Juju Dhau

Juju Dhau: Yogurt

     Juju Dhau, literally means king of the yogurts. This is actually is one of the unique recipes from the city of the Bhaktapur. It is specially made for special occasion with the special order in by gone days. But to my surprise, when I visited our Country after a long gap of ten years, it has been commercialized. Nowadays it can be easily found, in every nook and corners. It is good for economy of the country and for us too as it can be purchased any time. But what I couldn’t understand is why it didn’t have the same taste? I’m trying my own reasoning may be, it is made in different container or something different in the recipe. Now-a-days it comes in plastic cups and bowls. With the earthen bowl and cups I think it help to observe the water and help thicken the curd. There is one saying goes like this, juju dhau is that thick, that even if it is overturned, it still remains intact. Well thinking about, where I don’t have any hold to make change, instead I want to try it my way here in USA. Let’s see, how close I can get with the recipe.

Ingredient:

½  a gallon of whole milk.
½ cup sugar
½ cup mawa or ricotta cheese
¼ stick of unsalted butter bar
4 green cardamom (powder)
Few pieces of coconut slices
2 table spoon of plain yogurt

Procedure:

     Boil milk and keep boiling till it is reduce to 2/3. Then add sugar, mawa, unsalted butter and boil it for couple of minutes to mix the entire ingredient well. Now pour into a hot dish and let it cool down. When it is reach the temp that you can deep your figure without burning, then it is time to add plain yogurt. Now add yogurt and mixed it well by steering couple of time and cover it with its cap and let it sit there for 3 to 4 hours or overnight. Now when you check, it should have turned into curd. You can now décor it with pieces of coconut. This will not only add to look but also add nice flavor to taste. Since it is thick and creamy in texture you can décor it with fruits, dried fruits or icings. I must say, here you can impress your guest with your art of decoration. Refrigerate it and serve it cold. Try this recipe and Enjoy.

Takha and Sanhyakhuna

Takha and Sanyakhuna Recipes:

    Hi everyone, today I want to share the recipe of one of the popular meat dish of Newar community. This is normally prepare for big gathering (Party) that last for several days like marriage, Guthi etc. This dish normally made in winter as it can be preserve for several days. If you have enough space in the refrigerator, it can be make in summer too. This is normally eaten with bitten rice but also goes well with steaming hot rice.

    For big gathering of hundred and thousands of people, it is normally cooked in big utensil call Jashi and for middle volume of gathering of couple hundred it is cook in phosi. I cannot give exact recipe for this volume as it is normally prepared by local chefs called Bhani. But for small size family and some guest’s get together, I am daring to write a recipe. I learned this recipe from my mom who used make Takha and Sanyakhuna with variety of meat, that we used to consume in the Nepal. She used to make this even with dried goat meat. I used to be a little helper for her but, I actually learnt to make it from my father in law. And here in USA, I prepared this recipe on my own putting together the experiences I had with them.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Goat meat with bones, skin and some fat too.
Handful of anchovies’
I bunch of spring onion/spring garlic
1 big bunch of coriander
2 table spoon of ginger garlic paste
Salt to taste
Pinch of asafetida (hing)
2 table spoon of cumin seed powder
2 table spoon of coriander powder
1 tea spoon of Turmeric powder
4 table spoon of Red chill powder
1 tea spoon of Meat masala or garam masala
2 tea spoon of cumin seeds
4 table spoon of vegetable oil / Mustard oil
2 bay leaves
Few cloves
4-5 Green cardamom
1 inch piece of cinnamon  

Procedure:

    In a 4 liter pressure cooker,  heat couple tea spoon oil and fry bay leaves, I tea spoon of cumin seed, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves and add meat and fry it for some time then add chopped green onion and green coriander. Add ginger garlic paste and all powder spices except of red chili powder. Add 2 liters of hot water and bring it to boil. To it add also table spoon of red chili powder. Pressures cook this in low medium heat for couple of hours. Cool down the cooker and open and see if the meat is sticky or not. If it is sticky then it is rightly cooked. Add some more hot water and boil it for some time. After 15 minutes of boiling, pour a bowl full of liquid portion in one bowl and rest with meat in another middle size bowl to set for takha.

    Now for Sanyakhuna, in small utensil heat some oil and fry anchovies’ till it is brown, then add that bowl of liquid to it. Add rest of red chili powder and lemon juice and boil for some time.  At this time you can alter spices by tasting. Pour this in the bowl too for setting. Finally heat a pan and add oil to it and fry rest of the cumin seeds till brown and pour sizzling hot oil over the both the bowl. Let it cool and refrigerate overnight. It should be ready to serve.  TRY it for yourself and ENJOY.

Momo Recipe

Momo Recipe: my way …. Main ingredient is love so don’t forget to add tonnes of love in your recipes

Ingredients:

1 lb. Minced Meat (Chicken, Turkey, Pork, Mutton, Beef but the best ever momo, I ate was buff meat)

1yellow onion finely chopped

1 cup of cabbage finely chopped and or ½ cup of spinach finely chopped
1 table spoon of ginger paste
1 table spoon garlic paste
Small bunch of coriander finely chopped2 – 3 spring onion or spring garlic finely chopped
1 table spoon of cumin powder
1 table spoon of coriander powder
½ table spoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 tea spoon of turmeric powder
1 tea spoon of red chili power or according to taste
1 table spoon of MOMO Masala
1 table spoon of vegetable oil or olive oil or mustard oil or you can also use 1 cube of unsalted butter
1 table spoon of salt or to taste
1 tea spoon of cinnamon powder

Procedure Steam Momo:  Mixed all these well all in the bowl and keep aside for 30 minutes at least. Wrap this in the wanton wrapper or dumpling wrapper.  Oiled the momo steaming utensil from inside and steam it for 15 minutes. Your steaming hot momo is ready to eat.

