Sikkim -- Vegetarian Momos

Blogging Marathon# 39 - Indian States: Day 25
State: Sikkim 
Dish: Vegetarian Momos

Sikkim is a state in northeastern India located in the Himalayan mountains. The state is bordered by Nepal to the west, Tibet to the north and east, Bhutan to the east and West Bengal to the south. Sikkim is the least populous state in India and it is the only state with an ethic Nepali majority.
Because of the close proximity to Nepal and Tibet, Sikkim cuisine is highly infuenced by both of those cuisines. Sikkimese are traditionally rice eaters. Meat and dairy products are also consumed depending on the availability. Besides these, various traditional fermented foods and beverages, which constitute about 20% of the basic diet. Depending on the altitudinal variation; finger millet, wheat, buckwheat, barley, vegetables, potato, soybeans etc., are grown.

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Gujarati Lauki Muthiya (Doodhi Muthia)

Blogging Marathon# 37: Week 4/ Day2
Theme: Member's Choice
Dish: Gujarati Muthiya with Lauki (Bottle gourd)

For the second day of BM# 37 under member's choice theme I picked Gujarati Muthiya. This healthy & filling snack from Gujarat has been on my to-make list for quite some time. So when I saw it on the members choice list, I knew I had to try it for this week.
I wanted to make Palak (spinach) muthiya and mentioned it to my blogging friends. Vaishali came back saying that the traditional muthiyas are made with methi leaves (fenugreek) or lauki (bottle gourd) and all the other versions are not very authentic. So I changed my mind and made the lauki muthiyas.

'Muthi' means fist in Gujarati and the dish is named 'muthiya' because they are made into a cylindrical shape using the fist. They are first steamed and then pan fried until crisp. They are great when served hot as tea time snack.

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Jonna Pindi Kudumulu (Jowar Modak)

Blogging Marathon# 32: Letter J

Theme: A-Z Vegetarian Dishes from Andhra Pradesh
Dish: Jonna Pindi Kudumulu (Jowar Modak)

Letter J stands for fruit like Jampandu (Guava) and I can't seem to think of any vegetable name that starts with 'J'!!!!!! J stands for Jonna Pindi/ Jonna Rawa (jowar flour/ rawa). Jonna or jowar or sorghum is a healthy grain that is now slowly being used more and more because of its health benefits. 

J also stands for snack items like crunchy Janthikalu.

For today's J dish I decided to make kudumulu or modak with jonna pindi or jowar flour. I saw this recipe on a Telugu cooking show. I was skeptical on how these would taste, because I've always used jowar in savory preparations and never in sweet preparations. I was pleasantly surprised how tasty these kudumulu came out to be. They had a very earthy and sweet flavor that was very addictive.

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Vatteppam for ICC-March

For this month’s Indian Cooking Challenge, Valli chose a delicious rice cake dish from Kerala, Vatteppam. Recipe is courtesy from an Keralite who knows her rice cakes very well, SHN @ Kitchenmishmash. SHN’s pictures are breathtaking and when I saw her mouthwatering pictures of Vatteppam, I wanted to try and make them right away and for the first time ever, I made them almost 2 weeks before the deadline.

I halved the recipe, since I was making for just the 3 of us at home and I made them in idli stand instead of a round mold. I also used coconut milk instead of fresh grated coconut as I didn’t have any fresh coconut on hand. I really loved the sweet, spongy, yeasty treat. Thanks to Valli for choosing the dish and to SHN for providing the detailed recipe.

Here's how I made these delicious Rice cakes:

• Soak ½ cup of Raw Rice (Par boiled rice) for 6-8 hours. Then grind the drained rice with about 1-2tsp water to make a coarse paste.
• Set 2 tbsps of the coarsely ground rice to the side.
• To the remaining rice, add 1/3 cup coconut milk and grind to a fine paste.
• Next add 1tbsp cooked rice (I used cooked brown rice) and ¼ cup of water to make a batter that is as thick as idli batter.
• Cook the coarsely ground rice with 1/3 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil in a small saucepan and simmer until it gets to porridge consistency. Set aside to cool.
• In the meantime, proof ¼ tsp yeast by adding it to ¼ cup luke warm water and 1tsp sugar. Set aside in a warm place to foam up.
• Once the rice porridge is cool enough to handle, add 2tbsp of it to the blender with the rice and coconut batter and blend well until combined.
• Finally add the frothy yeast solution and blend until mixed well.
• Pour the batter in a glass/ steel container and leave in a warm place for about 8-12 hours to ferment. Choose a container that can hold about double the batter once it rises.
• After the batter has doubled and fermented, add 1/3 cup sugar, mix gently and set aside to ferment for another1½ - 2 hours.
• In the meantime, fry some cashews and raisins in ghee until golden brown and plump. Set aside.
• When ready to steam, add the fried cashews and raisins and 1tsp of ground cardamom (elaichi).
• Mix well and pour into greased idli molds. Steam in a pressure cooker for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool completely before enjoying them.