Nepali Sesame Seed Chutney for Momos

Momos is the Nepali version of the Chinese dim sum. The Nepalese make their momo filling slightly differently to the Chinese, using a bit of butter in the filling, along with some turmeric powder cooked in butter or ghee. The rest of the ingredients are more or less the same.

This sesame seed chutney is one of the typical chutneys served in Nepal along with their momos. I fell in love with its unique taste and it's one of those chutneys that can easily be used elsewhere as a dip too, maybe for some carrot sticks or as a dip for kebabs etc. It's roasted nutty flavour will have you hooked once you taste it too.

I have used a green chilly in this recipe as the only dry red chillies I have are the Kashmiri ones, which are known for their colour not spice. I wouldn't recommend using the Kashmiri one as it will alter the colour of the chutney. The Nepalese however use a spicier dried red chilly instead. You can completely omit the chilly if you want this chutney to be child friendly.

The chutney tastes best, served cold with the hot momos. So keep it in the fridge once made.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dry roasted sesame seeds
1 clove of garlic (I used a bigger sized one)
salt to taste
small sprig of fresh coriander leaves
1 deseeded green chilly
1 medium tomato
1/4 cup water

Nepali Sesame Seed Chutney for Momos

Method:

Roast the sesame seeds on a pan on low heat till they turn a nice golden brown colour and they give off that lovely nutty smell. Reserve and keep.

In a mixer, add in the sesame seeds, garlic, coriander leaves and green chilly. Grind to a paste. Then add in the tomato and grind again.

Add the water last. This paste is not too thick or too watery either. Somewhere in between.

This chutney can easily be stored for a few days in the fridge. Served best cold.

Try it out! I'm already thinking of multiple ways in which I can use this amazing chutney!

Goan Red Coconut Chutney

This was one recipe that was handed to me just by word of mouth. I had heard so much about it, but somehow my mom never made it at home. This was made back in the good old days in my grandfather's time.

My grand Aunt used to make this chutney. Mom remembered having it and how it was made, but unfortunately didn't have any exact measurements to give me. She remembered that it was a cooked chutney, very unlike the green version. They used to carry it with them on their train holidays up north so maybe it was cooked so as to last for a longer period of time.

This is my version, going based on what she told me, with a few adjustments of my own.

Goan red coconut chutney

Ingredients:
1 freshly grated coconut
6-7 Kashmiri dry red chillies
1 " piece of ginger
5-6 cloves of garlic
salt to taste
1/2 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of tamarind paste (I use a ready Priya's one)
1 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp of coriander seeds
pinch of turmeric powder
1 tbsp. of coconut oil
water as required

Goan red coconut chutney

Method:
In a mixer, grind the red chillies, the ginger, garlic, cumin and coriander seeds, adding a bit of water as needed to get a fine paste. Add in the sugar, salt, turmeric powder and tamarind paste. Make sure the first paste is nice and thin and smooth before you add the coconut. Add the grated coconut next.

Grind the coconut paste till you get a beautiful red thick paste. Check for seasoning.

In a small pan, add a tablespoon of coconut oil. Put the heat on medium low. When the oil is warm, add in the coconut paste and slowly add a little water at a time, till you achieve a thick gravy like consistency. Cook it for about 5 minutes and your chutney is ready to serve.

Cooking this chutney matures its flavour and complexity giving it a wonderful taste.  Store in the fridge in a glass container.

Homemade Ginger Garlic Paste

Ginger garlic paste is the base ingredient for almost any Indian food. Whether you are making a curry or a vegetable, it always comes in handy. And there's nothing better than the homemade stuff right? 

The more involved I seem to get with food and cooking, the more I value the whole concept of trying to make as much as possible at home without having to buy store bought products. In today's world, where we are never really sure what goes into anything we eat, its best to try and make as much as you can at home. 

I know most of us are really short on time, so make larger quantities that can stay for a while, instead of small bottles where you find yourself having to make a new fresh batch every week. 

Ginger Garlic Paste

The basic principal of this recipe is to use equal quantities of ginger and garlic. Some recipes call for water, but I don't see the need for it, as water will naturally come out from the ginger and garlic. 

I recommend grinding the ginger first, and pre cutting it in smaller pieces before you throw it into the mixer. If you are dealing with larger quantities like I did in this recipe, I grind the ginger first and remove, and then grind the garlic, just to make sure there are no chunks of either in the paste. 

