Veg Momo

INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

for outer cover

• 1 cup all purpose flour/maida
• ½ tsp oil
• ¼ tsp salt or as required
• 2 to 3 tbsp water for kneading or as required

for the stuffing

• 1.5 to 1.75 cups finely chopped vegetables (i added ½ cup chopped cabbage, ½ cup chopped carrots, ⅓ cup chopped french beans and ¼ cup chopped capsicum)
• 2 small sized spring onions, finely chopped - reserve the greens to be added later
• 3 to 4 small garlic/lahsun finely chopped
• 1.5 tsp light soy sauce 1 tsp soy sauce. add as required
• ½ tsp black pepper or as required
• 1 tbsp oil
• salt as required

INSTRUCTIONS

preparing the outer cover of momos:

1. take the all purpose flour/maida, salt and oil in a bowl and mix it.
2. add water in parts and knead to a firm dough. cover the dough and keep aside for 30 minutes.

for the veg momos stuffing:

1. finely chop all the vegetables. you can also use a food processor to chop the vegetables.
2. heat oil. add garlic. saute for 2-3 seconds.
3. add onions and saute for 10-15 seconds. add all the finely chopped vegetables.
4. increase the flame and stir fry the vegetables on high heat.
5. when the edges starts getting golden, add soy sauce, salt and pepper.
6. continue to stir fry on high heat till the vegetables are cooked. takes about 8 to 9 mins on a high flame.
7. later add 1 to 2 tbsp of the spring onions greens and stir fry for a minute.
8. check the taste and add more salt, pepper or soy sauce, if required.

shaping the veg momos:

1. divide the dough in two parts. make a 6-7 inch log from each part. cut the log into equal slices.
2. make ball of each slice and keep them covered with a moist napkin.
3. take each dough ball and on a lightly dusted board, roll each dough ball into a thin circle of about 2-3 inch diameter.
4. try to get the edges to be thin and the center to be thick.
5. place 1 or 2 tsp of vegetable stuffing in the center.
6. lift one side of the edge and start pleating. (you can also refer to the video above to see how pleating is done).
7. start folding and forming the pleats one by one. towards the end, join the pleats in the center.
8. prepare all momos this way and keep them covered under a moist napkin. till you are ready to steam them.
9. heat water in a steamer or in a electric cooker or in a pressure cooker. let the water come to a boil.
10. in a greased steamer pan or in idli moulds, place the momos keeping space between them so that they don't touch each other. * check notes on how to steam the momos in idli pan or pressure cooker.
11. steam momos for 5-6 minutes.
12. don't overdo the steaming, as the dough becomes dense and dry.
13. the steaming time may vary upon the thickness of momos' cover.
14. when you touch the momo then dough should not feel sticky to you. this means they are done and the momos will have a transparent look.
15. time of cooking momos varies from intensity of the flame and kind of pan and the steamer you are using.
16. once done, garnish veg momos with spring onion greens.
17. serve vegetable momos with a spicy sauce like schezwan sauce or tomato-chili sauce or chili sauce. you can also serve it with red chilli garlic chutney. momos go very well with a spicy sauce.

NOTES

to steam the momos in a pressure cooker - heat about 2 cups water in the pressure cooker. place the momos in a pan inside the cooker. remove the vent weight/whistle and steam the momos for 5 to 6 mins. if not done, then steam for a few more minutes. the water should not come in contact with the momos.
to steam in an idli pan - proceed same way, you make the idlis. heat water in the pan. grease the idli mould with pan. place the momos on the idli moulds. place the moulds in the pan and steam the momos.

