Momos with Red Hot Chutney

Momos

Ingredients:

For the Dough;

Maida - 1 cup

Oil - 1 tbspn

Salt - ¼ tsp

For the filling;

Onion - 1, chopped finely

Mushrooms - 6, chopped finely(optional)

Ginger, garlic paste - 1 tsp

Green chilies - 2, chopped finely

Carrot - 1 large, chopped finely

Cabbage - 2 ½ cups, finely chopped

Salt - 1 tsp

Pepper powder - ½ tsp

Method:

Sift maida with salt. Add oil and knead with enough water to make a stiff dough of rolling consistency, as that for puris.

Heat oil in a kadai for the filling. Add chopped onion. Fry till it turns soft. Add mushrooms and cook further for 2 minutes. Add carrot, green chilies and ginger - garlic paste. Mix well and add the cabbage. Stir fry on high flame for 3 minutes. Add salt, pepper to taste. Remove from fire.

Make marble sized balls and roll thinly, to make about 5” rounds. Put 1 heaped tbpn of the filling. Pick up the sides into loose folds like frills and keep collecting each fold in the center, to give a flattened ball like shape. Make all momos.

Place the momos in a greased idli stand and steam it in a pressure cooker with 1 cup water without the whistle for 3-4 minutes.

OR It can be baked in the oven at 200C for 5 minutes till light golden on the edges.

Serve hot with red chutney.

Recipe Courtesy: Nita Mehta

Red Chutney

Ingredients: (yields about 3/4 of a cup)
Large red bell pepper/capsicum - 1 whole + ½
Medium sized tomatoes - 2 to 3
Garlic - 2 cloves
Freshly grated coconut (optional) - 2tbspns
Olive oil - 2 tbspns
Any fresh herb (Cilantro or Curry Leaves) - a few
Sugar - ½ tsp
Salt - according to taste
Crushed red pepper (to taste, or optional)

Preparation:

Oven:

Cut the tomatoes and pepper in half.  Drizzle a tablespoon olive oil on them and toss them to coat well. Add salt and crushed red pepper and toss again. Arrange cut side down on a baking tray. Preheat oven to 450 F and bake for 30 minutes or until the skin of the pepper is blistered and dark. You can broil it for the last 5 minutes.

OR Stove Top:

You can toss the veggies with olive oil and salt and heat a skillet; roast it in the pan at very high heat until skin is charred and vegetables are softened.

Remove all the blackened skin from the tomato and the pepper.

Take the pulp of the pepper and tomatoes and combine with all the other ingredients and a tablespoon of olive oil in a food processor and process until smooth.

Kothamalli Rice(Cilantro Rice)

Ingredients:

Coriander leaves/Cilantro Leaves - 1 bunch

Rice - 2 cups

Green Chilies - 2-3

Small Onions - 4-5

Garlic - 6-7

Tamarind pulp - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Oil - 1 tsp

Gingelly oil - 1/2 tsp

Salt - according to taste

Method:

Soak rice and water for 15 minutes. Cook with 4 cups water.

Meanwhile grind together coriander, green chilies, onions, garlic, salt and tamarind pulp.

Heat oil in a kadai, add cumin seeds and let them splutter. Now add the ground mixture and saute till the raw smell starts disappearing. When a nice aroma starts, switch off the stove. In a wide plate spread the rice, add gingelly oil. Then add the paste and mix thoroughly. Serve hot with chips.

You can store the remaining chutney in the refrigerator for a week.

Strawberry Cup Cakes

Ingredients:

Nonstick vegetable spray

All-purpose flour, for pans

Self-rising flour - 3 cups

Granulated sugar - 2 cups

Vegetable oil - 3/4 cup

Pureed and strained strawberries - 1 1 /2 cup*

Pure vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Lemon zest - 1tsp

Eggs - 4 large, beaten

Red food coloring**

*You can use fresh or frozen strawberries.  If you use frozen, let them defrost on a cookie sheet.  Then place in a food processor or a blender and pulse until pureed.  Run through a medium-sized strainer to remove the seeds. 

**I added some food coloring to achieve that perfectly pink color.  If you don’t care about getting the pink color, feel free to leave it out.  I used about 5 drops, but you should add them one at a time until you achieve the color you are looking for.

