Toh Zya - Burmese Vegetable Dip

Toh Zya

A Burmese meal is generally started with an appetizer of fresh vegetables and a dip that oozes umami in every bite. 

Serve with Fresh Vegetables

or

Serve with Dumplings

My brother makes the best Toh Zya, but this version comes in a close second. Besides raw vegetables, this dip goes great with dumplings or gyoza.

Crab Paste

It's quite quick to assemble if pureed tomatoes (e.g. Hunt's tomato sauce) are available. Shrimp paste imparts the umami flavour we all crave, but Hubby is allergic to shrimp so I used crab paste that comes pre-cooked in a glass jar. The hardest part was to blanch a couple of onions and a whole pod of garlic which are added to the rest of the ingredients and blended to a paste before being simmered on the stove until oil resurfaces. There is sufficient oil in the crab paste so no oil needs to be added.

Rene's Momos

Rene's Momos

Be prepared to snack as you make these juicy dumplings. They're a famous and popular appetizer in Darjeeling, India. The Tibetans make them accompanied by thukpa, a wholesome and hearty noodle soup. 

My eldest sister whom I miss dearly, gave me this recipe with two instructions. First of all, a whole lot of minced onions should be mixed into the minced meat to make these dumplings moist and delicious. Secondly, a bottle of pani puri masala takes care of seasoning the meat. This looks almost identical to the bottles of mint or coriander and mint chutneys, available in Indian markets. The soy sauce and ajinomoto are my additions. 

Beet and Sweet Potato Chops

Garnished Chops

Sweet Potato Cakes sounded so tempting! The small number of ingredients made it look easy, so I went about collecting my supplies. In addition to the two sweet potatoes in the vegetable, there were 3 small beets. This was my first deviation from the original recipe.

I've recently replaced plain breadcrumbs with Japanese Panko Breadcrumbs but, for the life of me, could not find the box. Since it was being used as a binding agent, I reached for the jar of tapioca-rice starch instead, which turned out to be a 'happy accident' or serendipitous. The texture it produced was soft, yet 'bouncy', similar to turnip cakes. And this was the second deviation from the original recipe, although I eventually did find and add Panko breadcrumbs.

Serve with your choice of dip such as ketchup. I served it with kasundi, the Bengali substitute for French's mustard.

Deem Begun Bhaja - Fried Eggplant Omelette

Deem Begun Bhaja

The texture and size of purple globe eggplant are best suited to this recipe. Begun bhaja or fried eggplant slices round out any Bengali meal and here's another preparation to add to my repertoire. Add ground meat to the omelette ingredients and it could make a main dish.It reminds me of a California sunrise in which a circle is cut out of the center of a piece of toast, filled with a cracked egg and fried. 

Oven-Baked Begun Bhaja

Oven-Baked Eggplant

Frying eggplant on the stove top consumes a lot of oil. The eggplant acts like a sponge and soaks up the oil almost on contact. I prefer to bake the eggplant until it turns golden brown. I learned the scoring method from a 'foodie' on Facebook which ensures thick slices of eggplant bake evenly all the way through. I've cut Indian eggplants in half which work well in this recipe.

Bhel - Chickpeas and Potatoes Salad

Bhel

Chickpeas and diced, boiled potatoes tossed with tomatoes, onions, green chillies, cilantro and bhel puri masala made a refreshing salad for lunch. The bhel puri masala kit, which I keep on hand,  is available in Indian markets. I've served this as an appetizer with mini pita pockets for friends at dinner.  

Chicken Porcupines

Chicken Porcupines

The next time homemade meatballs are on the menu, reserve 10-12 meatballs for this appetizer, especially if you have young children around. These 'porcupines' are kid-friendly because they're bite-sized and small enough to hold in their little hands. The porcupine quills are formed by rolling the meatballs in long-grain rice and steaming them.

These were steamed in a rice cooker at the base of which egg-drop soup bubbled happily. They're ready when the grains of rice begin to stick out of the meatballs, resembling porcupine quills. This could take a while so be patient.

Serve with a drop of Sriracha sauce or ketchup, as shown above, or make a dip as described below. These are great for starters and could also be served at a potluck or picnic because they're convenient to transport and eat.

Reshmi Chicken Wings

Reshmi Chicken Wings

These melt-in-the-mouth, fall-off-the-bone chicken wings were marinated overnight in salt & pepper, oil, and Greek yogurt whipped with ginger and garlic pastes. It's a quick and easy dish to serve at lunch or as a starter to a more elaborate Indian meal.

Meijer's Fresh Chicken Wings

They started with a 2 lb. package of chicken wings which were segmented into drummettes and wings. I saved the wing tips for noodle soup later in the week. The wings came out meaty and juicy and were ready to serve in 30 minutes, after being marinated overnight.

The recipe was inspired by one on Facebook which I adapted to my liking. I've added specifics regarding ingredients and oven settings using American weights and measures. 

It's Poila Boishak or the Bengali New Year and these wings were a great starter to our celebration dinner for my husband and me.

