[ID: A large, shallow bowl filled with soup with orange broth, noodles, mushrooms, and bell peppers, garnished with green onion and cilantro. A plate of dumplings and a bowl of sauce are visible in the background. End ID.]
Thukpa / थुक्पा (Nepali noodle soup)
Thukpa is a Himalayan noodle soup that originated in Tibet before becoming popular in Nepal, Butan, and northeast India, where many different varieties of it are eaten in the home and as a street food. This Nepali-style version is flavored with green chilis, cumin, coriander, and ginger, and brightened with the addition of fresh herbs and lime juice. This is a warming, filling, one-pot meal, perfect for winter!
Recipe under the cut.
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Serves 8-10.
Ingredients:
1/2 each green, yellow, and red bell pepper, sliced
1 green hot chili pepper, slit
4 green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
2-inch chunk ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 Tbsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground
1 large or 2 small roma tomatoes, diced (150g)
250g dried thukpa noodles or Chinese wheat noodles
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1 cup quartered button mushrooms
1 large carrot, julienned
8 cups (2L) water
1 Tbsp vegetarian chicken stock from concentrate, or 2 vegetarian chicken-flavored stock cubes (optional)
Juice of 1 lemon or lime
Bunch of garlic greens, or fresh cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp soy sauce (optional)
Salt to taste (about 2 tsp, less if you used a stock cube containing salt)
1/2 tsp chaat masala or garam masala (optional)
Mustard oil is typically used for this soup, but you can also use any neutral oil.
Nepali thukpa noodles may be found at an Asian grocery store or purchased online. They may be labeled "Thukpa noodles" or "Himalayan noodles." Any thin wheat noodle may be used as a substitute.
Thukpa also commonly includes chicken. I have omitted it and focused on the veggies in this recipe (a lot of Nepali thukpa recipes are vegetarian!), but if you have a chicken substitute onhand you can cook it in the oil at the beginning of step 2, then remove it from the pot; return it to the soup when ready to serve.
Chickpeas, split bengal gram, or other beans are sometimes added to vegetarian versions of Nepali thukpa for protein. Add in cooked beans or grams at step 7.
Chicken stock is not usually used in this soup. I like to use a vegetarian chicken stock cube in my version to simulate the effect of boiling chicken in the soup water along with the vegetables; I think it adds a nice savor.
Instructions:
1. Boil noodles according to package directions, until they are al dente (use salted water if the noodles themselves do not contain salt). Drain noodles and rinse with cold water to halt cooking.
2. In a large pot, heat oil on medium until shimmering. Add onion and saute, agitating occasionally, 3-5 minutes until translucent. Add ginger, garlic, and green chili and fry for 30 seconds until fragrant and no longer raw-smelling.
3. Meanwhile, add half of ground coriander and cumin to a small bowl and add just enough water to form a thick paste. When garlic and ginger are fragrant, add the spice paste to the pot and cook, stirring often, until the water has evaporated to bloom the spices.
4. Add tomatoes and cook, covered, for 2 minutes until soft. Mash with the flat of a ladle.
5. Add mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, and bell peppers. Cook, uncovered, on medium low for 3 minutes, then cover and cook for another 3 minutes.
6. Add the rest of the ground coriander and cumin and stir to combine.
7. Add water (and chicken stock concentrate or cubes, if using) and bring to a boil. Cook for a few minutes until vegetables are tender and cooked through.
8. Add chaat masala or garam masala and simmer another minute.
9. Reduce heat to low. Add green onion, garlic greens, lime juice, and soy sauce and simmer for another minute.
10. Add cooked noodles (and chicken, if using) and heat until warmed through. Taste and add salt if necessary. Serve hot.
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[ID: A large, shallow dish full of golden brown rice with chickpeas, bits of tomato, and whole spices; it is garnished with mint and sliced almonds. End ID.]
Chana pulao (Pakistani-style rice and chickpea dish)
Chana pulao is a simple, tasty vegetarian staple common throughout various regions of India and Pakistan. It is often prepared during Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, but may be prepared year-round. Fragrant, fluffy basmati rice is cooked with aromatics, chilis, tomatoes, pungent spices, and herbs in this filling, one-pot meal.
Recipe under the cut!
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INGREDIENTS:
2 cups (240g) cooked chana (chickpeas / garbanzo beans)
2 cups (360g) dried basmati rice, rinsed and soaked
3 cups (710mL) water
1 shallot, sliced
2 roma tomatoes, diced (optional)*
2 green chilis, slit
1 green chili, sliced
10 mint leaves, chopped
1-inch chunk (10g) fresh ginger, julienned
4 cloves garlic, chopped and crushed
3 Tbsp neutral oil
Sliced almonds, fried in neutral oil until golden brown, to garnish (optional)
Whole spices:
2 Indian bay leaves (tej patta)**
3 pieces Ceylon / true cinnamon bark (dalchini), or substitute cassia cinnamon
2 green cardamom pods (elaichi)
2 Indian black cardamom pods (badi / kali elaichi)
1 star anise pod (chakri phool)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 tsp black peppercorns
5 cloves (laung)
2 Tbsp fennel seeds (saunf)
2 Tbsp coriander seeds (dhania)
1 dried red chili pepper, crushed, or 1 tsp red chili flakes
Ground spices:
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp salt
1 tsp Indian chili powder (ground mirchi)***
1 tsp garam masala
All of these spices can be purchased whole or ground at an Asian or halaal grocery store. If you don't have any of the spices, you may omit them. Star anise and fennel both have a licorice-like aroma and may be substituted with each other or with aniseed. Black cardamom has a strong, smoky, camphorous aroma--if you don't have any, just use a bit more green cardamom, cinnamon, and clove.
