Nepali Momos

Steam Lifts, mist rises, blooming and aglow are these tender, succulent momos, wrapped in them are the smell and flavours of the oriental lands of the antiquity. Delightfully simple or simply delightful. 

Any of you who has taken a winter afternoon lazy stroll in the markets of Delhi is not unfamiliar to the steam billowing pots on the roadside with signs that typically read: 'Tibetan Momos' , 'Nepali Momos'. If there ever existed a 'Kingdom of healthy yet tasty foods', a momo would be its undisputed king for eternity. However, we always find it cumbersome to make these at home. Let me tell you one little secret which has been buried in the Himalayan kingdoms- making momos could be a wee bit easier than walking out and buying those. I will tell you how. So if you want to surprise someone with a cane box full of steaming momos as an afternoon snack, you are reading the right story

Last November I travelled to Kasol village in Himachal Pradesh my daily routine was a black tea and noodle soup at a tiny noodle shop run by family of three from Darjeeling. The shop served momos, noodle soup, eggs with buns and tea . Each morning I watched how the couple made fresh dough for momos and noodles, they deftly rolled the dough and passed it through a hand cranked noodle machine. The dough sheets were cut into rounds for momo wrappers. Fresh mixture of meat, minced veggies and minimum seasoning was tossed as a stuffing for momos and a large cauldron of stock was always simmering, a bowl of which would be served with a plate of steamed momos. They were generous enough to let me into  their kitchen and dabble a bit with momos.  The brief experience I had at Kasol gave me the courage to attempt momos at home and I surprised myself.

There are two parts to making momos: the wrapper and the stuffing. Here is the list of ingredients and the method to make momos

Fresh Steamed Momos with Broth

Mrs. Hyolmo tossing freshly blanched noodles

Trying to be of help to the Hyolmo family

The soulful noodle soup

Rolling out the Wrapper

Wrappers stacked

Stuffed and ready

Steamed Momo

For the wrapper:

Yields about 16 to 20 depending on the size of the cutter

Ingredients

Flour  - 250 grams

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Water -  1/2 c to 3/4 c

Baking powder a pinch

Corn flour for dusting

For the stuffing:

Ingredients

Chicken, minced 200 g

Fat 25 g

Spring onion 1

Ginger 1 inch 

Mirepoix of (Garlic 4 cloves, Onion 1 small, Celery 6'inch stalk(optional)

carrot 1 small) 

Cabbage 1 heaped cup

Parsley or Coriander 2 tbsp

Sesame oil 2 tsp

Pepper 1/2 tsp

Soy sauce 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Method

Wrapper

Boil water and set aside for a minute

To knead use the dough hook attachment of the stand mixer or use a spatula if kneading by hand. Mix the hot water into the flour

Knead for about 2 to 3 minutes till the dough comes together, add water by tablespoon if the dough is too dry

Continue kneading the dough till it is somewhat soft, yet firm.

Wrap in a cling film or cover with a damp cloth and set aside for a minimum of 15 minutes or upto 2 hours

To make the wrappers, dust the kitchen counter with corn flour and place the dough on the counter. Shape the dough into a log and cut into equal portions.

By using a rolling pin or a pasta maker roll the portions into rounds of 1/8" inch thickness or as thin as possible.

Using a round cutter, trim the excess dough for a even appearance

Stack the wrapper one above, avoid the wrappers sticking to each other by dusting cornstarch between each wrappers

Stuffing

Wash the chicken and set aside for the water to drain, add fat and mince chicken in a meat mincer or take it to your local butcher

Using a microwave steam the cabbage for a few minutes till tender alternatively the cabbage can be cooked in a open pan 

Finely dice all the ingredients for mirepoix

Heat oil in a small frying pan. To the oil add garlic, onion and other mirepoix ingredients and saute for a minute on low heat

Once the mirepoix mixture  is fragrant add ginger, cabbage, chopped parsley/coriander, spring onion and saute for a minute more

Add some fresh cracked pepper, season with salt to taste and set aside to cool

Add the cooled mixture to raw minced chicken and mix until the meat and flavoring is thoroughly combined

Putting it together – Momos

Place a teaspoon of stuffing in the middle of each wrapper

Dip your finger into water and run it on the skirting edges to seal

Fold the wrapper into crescent shape or any desired shape, ensuring there are no air bubble and the edges are tightly sealed

Place the dumplings upright on a floured pan, cover the pan with a damp kitchen towel or spray water on the prepared dumpling to avoid dry dumpling skin 

Place the prepare water for steaming and place the dumplings on a lined steamer

Steam for about 15 minutes 

Serve hot with Sriracha sauce

Oat Porridge with Nuts and Seeds

Goldilocks went on a trek through the forest she stumbled upon a house where mama bear, papa bear and baby bear lived. Mama bear had made hot porridge for her little bear family. Mama bear knew whats good for her family and so does your mama. Listen to your momma and get your first meal of the day right with four dollops of porridge. Start your day like you own it, like a BOSS! Make a bowl of porridge with oats, toss in some fruits, nuts, seeds or whatever the hell you have at home. The oats gives you some fibre, controls your blood sugar and no growling bear tummy till lunch.  

Here are the top healthiest nuts and seeds - Reference Source here

Almonds have as much calcium as milk, and contain magnesium, vitamin E, selenium and lots of fiber. They can lower cholesterol and help prevent cancer.

