Hi all,

I have a cupoardful of Nepalese and Tibetan spices here (well-traveled
friend). I have several recipes for dishes from these countries, but have
cooked them all several times. I ate at a Tibetan and Nepalese restaurant
not long ago and failed to write down the names of any of the dishes... but
I know I haven't made any of them. No matter how much searching I do with a
wide
variety of search terms, I can still only find the same few recipes out
there. Surely there must be more posted SOMEWHERE! Sure, I may not find the
lamb stew or the chicken over noodles they had at the restaurant, or even
the chicken wings or the dipping sauces, but surely, surely there must be
more available than
what I already have. Can anyone either point me in that direction or send me
recipes you may have? Likewise Bhutan, or anywhere else in the general
region.

Thank you,

Katrina

So far, I have recipes for:

Tibet:
Chasha Shamdeh (chicken)
Churu (cheese)
Chicken Chow Chow
Kongpo Shaptak (beef)
Mar Jasha (chicken)
Meat Thukpa
Momo

Nepal:
Bandhel Tareko (wild boar/pork)
Chhewyala (lamb)
Chicken Bhutua
Chili Chicken
Creamy Chicken
Gorkhali Lamb
Gundruk Suruwa (fermented grasses)
Lentils and Curried Vegetables
Momo (lamb and veggie, also have Sherpa recipe)
Naram Kukhura ko Masu (chicken)
Spiced tea
Yoh-mari (pastry)



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"White Monkey" wrote in message
...

I have a cupoardful of Nepalese and Tibetan
spices here (well-traveled friend). I have several
recipes for dishes from these countries, but have
cooked them all several times. I ate at a Tibetan
and Nepalese restaurant not long ago and failed
to write down the names of any of the dishes... but
I know I haven't made any of them. No matter how
much searching I do with a wide variety of search
terms, I can still only find the same few recipes out
there. Surely there must be more posted SOMEWHERE!
Sure, I may not find the lamb stew or the chicken over
noodles they had at the restaurant, or even the chicken
wings or the dipping sauces, but surely, surely there
must be more available than what I already have.
Can anyone either point me in that direction or send me
recipes you may have? Likewise Bhutan, or anywhere
else in the general region.

Try searching at Dogpile: www.dogpile.com -- it's a metasearch
engine. I found more sites than I could shake a stick at when
searching for "tibetan recipes," "nepalese recipes," and "bhutanese
recipes." It's also useful to keep in mind that the food you had at
the restaurant may not have been "authentic," and that "authentic
cuisine" can be many things, from being cooked by a person of that
nationality (I'm American, therefore everything I cook is American
food) or traditional dishes (I'm American, but I'm learning to cook
traditional Danish food).

-j

"LAllin" wrote in message
...

On 19-Jun-2004, "White Monkey" wrote:

No matter how much searching I do with a
wide
variety of search terms, I can still only find the same few recipes out
there.

Perhaps you should try Google; on my first attempt, I found numerous sites
with recipes from Tibet and Nepal.

http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...pal%29+recipes

I only looked at a couple of the sites; but the second one I looked at had
a
lot of recipes from Nepal:
http://www.nepalhomepage.com/society...s/recipes.html


Interesting! I've BEEN using Google, but only looked briefly yesterday
before posting after looking for days a few week ago. I can only guess this
page has been greatly expanded since I pulled some recipes off it a long
time ago. Thank you!
--Katrina


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I have a cupoardful of Nepalese and Tibetan
spices here (well-traveled friend). I have several
recipes for dishes from these countries, but have
cooked them all several times. I ate at a Tibetan
and Nepalese restaurant not long ago and failed
to write down the names of any of the dishes... but
I know I haven't made any of them. No matter how
much searching I do with a wide variety of search
terms, I can still only find the same few recipes out
there. Surely there must be more posted SOMEWHERE!
Sure, I may not find the lamb stew or the chicken over
noodles they had at the restaurant, or even the chicken
wings or the dipping sauces, but surely, surely there
must be more available than what I already have.
Can anyone either point me in that direction or send me
recipes you may have? Likewise Bhutan, or anywhere
else in the general region.

Try searching at Dogpile: www.dogpile.com -- it's a metasearch
engine. I found more sites than I could shake a stick at when
searching for "tibetan recipes," "nepalese recipes," and "bhutanese
recipes." It's also useful to keep in mind that the food you had at
the restaurant may not have been "authentic," and that "authentic
cuisine" can be many things, from being cooked by a person of that
nationality (I'm American, therefore everything I cook is American
food) or traditional dishes (I'm American, but I'm learning to cook
traditional Danish food).

