Say Moooorreee to MOMO

I remember walking down the handicraft stalls in Dilli haat where we (my friends and I) use to hang around, till it was about to get dark ….and we would hurry back home. It was our favorate hangout…we used to talk about music, painting, issues, news and food. We would order the usual – 40 bucks a plate momos and fruit beer… and by the time we had our last sip of the fruit beer, somebody would start humming a beatles’ tune ……hmmmm

Well, so longgg……cant bring back the good’ol times but I surely know how to make those yummy, finger licking good momos. ..infact I think, I make them better.  My mom figured out a way to make them at home – and to our surprise it wasn’t difficult at all.  A special thanks to her !!

Here is the recipe – try it, you will love it.

You will need:

Minced chicken – 2 cups full (If you dont find / have minced chicken , then, cook the chicken pieces you have – in a shallow pan with little oil. Cover and cook until tender. Separate the chicken from the bone. Chop the chicken into tiny pieces.

Ginger & garlic minced – 2 teaspoon or ginger garlic paste - 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Red chilli sauce – 2 tablespoon (less if u want it to be mild)

Green chilli sauce 1 tablespoon

Red chilli powder – 1 teaspoon

Chopped Onions and Green pepper – 2 to 3 tablespoons

All purpose flour – 2 cups

Oil – 2 teaspoon for dough and another 2 tblspoon

1. Mix all purpose flour with oil and salt. Knead with warm water. Cover and put aside.

2. Put some oil in a pan, add Green pepper and onions. cook until onions become transparent. Add ginger – garlic and chilli powder. Cook for two minutes and add chicken, salt. cover and cook for 6-7 minutes. Cook longer if you are using raw minced  chicken.  Add the sauces and cook for another minute …let it cool.

3. Roll out dough around 4″ in diameter – not too thick neither very thin ( like a poori) , put some chicken in the center ( 1 tablespoon), bring the ends together and seal it from the top. Bring all of it together like a bag and make sure you seal the ends properly. Dip you fingers in water and run through the inner side of the ‘bag’ and then, seal it tightly.

4. Arrange momos in rice cooker, in an idli maker, in a pressure cooker ( using a jaali or idle maker) or in the microwave and steam for 10-15 minutes…it takes less time in the microwave. Seve with chilli sauce / ketchup.

Love, love me do.
You know I love you,
I’ll always be true,
So please, love me do.
Whoa, love me do.

As for the song…….here are the lyrics -

hmmm Love, love me do.
You know I love you,
I’ll always be true,
So please, love me do.
Whoa, love me do.

Love, love me do.
You know I love you,
I’ll always be true,
So please, love me do.
Whoa, love me do.

Someone to love,
Somebody new.
Someone to love,
Someone like you.

 

Love, love me do.
You know I love you,
I’ll always be true,
So please, love me do.
Whoa, love me do.
Yeah, love me do.
Whoa, oh, love me do

Chi-Coffee

While waiting for milk and water to get heated up for my morning coffee ( which usually isn’t much of an affair – i just put milk and water in a cup and then, in a microwave for 1:10 minutes…add sugar and coffee when it is done) …I happened to glance through the ingredients list on the coffee jar. it said it has ‘Coffee and Chicory’..chicory????
I did a quick google search – here is what I found -

Widely grown in Europe for its root, chicory is a Mediterranean herb used as a coffee filler or substitute. In North America, chicory, also known as blue-sailors, grows wild. It is a blue-flowered herb with a long white root. Parts of chicory, known as endive, are found in salads, as either a vegetable or a green.
The thick chicory root is roasted and powdered to be added to coffee. The origins of adding chicory to coffee as a filler and flavor enhancer began as early as the 15th century. The tradition spread to the French, and it became common in parts of Europe where coffee could not be grown or because it was cheaper.
Eventually, it became quite popular in the U.S., specifically in New Orleans. Unlike coffee, chicory does not contain caffeine. It tends to have a flavor like chocolate.
Chicory is purported to have several health benefits, including possibly aiding in digestion. Because it contains a compound called inulin, a soluble fiber, chicory may assist digestion by aiding the probiotic bacteria in the digestive tract.

“There is a way to be good again…’

 

I saw the kite runner at a cafe, liked the back cover but didn’t like the price much. Later, this year on our annual trip across the seas, I happen to find this book again – this time on a  road side book stall …and this time I could not resist it. The day I started reading this book - I wanted to read it all….I would read it all the time – eating, sitting with my family, in bed and when I was not reading  - I did not cease to think about it. The book followed me everywhere and its characters; Amir and Hassan haunted me.  There is a little bit of Amir in all of us…while we always hope & pretend to be hassan.

The Kite Runner tells the story Amir and Hassan, two childhood best friends in Kabul, divided by class and ethnicity. It is the story of their life, and how they are bound together by love and birth. The author Khalid Hosseini manages to provide an educational account of a country’s history, culture and political turmoil while narrating a story which  touches your heart.

The narration is lucid and very detailed. All the characters come to life and you cant help but feel one amongst them. You will not be able to put his book down until the last page has been turned. This book is everything you ever want a book to be !!

(Jan 2008 )