Kheema (Mutton mince) Momos

Momos, a nutritious, healthy and extremely simple recipe. These are steamed dumplings made of refined flour with stuffing of choice. The stuffing could be vegetarian or with meat, depending on ones preference and taste. They go well with a flaming hot, bit spicy and tangy tomato dip, the stuffing inside is kept mild just with seasoning of salt, pepper (or red chilli powder) and herbs. The oil or fat content is nil or almost negligible, depending on the filling used for stuffing the momos. Today I made the kheema stuffing a bit spicy using red chilli powder.

My first experience of eating these yummy bites goes way long back that I cannot seem to remember. During Delhi stay one could see them being sold at many road side corners of Delhi markets. They are served piping hot, direct from the steamer on to the plate and hence during the cold winters were the preferred choice of kids during the Bazaar visits.

However the memorable experience that I would like to share here is from our visit to Nepal. Every time I make or eat momos I am transported back to Nagarkot, a hilly place in Nepal. After a tiring journey from Kathmandu we had reached the beautiful location of Nagarkot, and after settling in the resort  ventured out to explore the place. Walking down hill along the narrow lanes amidst loud talking and accompanying laughter, suddenly the lights went off and it was darkness. Load-shedding of electricity is common in Nepal, we learnt from our tour. We stopped to eat some refreshments at a roadside homely restaurant that we found was open and settled ourselves on the chairs and sat in the light candle.  These types of homely restaurants are common sight in hilly areas with the household members helping around, this was one of that type of place.

The homely Restaurant where we ate momos in Nagarkot, Nepal.

The whole bunch of us tourists ordered Momos,  the wait for the order to be ready was almost for an hour, but worth waiting. The lady of the house started the preparation from scratch and our tummies kept growling. In candle light when our food order was served with a flaming hot spicy dip, it was the  most satisfying experience. The taste of the momos eaten that night still lingers. They were simple yet so delicious, and all were finished in seconds after being served on the table. Returning back home from the trip, I tried making the dip in my kitchen and since then have always made this tangy dip to go along with the momos.

Last night I made these Kheema Momos for dinner with the thoughts of my late dad in mind, in his memory, he loved mutton mince and would have loved eating this dish from my kitchen. Today I share this here as the first recipe of this New Year 2015 in remembrance of my beloved dad.

Wishing you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year.

KHEEMA MOMOS:

INGREDIENTS: For outer cover

Refined flour: 150 g (1 &1/2 bowl)

Water: 3/4 bowl (for making dough)

Salt: a pinch

STUFFING: Mutton Mince: 250 g (Boiled)

Oil: 1 Tbsp

Ginger Garlic paste: 1/2 Tsp

Garam Masala: 2 Tsp

Red Chilli Powder: 2 Tsp (as per preference)

Chaat Masala: 1Tsp

Coriander Powder: 1 Tsp

Salt: To taste

Coriander leaves: Few

Green Chillies:  ( 1-2 Optional)

Turmeric Powder: 1/2 Tsp

METHOD:

Take the refined flour in a bowl and add a pinch of salt to it. Adding the required amount of water make a medium soft dough. Cover and keep it aside.

Heat a kadai/thick bottomed pan and add the oil. Saute the finely chopped green chillies, chopped green coriander leaves, and then add the dry powders. To this add the boiled kheema, do not add the water or stock of the boiled mince meat. Keep stirring and make it a completely dry filling.

Make small round balls of the dough and roll the dough balls into thin round puris. Take spoonful of the kheema filling and put in the centre of the puri and seal the edges by bringing them together at the centre.

Grease the steam basket of the cooker with oil and arrange the momos inside the basket and steam in the cooker for 10 min.

Arrange the steaming hot momos on a plate and serve with the spicy hot dip. Recipe of the dip is posted as a separate post.

Enjoy the steaming hot momos as a starter in the meal or as light dinner dish. Happy cooking along with me this 2015!