-j



Thank you very much. I'm looking "now"!

The food there WAS authentic, by the way--my friend who goes to Nepal twice
a year recommended the place as run by friends of hers who used to cook
authentic food in Nepal and their friend who used to cook in Tibet, before
moving to Europe, but I do know the pitfalls of "authentic" food versus
"traditional" versus "inspired" versus "style"... when doing an illustration
project here I had a lesson in this when my Eritrean friend took me to
every Eritrean restaurant in the city and discussed the finer points of
every recipe. Through him I also have the only English-language fully
authentic Eritrean cookbook ever produced--it was put out many years ago by
the Eritrean Department of Agriculture for domestic use. (Anyone know where
I can order real berbere? My friend brings it once a year or so but half a
kilo only goes so far.... Likewise, anyone know a European source of tej
flour? He can't bring that.)
--Katrina


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White Monkey wrote:

Can anyone either point me in that direction or send me
recipes you may have? Likewise Bhutan, or anywhere else in the general
region.

You are likely to get more info by asking on alt.food.asian. Also,
blacksalt semi-regularly posts a list of Asian food links to that
newsgroup with, among others, Bhutanese and Nepalese recipe Web sites.
The list can also be found at
http://vsack.bei.t-online.de/afa_faq.html.

Victor

White Monkey wrote:

(Anyone know where
I can order real berbere? My friend brings it once a year or so but half a
kilo only goes so far.... Likewise, anyone know a European source of tej
flour? He can't bring that.)
--Katrina

TEff? I'd look in health food stores, although these may be different in
'Yurp. Berbere, to me, is quite hot. Half a kilo?? You must like lots of
hot food. Also, Berbere is a mixture, with each hausfrau having her own
recipe. A quick google revealed:
http://www.marga.org/food/recipes/berbere.html
but is doesn't look as hot as the berbere I've used before.
HTH
blacksalt

White Monkey wrote:

(Anyone know where
I can order real berbere? My friend brings it once a year or so but half
a
kilo only goes so far.... Likewise, anyone know a European source of tej
flour? He can't bring that.)
--Katrina

TEff? I'd look in health food stores, although these may be different in
'Yurp.

No, tej. It's aparrently not the same stuff, and is made from a grain that
only grows in Ethiopia and Eritrea. So says this cookbook.

Berbere, to me, is quite hot. Half a kilo?? You must like lots of
hot food. Also, Berbere is a mixture, with each hausfrau having her own
recipe. A quick google revealed:
http://www.marga.org/food/recipes/berbere.html
but is doesn't look as hot as the berbere I've used before.
HTH
blacksalt

Thanks, yes, it's a mix, different from village to village, family to
family... I have showed some of the online recipes to my Eritrean friend and
he laughed his head off. He said maybe with a good dehydrator and many, many
days on my hands to dry the onions properly before powdering them with the
right basic minimum ingredients in the right order I may someday achieve
something like a simple berbere.... The stuff he brings is made by his
family, usually, but the recipe from a village down the road is to die for.
Every time I think about trying to get some from a restaurant locally, my
friend makes a derisive noise, except about one restaurant, which doesn't
sell it because their source doesn't make a lot per year. I will look at
this link, though--even improper Eritrean food, with one of my mocked-up
attempts at berbere, can be very good.

It IS hot, but not usually as hot as it is sometimes made. I can put away
spicy food just fine, finding all Kung Pao Chicken from restaurants, for
example, to be very mild, no matter how spicy I order it, but my husband
likes lots of crisped Thai Bird's Eye chilis all over his food, and chomps
them down happily. His stomach-upset problems went away as soon as he
started eating something really hot at least every other night. Tonight
we'll be having a rendang, but I haven't decided which one. I cannot keep up
with him, but I can keep him happy.

The reason berbere goes so fast is that some dishes, like Doro Wot, at least
the Eritrean version, require half a cup of berbere. Learning to cook this
food means I can only do it in short spurts because I run out quickly, and
have to wait for more.

Thank you very much,

Katrina

P.S.--noticing your handle, can you recommend some recipes that exploit
black salt? I have a ton of black salt rocks here, and a salt grinder, and
have been using it in various curries and whatnots, but have heard that
there are good recipes out there that really rely on it.


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"Victor Sack" wrote in message
...
White Monkey wrote:

Can anyone either point me in that direction or send me
recipes you may have? Likewise Bhutan, or anywhere else in the general
region.

