LOCAL FAVORITES
TEA GARDEN MOMOS
Much beloved by locals, Himalayan steamed dumplings, filled with meats or vegetables and known as momos, is the dish more associated with Darjeeling. While cooks here roll out the dough from scratch before stuffing, using readily available dumpling or wonton wrappers make these easy to prepare. Cold momos can be reheated in a frying pan with a small amount of oil.
Makes about one dozen momos, serves 2:
1 packed cup/100 g finely chopped green cabbage
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium-small carrot, grated
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ Tbsp minced fresh ginger
¼ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground coriander seeds
½ fresh red chili, diced
Salt
2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
¼ tsp turmeric powder
Broth for filling steamer, preferably beef bone or chicken, or water
12 to 14 dumpling or wonton wrappers
In a mixing bowl, add the cabbage, onion, carrot, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, and chili, and season with salt. Blend well.
In a large saucepan or wok, heat the oil over medium heat and add the vegetable mix and about 2 Tbsp water. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cabbage and onions have softened and the carrots turned a yellowish orange, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the turmeric powder. Return to the mixing bowl, and let cool. There should be about 1 cup/175 g.
Remove the rack(s) from the steamer. Fill the bottom of the steamer with at least 1½ inches/4 cm of broth. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and keep hot. Meanwhile, rub the steaming rack(s) with oil and set aside.
Fill a small bowl with water. Place a wrapper on the open palm of a hand, rub a touch of water around the top edges, then place a generous tablespoon or so of the mixture in the center. Fold into a semicircle, and working around the edges, pinch into pleats forming a slight crescent-shaped curl. Be sure the edges are well closed. Place on the steaming rack perpendicular to the edge with the pinched pleat facing upward.
Repeat with the remaining wrappers. Arrange the momos close but not touching in the steaming pan following the curl of the momos in a pinwheel formation.
Carefully place the rack(s) in the steamer, cover, and steam over high heat until tender to the touch, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.
THUKPA
This favorite Darjeeling noodle dish is perfect for those cold, clammy evenings around the tea-covered hills.
The recipe make four generous, hearty bowls with plenty of warming broth. Serve with a spoonful of piquant chili oil (following recipe).
Salt
12 oz/360 g dried egg noodles
6 cups/1.6 L Light chicken, beef, or vegetable stock
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely sliced
Salt
1 medium carrot, grated
1 small turnip, peeled and grated
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
10 oz/300 g thinly sliced or ground beef or pork
Finely chopped, fresh coriander (cilantro) for garnishing
In a large pot bring 4 quarts/4 L water to a boil. Generously salt and then add the noodles. Boil until tender, 2 to 4 minutes, but follow the directions on the package. Drain and rinse with cold water to keep them from clumping together. Divide among 4 deep soup bowls.
Meanwhile, bring the stock to a simmer. Cover and keep very hot.
In a deep frying pan or wok, heat the oil over high heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook until they begin to turn transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and turnips and cook until they have softened and changed color, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for about 1 minute until aromatic, while stirring continuously. Season the beef with salt and add, cook, stirring continuously until browned, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in a spoonful or two of the simmering stock to moisten and remove from the heat.
Arrange the mixture on top of the noodles.
Ladle in the stock, adding it to the side of the bowls so that the meat stays in place on the top of the noodles. Generously garnish with the cilantro and serve immediately.
CHILI OIL (TSU-LA-TSU)
A spoonful of this piquant and deeply flavorful oil gives a stunning jolt to a bowl of thukpa (page 245). It also makes an excellent dip for momos (page 244). This recipe is adapted from a small, locally produced book by the Inner Wheel Club of Darjeeling, published nearly twenty-five years ago and sold exclusively at the Oxford Book & Stationery Co. on Darjeeling’s Chowrasta. With its deep-scarlet cloth cover glued over cardboard, faded gold letters, and landscape shape, it can be mistaken on the shelf for an album of antique panoramic photos of the Himalayas.
Makes about 1 cup/240 mclass="underline"
2 tsp minced, fresh ginger
5 or 6 spring onions (scallions), trimmed and minced (or chopped cilantro)
3 garlic cloves, minced, about 1½ tsp
1 Tbsp chili flakes or ground red, dried chilies
¼ tsp salt
1 scant cup/200 ml peanut oil
Place the ginger, onions, and garlic in a sturdy, heatproof bowl that can comfortably hold the ingredients and oil. Add the chili flakes and season with salt.
In a small saucepan, heat the oil to boiling, then carefully pour the oil over the ingredients. Stir and let cool.
To store, cover and refrigerate.
SPICED CHICKEN CUTLET
The firmest, and perhaps finest, piece of advice that Rajah Banerjee gave on a visit to Makaibari Tea Estate was to allow enough time in the Bagdogra Airport when flying back to Delhi to try the legendary chicken cutlets in the terminal restaurant owned by its employees and run as a cooperative.
“The great fault of Indian cooks in regard to cutlets is over- handling,” sternly warned the 1898 edition of The Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook. “They beat, chop, and season the meat out of all distinctive taste. Now, a plain cutlet should simply be cut and trimmed, dipped in the yolks of eggs, bread-crumbed, and fried a light golden brown.”7
Happily, cooks in the eastern Himalayas today rarely prepare plain chicken cutlets. Instead, as in the Bagdogra Airport restaurant, they rub the chicken with ginger, garlic, cilantro, and chilies before breading and frying. A delicious treat.
Serves 4:
4 boneless chicken breasts, about 1¾ lb/800 g
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1½-inch/4-cm piece fresh ginger, peeled
1 medium-small onion, finely chopped
½ to 1 small, green chili, minced
2 heaped Tbsp minced fresh cilantro (coriander leaves)
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
2 large eggs
All-purpose flour for dusting
1 cup/140 g fine, dry bread crumbs
Sunflower, canola, or light olive oil for frying
Thinly slice the chicken on the flat into 3 or 4 pieces. If desired, gently pound with a meat tenderizer or mallet until flattened.
In a mortar, mash the garlic, ginger, and onion together into a paste. Blend in the chili and cilantro. Rub the paste over both sides of the chicken slices. Season with salt and white pepper.
In a wide bowl, whisk the egg. Place the flour in a bowl and the bread crumbs in another.