Method:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray and flour muffin pans, tapping out excess flour; set aside.

Prepare the cake batter; in a large bowl, stir to combine self-rising flour, sugar, oil, pureed strawberries, vanilla, lemon zest, and eggs.

Spread batter evenly in the pans. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertips, 26 to 28 minutes.

Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire rack. Re-invert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.

Prepare the cream cheese frosting (recipe below); frost as desired and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cream Cheese Frosting;

Cream cheese - 1 ; 8 oz package, softened

Butter - 1 stick, softened

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Confectioners sugar (powdered sugar) - 3 cups(approx)

Milk (if needed) - 1tbspn

Method:

Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Slowly add the sugar in 1 cup batches until desired sweetness is achieved.  You may need less than 3 cups if you like your frosting less sweet. Stir in vanilla.  Add milk slowly if you need a looser consistency.

Peanut, Mango and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients: 

2 cups peanut, skinned and lightly toasted

2 cups green raw mango, chopped

1 large cucumber with little or no seeds, chopped

3 tablespoon chopped red onion

2 hot green chili pepper, thinly sliced

For dressing: (adjust proportions of dressing to suit your taste)

2 tablespoon sesame oil

4 tablespoon lime juice

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed

2 teaspoon red chili pepper/paprika (or to taste)

salt to taste

any of your favorite herb for flavor, if you wish to use

Method:

Use the mango which had ripened lightly so they were light yellow and sweet and tart at the same time. If you are using raw mangoes which are all green, the salad will be more on the tart side and miss the little hint of sweet. 

In a large skillet, lay the peanuts in one layer and toast them lightly on low to medium heat until you see light brown spots on them. Cool and rub between kitchen towels to remove the skin. Cool the nuts. Place the cooled nuts in a ziploc plastic bag or between kitchen towels and using a rolling pin crush them coarsely. It is okay if some are still whole and halved.

Combine raw mango, cucumber, pepper and onions and toss; let it sit for about an hour. Drain if they release any liquid. Chill the mix.

Whisk the oil, lime juice, chili powder, salt, cumin and herbs.

Add the crushed peanuts, toss and combine the whisked dressing. Let it sit for about 30 minutes for the flavors to blend.

Serve as a salsa with chips or pappad or add some rice puffs(pori) and serve as a beach sundal.

Serves: 4-6

Pina Colada

Ingredients:

Pineapple Juice - 1 cup(fresh)
Cream of coconut - 1/4 cup
Club soda - 1 cup
Vanilla ice cream - 1/3 cup

Method:

Blend pineapple, cream of coconut and vanilla ice cream in a blender until all gets mixed well. Stir in club soda and serve.

Mini Ice Cream Cake Pops

Ingredients:

Brownie (Refer my earlier post)

White or dark Chocolate chips or chunks - 1/2 cup

Frosting - Vanilla or chocolate

Method:

Bake your favorite cake recipe, I used Brownie (whatever flavor) let it cool. 

Take a large bowl and crumble the cake over the bowl, stir in about 1/2 cup of frosting, mix well then roll the mixture into balls. Place them on a cookie sheet and pop them into the freezer. Melt white or dark chocolate. 

Tips for melting;

• Fill your pan with 1 in. of water.
• Bring it to a simmer over medium heat.
• Now chop your chocolate into very small pieces. (TIP: Use white chocolate chips or chunks to save time.)
• Put your chocolate into the top of your double boiler or your bowl.
• Place it over top of the heated water. Now, let this sit until half melted. Remove from heat and set pan onto your counter top. (Place a towel under the pan to be sure that none of the moisture reaches the chocolate.)
• Gently stir your melting-white-chocolate with a spatula until smooth. (If lumps remain, return to heat for a minute or so until all is melted.)

Then dip the top of the cone into the melted chocolate and place a ball right from the freezer on top of the cone, it will harden instantly because it is cold and then you will be able to dip the rest of the cake ball into the chocolate. Allow the excess chocolate to drip and top it with M&M. Enjoy!

Recipe Courtesy: Everyday with Rachael Ray