Tag: Burma

Turmeric Turkey Meatball Soup

Turmeric Turkey Meatball Soup

Turmeric turkey meatball soup is a healthy dish that is great when it’s freezing out, full of ground turkey and warm spices to heat you up from the inside out.

Burmese Iced Tea

Burmese Iced Tea

Burmese Iced Tea is a close iteration of Thai iced tea, with strong black tea blended with evaporated and condensed milk. Perfect for the hottest days!

Mama Buddha’s “Indian Breakfast”: Lamb Curry, Dal and Curried Potatoes

As promised, though later than I had hoped, I’m bringing you a Mama Buddha original.

While not northern Chinese, I think you’ll like it. And I promise that the week continues in the vein of northern China, though perhaps with a little bit of Thanksgiving hanging around…

If you’ve been following along, you know that my mom is Hungarian (the HUNGARY part of The Hungary Buddha), and because of that, I grew up eating things like the poppyseed bread and cabbage rolls.  However, because she is awesome (duh), I also grew up eating things like gumbo and black beans and rice with mojo pork ribs (wait for it- coming in Cuba).  And because she married the Big Buddha, she made coconut chicken and what I bring to you today: Indian breakfast.

Ok, I’m pretty sure it’s not legally or authentically called “indian breakfast.” However, it’s what we have always called it. It’s a hodgepodge of curries and soups, served along rice and puffed up fried bread, puri (that is the actual real name). I’m not sure if it has actual Indian roots, or more Nepalese roots, but in any case, it has Buddha roots, and I’ve been shoving this in my face as long as I can remember.

I’m more inclined to think this leans more towards the Nepalese since it bears a striking resemblance to that which Tomato and I ate atop a Nepalese mountain a little over two years ago. Whatever…it’s time to stop debating the heritage of this dish and just put it out there for you to make and try. If you like actual Indian food, I’m confident that you will like our so-called Indian food.  As with all “mom” recipes, these amounts are approximate. Add more/less of the spices as you like.

For the curried potatoes:

Ingredients

2 TB vegetable oil

1 lb potatoes, diced and boiled until soft

2 large onions, sliced

1 inch fresh ginger, diced

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup tomatoes, diced

1 cup frozen peas

1 jalapeno, diced

¼ tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

4 whole cloves

1 inch cinnamon stick

Cilantro, diced to garnish

Directions

1.  In a bit of oil, toast the onions until golden brown.  Remove from oil, drain on a paper towel and set aside until the end.

2.  In the same pan, saute the garlic, ginger and jalapeno.  Add the spices and toast until fragrant.  Add in cooked potatoes, peas and tomatoes.

3.  Cook just a few more minutes until the potatoes are soft and creamy.  Just before removing everything from the heat, add the onions and mix them all together.  Finish with cilantro.

curried potatoes

For the lamb curry:

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds ground lamb or beef

2 large onions, chopped

5 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium tomato, diced

1 ½ inches fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

1 jalapeno, diced

2 cups chick peas, cooked (may use canned)

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

¼  tsp turmeric

4-5 crushed cardamom pods

6-8 whole cloves

1  1“ cinnamon stick

1- 1 ½ cups chicken broth, or as you like

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.  Brown and drain ground meat.

2.  Saute the onion, garlic and ginger with meat until translucent.  Add spices and toast a few minutes until fragrant.

3.  Add the diced tomato and chick peas.  Add the chicken broth, as much or as little as it reaches the consistency you desire.  Simmer 45 min.

lamb curry

For the dal:

Ingredients

1 TB oil

1 cup cooked yellow or pink lentils

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 inch ginger, peeled and sliced

½ cup okra, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

½ cup onion, diced

1 small tomato, diced

1 small jalapeno, diced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

¼ tsp turmeric

1 cup water (or to consistency)

Cilantro, chopped for garnish

Directions

1.  In oil, saute onion, garlic, ginger and pepper. Add the spices and toast.

2.  Add tomato and okra, sauté for about one minute, and add the lentils and the water to desired consistency.

3.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with cilantro.

daal

Mama forgot to give me the puri recipe, so I’ll get that and deliver shortly. Until then, this is what they look like:

puri3

Serve all of the above with rice and puri or roti

dawn

If calling this Indian Breakfast is wrong, I don’t want to be right…

Let’s Eat Cake:  Shwe Gyi Mont, or Burmese Semolina Cake

Let’s Eat Cake: Shwe Gyi Mont, or Burmese Semolina Cake

I have a major sweet tooth. HUGE.  It’s why I insisted when I started this blog a year ago that I do at least one dessert from every region. I mean, by limiting myself to the familiar (sticky toffee pudding, chocolate cake), I would have…

Tea Time!: Laphet Thoke, or Burmese Tea Leaf Salad

Tea in Burma is a crazy big deal.  Tea shops in Burma act sort of like coffee shops do here:  places where people can mingle and mix and be.  Big Buddha was very particular about the way I made his tea, but I’ll talk more…

Khaut Swe

Khaut Swe

Hello friends!  Let’s get right to it.  This dish is my favorite Burmese dish EVER. And, it’s the one that I always, always remember Auntie May making and the one that Little Buddha and I begged Mom to make. We didn’t know what it was- we merely called it the very technical and no doubt correct name of “coconut chicken.” Later I’d learn it was actually called ohn-no khaut swe (pronounced cow-swai), though it’ll always be coconut chicken to me.

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Burmese Mohinga

Burmese Mohinga is a fragrant fish soup traditionally served for breakfast, made with fresh herbs and spices and topped with traditional condiments.

Tart Sweet Chili Sauce

Tart sweet chili sauce, or Nga Yoke Thee Achin, is a traditional Burmese condiment made in less than 10 minutes and with less than 10 ingredients.