Walnuts are extremely good for your heart and brain, and contain ellagic acid a cancer-fighting antioxidant.

Cashews are rich in minerals like copper, magnesium, zinc, iron and biotin. They are actually a low-fat nut, and like olive oil, they have a high concentration of oleic acid, which is good for the ticker (your heart). According to Dr. Andrew Saul, one big handful of cashews provides one to two thousand milligrams of tryptophan, which will work as well as prescription antidepressant Prozac.  

Dates are natural sweeteners contain health benefiting flavonoid polyphenolic antioxidants known as tannins. Tannins are known to possess anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, and anti-hemorrhagic  properties

Flax seeds Two tbsp of ground flax seed per day is ideal and easy to add to oatmeal or smoothies. It is the best source of parent omega-3s (better than fish oil) and Lignans, super anti-oxidants that help fight cancer. It also contains a lot of fiber and can reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes

Sunflower seeds also help prevent heart disease and cancer with phytochemicals, folate, Vitamin E, selenium and copper.

Pumpkin Seeds are great for your immune system with lots of antioxidants (carotenoids), omega-3 fatty acids and zinc.

Sesame Seeds are a good source of calcium, magnesium, zinc, fiber, iron, B1 and phosphorus.  They can lower blood pressure, and protect against liver damage. Sesame seeds have also been linked to prevention of many diseases like arthritis, asthma, migraine headaches, menopause, osteoporosis, and may even reduce PMS symptoms.

Oat Porridge

Serves 2

Time 10 Mins

Oats 1 C

Water, preferably hot 3 C

Nuts, Seeds, dried berries  2 tbsp

Salt a pinch

Honey, Optional 2 tbsp

Fruits fresh, chopped 1/2 C

Method

In a saucepan toast the nuts, seeds till slightly brown and fragrant 

Add the oats, using a spatula toast the oats for 2 mins to 3 mins

Pour water into the toasted oats and add a pinch of salt

Stirring occasionally cook till the oats absorb most of the liquid 

Pour the porridge into the bowl and garnish with more nuts, honey, milk if you like

*oats can be cooked in bulk and stored in fridge. Use hot water or milk to loosen the oats and add roasted/soaked nuts and serve

** Soaking nuts/seeds is healthier than toasting or roasting nuts/seeds

Doughtnuts

Ever gone on a food binge? The fried and naughty kind? A binge that would win the popularity contest of food binges is "The Grand Doughnut Binge" the fried ring shaped dough over powers you like a true ring master, the fiercest of healthy diet lions cant stop at just one. 

Frying dough has been a part of traditional cooking all over the world. However this harmless looking fluffy cushion of taste bud grazing sweetness took the world by storm. If you go through the history of fried dough it comes in different shapes and sizes, sweet and savoury and then we have the doughnut to add colour to the catalogue. Fried dough filled with cream, custard, icing or jam with a coating of chocolate, sprinkles or spicy cinnamon sugar an instant pick me up. What blends inside like sugar and cinnamon is sprinkled on top and what usually goes on top or under is stuffed inside a topsy turvy world of sugar rush. 

Have it when its hot! Doughnuts are honestly best enjoyed when they are fresh out of the fryer. They do not go stale so easy, but the flavour and fun slightly diminishes over time and quickly so. If you want to grab every bit of goodness a piece of doughnut can give you, you may have to stand next to the fryer as the chef tosses doughnuts straight into your mouth. Extremely exciting as it sounds its not really possible to have access to the kitchens of fast food restaurants that sell doughnuts and the chefs will not take too kindly to such behaviour.  

Dough-NOT fret, here is a recipe that will get you flipping and tossing perfect doughnuts in no time. 

P.S. Here is an interesting article about the history of doughnuts

Doughnuts

Yield- 16 to 20  large

Flour 500 g

Sugar 30 g

Salt 10 g

Yeast 15 g

Evaporated milk 20 g

Milk 250 g to 350 g

Eggs 2 

Zest of an orange

Butter 60 g

Oil for Deep frying

Method

In a big wide mixing bowl weigh the dry ingredients, rub the zest of orange into the dry 
ingredients 

In another mixing bowl beat the milk, vanilla and eggs till homogenous

Create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the entire milk and egg mixture in the centre

Using a wooden spatula or your hand combine the ingredients to form a shaggy mass of dough

Use additional milk a tbsp at a time or an extra dusting of flour if required to make a soft ball of dough

Knead for 2 mins and empty the dough onto a clean kitchen counter

The dough at this point will be very sticky and tacky.

Continue kneading the dough for another 8 minutes to 10 minutes, giving a break for 2 minutes to 3 minutes in between kneading to allow the gluten to relax and absord the liquid

Knead the soft butter into the dough till the butter coats the dough well and the dough acquires a little shine

Shape the dough into a ball on the platform. 

Cover the dough with a damp kitchen cloth allow to proof for 1 hour or double in size

Degas the dough by tapping on the surface and place the dough on a well floured platform

Roll the dough into 1/4 inch thick circle or a rectangle and cut rounds using a doughnut cutter

In a deep pot heat oil to 190 deg celsius, on a low to medium flame fry the doughnuts for two minutes on each side

Toss the hot doughnuts in cinnamon sugar and EAT!