Enjoy!

ashu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feta Cheese and Spinach Calzones

Pizza loving people like me and my family can never say no to a Calzone, the folded form of a pizza. The first time I saw Calzone mentioned was in the menu card in Pizza Hut. Anything that I like has to be compulsorily cooked in my kitchen, obviously it has to be as per my specification and taste. Thus the seed for Calzone making was planted in my mind.

One afternoon, my son’s friends were home for a school assignment, I made these feta cheese calzones as snacks for them and they turned out to be an instant hit with the kids. From then onwards it is a baking dish that the kids look forward to. After writing the homemade pizza post, this recipe has to follow. Surprisingly it is not a very difficult dish to make, but does need some planning in advance for the dough making. I use the pizza base dough for making the Calzone. The filling can vary according to our taste and preference. I like to make it using feta cheese and spinach. Feta cheese is the brined salty crumbly cheese which perfectly goes with boiled/steamed spinach. As the cheese itself is salty, no seasoning is required in the mixture. Let’s get making the yummy Calzones.

FETA CHEESE AND SPINACH CALZONES:

INGREDIENTS FOR THE BASE:

Refined flour(Maida)- 3 cups (300g apprx), Active dry yeast: 5-7 g (1 tsp heaped), Water: 30 ml (lukewarm), Sugar : 10 g(2 tsp), a pinch of salt, Oil: 2 tbsp Olive oil.

METHOD TO MAKE BASE:

Mix salt to the refined flour. Take water in a bowl and heat to make it lukewarm and dissolve the sugar in it. Add the active dry yeast to this bowl of water. Cover the bowl and keep aside to let the yeast dissolve and the liquid to become foamy.

Take 3 cups/bowl of refined flour in a big bowl. Mix the foamy liquid of yeast with the flour. Add 2 tbsp olive oil to the flour. Mix the flour, and form a soft sticky dough of the flour. Knead the dough and place it in an oiled bowl and cover with a plastic wrap/cling and keep aside for 45-60 min approximately or till the dough rises to double its size. Knead the dough again for couple minutes to make it soft. This soft dough is used to make the calzone. (Check the homemade pizza post for detailed pictures.)

FILLING INGREDIENTS:

Feta cheese- 100 g

Spinach- 150-250 g

I steam the spinach in my rice cooker for couple minutes instead of boiling the leaves in water. This retains the dense green colour of the leaves and also the nutrients and vitamins. For this little quantity of spinach 2-3 min of steaming is enough.

METHOD TO MAKE CALZONE:

1. Preheat the oven to 220 C.
2. Take a small portion of the pizza base dough, make a ball and roll it to form a circular base for filling the feta cheese mixture. Try not to roll the base too thick, it tastes better with a medium thin coat.
3. Place the filling -mixture of crumbled feta cheese and roughly chopped spinach. Close the ends using water or milk to seal. I used a mould to get small perfectly shaped calzones.
4. Brush the top with egg wash or milk, it gives a nice shine to the top coat. (I have used egg)
5. Bake the calzone in a pre- heated oven at 220 C for 20-25 min or till they are evenly baked on both sides. After 10 minutes of putting them in the oven, turn them over to ensure both sides are evenly cooked.

If you have reached reading till the end, I am sure you would agree with me that it is a very easy recipe. Go ahead and try it out and find out if your family loves it as much as my kids love it.

Serving  Tip: Serve these yummy calzones with hot green chilli sauce or Tabasco sauce.

Enjoy!

Homemade Pizza

Pizza, a food loved by almost all family members, young and old. This was my dad’s favourite too, he always looked forward to eating this at home. The early or first pizza preparation done during my growing up days at my parents house was using a readymade pizza base, but not any more. Though the readymade base seems an easier option, but baking the base at home is also easy, though it needs a bit of planning ahead. As the base uses yeast, so it needs some time before we can put the dough in the oven.

