Khasi ko Masu (Simple Goat Curry)

As the Dashain festival has begun, I want to share this goat curry recipe as it’s the main dish of Dashain festival food.

During this festival, people are busy with visiting temples, cooking feasts and get togethers with family and friend. So this is a perfect recipe as its is a no fuss, simple but flavorsome curry that you can make during Dashain festival.

So without further ado, here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

1 kilo of goat meat
2 medium sized onion finely sliced
4-5 curry leaves
5 whole cloves
5 whole cardamom
5 black peppercorns
1 stick of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of cumin powder
1/2 tablespoon of coriander powder
1 tablespoon of garam masala powder
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
Garlic and ginger paste (Pound 5 cloves of garlic and knob of ginger)
Salt as per taste
2 tablespoon of oil
Fresh coriander and green chilli to garnish

For marinade
2 tablespoon of plain yoghurt
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon tumeric powder
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

Cut goat meat into big chunky pieces (I usually ask butcher to cut it in curry sized pieces. Put cut pieces in a bowl and marinate meat with all the marinade ingredients. Leave it overnight in the fridge or at least an hour for flavors to infuse.

In a pot ( or pressure cooker), heat oil (in low heat) and add whole cloves, cardamom, peppercorns and cinnamon to infuse oil.

Add curry leaves and onion and fry it until it’s soft and golden brown.

When onion is golden brown, add garlic and ginger paste, tumeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala, chilli and salt. Cook the spices until it leaves the oil and becomes fragrant.

Add meat and mix well with the spices. Cover the pot and cook it for an hour on medium heat (if using pressure cooker, 20-25 minutes) until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.

Garnish with fresh coriander and chili and serve with a bowl of steam rice.

Piro Aloo Dum (Hot & Spicy Potato Curry)

Warning: This is a very hot potato curry.

I got this recipe from my bestie from primary school. She went to boarding school in Darjeeling after her primary schooling. This is where she found this dish and loved it. She promised me that she will make this cracking aloo dum for me one day as it’s her signature dish. But I never got to taste it because shortly after her return to Nepal, I moved to Australia.

Sometime ago, I reminded her that she still owes me piro aloo dum. So she sent me this recipe for me to try it.

I’ve made this few times. It’s so delicious and hot. It goes really well with puris (deep fried puffed breads).

Here’s my take on piro aloo dum.

Ingredients

10-12 small red chat potatoes 3 teaspoons of nigella seeds
3 teaspoons of lovage seeds
2 teaspoon of fennel seeds
2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds
3 large tomatoes
10 dried red chillies (or as per your liking)
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons of oil

Boil whole potatoes, until soft and peel and cut them into quarters. Set aside.

Boil tomatoes and chillies in a pot, until tomatoes are mushy and soft.

When tomatoes have cooled down, blend tomatoes and chillies to make a thick purée. Set aside.

Heat oil in the pot and add all the seeds. When it starts to pop, add tomato purée, turmeric powder and salt. Cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes.

Add boiled and cubed potatoes and mix well with the gravy. Simmer it for 5-10 minutes on low heat so the potatoes soaks up the flavour.

Serve hot with puris or steam rice. Enjoy.

Sekuwa ( Lamb Skewers)

There’s something special about grilled meat especially grilled on charcoal.

Today I’m going to share this recipe which is eaten as appetiser or as a set with beaten rice( chuira or bhuja), spicy potato, soybeans, lemon wedge and slice of carrot and cucumber. It’s called sekuwa in Kathmandu but my hubby says it’s known as jhir on its own or as taas with the set.

You can find street hawkers fanning a charcoal grill with lines of these yummy skewers usually made with buffalo or goat meat. The right amount of fat and meat makes it a perfect sekuwa. The sight and smell is just so amazing. I used to buy it from the hawkers as my evening snack.

We make this dish during Dashain (biggest Nepali festival) along with other varieties of meat dishes. During this festival, most household have whole lot of meat in their kitchen as it’s a tradition to slaughter goats, ducks, sheeps and buffaloes for consumption by family and relatives during 10 days of celebration.

Over the next few weeks, I will try to make as many Dashain special recipes and share it.

Ingredients

1 kilo of lamb meat (fat included)
6 cloves of garlic
Knob of ginger
10 whole sichuan peppers
1 tablespoon of cumin powder
1 tablespoon of garam masala
1 teaspoon of red chilli powder
2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
4 tablespoon of plain yoghurt
2 tablespoon of oil (for marinating)
Salt as per taste
1 freshly squeezed lemon juice

Pound garlic, ginger and sichuan peppers in mortar and pestle to make a coarse paste. Mix diced lamb meat with garlic, ginger paste, dry spices, salt, yoghurt and oil. Leave it overnight or for 2-4 hours for meat to tenderize and flavors to develop.

Soak the skewers in water for few hours so it doesn’t burn.

Insert 4-5 cubes of marinated lamb per skewer.

