Flavours of Nepal (Fried Potatoes & Wholemeal Chicken Momo)

it's been a week since we've been back from Nepal,

& to be honest with y'all,

being surrounded by its simplicity makes you want to go there more!

so here am I,

having to bid Nepal goodbye,

in the blink of an eye,

& dealing with it by & by,

by attempting the flavours of Nepal with some Nepalese stir-fry,

& steaming some MOMOs that you just have to try!

me & my #yolo brothers in Kathmandu Nepal - Monkey Temple

our awesome destination - Annapurna Base Camp

some of the Nepalese food that we ate, really really miss it

Nepalese Fried Potatoes

love love love love love onions

Serves 2 - 3

Ingredients
- 500g potatoes (I used washed potatoes that have cleaner skins so I don't have to peel the potatoes and wash the skin which I loooove), boiled and cut to smaller pieces
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 3 - 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 teaspoons baked cashew nuts, broken to smaller pieces
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 3 teaspoons garam masala
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup tomatoes (about 1 1/2 tomatoes), chopped
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons chilli sauce

Methods
1. Heat oil in a pan and stir-fry onions and garlic until translucant and fragrant.
2. Add in cashew nuts and yogurt, stir-fry for 30 seconds.
3. Add in chilli powder, garam masala and salt, stir to combine.
4. Add tomatoes and allow to cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add water and bring to boil.
6. Add in the cooked potatoes and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Stir in the chilli sauce and allow to cook for 1 - 2 minutes.

Enjoy!

Nepalese Chicken Wholemeal Momo

momos are Nepalese dumplings

Freezing a batch of momos (they freeze well for at least 3 months), to cook them, just steam the frozen momos for about 15-20 minutes

Makes 35 momos

Ingredients & Methods

Momo Dough:
- 2 cups plain flour
- 1/2 cup wholmeal flour
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 tablespoon grapeseed oil
- 15 tablespoons water

1. Combine flour and salt, mixing well.
2. Adding 1 tablespoon of water at a time, knead until the mixture becomes a dough (this took me about 10 minutes of relentless kneading). 
3. Cover with a cloth/plate/cling wrap for 15 minutes. 
4. Divide the dough into 35 portions and roll out each dough on a floured surface. 
5. Use a 3-inch cutter/cup to cut out the dough (I had quite a bit of dough left so I did a spontaneous nectarin open pie with the dough, picture below).

Keep the dough covered at all times to prevent them from drying out. 

Spontaneous Wholemeal Nectarine Open Pie
Filling: 1/4 nectarine chopped + 1 dessertspoon rolled oat + 1/2 dessertspoon dark brown sugar + 1 dessertspoon egg, baked at 175 degree C for 25 minutes (brushed the wholemeal pastry with egg inside out). VOILA!!!

Momo Filling:
- 500g minced chicken
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped (~1 medium onion)
- 1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped (~ 1/2 whole)
- 1/4 cup tomatoes, chopped (~1/2 whole)
- 2 red chillies, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 1/2 tablespoon grapeseed oil
- pinch of salt

6. Combine all ingredients, cover and chill for at least 1 hour. This allows the flavours to infuse nicely.

Momo Assembly:
7. Place 1 tablespoon filling onto each round dough and bring all the edges together, making pleats or squeezing them to seal the edges.
8. Prepare the steamer: ensure the base is well oiled so the momos will not stick.
9. Place the momos on the steamer (leaving some space in between).
10. Steam for 10 - 15 minutes and serve immediately with any sauce of your choice (I made Nepalese Tomato Chutney, recipe below).

Nepalese Tomato Chutney

Makes about 1 cup of chutney

Ingredients

- 5 tomatoes, cut into halves and roasted with 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil at 160 degree C for 1 hour followed by grilling in the oven for 10 minutes
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 3 red chillies, sliced
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- pinch of salt

Methods
1. Blend everything together and serve!

How was it?
Fried Potatoes: so good. the sauce is delicious...very tasty and the dish is oozing with spiciness! I love it. adding the cashew nuts were a good choice, gives the dish a nutty taste with a nice crunch as well.

Chicken Momo: the filling was pretty dry and there was too much dough going on. Nonetheless, not bad for a first try, at least they look like decent momos.

Tomato Chutney: has a really strong tomato taste. could be a tad more savoury. goes nicely with the chicken momo

Better it up!
Fried Potatoes: as good as it can get

Chicken Momo: try adding 2 tablespoons oil in the filling. roll the dough thinner before wrapping. cut down the dough ingredients to 3/4 for the same amount of filling.

Tomato Chutney: replace red chillies with green and add 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Verdict

Recipe Adapted from:
Fried Potatoes (Food-Nepal)
Chicken Momo (Nepali Cooking)
Tomato Chutney (Love and Calories)