Chilli Paneer Recipe

INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

for marination:

• 200 to 250 grams paneer/cottage cheese, cubed
• 2 tbsp corn starch (also known as corn flour in india)
• ¼ tsp red chili powder/lal mirch powder
• ¼ tsp black pepper powder
• 2 tbsp sesame oil or any oil
• salt as required

for sauce:

• 1 medium onion, quartered and separated in squares
• 1 small to medium capsicum, cut in squares
• 1 inch ginger, finely chopped or ½ tbsp finely chopped ginger
• 7 to 9 small to medium garlic cloves, finely chopped or ½ tbsp finely chopped garlic
• 3 to 4 green chilies, sliced vertically
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp green chili sauce
• 1 tsp sweet red chili sauce
• ¼ tsp red chili powder
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ¼ to ½ tsp sugar or add as required
• 1 tsp chopped celery(pathuni sakh)[spring onions], chopped (optional)
• 2 tbsp water added in the leftover corn starch to give glaze
• salt as required

INSTRUCTIONS

prepping:

1. pat dry 200 to 250 grams paneer first. then slice the paneer in cubes or rectangles. keep aside in a mixing bowl.
2. then peel and finely chop 1 inch ginger and 7 to 9 medium garlic cloves. diagonally chop 3 to 4 green chilies. quarter 1 small to medium onion and remove all the layers. slice 1 small to medium capsicum in squares. remove its seeds and pith (white part). keep the chopped veggies aside.

marinating and pan frying paneer:

1. add 2 tbsp corn starch, ¼ tsp red chili powder, ¼ tsp black pepper powder and salt to the paneer cubes.
2. gently mix without the breaking the cubes. or else you can shake the bowl and toss the paneer with the dry ingredients.
3. heat 2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan or a well seasoned pan. when the oil is medium hot, place the paneer cubes in the pan. when the base is slightly cooked, flip over and fry them. turn them gently and fry so that they are uniformly golden. you can also deep fry the paneer cubes if you want.
4. fry them till golden and crisp. do not fry for a long time as then they harden and become dense.
5. place the pan fried paneer cubes in a plate. keep aside.

preparing the sauce:

1. whilst the paneer cubes are getting fried, in the same bowl, in which we marinated the paneer cubes, there will be some leftover corn starch and spices. add 2 tbsp water to the bowl and mix well. we will add this corn starch paste to give a glaze to the sauce.
2. in another small bowl, add 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp green chili sauce, 1 tsp sweet red chili sauce, ¼ tsp red chili powder and ¼ tsp black pepper.
3. with a spoon mix all the three sauces very well.

preparing the cuisine:

1. in the same pan, after we finish frying the paneer, heat sesame oil and stir fry the spring onions till transparent.
2. add the chopped ginger, garlic. stir fry till the raw aroma of these disappear.
3. now add the capsicum and green chilies.
4. stir fry these.
5. stir fry till the capsicum is almost half cooked and add black pepper & crushed schezuan pepper. if you don’t have schezuan pepper, then just don’t add.
6. add veg stock or water along with some fresh or dry celery. i have added dry celery (sun dried at home)
7. add the mixed sauces.
8. then add little salt and sugar. go easy on the salt as the sauces already have a salt in them. stir very well.
9. now add the corn starch paste. stir again very well. do check the taste and add some soy sauce or chili sauces or sugar or salt if required.
10. add the pan fried paneer cubes. stir and mix the paneer cubes with the rest of the sauce.
11. you can garnish with some coriander leaves or chopped celery or spring onion greens before serving. serve chili paneer hot. this spicy paneer dish tastes best when served hot.

 

 

Panir Tomato Recepie

Ingredients :-

Juice of 1 large lemon
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 kg cut in half lengthwise and then sliced thinly across the grain 
2 large garlic cloves, minced or puréed
1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes with juice (in summer use 2 pounds grated or peeled seeded ripe tomatoes)
⅛ teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

⅛ teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon tomato paste dissolved in 1/4 cup water Coriander Leaves from 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped (about 1/2 cup) 
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme


Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Prepration :-

Pat the fish dry and season to taste with salt and pepper. Oil one or two baking dishes large enough to accommodate the fish in one layer. Lay the fish in the dish and pour on the lemon juice. Refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until they have softened and begun to color slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and the garlic and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Stir in the tomatoes, sugar, paprika, cinnamon, dissolved tomato paste, wine, half the parsley and more salt and pepper to taste and bring to a simmer. Simmer uncovered, stirring often, until the sauce has cooked down a bit and is very fragrant, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour over the fish. Sprinkle on the remaining parsley.