Heat the grill pan (for best results, use charcoal grill). When hot, grilled lamb skewers for 7-8 minutes on each side or until it’s cooked per your liking.

Serve skewers hot with a squeeze of lemon with side salad or with set of chuira, spicy potato ( will post recipe soon). Enjoy.

Please do share your favourites holiday or festival food that you love to cook and eat.

French Toast with Strawberry Coulis (Father’s Day Special Breakfast)

It is my hubby’s first Father’s Day this year. And what a great father he has been.

He used to be one of those men who wasn’t very fond of babies. When I became pregnant, he had self doubt in his parenting skills . But boy were we so wrong. He was the first one to hold the baby. When he did, the look on his face was so priceless. He was simply in an awe (I think he was fighting back tears). It is the most precious and unforgettable moment in our lives.

Since then it’s been a roller coaster ride being new parents especially baby having infant eczema. It had been trying times at the most. But my hubby’s relentless dedication and optimism to manage and care for our baby has been most inspiring to me. I believe it may just be why my baby’s skin condition is now fully healed.

I’m so thankful to have a hubby like him. So to celebrate his first Father’s Day, I made him his favourite special breakfast.

I believe everyone knows how to make a French Toast. Here’s my version and it’s such a delicious recipe.

Ingredients
4 Eggs
4 pieces of rustic white bread
60 ml of cream
2 tablespoons of raw sugar
Pinch of salt
Dash of Black Pepper
4 tablespoon of Olive oil
1 stick of cinnamon
2-3 cardamom whole

Strawberry Coulis
12 (250 grams approx) of Frozen Strawberries or fresh ones if available
2 tablespoons of raw sugar
1 teaspoon of Vanilla essence

Crispy bacon
4 slices of Bacon

Whisk eggs, cream, sugar and salt and add dash of black peppers.

Spread the mixture thoroughly on the bread and set aside let it soak.

In a bowl, add halved strawberries, sugar and vanilla essence. Pop it in a microwave for 2-3 minutes until the strawberries are mushy and syrupy. Set aside for plating.

Heat pan and add tablespoon of olive oil. Add cinnamon stick and cardamom to infuse oil. Add a slice of bread and fry it gently on low to medium heat. When it golden, flip it to cook the other side. Repeat same process for all the other slices of breads.

When breads are done, fry bacon slices until crispy. Remove it from the pan and dab off the excess fat in a paper towel.

Slice french toast in triangular shapes. Serve it on a plate with strawberry coulis and crispy bacon.

Five Spiced Pork Belly with Crispy Crackling

My hubby loves pork, me not so much which is why I hardly make pork at home. I love bacon and ham but when it comes to pork meat, I can’t get over that pork after taste.

In Nepal, Newars don’t consume pork. Pig is thought as a dirty animal who rolls in mud and eats garbage. You are not allowed to bring pork meat inside your home or consume it. If you do it, then you are considered as untouchable. However funny thing, wild boar is consumed as delicacy.

I never tasted pork until I came here. One of my housemate used to make mind blowing hot and soupy pork curry. When I tried it first time, the curry was so hot that I didn’t know what pork tasted like. After consuming that curry, I started consuming it but wasn’t a big fan.

These days as I’ve mentioned earlier, we don’t dine out as often and hubby has been missing his favourite dish crispy roast pork. So I decided to make this dish as treat for him.

The look on his face was priceless when he saw it coming out of the oven. His excitement gave me a real sense of contentment that you get when you cook for your loved one and they love it.

I’m amazed it tasted so good even I ate it.

So here’s my recipe for five spice pork belly with crispy crackling.

Ingredients
A slab Pork belly
6 cloves of garlic
Thumb sized piece of ginger
1 tablespoon of Five Spice powder
8-10 sichuan peppers
4 red chillies
2 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Salt as per taste

In mortar and pestle, pound garlic, ginger, chillies and sichuan pepper. Add five spice powder and make a fine paste. Add vegetable oil and mix. Set aside.

Score a crisscross pattern in pork skin with a sharp knife. Rub in the spice mix to coat pork belly. Leave it in the fridge overnight or at least for 2-3 hours for flavours to infuse pork.

Pre heat oven to 240 degrees celcius for 5 minutes or until oven is hot.

Scrape off the spice rub off skin (only skin) and pat dry with a paper towel. Rub in 2 tablespoon of salt on the skin and rest if the meat.

Place it in a oven tray and roast it for 20 minutes to crisp up the skin so it’s crackling. Turn the heat to 200 degrees celcius and cook for 40 minutes.

When ready, let it rest for 25 minutes. Cut up pork belly into bite sizes pieces and serve it with steam rice and veggie stir fry. Enjoy crispy cracklings with succulent pork belly. It’s so yummy. (PS- I left it for 5-10 minutes longer as I got distracted, hence why it is slightly charred but nonetheless it’s so good)