Maacher Deem Bhaja - Fried Fish Roe

Maacher Deem Bhaja

Sometimes, I wake up in the morning with an incredible feeling of being blessed beyond imagination. This feeling persists as hot water pours out of the taps and I find a comfortable spot to enjoy my iced coffee with an almond biscotti. Our stress-free life in the most comfortable place in the world is just one of the ways in which we benefit from growing older. Going away on vacation is very exciting, but the best part is returning home. There is no place on earth I'd rather be than exactly where I am today.

In my recent blogs, I've mentioned Hubby's ex-colleague & fisherman who has been supplying us with fresh fish. His last batch included an enormous amount of fish roe which to a Bengali is as precious as gold. In its fried form fried roe is served as a starter but the fried nuggets are also cooked in mustard gravy or any fish gravy. They have to be pan-fried first in any case, so here is how fish roe is prepared, using just five simple ingredients.

Jhal Moori - Kolkata Street Food

Kolkata Jhal Moori

Jhal Moori is a snack that is most commonly found on the streets of Calcutta or Kolkata as it is now known. It consists of a mishmash of crispy puffed rice or muri and sev (thin, skinny strands of fried besan/chickpea flour), boiled and diced potatoes and a few other ingredients. 

I guess what makes this a Bengali snack is that it's dressed with mustard oil. There are similar street food in other parts of India that are called Bhel or Bhel Puri.

Diced potatoes give a nice texture to this snack. A can of diced new potatoes lends a helping hand in saving time from boiling, peeling and dicing a russet potato.

Tamarind Chutney imparts a sweet and sour taste to Jhal Moori. Or you can make your own by mixing tamarind paste, chili powder, brown sugar and salt.

Sev

There are no substitutes for Sev which is a popular Indian snack that look like crunchy noodles. Sev, made from chickpea flour paste and seasoned with salt, turmeric and cayenne pepper, are deep fried in vegetable oil. Sev can be purchased at Indian markets. 

Moori or Puffed Rice

Moori can also be purchased at Indian markets. 

Bread & Yellow Alu (Potato) Croquettes

Potato Croquettes

In what now seems to be a distant and past life, I was fortunate to be mentored by a gourmet cook who taught me a lot of what I know today about feeding my family. Mum was a huge influence throughout my life but when I left home, the coaching continued as I grew up and had a family of my own.

Yellow Alu

The basis for this appetizer is the leftover Yellow Alu I made yesterday.  Replacing the potatoes with spiced ground lamb creates a delicious non-vegetarian croquette. I like to use Japanese panko crumbs to roll these in because they remain crisp and absorb little to no oil. 

Chicken Kababs

Chicken Kababs

These kababs take some time and effort to make so it's a good idea to make a big batch. They freeze well in ziploc bags and can be reheated by placing the frozen patties on a frying pan over low heat just prior to serving. It makes a good first course with salad or raita.

Tofu Hand-Tossed in Ta-Dang Chili Paste

Tofu Hand-Tossed in Ta-Dang Chili Paste

The inspiration for this dish came from my best friend I meet for lunch on a regular basis. We meet in the food-court of a mall, but for the last couple of years we haven't needed to buy lunch because she brings all kinds of interesting eats with her. This is one that reminds me of potato chips or popcorn. You can never take just one bite! Every time we have this, I try to extract the recipe from her, but she just isn't into writing down her recipes and neither is she precise with her measuresments of ingredients. So I've concocted my own recipe and while she makes hers on the stovetop, I cooked this in the microwave.

Thai Maesri Ta-Dang Chili Paste

BFF is a vegetarian and uses Sambal Oelek (chili-garlic paste) among other ingredients, but I have this bottle sitting in my fridge that I use in cooking Burmese food. 

The Ingredients

Ta-Dang chili paste has an interesting list of ingredients that goes something like this: dried red chilies 25%, shallots 20%, garlic 14%, tamarind juice 14%, sugar 1%, salt 7%, dried shrimp 5%, anchovy fish sauce 4%, MSG 1 % - no artificial color or preservatives. This worked perfectly, along with deep-fried onions and garlic, which have been mixed together in a microwave-safe dish.

Mix Tofu with Chili Paste Gently by Hand

To preserve the integrity of the tofu, everything was mixed together gently by hand. That's one reason I decided to do this in the microwave because tofu is so delicate and it was one way to leave the cubes whole and unbroken.

After Microwaving for 1 Minute

The tofu was cooked on high power in the microwave for one minute and then taken out and stirred with a fork.

Microwave for 2 Minutes More

After microwaving for 2 minutes more, it was ready to eat! This will taste great with steamed rice, but tastes just as great eaten on its own.

Ingredients:

1 block of extra-firm tofu, cubed

2 tsp. Ta-Dang chili paste

2 Tbsp. deep-fried onions

2 Tbsp. deep-fried garlic

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients gently by hand in a microwavable dish.
2. Microwave on high power for one minute, remove from oven & stir with a fork.
3. Return to microwave oven for 2 more minutes and it's done!