You are likely to get more info by asking on alt.food.asian. Also,
blacksalt semi-regularly posts a list of Asian food links to that
newsgroup with, among others, Bhutanese and Nepalese recipe Web sites.
The list can also be found at
http://vsack.bei.t-online.de/afa_faq.html.

Victor

Thanks!
--Katrina


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White Monkey wrote:

P.S.--noticing your handle, can you recommend some recipes that exploit
black salt? I have a ton of black salt rocks here, and a salt grinder, and
have been using it in various curries and whatnots, but have heard that
there are good recipes out there that really rely on it.

It is used in raita....good tangy yogurt watered down alittle and mixed
well it, say, blacksalt, pepper, a touch of regular salt and shreded
cucumber or onion that has been soaked in water awhile to mellow it. It
is also used in Chaat recipes, the snacks based on a platter with fried
channa flour chips (or twists), some spiced yogurt and some tamarind
sauce flavoured with blacksalt. Try googling chaat.
And here is a post of days past with pakora and dips, one with
blacksalt, and making a pretty good sauce for chaat:
begin paste:
Vegetable Pakoras
(we always double it for parties)
1 1/2 C chickpea flour or besan (can get at Indian groc. or in bulk
sections of many of the larger grocery stores, or in co-ops)
3/4 teas salt
1/2 teas baking soda
1/4 teas (generous) of turmeric (this helps you decide when it's done)
1/2 teap ground cumin
1/2 teas ground coriander (for these two, I added a teas + of my garam
masala...which has a healthy bit of both of these as a base)
3/4 teas whole ajwain or cumin. (We always use the ajwain...it gives an
unusual undertone, and is a cheap seed that stores well...available at
Penzey's)
1/4 teas ground black pepper (we do this coarsely)
1/4 teas cayenne....(we add 1/2 or MORE...very important says tall TJ)
She says sift, but we don't, just break up the clumps of besan and mix
well with a fork. It travels very well in this form, and water can be
added at the party.
Beat in 1 1/4 C water until you have a smooth, thin batter.
Heat oil (we use peanut and do it in a small flat bottomed Peking-style
wok, but a big wok or a kardhi or a cast iron skillet (deep) would do
fine) between 350F and 375F (We usually guess...should fry the stuff
without exploding when the food goes in)
Cut a potato into 1/8 inch rounds, an onion ditto,
1/2 a sweet potato ditto, trim 16 string beans (oh these are good), 16
cauliflower florets, and some New Mexican chilis, or hot Italian. We
also did zucchini strips, whole garlic cloves (peeled) and slices of
turnip.
Dip in batter and fry about 7 minutes until they get a dark golden.
Drain and eat. The little tiny blobs of batter that drip into the oil
can be drained and put into raita or into kardi (the chickpea 'soup').

Now for the chutneys, the red one, the brown one and the green one.
Usha's Hot and Spicy Hyderabadi Tomato Chutney
(M. Jaffrey say that this perky relish can be kept in the fridge to
brighten up almost any meal...I can taste it on eggs)
A pound of ripe toms peeled and chopped (About 1 3/4 C)
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teas mashed garlic pulp
1/2 teas turmeric
1/4 teas cayenne
Put this in a bowl and reserve

Heat 4 T oil (I used Mustard and only 2 T)
Add 4 whole, peeled cloves of garlic and brown lightly.
Add
1 teas cumin seed
1/2 teas balck mustard seed
1/4 teas whole fenugreek seed
stir once and then add
2 whole dried hot red peppers (I used one big tein tsin) HAVE THE FAN ON
When the peppers have darkened and puffed up, add the reserved mixture
above and don't breath the blast of steam.
Cook, stirring a bit 10+ minutes until the mixture is 'dry' but not
panting.
Add 1/2 teas or so salt (ours needed 1 teas) and serve warm or chilled.

Tamarind-mint Chutney
This I make exactly how she says:
1 heaping T EACH of chopped cilantro and chopped mint
2 T chopped GUR (or brown sugar) (again, this is a cheap ingredient that
keeps, and will make your Indian food more, well, 'Indian'.)
3/4 " peice of ginger minced
1/4 teas kala namak (black salt...very cheap and keeps well)
2/3 cup tamarind paste (I use the compressed bricks...break off about a
cup of the brick and soak in enough warm water to cover and then some.
Break the material up into small peices in the water and let soak at
least 15 minutes. Rub the muck into a strainer with the back of a spoon,
being sure to scrape a spoon on the bottom of the mesh to capture the
thick muck.)
1/8 teas ground pepper, fine this time
1/8-1/4 teas cayenne
1 teas ground roasted cumin...place raw cumin seeds in a fry pan and
heat over medium, shaking now and then (use no oil) until they darken
and smell toasty. Grind in a mortar or under a rolling pin.