    Place in the oven and bake until the fish is opaque and pulls apart easily with a fork, about 30 minutes. Baste the fish every 10 minutes if it is not submerged in the sauce. Serve hot or warm, with rice, bulgur, or potatoes.





Season both sides of the fish with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/2 teaspoon of Essence.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil with the tomatoes, onions, wine, garlic, parsley, oregano, thyme, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of Essence, and paprika. Arrange half of the tomato mixture under the fish, lay the fish on top, and arrange the remaining tomato mixture over the top.

Bake until the juices run clear and the onions are beginning to crisp and slightly blacken along the edges, about 40 minutes, basting occasionally with the pan juices.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes. With 2 spoons, loosen the head from the body of the fish, lift away and discard. Run 1 of the spoons along the spine of the fish, and gently break the flesh into 2 fillets. Lift the fillets onto the serving platter.



 
 
 
 

Veg Biriyani

Ingredients for marinating the potato
1 kg (2.2 lb) of Potato cut into 2-4 parts
1 tbsp (15 ml) of ginger garlic paste[1 pice garlic & 1 inch ginger]
1 tsp (5 ml) of coriander powder
1 cup (236 ml) of curd[100gm white curd ] or milk with one lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 ml) garlic paste
4 green chili paste

1 tsp biriyani masala (2 cardamom,1 in (2.5 cm) cinnamon, 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) fenugreek[methi], 3 clove. take all these, fry them without oil, make them powder.)
A pinch of salt
Mix all of the above ingredients and let the potato marinate for 6-12 hours in refrigerator, the more the better.

Herbs, spices and condiments used are as follows 

• 8 cloves
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 6 green Cardamoms
• 2 Bay leaves[tej pata]
• 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) shahi jeera (caraway seeds)
• Jaifal 1 pice [A few pinches grated nutmeg and mace each]
• Jaitry 2 pice
• Jafran 1grm[Everest]
• 1 tsp (5 ml) Coriander powder
• 1 tsp (5 ml) red Chili powder (to taste)
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) Gram Masala Powder
• 5-6 tbsp (75-90 ml) of chopped fresh mint[pudina pata]
• 2-3 chopped green Chilies
• 4-5 chopped Tomatoes
• A whole bunch of fresh coriander leaves
• 1 inch (2.5 cm) piece of ginger root, grated
• 1 kg (2.2 lb) basmati, jasmine or ganador rice
• 1 cup (236 ml) tomato paste (not tomato sauce)
• 1 cup (236 ml) milk, cream, or yoghurt
• Keora jal
• Golap jal
• Mitha ator 
• Tomato Paste
• Biriyani Masala
• Coriander powder

For fried onions 

• About 8-9 medium size onions

Other Ingredients

• Oil for deep frying and 3-4 tbsp (45-60 ml) for cooking
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) of ginger garlic paste
• 1/2 cup (236 ml) of milk
• A few strands of Saffron (kesar)
• Desi ghee (clarified butter) about 6-7 tbsp (90-105 ml)
• Cashew nuts ( a few or as many as you want)
• Raisins and almonds are optional
• Salt to taste

[Boil the half cup of milk and add 2 pinch of crushed saffron in it. Give it a stir,and keep it for 2-3 hrs in freez. ]
Steps:-
Deep fry the onions for 20 mins: While the potato is marinating, slice or chopped the 4 onions very thin. You can use a food processor for this or a slicer. Now heat oil and fry these sliced onions in batches. The heat should be medium. Definitely not high, otherwise the onions will get burned. Stir the onions continuously for uniform browning. When they become light brown(after 20 min), drain them on kitchen paper. Keep them aside. They will get nice crispy as they cool down.
 
