Homemade Ladakhi Thukpa

Thukpa (Tibetan: ཐུག་པ་, Wylie: thug pa) is a Tibetan noodle soup, usually served with meat. It is popular in Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, and also in the states of Sikkim, Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh and some other parts of India. The food is widely available in restaurants in these regions.

Ingredients:

For the broth
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
4 medium radishes, chopped
1/2 cup spinach, blanched
3 small onions, chopped
5 big garlic cloves, chopped
4 sprigs of spring onion, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro
1 tablespoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoons cumin powder
1/2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon turmeric
4 tablespoon mustard oil
Salt to taste

For the Noodles
1 egg
3 cups atta
About 1 cup water

Preparation

In a heavy skillet, heat mustard oil until hot and add onions and garlic and fry until fragrant. Stir in tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes then add all the masala powders and pepper. Add spinach and radish and cook well for 10 about minutes. When radish is soft and spices are fragrant, add about 4 to 5 cups of water and bring to boil. Lower heat and let it cook while you make the noodles. Add chopped spring onions and cilantro right before serving.

Making thukpa noodles

On a big bowl, mix flour with egg and add a a few tablespoons of water at a time while kneading mixture into a dough. When thoroughly mixed, roll out dough like a chappati and then slice the flattened dough into long strips. Slowly add dough strips into boiling broth and cook covered at medium heat for about 20 minutes. Add salt to taste, or do what the locals do which is omitting the salt altogether and taste the natural sweetness of each and every ingredient used to make this delicious dish.

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Gujia(Chandrakala)

This is a Rajasthani speciality sweet made with semolina and all purpose flour that is suji
and maida and they are stuffed with exotic dry fruits and milk solids. Gujia is an favorite sweet served in North India during the festival of holi. With colors of gulal and fun and friends this sweet add special sweetness to this festival of  color. In south there is a similar variation which we call chandrakala.

Recipe makes 20 to 24 gujia.

Ingredients:

Crust:
 •1 cup all purpose flour (plain flour or maida)
 •1 tablespoon sooji (semolina flour)
 •2 tablespoons oil
 •1/3 cup lukewarm water or as needed

Filling:
 •1/2 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
 •1 cup milk powder
 •1/4 cup coconut powder
 •1/4 cup sliced almonds
 •1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
 •2 tablespoon sugar
 •2 tablespoon melon seeds (optional)

Garnish:
 •1/2 cup sugar
 •1/4 Water
 •2 tablespoons sliced almonds and pistachios

Also needed:
 •1 tablespoon all purpose flour (plain flour or maida)
 •2 tablespoon water
 •Oil to fry

Method:

Crust:

1.Mix flour, sooji, and oil in a bowl, make a soft dough adding water slowley as needed. Knead the dough until the dough becomes soft and pliable. 
2.Set the dough aside and cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough sit for at least ten minutes.

Filling:

1.Mix the cream and milk powder in a frying pan.
2.Cook on medium heat until mixture starts leaving the sides of the frying pan and becomes soft runny dough. Stir continuously so the mixture does not burn on the bottom of the pan.
3.Turn off the heat and add coconut, almonds, melon seeds, sugar, and cardamom powder. Mix together well.
4.After cooling, the mixture will be lightly moist. Keep aside.

Making the Gujias:

1.Mix 2 tablespoons of water with 1 tablespoon of flour to make a paste. Set aside.
2.Knead the dough again for a minute.
3.Divide the dough into about 20 equal parts and roll into balls with the palms of your hands.
4.Roll each ball into about 4-inch diameter  (like a roti or chappati).
5.Dip your finger in the flour paste and spread it around the rim of the rolled dough, but just on the half the circle.
6.Take the rolled dough in your palm and put about 1-1/2 tablespoons of the filling mixture in the center and fold it into a semi-circle. Now press the edges together with your fingers. Make sure the edges are completely sealed otherwise they will open while frying and oil will get in and filling will come out.
7.Continue filling the rest of the gujia in the same manner.
8.Heat about 1-1/2 inches of oil in a frying pan on medium heat. To test if the oil is hot enough, drop a small piece of dough into the oil. It should sizzle right away but come to the surface slowly.
9.Place the gujia in the frying pan few at a time.
10.After gujhias are floating on top of the oil, turn them slowly. Fry the gujias until they turn light golden-brown color on all sides. Don’t fry on high heat; the gujia crust will be too soft and not crispy.
11.When they are done cooking, lift them out of the oil with a slotted spoon.