Kothe Momo Procedure:

Instead of steaming, fry these momo. Heat 1 table spoon of oil in the frying pan and put 10 -12 momos and sprinkle some water. Fried this without turning and covered for 5 – 10 minutes. Now your kothe is ready to serve with hot sauce or tomato Ketchup

Deep Fried Momo Procedure:

Use deep fryer. In this you need lots of oil.  Heat the oil and add momos to it and fried till brown. This is awesome too and change of taste with same ingredients. Serve hot with hot sauce or tomato Ketchup.

Recipe for Tomato Soup:

Ingredients:

1 lb tomatoes finely chopped

1 – 2 green jalapeño pepper cut into small pieces
½ medium size yellow onions finely chopped
Small bunch of coriander finely chopped
1 table spoon of ginger garlic paste
½ tea spoon of turmeric powder
1 table spoon of cumin powder
1 table spoon of coriander powder
1 tea spoon of red chili powder or to taste
½ tea spoon of curry powder
1 tea spoon of salt or to taste
1 table spoon of oil

Tadka masala ingredients : ½ tea spoon of cumin seed, ½ tea spoon of fennel seeds, 2-3 cloves, 2-3 black peeper, 2 green cardamom pods, 1 small stick of cinnamon, 1 bay leaf

Procedure: Heat the oil in the pot, when smokes starts to come from oil add tadka masala and fry it till brown. Then add onions and jalapeño and fry these for some time. Now add tomatoes and other ingredients except for green coriander.  Let it fry for about 5 minutes. Add 1 ½ cup of water and boiled for 5 minutes. Finally add chopped green coriander. Now your tomato soup is ready to serve.

Party time:

Enjoying MOMO with Beer

One Pumpkin variety dishes:

One Pumpkin variety dishes:

    
    Bought 1 medium size Pumpkin for Halloween. It was lying in one corner of my dinning room since then. Yesterday while cleaning, I saw it and think what to do with it, as it too big for us two. But suddenly, I became scare of our saying, that if the seeds from inside sprouts then it brings bad luck. So I made my husband to cut it in several pieces. Thank god seeds hadn't sprout yet. Now problem is still the same what I gonna do with all those pieces. We normally, either make curry of chatani(Aachar). Then, I thought why not try different recipe, that are available in youtube videos posting.

First one I try was

Pumpkin Bread: Recipe by Hilah Johnson

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups pumpkin puree (15-16 ounce can)
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ⅓ cup oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ginger
• ¼ teaspoon cloves
• ¼ cup pumpkin seeds

Instructions

1. Set oven to 350ºF and grease a large (9x5") loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin, sugar, oil and vanilla.
3. Sprinkle in dry ingredients and stir to just combine.
4. Spread into loaf pan and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.
5. Bake 1 hour. Turn oven off and open the door and let pumpkin loaf cool in oven for 15 minutes.
6. Remove to a rack to cool completely.

I didn't have all ingredients and feel too lazy to do grocery on that day. Since, I do have most of them, so I made Pumpkin Bread. May not be exact taste as it should be. But is too good for first try. Hope you may want try this recipe too and enjoy different taste of Pumpkin.

2.   Next one I tried was Pumpkin Halwa(Sweet dessert): VahChef

Ingredients

1 cup Apple medium sized pieces
1 cup Apple puree
1 piece Butter Slice
1 tsp Cardamom powder
pinch Cinnamon powder
1 cup Dry Fruits (cashew nuts, almonds, raisins)
2 tbsp. Ghee/ Clarified butter
250 grams Red pumpkin, boiled and mashed
Sugar as per taste

Directions:

     Cut the red pumpkin into small cubes and pressure cook until cooked and then mash the pumpkin pieces well and keep aside. Add around 2 tbsp. of ghee in a hot pan, add 1 cup of nuts (cashew nuts, almonds and raisins), sauté over low heat and once the raisins puff up, add in the mashed pumpkin. Add sugar (as per sweetness desired), mix and cook till all the sugar get dissolved and the mixture becomes thick. Add 1 tsp cardamom powder to the pumpkin mixture and mix well. Switch off the flame. Take another pan; add a cup of sugar and a cup of apple puree (peel the skin and make the puree). Cook this well. When the sugar gets completely dissolved add a piece of butter and mix. When the butter melts, add small pieces of apple, simmer and cook for around 10 minutes until all the apple pieces become soft. Add a pinch of crushed cinnamon or cinnamon powder and mix. Once the apples are soften then switch off the flame. Take a bowl and spread the apple mixture towards the sides of bowl and put the pineapple halwa in the center and serve.

    For this recipe I had all the ingredients at home. It did turn out to be really good. I will definitely use this recipe for next gathering with friends and family as a dessert with vanilla ice-cream or Whipping Cream.