit village development in Nepal

Wedge, Community Co-OpWednesday, Jan. 24, 2007

Overview Over Nepali Cousine Everyday Nepali food is very healthy,

nourishing , practical and tasty Everyday food consists of:

"Dal Bhat" which consists rice (Bhat), lentil soup (dal) and

vegetables in curry (Tarkari) and/or meat (Masu) and

a small amount of pickle /sauce (Achar) In most of the country, dal bhat is eaten

twice a day Momos are Nepali/Tibetan specialty

Today’s Menu

Momos – Nepali vegetable dumplings (meat is an alternative)

Achaar – Pickle or sauce to go with dumplings

Vegetable soup Chiya (spiced tea)

Momos: Ingredients For the dough:

All purpose flour - 3 cups Vegetable oil - 1 tbsp Water - 1 cup Salt (optional) pinch

For the filling Spinach - 1½ cup Soft cabbage - 1½ cup Green onion- ½ cup Cilantro- ½ cup Yellow onion -1½ cup Fresh garlic – minced, 1 tsp Fresh ginger – minced, 1 tsp Turmeric powder - ½ tsp Ground black pepper - ½ tsp Coriander powder - ½ tsp Cumin powder - ½ tsp Vegetable oil - 1½ tbsp Soy sauce - 1 tsp Salt – to taste Water – as needed

Momos: Directions In a large mixing bowl combine flour, oil, salt and water. Mix well and knead until the

dough becomes homogeneous in texture. Cover and let stand for about 15 minutes. In a large bowl combine all filling ingredients. Mix well; adjust for flavor with salt and

pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30-minute to allow all ingredients to impart their unique flavors and improve the consistency of the filling.

Give the dough a final knead. Prepare 1-in. dough balls. Take a ball, roll between your palms to spherical shape. Dust working board with dry flour. On the board gently flatten the ball with your palm to about 2-in circle. Make a few semi-flattened circles. Use a rolling pin to roll out each flattened circle into a wrapper. It is essential that the middle portion of the wrapper be slightly thicker than the edges to ensure the structural integrity of dumplings during packing and steaming. Continue until the wrapper attains 3-in diameter circular shape. Repeat with the remaining semi-flattened dough circles. Cover to prevent them from drying.

For packing hold wrapper on one palm, add one tablespoon of filling mixture and with the other hand bring all edges together to the center, making the pleats. Pinch and twist the pleats to ensure the absolute closure of the stuffed dumpling. This holds the key to good tasting, juicy dumplings.

Boil water in the steamer pan, and oil the steamer rack well to prevent dumplings from sticking. Arrange uncooked MOMOs in the steamer so that they do not touch each other. Close the lid and allow to steam until the dumplings are cooked through, about 10-12 min. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Achar: Ingredients Large ripe tomato - 1 lb Jalapeno – finely chopped, ½ cup Fresh garlic – minced, 1 tbsp Fresh ginger – minced, 1 tbsp Cilantro – chopped, ¼ cup Green onion – chopped, ¼ cup Salt - 1 tsp Ajwan seed - ¼ tsp Fenugreek seed - ¼ tsp Timur (Szechuan pepper) - ½ tsp Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp Turmeric powder - ½ tsp

Achaar: Directions Roast tomatoes in oven (450 deg F) for about 30

minutes, or until charred.  (You can also roast tomatoes on BBQ grill or boil them.)

Remove charred skin and reserve flesh in a blender bowl. 

Add cilantro, green onion, ginger, garlic, jalapeno and 1 tsp of salt.

In a frying pan, heat the oil and when hot add ajwan, fenugreek, turmeric and timur. When the seeds pop and generate smoke, add the sauce pan contents into the mixing bowl.

Purée the contents by adding a little water until the sauce is thick but has an easy flowing consistency.

If needed, adjust for salt.

Soup: Ingredients Green onion – chopped, 2 tbsp Cilantro chopped - 1 tbsp Yellow onion – chopped, 2 tbsp Soy sauce - 1 tsp Fresh ginger – minced, 1 tsp Cumin powder - ½ tsp Vegetable oil - ½ tsp Ajwan seeds - ½ tsp Water - 8 cups Salt to taste Optional additional vegetables:

Cauliflower, asparagus, mushrooms, or Any other vegetables of choice

Soup: Directions In a sauce pan, heat the oil and when hot

add ajwan and turmeric. When the ajwan seeds pop and generate smoke, add the chopped yellow and green onions and ginger. Sautee for a few minutes until onions turn soft

Add water and boil. Add cumin powder and soy sauce to the boiling water. Add salt to taste. Take off heat and top with chopped cilantro. Serve in soup bowls.

Chiya: Ingredients Black chai tea - 4 tbsp Water - 4 cup Whole milk - 4 cup Fresh ginger - minced, 1 tbsp Clove powder - ½ tsp Cardamom powder - ½ tsp Sugar - ½ cup Bay leaves - 2 Cinnamon sticks - 2

Chiya: Directions In a deep sauce pan, place water to boil.

Add cinnamon stick, ginger and bay leaves. Add tea to the boiling water and let boil for

3-4 minutes. Add clove and cardamom powder. Add milk and boil being careful not to let it overflow. Add sugar to taste if needed. Turn down heat and let simmer for additional 5 minutes

Serve tea in tea cups or coffee mugs.

Other Food Resources Shopping for ingredients

Wedge Co-Op United Noodle Company Aladin Foods Central Avenue, Northeast Mpls.

More Recipes Future classes Everest Restaurant http://www.food-nepal.com

Contacts

Padam SharmaEverest on Grand1278 GRAND AVENUE, SAINT PAUL (651) 696-1666

Stefan Gildemeister(612) 822-3117ccoder_usa@hotmail.com