Place all of the above in a blender and puree (I use the one cup
attachment on the Oster Blender).

Mint Chutney
(the green one) Although Jaffrey has a recipe, we've never added the
yougurt.
3/4 C cilantro chopped and firmly packed
1/2 C mint chopped and firmly packed
0-2 seranno chiles (I do seed these for fine texture) minced
1 T of lemon juice
1/2 teas salt (half of this if you use no chile I would gamble)
Puree in blender as above. She add 3/4 C of yougurt which would make a
significantly different dish

The three chutney's above can be made well ahead, and the three colours,
I think everyone will admit, were very nice together.

"kalanamak" wrote in message
...
(Much snippage of fabulous stuff)
The three chutney's above can be made well ahead, and the three colours,
I think everyone will admit, were very nice together.


MMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you very much!

(Speak of the devil, referring to upthread, my friend just called and said
he just got back from a trip to see friends and family and has brought me
berbere.)

--Katrina


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"kalanamak" wrote in message
2 T chopped GUR (or brown sugar) (again, this is a cheap ingredient that
keeps, and will make your Indian food more, well, 'Indian'.)

I meant to ask, if I can't find this, is Gula Djawa an acceptable
substitute? I have that in liquid and slabs.
Thanks,
Katrina


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White Monkey wrote:

"kalanamak" wrote in message
2 T chopped GUR (or brown sugar) (again, this is a cheap ingredient that
keeps, and will make your Indian food more, well, 'Indian'.)

I meant to ask, if I can't find this, is Gula Djawa an acceptable
substitute? I have that in liquid and slabs.
Thanks,
Katrina

I googled this and came up with only sites in a language you are much
better at than I. Luckly, in paranthesis, one said palmsukar and the
other Javanese sukar. I'm betting it would do fine, although I don't
know what liquid palm sugar would be. Basically, gur is like very dark
brown sugar with a touch of molasses in it. The ex said it was cane
syrup boiled down and boiled down and stirred with a big wooden paddle
in a huge cast iron vat until this was left, but you must remember he is
describing this from a memory cast into the mind of a young child over
30 years ago.
HTH
blacksalt
Obanimal sob story: the ex stopped by to give me a DVD of the Young Ones
last night and my (used to be our) dog whimpered and cried and leapt up
and kissed his face, something I've never seen her do before. He was
clearly embarressed by this display, and I was amazed than dear dog
would act so sad. I've only heard her cry like this twice before, both
in very stressful moments.

"kalanamak" wrote in message
...
White Monkey wrote:

"kalanamak" wrote in message
2 T chopped GUR (or brown sugar) (again, this is a cheap ingredient
that
keeps, and will make your Indian food more, well, 'Indian'.)

I meant to ask, if I can't find this, is Gula Djawa an acceptable
substitute? I have that in liquid and slabs.
Thanks,
Katrina

I googled this and came up with only sites in a language you are much
better at than I. Luckly, in paranthesis, one said palmsukar and the
other Javanese sukar. I'm betting it would do fine, although I don't
know what liquid palm sugar would be. Basically, gur is like very dark
brown sugar with a touch of molasses in it. The ex said it was cane
syrup boiled down and boiled down and stirred with a big wooden paddle
in a huge cast iron vat until this was left, but you must remember he is
describing this from a memory cast into the mind of a young child over
30 years ago.
HTH
blacksalt
Obanimal sob story: the ex stopped by to give me a DVD of the Young Ones
last night and my (used to be our) dog whimpered and cried and leapt up
and kissed his face, something I've never seen her do before. He was
clearly embarressed by this display, and I was amazed than dear dog
would act so sad. I've only heard her cry like this twice before, both
in very stressful moments.


That IS a sob story! Poor pup!

Gula djawa can also be spelled gula jawa.... Anyway, it's a mix of palm and
cane sugar refined into molasses-like stuff and then pressed into planks,
slabs, or balls, or left as a granulated sugar. I'm not sure what they do to
it to keep it flowing in the liquid stuff, but it resembles molasses. OK, it
does sound like I can use this if I can't find gur. Thanks!

--Katrina


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