Turmeric is a natural preserving agent. So add a little to help keep it for longer. For my quantity I found that 1/4 tsp was more than enough. You want a very slight yellow tinge to your ginger garlic paste. Don't over do the turmeric. The way I looked at it, is, you don't want it to change the colour of a dish that you might be preparing later, so keeping that in mind too, just add a little.

Ginger garlic paste 

Oil is also a natural preserving agent. You can't go wrong here in how much you add.. For this quantity I've added 5 tbsps but if you are making lesser, then 2 to 3 tbsps should suffice.

Salt is another preserving agent. Again, don't add too much as you do not want it affecting the dish you use it for later.

I DON'T add vinegar to my paste when making it. It will slowly turn the whole paste an alien bright green and unless to want to show your kids a bit of cooking magic or some science fun, I wouldn't recommend adding any vinegar at all.

Always store your ginger garlic paste once made in the fridge. You can store it in a glass bottle, and it will sit nicely in the door of your fridge for as long as you want. Make sure you use a clean spoon when taking it out, and that the spoon doesn't come into contact with any other food item to avoid contamination. 

This recipe makes for 2 mayonnaise sized - 750ml bottles of paste. If you would prefer to make less, just use half the quantity of all the ingredients. 

Ingredients:
700 gms fresh whole ginger
700 gms fresh garlic
5 tbsps of oil
1/4 tsp of turmeric
1 1/2 tsp of salt 

Ginger garlic paste

Method: 
Peel the ginger and garlic. The best way to peel ginger is to use a teaspoon. It helps to get into all those nooks and crannies of the ginger root. But if you want somthing faster, then use a sharp knife to slice away the skin. I find the later way, always creates a bit of wastage that I like to avoid.

Garlic is best peeled by twisting the skin in an anti clock wise motion to remove the skin. Another alternative is to give is a small bash with the palm of your hand to release the skin.

Cut the ginger into smaller pieces and set aside. Grind the ginger in the mixer to a fine paste. Remove in a bowl and set aside. Add the garlic next, into the mixer. Grind to a fine paste. Now add the ground ginger back in, and add the rest of the ingredients. ie. the salt, turmeric and oil. Blend till smooth. 

Store in a glass air tight bottle in the refrigerator. 

Ginger Garlic Paste

Orange Infused Date Syrup

This is a super simple recipe that gives you a healthier version of maple syrup. There is absolutely no sugar in this recipe. Just pure syrup with all its goodness.

This syrup will go nicely on top of a stash of pancakes, or drizzled over any cake, or crepes. You can even have it the Srilankan way,(they have something similar) where they drizzle molasses over a bowl of yoghurt and serve it as dessert!

This versatile syrup can also be used to marinate steaks or as a drizzling sauce over some meatballs. Mix in a bit or siracha and you have a lovely dipping sauce for kebabs as well. 

 

Orange infused date syrup

Ingredients:
500gms of dates
1 litre of water
2 cups of orange juice
Juice of 1 lemon
muslin cloth for straining


Method:
In a deep pan, add the water to the dates and let it cook for about half an hour. Once softened, remove and strain the mixture through a muslin cloth. This is the only part of the recipe that requires a bit of muscle to squeeze out all that goodness.

The syrup at this point looks more like date water. Squeeze as much as you can from the muslin cloth and discard the rest.

Put the syrup back on the heat, adding 2 cups of orange juice.

Now you can do this next step the quick or slow way. If you happen to be around the kitchen with a bit of time on your hands, keep the heat low and slowly reduce the liquid.

If time isn't on your hands, you can turn the heat higher, but do stay around so you can watch the pan and it doesn't boil over.

Reduce the liquid to about half of the level you first started with, then add the juice of 1 lemon. Keep reducing it, till you notice the syrup starts to get a slightly thick.

If you notice any froth or scum, remove it with a spoon, as this is cloud up your syrup and you won't get a nice clear end result.

The final syrup consistency should be about the same as regular maple syrup. Unlike jam, this wont thicken much once cooled, so stop when you are satisfied with how thick you want your syrup to be.

Coriander Mint Chutney

This bad boy is my husband's invention. How does he come up with these awesome recipes, without any effort? It got me scrambling to jot down this recipe as fast as I could...

You just have to trust me on this.. This thick green goodness is nothing short of finger licking good. Serve this as a filling on a buttered bread sandwich or as a dip for kebabs, or just on the side as a chutney. 

A slight variation from most of the other recipes that call for coconut. This doesn't have any coconut in it! Even without the coconut, the consistency is still nice and thick, so for those of you who don't like coconut or can't get access to it, this is a wonderful alternative.

