SESAME POTATOES

 Sesame potatoes my way! Such dishes add variety and flavour to parties. This is a popular snack at my parties. During one of the dinner party preparations, I wanted to make something tongue tingling with baby potatoes. I wanted to take advantage of the fact that baby potatoes are bite-sized and round in shape which can serve as a good starter. A little experimentation… and that is how this dish has never gone out of my favourite party snacks list. One more reason for Sesame potatoes being my favourite is it doesn’t require any elaborate preparation and a very simple procedure.

All the baby potatoes should be more or less of the same size. Do not take too small or too big ones. Sweet dark soya sauce can be substituted with dark soya sauce and sugar. Remove the potatoes that are over boiled as they may get squashed and spoil the dish.

Recipe for Sesame Potatoes

Ingredients for Sesame Potatoes

• 500 gms baby potatoes
• 6 green chillies (finely chopped)
• 10 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp sweet dark soya sauce
• 2 tbsp roasted sesame
• 3 tbsp oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make

Boil the baby potatoes till half done. Peel and keep aside.

Heat oil in a kadhai (skillet). Add finely chopped garlic and green chillies. Saute for a minute.

 Add the baby potatoes and saute on medium heat till it turns golden and crisp from outside.

Reduce the heat to low and now add soya sauce, salt and pepper. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes on low heat.

Sprinkle the sesame on the potatoes and remove from heat.

Pierce with toothpicks before serving.

SHEZWAN SAUCE

I usually prepare my shezwan sauce during winters when fresh red chillies are available in market. The fresh red chillies give a vibrant red colour to the sauce. Soaked dry red chillies can very well be substituted for the fresh ones.

Shezwan sauce is served as a dipping sauce with spring rolls, momos, chicken lollipops and pakoras. It is an excellent side dish which enhances the flavor of any kind of dish. It is also used as a base for schezwan fried rice, shezwan noodles. It is an essential ingredient of my fusion dish, Shezwan paneer which I will be soon posting.

Traditionally Sichuan pepper or triphala is added to this preparation. The Indian version of shezwan sauce doesn’t include it. If you wish add 5 to 6 sichuan peppers to the given recipe.

This sauce can be prepared in more quantity and bottled for almost six months in refrigerator. I like to serve my shezwan sauce as it is. For smooth texture you may give it a spin in the mixer.

Recipe for Shezwan Sauce

Ingredients for Shezwan Sauce

• 10 whole dry kashmiri chillies
• 10 whole dry Guntur chillies
• 1 cup onions (finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp celery (chopped)
• 15 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 2 inches ginger (chopped)
• 1 tbsp soya sauce
• 1 tbsp brown or white sugar
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2  cup oil
• Salt to taste

How to make

Soak red chillies in warm water for 30 minutes. Grind it in a mixer jar to get a fine paste.

Heat oil in a pan. Add garlic and ginger. Cook for a minute. Do not change its colour.

Add onions and and celery. Sauté till translucent.

Now add in red chilli paste. Saute on medium heat till oil starts separating.

Add soya sauce, sugar, salt, pepper and vinegar. Mix well. Remove it from heat.

Cool the sauce to room temperature before transferring it to an airtight jar. Keep it in refrigerator. It stays good for upto six months.

VEG KHEEMA MOMO

Indians have embraced momos in such a way that as if it always belonged to this place. Momos hail from Tibetan and Nepali cuisine.

Momos are popular as street food as well as in restaurants. They are either steamed or fried. Check my previous posts for street style chilli garlic momo chutney.

Filling of momos varies from place to place. The filling is either veg or non veg comprising of cabbage, carrots, spring onions, capsicum, corn, cheese, minced chicken, etc.

I have tried this new filling with soya granules. They almost taste like non veg momos. I have taken the liberty to indianize the preparation. Well, as far as the results are good, there is no harm in doing it.

Momos look beautiful due to the different methods of sealing. If you are not comfortable doing it just bring together the edges and press to seal. I have shown a braiding method of sealing. It is very simple and looks fabulous.

Recipe for Veg kheema momo

Ingredients for Veg kheema momo

Filling

• ½ cup soya granules
• 1 cup onions (finely chopped)
• 11/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• ½ tsp coriander powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ¼ tsp garam masala
• 2 green chillies (finely chopped)
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp oil

Dough

• 1 cup all purpose flour (maida)
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp oil
• ¾ cup water

How to make

Take the all purpose flour in a bowl. Add salt to taste and oil. Mix well.

Knead a soft dough using water. I required half cup of water for the dough.

Rest it for half an hour.

Soak soya granules in warm water for 10 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped onions and green chillies.Saute till onions turn translucent.

Now add in ginger garlic paste. Sauté for a minute.

Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder and garam masala.

Gently squeeze the soya granules as we do not want to remove all the water and add it to the onion masala. Mix well. 

Add salt as per your taste and sauté for two minutes. Set aside to cool.

Divide the dough in 12 equal portions. Roll each portion into a circle of 4 inches diameter.

Place the filling lengthwise. Pick up the edges on two sides of the filling and start the braiding actions as shown in the picture.

Pinch the tail to seal it at end.

Grease the steamer plate. Place the momos in such a way that they do not stick to each other. Steam for 10 minutes.

Serve steamed momos with momo chutney.

STIR FRIED BABY CORN

Stir frying is a cooking technique in which vegetables are cooked in a wok or a pan on high heat for few minutes. It is advisable to do all the preparations in advance as the dish may get burnt if left unattended.   Stir fried dishes are quick to make dishes. In such dishes vegetables need to retain their colour and crunch.

Stir fry dishes require comparatively more oil. To avoid oil non stick pan or skillet can be used.

Stir fried baby corn is a sweet and spicy dish which can be served as a snack as well as side dish. In case sweet soya sauce is unavailable, you can use dark soya sauce with a teaspoon of sugar as a substitute.

Recipe for Stir fried baby corn

Ingredients for Stir fried baby corn

• 1 cup baby corn (diced)
• ¾ cup red and yellow capsicum (diced)
• 6 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 1 green chilly (finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp sweet soya sauce
• 1 tbsp red chilly sauce
• 2 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste

How to make

Heat oil in a pan. Add garlic and green chilly to it.

As the garlic turns golden in colour add in the baby corn and capsicum. Saute for one minute or till the vegetables get light brown marks on them.

Add soya sauce and red chilly sauce. Taste the dish. Add salt if required.

Garnish with thinly sliced green chillies.