*Tomatoes are a common add-on but are not strictly traditional in this dish. Add them in for the tangy flavor and additional color, or omit them for lighter, fluffier rice.
**Indian bay leaves are distinct from Turkish or California laurel bay leaves and have a different taste and fragrance. They will be labelled "tej patta" in an Asian or halaal grocery store, and have three vertical lines running along them from root to tip, rather than radiating out diagonally from a central vein. Omit these if you don’t have any.
***Mirchi is made from dried and ground red chilis and is distinct from chili powder, which contains various spices and dried aromatics in addition to ground chilis. Substitute with more red chili flakes, or with another ground red chili powder such as prik bon.
Instructions:
1. If using dried chickpeas: allow a cup (175g) of dried chickpeas to soak in plenty of cool water overnight (or quick soak by placing in a pot and covering in several inches of water, bringing to a boil, removing from heat and allowing to soak for an hour). After soaking, drain chickpeas and place in a pot covered by several inches of water; bring to a simmer and cook for an hour or two until tender. Optionally add a few crushed cloves of garlic, half an onion, and a bay leaf in with the water to flavor the chana.
2. Rinse rice in several changes of cool water until the water runs mostly clear. Cover it with cool water and allow to soak for about half an hour while you prepare the produce and spices.
3. Prepare your produce. Slice shallot by cutting the stem end off, placing each lobe flat-side-down, and slicing horizontally (perpendicular to the root). Dice tomatoes and cut a slit vertically in two green chilis; slice another green chili horizontally. Wash ginger (or peel it, if the peel seems particularly thick or tough) and julienne by slicing thinly in one direction to produce discs, then slicing the discs thinly in another direction to produce matchsticks. Roughly chop garlic and crush it with the flat of your knife. Rinse and roughly chop mint.
4. Heat a few Tbsp of a neutral oil on medium in a large, deep pan. Sauté larger whole spices--cardamom pods, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and black peppercorns--for 30 about seconds until fragrant. Add smaller seeds (coriander, fennel, and cumin) and fry for another minute until fragrant and a shade darker.
5. Add shallot and fry, agitating often, until golden brown. Add ginger, garlic, green chilis (sliced and whole), and crushed red chili / chili flakes and sauté for 30 seconds until fragrant.
6. Add ground spices and mint and sauté for a few seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
7. Add tomatoes and sauté for several minutes until water has evaporated.
8. Reduce heat to low. Add water, chickpeas, and rice and cook, covered, until rice has absorbed all of the water, 15-20 minutes. If your pan tends to stick or has a thin bottom, stir occasionally.
9. Allow to steam without removing the lid for another 5-10 minutes. Fluff and serve warm. Garnish with sliced almonds, cashews, mint, or lemon as desired.
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love when men cry about body hair bc "it's hygiene" and yet 15% of cis men leave the bathroom without washing their hands at all and an additional 35% only just wet their hands without using soap. that is nearly half of all men. that means statistically you have probably shaken hands with or been in direct contact with one of these people.
love when men say that women "only want money" when it turns out that even in equal-earning homes, women are actually adding caregiver burdens and housework from previous years, whereas men have been expanding leisure time and hobbies. in equal-earning households, men spend an average of 3.5 hours extra in leisure time per week, which is 182 hours per year - a little over a week of paid vacation time that the other partner does not receive. kinda sounds like he wants her money.
love that men have decided women are frail and weak and annoying when we scream in surprise but it turns out it's actually women who are more reliable in an emergency because men need to be convinced to actually take action and respond to the threat. like, actually, for-real: men experience such a strong sense of pride about their pre-supposed abilities that it gets them and their families killed. they are so used to dismissing women that it literally kills them.
love it. told my father this and he said there's lies, damned lies, and statistics. a year ago i tried to get him to evacuate the house during a flash flood. he ignored me and got injured. he has told me, laughing, that he never washes his hands. he has said in the last week that women are just happier when we're cooking or cleaning.
maybe i'm overly nostalgic. but it didn't used to feel so fucking bleak. it used to feel like at least a little shameful to consider women to be sheep. it just feels like the earth is round and we are still having conversations about it being flat - except these conversations are about the most obvious forms of patriarchy. like, we know about this stuff. we've known since well before the 50's.
recently andrew tate tried to justify cheating on his partner as being the "male prerogative." i don't know what the prerogative for the rest of us would be. just sitting at home, watching the slow erosion of our humanity.
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