In Progress - tasting panel still out!
RECIPES from a NEPALESE KITCHEN
Learnt from Puspa Karki in the kitchen at the DHUKUTI TANDOORI Restaurant & Bar, Lalitpur, Nepal
1 CHOW MIEN BASE
INGREDIENTS:
Base
Green beans – chopped and sliced
White cabbage – v finely sliced and chopped julienne style
Green peppers - “
Onions - “
Carrots - “
Garlic – chopped finely
Add:
Noodles – precooked not dried
(and pre stir-fried cooked chicken pieces or any other cooked meat or fish if not for a vegetarian)
METHOD:
Fry garlic first and then add all other vegetable ingredients together and stir fry until really well cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Add tumeric with the garlic at the beginning plus chopped chilli peppers to the vegetables if want more spicy. Add meat or fish and the noodles at last minute and give quick warm through.
Serve with finely chopped spring onion and coriander garnish + salad if wanted.
-o0o-
2 ICED PUDDING / SWEETS
INGREDIENTS:
Sugar syrup – made up previously?
Cashew nuts – chopped roughly
Warmed milk
METHOD:
Mix together and cook for 15 mins until thick. Then cool, freeze and finally eat almost from frozen.
-o0o-
4 NAAN BREAD
INGREDIENTS: (largish quantity! – quantities not precise!)
Baking powder – loads!
½ litre milk
6 dessertspoons of sugar
2 eggs
2 kg white flour
1 tspn salt
Large dollop of oil
Water to keep moist – added as necessary
METHOD
Put milk in large bowl first. Add baking powder and mix well. Continue to add sugar and then beat in 2 eggs gradually. Add salt then finally the flour. Mix by hand and knead to a dough for 5-10 mins at least, adding water as appropriate and oil when a dough formed and knead oil in
-o0o-
5 CHOOR (?KUUR)
INGREDIENTS:
Cooked potatoes in their skins – peeled when cold and chopped into large pieces
Oil
4 red chillies
Salt
Cumin seeds
2-3 large handfuls of finely chopped spinach or other cabbage/greens
METHOD:
Fry potatoes in oil for about 2-3 mins maximum turning all the time to prevent over crisping. Remove from pan and set aside. Add more oil and fry chillies. Add salt and cumin seeds and stir in and cook briefly. Then add the greens and stir fry until all well cooked. Finally add the potatoes just to warm through and absorb all the spices and sauce. And serve immediately.
-o0o-
6 DHAL
INGREDIENTS:
Dried lentils
Water
Red chillies
Cumin seeds
Chopped spring onion and coriander
METHOD:
Put lentils in water, bring to the boil and cook for at least 30 mins. Fry the red chillies and cumin seeds until soft and have absorbed the oil. Add cooked dhal plus more water if needed to dilate and then finally chopped spring onion with the coriander leaves.
Can add beans or anything else to the lentil mixture base to vary the taste and consistency.
-o0o-
7 VEGETABLE CURRY – Basic
INGREDIENTS:
Carrots
White cabbage
Onions
Green peppers
Garlic
METHOD:
Chop finely, julienne style, all the vegetables and steam briefly. Add to curry sauce (see next recipe) and reheat gently – serve whilst still hot but can be reheated without losing any taste.
-o0o-
8 VEGETABLE or MEAT CURRY SAUCE
INGREDIENTS:
Oil
Garlic
Onion finely chopped
Ginger “
Garlic cloves “
Cumin seeds
Finely chopped tomatoes
Heaped tspn of tumeric powder
Heaped tspn of cumin powder
Heaped tspn of chilli powder
Heaped tspn of coriander powder
+ small amount of another unidentified spice -?cardamon powder
Salt to taste
METHOD:
Heat oil and add cumin seeds and when lightly browned add garlic and onion and ginger. Cook further and then gradually spoon in all the rest of the spices finally adding the tomatoes and cooking for about another 30 mins until a thick paste adding water to stop it becoming too thick and burning.
Add other cooked meat and/or vegetable pieces to this sauce and cook through as desired and serve.
-o0o-
9 EGG (or FISH) CURRY SAUCE
INGREDIENTS:
Oil
Tumeric powder – tspn
Halved previously cooked, cooled and peeled hard boiled eggs
Finely chopped onions
“ tomatoes
Ginger garlic sauce (liquid - prepared in advance)
Chilli powder – heaped tspn
Coriander – heaped tspn
Cumin powder – flat tspn
Salt to taste
Yoghurt – 1 part yoghurt to 3 parts sauce approximately
Chopped coriander leaves
If want it super hot, can add Green chilli pesto (oil, green chillies and garlic prepared previously) with other spices.
METHOD:
Heat oil and add tumeric powder and mix well together. Add halved hard boiled eggs and fry lightly on both sides allowed slight colouring/browning. Remove, drain eggs and put to one side.
Add cumin and finely chopped oinion and cook further. Then add tomatoes and ginger garlic sauce, plus the other spices and salt to taste. Cook all these well, stirring regularly, to a well mixed sauce. Add yoghurt after about 5-10 minutes. Taste to check amount. Keep cooking to allow all spices to be absorbed. Finally add eggs and chopped coriander and cook further well (boil) for a few minutes. Then serve or keep warm ready.
Add fish instead of the eggs if this is to be a fish curry sauce.