It's such a wonder always. Being part of a country, which is home to many cultures, to people who speak so many different languages, it's hard to be familiar with all! So taking part in the Regional Cuisines of India, is such a wonderful opportunity to learn about different cultures, different cuisines. You may never actually visit that place, but cooking something common in that place, sure gets you a feeling of knowing something about them!
I haven't traveled much through North India, except a couple of times to Calcutta, and both times had a great time. But I don't think I would ever get an opportunity to visit other states like Sikkim or Nagaland. So when my dear friend Bhags announced North East India as the cuisine we got to cook this month, I was left clueless. Of course, she was kind enough to give some links. But as usual, this and that kept me quite busy until the very last moment! In fact, I was alerting hubby dear to be ready for a feast on North Eastern Cuisine. Still, I was so very concerned when to actually get down doing it.
Hubby dear finally came to the rescue. He said he would want to have those lovely Momos, he remembered eating while he was in Delhi. Though the steamed Momos famous, he preferred the deep-fried ones. I finally nailed Sikkim to be the cuisine I wanted to try. Actually, all other things sounded so complicated or something not available locally! For all the potato disliker I claim to be, for all RCIs, I end up making something with Aloo. With just 3 days to go, I couldn't postpone it any longer. I decided on a Meat dish with Rice and Aloo.
When I checked I had only Keema, so it was to be Keema curry. Of course, I hope nobody is going to fly down from Sikkim to show draggers at me, for changing their authentic recipes. I marched home with the recipe and hoped my pantry will have all the things needed. Rice was quite simple and Aloo was wonderful. This was the first time I was eating Sesame powder in a vegetable. We always use Sesame in Pulihora or Sweets or Savories. Aloo emerged as a delicious darling all decked up in Til powder!
Only I encountered a disaster with the keema curry. It was to cook on slow for an hour. I knew it wouldn't take that long, so was having an eye on that. But as luck would have it, my twins decided it was their potty time. And the rest is history! What was supposed to be a gravy, ended up charred to its base and I had a sukka keema on hand. Hubby dear didn't complain but I was feeling awful! He said it tasted great, so the next time I am going to have both eyes on that!
Chambray ~ Fry-Cooked Rice
Basmati Rice - 200 gms (1 cup)
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch
Turmeric powder a pinch
Salt to taste
Bay leaf - 1
Ghee - 2 tsp
Black Cumin Seed - 1/4 tsp
Water - 1 & 1/2 cup
Method to prepare:
Wash and soak rice with bay leaves and cinnamon for 15 min.
Heat ghee in a non-stick wok, add the cumin seeds, let it splutter. Then add the rice without the water. Fry for 2 mins in sim.
Then add the turmeric and salt. Mix well and add water. Cover with lid and cook in sim for 10 mins or till the rice is cooked.
Chambray is eaten with Til ko alu.
Til ko Alu ~ Potatoes with Roasted Sesame Powder.
This is the first time I am cooking with roasted Sesame seeds. It gave a really yummy taste to the roasted potatoes. The recipe calls for boiled potatoes. But since I was using just two medium potatoes, I pan-roasted them with the onions. Finally, it gave excellent taste!
Potato - 2 medium
Onion - 1 sliced
Green chili - 4 sliced into small pieces
Sesame seeds (Til) - 10 g
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Method to prepare:
Roast the sesame seeds in the pan in sim. Once it's roasted, remove and grind to a smooth powder once it's cool.
Peel the skin of the potatoes and soak in water.
In the same pan, heat oil. Add chilies and onions. Sauté the onions till brown.
Then add the cubed potatoes. Simmer and add a spoon of water. Cover and let it get cooked. After 5 mins, add the roasted til powder. Mix well and again cover it covered.
This gets cooked in about 10 - 15 mins.
This was a good combination with the rice, though you may find it a little dry. So ensure you add about 2 spoons of water while it's getting cooked.
Pakku ~ Mutton Keema Curry (oops Dry keema)
This curry was without any chili powder, so I added it. I obviously can't expect hubby dear to eat without that!
Mutton Keema - 250 gms
Marinating paste:
Onion - 1 medium
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Dry Coriander - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (my addition)
Ginger garlic paste 1/2 tsp
Cloves - 2
Cardamom - 1
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch
Nutmeg powder - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder a pinch
Salt to taste
Method to prepare:
Wash and drain the keema.
Make a paste of all the ingredients. Then mix it with Preparation: Marinate mutton pieces with the paste, add salt and turmeric powder, Chilli powder, and keep for 20 min.
Heat a pan with oil and add the marinade and cook it covered, till it's done.
kamala says
Wow...This is awesome Valli.Everything looks so mouthwatering.Great entry!!!
Swati Raman Garg says
wow wow sri.. even iam a potato disliker but i like spiced up ones... and ur platter looks good..
i agree to you it was only because of this RCI i made momos
Arundathi says
wow - valli - a whole thali! that's so cool! the aloo looks superb!
Cham says
I love the keema, great that u added chili 🙂 Love the thali 🙂
Jayashree says
The aloo curry sounds like the perfect accompaniment for that simple, lightly spiced rice....
Vani says
The thali looks wonderful, Sri! So true that thanks to RCI, we get to learn more about other states in India. Kudos to you cooking all these yummy things while managing two small kids!
Sharmila says
Thali looks good.Good of you to add the info on food from Sikkim .. now we can think beyond momos.Good post.
Happy cook says
Love the whole plate, i would like tp have that potato fry with seasmseeds.
I think i will give it a miss this time RCI as there is only 2 more days to go and still i have not decided to make anything.
Sukanya Ramkumar says
Hi....
This is a nice plate of YUMMY food. Looks so delish!. Nice pictures....
Madhavi says
Til aloo sounds awesome, thali looks great, mouthwatering!!!
Kalai says
Potato fry with sesame seeds sounds fabulous, Valli! The whole thali looks delicious. 🙂
Bhags says
this thalli from sikkim is all wonderful....well kudos to you girl for this for the effort....:)
meeso says
Well, the food looks awesome, even if the meat was a lil charred (that has happened to me so many times) but It's always nice to have somebody supportive that always encourages no matter what 🙂
Deepa says
How exciting to hear about a state whose cuisine has never entered my life before...! I love your recipes and your enthusiasm - very infectious. Also, this sikkim stuff reminded me of the recent book by Kiran Desai - The Inhertance of Loss. LOVELY book. The book also makes forays into the food of NE India, in very interesting ways...-Deepa (Austin, TX)
Asha says
Cool! Finally, you came out with whole Thali, looks good Sri.
If anybody shows daggers, give me a call, I will slay them before they get to you! Hahaha!
Suma Rajesh says
luved the colour of alu curry...nice effort..
Medhaa says
The plate looks delicious even if the meat was charred a bit I am sure it tasted great.
Sandeepa says
The aloo curry with til sounds good, though I too have never used "til" in my cooking. What about the momo ? Did you make it ? I love those
jayasree says
Thats one wonderful thali from Sikkim. Hats off to ur enthusiasm.
sowmya says
nice thali...everthing looks delicious..especially the alu subji
Vcuisine says
Very interesting post Valli. Happy to see your interest. Viji
Bharti Khemani says
Thanks for leaving your comment on my blog. I have lurked many a time here and have really been looking forward to participating in your roti mela. Hopefully soon!
I agree that trying out food from different parts of the country and the world is a great way to travel with out ever leaving home.
The sesame seeds are interesting with those potatoes. Gotta try it!