Also the fact that there's no coconut in it, gives it a longer shelf life. It will store easily in the fridge for a couple of weeks. I've added a wedge of lemon,  with it's skin and all. Just removing the seeds. Lemons are so good for you and full of lots of nutrients.

This is probably the first time, my method is just a couple of lines! 

 It's that easy! So go ahead and try it.. I promise you, its awesome!

Coriander Mint Chutney

Ingredients:
1 bunch of washed mint leaves (discard the stalks, just pull out the leaves and use)
small handful of fresh coriander leaves, washed
1" piece of ginger, peeled
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
3 whole green chillies (I used the milder light green variety)
1 tsp of salt
4 tsps of sugar
2 tbsps of olive oil
2 tbsps of balsamic white vinegar
1/4 wedge of lemon (deseeded, but skin and all)
pinch of turmeric powder
1/4 tsp of cumin powder

Method:
Cut some of the bigger ingredients into small pieces (ginger, green chillies, lemon etc) and blend all the ingredients together in a mixer, till you get a nice thick paste. Bottle and refrigerate. 

Coriander Mint Chutney

Prawn Pickle

Prawn Balchao is the ultimate Goan Pickle! A must have in every Goan house, this delicacy is nothing short of finger licking good!

Goan Dried Prawn Balchao Pickle

Prawn balchao, being spicy, goes extremely well with a simple fish curry and rice or a dal and rice, but tastes just as good spread on top of a buttered toast!

For the best flavour, and believe me, this is hard to do, you need to let it sit for a couple of weeks to marinate and let the flavours bloom.

I've used a mix of dried and fresh prawns here, so there is a nice combination of textures and flavours.

This recipe makes for 2 large bottles and 2 jam bottles worth of balchao!

Dried prawn balchao pickle

Ingredients:

1kg fresh prawns, deveined

100gms dried prawns

4  tsps of salt

1 tsp of turmeric powder

1 tsp of kashmiri chilli powder

1 bottle (750ml) of palm vinegar

1 2' piece of cinnamon

1 tsp of cloves

1 tsp of cumin seeds

25 whole dried kashmiri chillies

6 tsps of kashmiri chilli powder

1 tsp of peppercorns

100gms of ginger

25 cloves of garlic

3 large onions

135gms of tomato paste

2 tsp of sugar

3/4 cup of oil

Method:

Soaked Dried Prawns

Wash the dried prawns to remove any sand or dirt impurities then soak in a 1 1/2 cup of vinegar overnight.

Marinated Fresh Prawns

The next morning, wash and devein the fresh prawns. Marinate with 4 tsps of salt and 1 tsp of turmeric powder and 1 tsp of chilli powder and reserve for an hour. After an hour, finely mince the prawns. I just used a really sharp knife to do this.

Minced Fresh Prawns

Add the dried prawns that have been soaking in vinegar in the mixer. There should be almost no vinegar left, as it will be absorbed almost completely by the prawns. Remove the prawns carefully, and add to the mixer. Then add the remaining vinegar, leaving back the last teaspoon or so to discard. That way, any impurities or sand or dirt that was still around, should have settled to the bottom and can be discarded.

Dried Prawns in the Mixer

Once you've added the dried prawns to the mixer, blitz it for a few seconds, till the mixture is ground but still coarse. I like to leave a little texture in my balchao. Remove and reserve.

To make the spice paste:

Peel the ginger and garlic and blend in the mixer, adding a little vinegar from the bottle if you need to losen it up. Remove and reserve.

Roasted Dry Red Chillies

Dry roast the 25 kashmiri chillies in a pan till they warm up and you can smell the aroma. Put the heat off and let it cool, then grind it in the mixer, along with the 1 tsp of cumin seeds, 1 (2" piece) of a cinnamon stick, 6 tsps of kashmiri chilli powder and 1 tsp of cloves, to a fine powder. Add in the rest of the vinegar from the bottle and the ginger garlic paste you made earlier, to get a nice smooth paste.

Chopped Onions in the Mixer

Peel 3 onions, roughly chop and add to the mixer. Give it a quick blitz, to get it chopped but not pasty in consistency. (you could also chop it finely by hand - this just saved me on some extra work by putting it in the mixer). Remove.

Fried Onions

In a deep pan, which you plan to make the balchao in, heat 1/4 cup of oil. Fry the onion mixture till its nice and golden. Add the tomato paste and cook nicely on a low to medium heat, taking care not to let it burn. Add the spice paste mixture and the rest of the oil (1/2 cup of oil) and let it cook for a further 10 mins. 

Once done, add 2 tsp of sugar to balance out the flavours. 

