Garam Masala Tuesdays: Steamed Chicken Momos

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Steamed Chicken MomosSteamed Chicken Momos | The Novice Housewife

Kickstarting the new year with the first Garam Masala Tuesdays post of 2014 and I promise I will TRY to be more regular with it!

I have done a vegetarian version of momos before (and all the people who think meat versions are the only way to go, really need to give the vegetarian version I posted earlier a try). Today I thought I will share a chicken version.

As mentioned in that post, yes I am aware that momos or dumplings or dimsums- whatever you may call them- their origins are not Indian, but they are very much a part of Indian cuisine if you ask for my opinion. And whatever position you take on the origins of this dish, there is no denying that momos have always been popular as a cheap snack food in much of North and Eastern India and very much loved by all.

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Focaccia and another attempt at making a Video Tutorial

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Focaccia The novice Housewife

Before leaving for Canada, I had the chance to stock up on a few recipes for the blog. I did not realize that staying with family and  such a hectic course schedule would leave me with not much time to spend on the blog. And hence my absence. And also why I haven’t been able to reply to your messages and mails. Sorry! I’ll get to it soon!

I also had the chance to shoot another video tutorial. I thought it looked fine when I shot it, but when I came to Canada and tried working on it, it just did not feel right. I would work on it a few hours, not like it, trash the project and then start the next day again. There are actually four versions of this video that I made and none of them turned out to be what I wanted.

But, I am still posting the video because I love this recipe for Focaccia bread. It’s from Peter Reinhart’s book the Bread Bakers’ Apprentice and not that I have tried other Focaccia recipes (one of my friends’ told me the one on Annie’s Eats site is pretty good), with this recipe I never really felt the need to try another one. It does require you to plan a little ahead of time, but if you truly want a crusty outside and a chewy inside, you do need to take that extra step. Kind of like Peter Reinhart’s Pizza dough. Believe me, it’s one of the best pizza dough recipes you will ever try. And so is this recipe for Focaccia bread.

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GMT: Khandvi and a Video Tutorial

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khandvi-1

Khandvi is a delicious gluten free snack, traditional to the western state of Gujarat. Made from cooking a mixture of gram/chickpea flour and sour yogurt, to which a mustard seed and curry leaves tempering is applied, Khandvi is a healthy snack idea to think about the next time you feel like snacking between meals.

It doesn’t take too much time to make khandvis, but there is a slight learning curve to it. Its fairly easy to make once you get the technique right. And since there is a slight technique to it I thought why not make a video tutorial for making Khandvis.

This is the first time I tried making a video, so it took more time than expected. Was not easy to shoot and cook at the same time, but somehow managed. And I thought that would be the tough part. But downloading, editing and trying to figure everything out just took more time than expected and hence the reason for such a delayed recipe. Promise this time it wasn’t my laziness! 🙂

I had Khandvis for the first time when my cousin’s husband was posted to Manesar, an Industrial town close to New Delhi. On the way to her place was a popular Indian fast food chain, Haldirams, that we would often stop by to grab something to eat. I would end up having just the Khandvis and be happy. From there my love for Khandvis was born.

This time when I went to India, the same person who gave my mom the Cilantro cake recipe (another gluten free snack), gave this recipe as well. And today I am sharing it with you along with the first ever video tutorial on the blog.

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