Garnishing:

 1.Boil the sugar and water on medium heat until syrup is about one thread or 230 degrees (Fahrenheit) on a candy thermometer.
 2.Dip the gujias into the syrup making sure they are coated with syrup all around.
 3.Place the gujias on a wire rack to allow the extra syrup drain.
 4.Garnish the gujias with sliced almonds and pistachios while the gujhias are still moist with syrup.
 5.Gujias will be dry in an hour.
 6.Gujia can be stored in airtight container up to a month.

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KING PRAWN PULAO

Cooking time: 2 hours
Serves: 8
Ingredients

King prawn (shelled) 1 kg
Basmati rice 1 kg
Onions 1 kg
Tomatoes ½ kg
Orange colour ½ tsp
Milk 1 tbsp
Peppercorns 20 nos
Cloves 25 nos
Cadammoms 15 nos
Cinammon stick 10 cm
Cummin seeds 1 tsp
Shahajeera (caraway seeds) 1 tsp
Red chillies 20 nos
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Garlic 1 pod
Ginger piece 4 cms
Coriander leaves (cut fine) ½ cup
Green chillies 6 nos
Cashew nuts 125 gm
Oil 1 cup
Salt 1 tbsp

Method:

Wash rice and keep aside for two hours. Slice ½ kg onions and deep-fry till dark brown in the oil. Keep aside. In the same oil add peppercorns, green chillies (cut lengthwise) and coriander leaves (cut fine). Add ½ kg onion (cut fine). Fry onion till it becomes light brown. Grind ginger, garlic and other masala to a fine paste. Add to the roasted onion, in the pan and fry for 2 minutes. Then add prawns, ground cashew nuts paste, chopped tomato and ½ cup water. Cook till gravy thickness. Parboil rice in water, with 1 tbsp salt. When rice is cooked drain water completely and spread rice in a big flat plate.

Apply orange colouring to the rice and divide in into seven parts. The mass of onion and prawns with masala should be divided each into 3 parts. At the bottom of a large vessel place slices of raw potato. This is to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom. Spread a layer of rice over the raw potato slices. Then spread a layer of prawns and onions over the rice. Continue the layering process as follows: rice, onion, rice, prawns, and so on, with a final layer of rice.

Make 4 holes on the upper layer of rice and pour in each hole one teaspoon of clarified butter. Put a lid on it and make a paste of 1 cup of wheat flour, with water and seal the lid with the same. Keep the dish on light flame for about 1 hour till the seal is broken and steam comes out. Then put off the flame. The emission of the steam is an indication that the dish is ready and the same is ready to be served.

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FINE PRAWN KISMOOR

Ingredients:

Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
Fine dried prawn (galmo) 2 cups
Grated coconut 1 cup
Chilly powder ½ tsp
Turmeric powder ¼ tsp
Oil 1 tsp
Tamarind pulp ½ tsp
Salt ½ tsp
Onion chopped fine 1 tsp
Method:

Clean the prawns by taking off the head, legs and tails. Roast the prawns on a slow fire with two teaspoons oil. Keep stirring continously and when light brown, take off the fire. They will get crisp after a little while. Break the prawns into two to three pieces each depending on the size. Chop the onions finely. Mix together the coconut, chilli and turmeric powders, tamarind juice and salt thoroughly.

Just before serving add the prawn pieces and chopped onion and mix well once again. Do not add prawns before hand as they will get soft. Onion may be roasted in a little oil if preferred to raw.

Note: In order to maintain the crispness, prawn should be added when ready to serve

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