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Journalism of Courage
I LOVE eating and am quite experimental in my tastes; my favourite cuisine, in fact, is Japanese. When it comes to listing my favourite food memories, though, I inevitably go back to my childhood in Sikkim. My mum was a great cook, so is the rest of my extended family of aunts and sisters. I don’t cook much myself, but I do take a lot of interest in food, its colours and textures.
These two recipes are traditional Sikkimese family recipes, and cooked mostly by eye or fist measures. The Shya-Phalay, somewhat similar to the momo, is a mince patty and makes for a great snack at any time of the day. The Dethuk (chicken broth with rice) is a warming, nurturing dish that makes for a wonderful winter breakfast, especially for kids and elderly people.
SHYA-PHALAY
INGREDIENTS
2 medium onions
3 cloves garlic
2.5 cm bit of ginger
500 gm minced meat (chicken or mutton)
Salt to taste
Green chillies to taste
Dash of soya sauce
4 cups maize flour
Pinch of salt
Water
Oil for frying
METHOD
Chop the onions, ginger and garlic very finely. In a pan, heat oil and add the three. When the onion turns translucent, toss in the minced meat and cook on a low fire till the water evaporates completely. During the cooking process, add salt and chopped green chillies to taste. Once the meat is cooked through, add a dash of soya sauce for colour and flavour. Keep aside.
While the meat is cooking, knead the maize flour with water and a pinch of salt to make a fairly stiff dough. Tear off small sections to roll out into small circles. Place some cooked meat in the centre and fold over to make a semi-circle. Pinch the edges together.
Once all the dough (or the meat!) has been used up, heat oil for deep-frying in a wok, fry the shya-phalay until deep golden brown and serve hot with a tomato-garlic sauce or a soya sauce.
DETHUK
INGREDIENTS
1 cup basmati rice
5-6 cups chicken stock (the real thing, not stock cube substitutes)
2 tsp ginger, slivered
spoon butter
Spring onion greens for garnish
Green chilli pieces to taste
METHOD
Boil the rice in chicken stock with the ginger. Keep boiling, stirring occasionally, till the rice becomes mashy and the whole concoction resembles a thick soup. Pour the broth into a large soup bowl, add a dollop of butter to taste and garnish with spring onion greens and bits of green chilli. Slurp it up hot with a little soya sauce on the side.