Make the Powder :
Jaifal(1/2), jaitry(2), sajeera(1 tlb spoon) fry[2-3 min] in a dry pan without oil and make power of it.
Make the Paste :
3 elichi, 3 green chili, 1 stick of darchini, 1 complete garlic, little bit ginger[not much] make a paste.

Parboil the rice:
Boiling rice is one of the most important part of cooking a biryani. The rice needs to be parboiled. Meaning, it should be three fourth cooked. The rest of it gets cooked on dum (when we layer the potato and rice, seal it and put on a very slow fire).

• Take a big deep wide mouth vessel
• Heat it for 1 min and put 2 tea spoon of ghee in that put one tej pata , 2 stick of darchini , 4-5 clove,a couple of green cardamoms,rest of caraway seeds (shahi jeera) and fry it for 2-3 min when good smell was started coming then add cleaned rice into this.
• Add lots of water (at least 10 times more than rice). Add[2 tlb spoon salt] ample salt (this is very important because the rice needs to be salty when cooked) and one spoon of white oil.
• Now boil all this for a few minutes on a high flame (7 minutes or so high flame). This is how to check if the rice is done. Without burning your fingers, take a few grains of rice (use a clean spoon to take some out of the boiling water), break a grain, if it breaks into 3 parts easily, your rice is done.
• Strain(remove the extra water) the rice and spread it on a clean surface (a tray or something under fan), so that it cools faster. If you want to pick out the whole spices which you added, you can do that now. Or else just let them be.

Cook the Potato:

• Take a deep, wide mouth vessel and heat 2 tlb spoon of ghee and 50 grm of white oil (3-4 tablespoons (45-60 ml)) in it .
• When it became hot add the 2-3 tej pata bay leaves, 3-4 cloves, 1 stick darchini cinnamon, 2-3 elichi cardamoms,1-2 red chili, little bit of shahi jeera and allow to crackle[oil coming out of the masala] add 5 chopped onion and fry it until it become golden brown. 
• Now add a tablespoon of ginger garlic paste in step 3 and stir a little.
• After that add one chopped tomato and satire this contentiously for 10-15 mins with slow flame.
• Now tip out all the marinated potato  and the marinade.
• Cook on a high flame for 5-10 mins so that the water gets evaporated quickly.
• Add  mint, green chilies, all dry powders(coriander, chili), and pinch of salt and satire it.
• Cook (and cover it with low flame for boiling.)till the potato is cooked and the gravy (masala) is not watery.
• Add one third of the fried onions and satire it.
• Mix well. Keep aside.

Keep all these ready: Now that the rice and potato are cooked. Fried onions are ready. You just need to get a few more things organized, so that the layering can be done.

• Chop the coriander and mint leaves
• In desi ghee, fry the cashew nuts till golden brown. Also the almonds and raisins, if using. Keep aside.
• Keep some melted desi ghee aside.

Layering the biryani:

• Take a heavy bottom pan with a lid (non stick is best).
• Take some melted ghee[2 tea spoon] and grease the bottom of the pan with it. 
• After that put a layer of tej pata.
• Put a layer of rice,
• On that rice 

1. put little bit chopped pudina leaves and corrionder leaves 
2. add pinch of powder massala prepared in step 2 
3. add pinch of biriyani masala 
4. one tea spoon of ghee 
5. add 2-3 spoon kesar milk[that we have kept in freez] 
6. put fryed onion lil bit which we have prepared in Step1.

• Then a layer of cooked potato with gravy.
• Repeat and finish off with the rice layer. 
• Lastly, sprinkle the leftover fried onions (if any), cashews and other nuts. Pour the saffron milk on top. Also pour some desi ghee and add only 2 drop of mitha atar and 1 spoon of rose water and 1 spoon of keora jal down the sides of the pan and some on top of the rice. It will trickle down with the heat.
   

Yep, you are done. Seal the lid by sticking it with some chapati dough or simply fix a big foil before placing the lid. The idea is to restrict the steam from escaping. Place this pot on a very slow flame. Ideally place this vessel on top of another flat pan or tawa, so that the bottom of the pan doesn't come in direct contact with the heat source and cook[ low flame] biryani for 20-25 mts.

