Vegetarian momos

I never thought the day would come when I would make momos at home. I am very fond of momos - the soft, moist exterior and the juicy filling inside. The perfectly cooked and shiny looking momo is a complete meal in itself. However, I don't think I would have got around to making it if not for Blogging Marathon #31. The basic recipe that I have used is from Raks Kitchen and it came out so well that between the husband and me, we managed to polish off almost the entire batch of momos I made.

What you need: (Recipe source : Raks Kitchen)
For the outer cover :
All purpose flour/maida - 1 cup
Salt - to taste
Water - enough to knead into a smooth, pliable dough
Oil - 2 tsp

For the filling:

Cabbage - 1 cup, grated fine
Carrot - 1 large, grated
Onion - 1 large, thinly sliced
Garlic - 8 cloves, chopped fine
Ginger - 1 inch piece, julienned
Salt - to taste
Soya sauce - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp

To make the outer cover :
Take maida and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add water to it little by little and knead until you have a smooth, pliable, non-stickly dough. Add the oil and mix well. Cover and keep aside.

To make the filling:
Heat oil in a pan. Add the ginger and garlic. Stir fry on a high flame for a minute. Add in the chopped onion and saute until translucent. Add the rest of the vegetables and saute on high flame for 2-3 minutes, stirring every now and then to prevent burning. Add salt and soya sauce. Mix well and saute until the moisture evaporates.

To make the momos:
Divide the dough into ping-pong ball sized balls. On an oiled surface, roll each ball of dough into a thin circle. Place a tbsp of filling and shape into a semi-circle or a dumpling. Place the momos in a steamer or an idli pan and steam cook for 8-10 minutes. When the momos are done, the outer cover will look shiny and translucent.

Serve hot with a spicy and tangy sauce.

Seven years of blogging and savoury muffins

This blog completed seven years of existence on June 30th. I remembered, but just didn't have the enthusiasm to sit down and type out a blog post to commemorate this milestone. Every now and then, I go through a stage where though I have a lot to say on the blog, I just don't feel like sitting and typing it all out. How I wish there was a software that would create a blog post just by listening to me speak. Now that would be truly something, wouldn't it?
I am hoping to shake off the inertia by participating in Blogging Marathon #31. The theme I have chosen is Non-Indian breakfasts and that is what you will see on the blog for the next three days. 
Breakfast, to me, has to be something filling and nutritious. No Chocos or Corn flakes for me - I cannot stand eating something sweet in the morning. These savoury muffins are nice to look at, soft and moist in texture, and taste really good. Your imagination is the limit when it comes to deciding what goes into this muffin. Here's a look at all that went into my muffins.

What you need:
All purpose flour/maida - 1.5 cups
Grated vegetables - 2 cups (I used cabbage, carrot and onion)
Curd - 3/4 cup
Olive oil - 1/3 cup
Salt - to taste
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (or to taste)
Oregano - 1/2 tsp
Egg - 1
Baking powder - 3 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp

Take the flour, baking powder and grated vegetables in a large bowl. To this, add cumin powder, red chilli powder, oregano and salt
In a separate bowl, beat together the egg, curd and oil. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Mix well. Add baking soda and mix gently but thoroughly.
Preheat oven to 175 degrees centigrade. Grease a muffin pan and spoon in some of the mixture into each depression. Sprinkle some sesame seeds or rolled oats on top of the batter and bake for 15-18 minutes.
These can be baked beforehand, refrigerated and then warmed up the next day for breakfast.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#31