Use of fresh ingredients makes pizza eating an experience in itself. The freshly baked pizzas eaten in Italy were the most cherished moments of that vacation. But I am yet to master the pizza base flipping in air done by the pizza chefs that I witnessed in Italy. Baking it fresh at home for dinner becomes a meal that is looked forward to by my pizza loving family. The best part of the home baked pizza is that each family member’s pizza topping specification is met. The thickness and crustiness of the base can also be done to one’s own preference. The tomato sauce is perfect to my taste, a bit of chilli and garlicky taste. The toppings choice could be endless depending upon our taste. In this post I have used both chicken, that was sautéed and cooked with spices to make it taste tandoori style, and also used only bell peppers and onion in the vegetable style pizza. Let’s start noting the ingredients and method to start with baking the pizza base.

HOME BAKED PIZZA :

INGREDIENTS FOR THE BASE:

Refined flour(Maida)- 4 cups (400-450g apprx), Active dry yeast: 10 g (2 tsp), Water: 50 ml (lukewarm), Sugar : 15 g(1 tbsp), a pinch of salt, Oil: 2-3 tbsp Olive oil( any oil would do, but best is olive).

METHOD:

Mix salt to the refined flour. Take water in a bowl and heat to make it lukewarm and dissolve the sugar in it. Add the active dry yeast to this bowl of water. Cover the bowl and keep aside to let the yeast dissolve and the liquid to become foamy.

Take 4 cups/bowl of refined flour in a big bowl. Mix the foamy liquid of yeast with the flour. Add 2 tbsp olive oil to the flour. Mix the flour and form a soft sticky dough of the flour. Knead the dough and place it in an oiled bowl and cover with a plastic wrap/cling and keep aside for 45-60 min approximately or till the dough rises to double i’ts size. Knead the dough again for couple minutes to make it soft. This soft dough is used to make the base of the pizza.

Let’s make the tomato sauce for the pizza.

TOMATO SAUCE FOR PIZZA:

INGREDIENTS: Ripe red tomatoes-3 nos (blanched), Long red chilli-1, Garlic cloves- 2-3, Onion-1 small.

METHOD: Boil water in a pot and add the tomatoes (give it a cut) to it. As the tomato skin gets torn, remove the tomatoes from the water and peel out the skin. Chop these blanched tomatoes roughly, chop the chilli, onion and garlic and grind to a smooth sauce consistency. Add red chilli powder if a more hot sauce is desired and salt as per requirement.

PIZZA TOPPINGS:

INGREDIENTS: Chicken-250-350 g (Sautéed in little oil with spices, red chilli powder and salt to get tandoori flavour), Bell peppers, olives, shredded mozzarella cheese, and dried oregano.

Prepare and keep the toppings ready as shown in the picture.

PIZZA BAKING:

Preheat the oven to 220-230 deg C.

Take some portion of the pizza dough, form a ball, and using extra flour roll the dough ball to make a circle of desired thickness, but make sure not to make it too thin. Using a baking tray, bake this circular pizza base at 220 deg C in a preheated oven for 10 min. Remove the tray from the oven and top the base of the pizza with the freshly made tomato sauce, and all the required toppings- the bell peppers, onion slices, olives, tandoori chicken, mozzarella cheese and sprinkle the oregano herb on top. Insert the tray with the pizza  into the oven again and bake till done, cheese melted and the base is crusty. Remove from oven and cut into slices and serve hot. The snaps show both the veg pizza and also the chicken pizza. Go ahead give it a try and enjoy the home baked pizza meal. Though it would seem a time consuming recipe, but once you do it, it turns out a very easy recipe.

Do give it a try and find out how the experience turns out for you and your family. Enjoy!!!

Tips:

I used a pie dish to make the chicken pizza. Roll over the circular base to the pie dish and press the edges and bake.

Mushrooms, broccoli, corn etc can also be added to the vegetable pizza, the choice is endless.

Whole wheat flour could also be used along with refined flour, but the taste is little different.