Balchao Paste

Add the dried prawns and the fresh prawns and cook on low for half and hour or so till the mixture has dried nicely and you can see the oil starting to separate. 

Cool and bottle in a glass bottle. I got 2 large bottles and 2 jam bottles completely full!

Dried Prawn Pickle

You can leave the bottles out for a day before putting it in the fridge if the weather is not too hot. Reserve for at least 2 weeks before eating.. This last line is probably the hardest part of the recipe! 

Spicy Eggplant Pickle

There are no words to describe this pickle. It has a whole bunch of notes that hit your palate, starting with sweet when you first taste it to a complex depth of flavours, and finally finishes with a spicy tingle in your mouth, making you want to dig in more!

This is a typical Goan pickle that is always a favourite with most locals. This version has just  the right balance of sweet and spicy. Once you make it, I will guarantee you, you will make sure there's a bottle of this goodness always in your fridge.

Spicy Eggplant/Brinjal Pickle

Ingredients:
4 thin long brinjals
20 cloves of garlic
2 sticks of ginger, each about 3 "long
1 tsp fenugreek powder
1 tsp of cumin seeds
12 cloves
4 tsp chilli powder
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of oil
2 heaped tsp of mustard seeds
a handful of curry leaves
4 1/4 tsp of salt
1 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
1 cup of vinegar

Method:
Cut the eggplant into small cubes.. sprinkle with 4 tsp of salt (reserve the rest for later) and set aside for 1 to 2 hours..

Chopped Eggplant

In the meanwhile, prep the rest of your ingredients. Peel and roughly chop the ginger and garlic and set aside.

In a mixer, blend to a paste the ginger, garlic and turmeric powder, chilli powder, fenugreek powder, cloves, cumin seeds and vinegar.

After 1-2 hours, you will notice that the eggplant has released a lot of water.. drain off this liquid. Squeeze the eggplant cubes lightly, drawing out any more water left..

Diced Eggplant

Heat the oil in a pan. When hot, add the mustard seeds. When they begin to splutter, add the curry leaves. Be careful at this point that your heat is not too high or your spices will burn.

Spice Paste For Brinjal Pickle

Add the paste mixture in and cook on a low to medium heat for around 10 mins.. cooking the paste first, helps cook off that tart taste of the vinegar. Add the drained eggplant cubes and cook for a further 10 mins till tender. Add the sugar at this point. Cook for another 5 mins till you start to see oil leave the sides of the dish. Turn the heat off and spoon hot into cleaned glass bottles. Cover the bottle and leave to cool.

Brinjal Pickle

Note: I added the sugar at the end as once you add it the masala colour darkens and starts to almost caramelise. The picture above is not the final colour of the pickle, it was taken before adding the sugar. Adding it at the end, meant I made sure all the rest if the ingredients were cooked before so it didn't need a lot of extra cooking time once the sugar went in..

With regards to the heat, you can reduce the amount of chilli powder to say 3 tsps and see how comfortable you are. Sugar should then be adjusted as well, reducing it to half a cup or 3/4 cup. So my suggestion for a lower spice level, would be to start with 3 tsps of chilli powder.. cook as normal and then when  you add the 1/2 cup of sugar, taste it and see. If it's too mild then add in the extra tsp of chilli powder and balance sugar.

Bottling the pickle while it's hot and quickly covering it creates a vaccum which will help prolong it's shelf life. Once cooled, you can store it out for a day or two to let it's flavour mature, then store it in the fridge.

On another quick note, I have never sterilised glass jars when I make pickle or jam. Take an old glass bottle and make sure you have rinsed it out well with soap. Ensure it is properly dry and that there's no moisture and you are good to go.

Super Simple Homemade Mint Sauce/Marinade

SUPER SIMPLE MINT SAUCE/MARINADE

Super Simple Homemade Mint Sauce

Ingredients:

2 bunches of mint

1/2 tsp of sugar

salt and pepper to taste

3 tbsp. of vinegar

1 clove of garlic

3 tbsps. of olive oil

Method:

Chop 2 bunches of fresh mint (just leaves) very finely. Place in a small bowl. Add boiling water to just cover the mint (roughly half a cup) and soak for about 10 mins. Drain out water. To do this I pressed the mint with the back of a spoon slowly draining out the water. Add half a teaspoon of sugar, salt and pepper to taste, about 3 tbsp of vinegar and one clove of garlic (crushed to a fine paste by mixing in a bit of salt). Finally drizzle with a bit of olive oil about 3 tbsp. You could use this as a marinade or a sauce. It stores nicely in an air tight glass jar in the fridge.