Leave for one hour
 
Overnight Work :-

• Prepare the dry masala (Jaifal(1/2), jaitry(2), sajeera(1 tlb spoon) fry[2-3 min] in a dry pan without oil and make power of it)
• Prepare the safron milk
• Prepare the biriyani masala  (2 cardamom,1 in (2.5 cm) cinnamon, 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) fenugreek[methi], 3 clove. take all these, fry them without oil, make them powder.)

First Work in the Morning :-

• Prepare the ginger garlic paste
• Prepare the garlic paste
• Prepare the chilli paste
• Chop the tomato
• Slice the onion
• Prepare the paste with cardamom, Cinnamon, green chilli, garlic and ginger(3 elichi, 3 green chili, 1 stick of darchini, 1 complete garlic, little bit ginger[not much] make a paste.).
• Chop pudina(mint) and dhane(coriander) pata.

Chicken Biryani

Ingredients :-
1. Biryani Masala
2. Jaifal 1 pice
3. Jaitry 2 pice
4. Sajeera 1 spoon
5. Elaichi 4-5
6. Darchini 4-5
7. Clove 4-5
8. Jafran 1grm[Everest]
9. Caora jal
10. Golap jal
11. Mitha ator.
12. Basamati
13. Pudina pata
14. Dhane pata
15. Ada,pianj,rasoon
16. Tej pata
17. Ghee
18. Lal sukno lanka
19. Kancha Lanka

Process :-
1. 1 KG chicken marinate with 100gn white curd , [4 green chili, 1 pice garlic, little bit corriender leave] paste (add some kaju and almond pest with it)and keep it for 1 hr.
2. Jaifal(1/2), jaitry(2), sajeera(1 tlb spoon) fry[2-3 min] in a dry pan without oil and make power of it.
3. 3 elichi, 3 green chili, 1 stick of darchini, 1 complete garlic, little bit ginger[not much] make a paste.
4. 4 chopped onion need to deep fry and keep .
5. Take half cup of milk and 2 pinch of jafran and keep it for 2-3 hrs.
6. Rice:- take a vessel and heat it for 1 min and put 2 tea spoon of ghee in that put one tej pata and 2 stick of darchini and 4-5 clove and fry it for 2-3 min when good smell was started coming then add cleaned rice into this.
Then after 2-3 min put some water and add 2 tlb spoon salt and one spoon of white oil.
You have to prepare the rice carefully so that it should not be too boiled like normal rice.
Then remove the extra water and put the rice under fan for 1 hr.
7. Put 2 tlb spoon of ghee and 50 grm of white oil in to a kadai . When it became hot add 2-3 tej pata, 2-3 elichi, 1 stick darchini, 1-2 red chili after that add 5 chopped onion and fry it untill it become golden brown. After that add the paste that we have made in step 3. After that add one chopped tomato and staire this contentiously for 10-15 mins with slow flame. Then put the marinated chicken into it. After that staire it with high flame continiously for 10-15 mins. When chicken become white after that need to add salt as per taste and staire it and cover it with low flame for boiling. It should be totally dry.
8. The vessel [having proper cover so that cent & vapour must not come out]in which we prepare the final biriyani put 2 tea spoon of ghee on the down area of the vessel after that put a layer of tej pata , now put a layer of rice now put few pices of chicken on that. Then put another layer of rice now on that rice put little bit chopped pudina leaves and corrionder leaves add pinch of powder massala prepared in step 2 and add pinch of biriyani masala add one tea spoon of ghee then add 2-3 spoon kesar milk from Step 5 and put fryed onion lil bit which we have prepared in Step 4 . Now repeate the same step untill you complete the same step chicken and rice and finally the final layer should be rice with all the masalas mentioned and add only 2 drop of mitha atar and 1 spoon of rose water and 1 spoon of keora jal. Put that cover on the vessel(moida cover outside the cover). Kepp it for 15-20 mins.