Serve on its own as an appetizer or with steamed rice.

Fresh Spring Rolls Stuffed with Chicken Salad

Fresh Rolls with Chicken Salad

These fresh rolls are so versatile, quick and easy that, for right now, I'm hooked on them! The chicken salad was actually made for sandwiches. However, the rice paper was begging to be used and we had 3 heads of romaine lettuce in the refrigerator, and this was much quicker than toasting bread, etc.

Fresh Spring Rolls with Minced Chicken Cooked in Hoisin Sauce

Fresh Spring Rolls

My big sister, Rene, taught me to make these fresh spring rolls.  They are easy to make if you place a lettuce leaf on the softened rice paper because the lettuce helps the roll keep its shape. 

Fresh Spring Roll Ingredients

These are made with minced chicken stir-fried with hoisin and oyster sauce. Note that no salt is added to the chicken because the oyster sauce is salty enough. They make a great, quick & easy lunch especially served with a soup such as my Minced Chicken Laksa Soup.

Ingredients: (makes 4 rolls)

1/2 lb. (8 oz.) ground chicken

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 onion, minced

1 can water chestnuts, minced

1 tsp. garlic paste

2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce

1 tsp. oyster sauce

1 tsp. dark sesame oil

2 stalks green onions

4 sheets dried rice paper

1 cup cold water

4 Romaine lettuce leaves, trimmed to smaller than size of rice paper

1/2 cup sweet chili sauce for dipping

Directions:

1. Stir-fry the minced chicken & onions in hot vegetable oil until chicken is no longer pink.
2. Add garlic paste, hoisin and oyster sauces, and water chestnuts, and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in sesame oil and sprinkle green onions over the chicken.
4. Remove from heat and bring to room temperature.
5. Pour cold water into a flat dish and line a plate with a paper towel.
6. Slide a rice paper into the water, wetting both sides of the rice paper.
7. Blot each side of the rice paper on the paper towel, making sure to handle the rice paper gently so it doesn't tear.
8. Lay a lettuce leaf on the softened rice paper along with 1 Tbsp. chicken.
9. Roll two opposite sides of rice paper (left & right sides) over the filling and begin rolling tightly from bottom to top.
10. Repeat steps 6 to 9 with other three sheets of rice paper.
11. Serve with sweet chili sauce.

For a visual tutorial on how to make fresh spring rolls, watch this video posted on YouTube by Sav Le of EatNowCryLater.

Cucumber and Shrimp Bites

Cucumber & Shrimp Morsels

These crunchy morsels are very quick and easy to assemble and make the perfect side dish at any meal. I used ready-cooked salad or baby shrimp, English (seedless) cucumbers and jalapeno flavored cream cheese. The drop of Sriracha sauce gives the perfect touch to these yummy appetizers.

Garlic Shrimp Puffs

Garlic Shrimp Puffs

Just Baked Garlic Shrimp Puffs

I made these for lunch today and was very pleased with the way they turned out. Using just 4 ingredients and half an hour to prepare, these puffs were perfect because I was pressed for time. It’s worth experimenting with the flavored cream cheese varieties, such as chive & onion flavor, which will allow you to omit garlic powder to make it a 3-ingredient recipe! There was no need to add salt because the cream cheese and shrimp naturally contain salt.

Tuna Fish Cakes

Pan-Fried Fish Cakes

Oven-Baked Fish Cakes

These fish cakes can be made from canned tuna fish or any flaked white fish, such as tilapia. They can be formed into patties and pan-fried or baked in the oven at 350°F on a greased baking sheet. In Bengali they are called Maacher Chop and served as an appetizer at the start of the meal, accompanied by tamarind chutney, tomato ketchup or a homemade tomato sauce and a simple Indian salad of chopped onions, tomatoes, green chilies, and cucumber with a lime & salt dressing.

Candied Ginger

A great mouth freshener after eating Burmese or any food. Tidbits of ginger cooked in a simple syrup, dried on a rack and then tossed in granulated sugar, this finger-food is very easy to make at home.

Beet & Vegetable Chops

Vegetable Chops - Beets, Carrots and Sweet Potato are boiled,
mashed and formed into patties, using besan (chickpea flour)
as a binding agent.

Ingredients:

3 medium beets

4 carrots

1 sweet potato

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup chickpea flour (besan)

2 tsp. plain yogurt or sour cream

1 tsp. salt

Cilantro, chopped

Green onions, chopped

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Method:

1. Cut root vegetables into chunks and boil in salted water for 15-20 minutes.
2. Drain vegetables and mash with a fork or potato masher until it resembles chunky mashed potatoes.
3. Add chopped onions, flour, yogurt or sour cream & salt and mix through.
4. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
5. Using a tablespoon to measure, drop vegetable mixture into hot oil and flatten to form a patty.
6. Shallow fry for 2-3 minutes on each side.
7. Drain patties on a plate lined with a paper towel.
8. Alternatively, chops may be baked on a cookie sheet (foil lined and greased) at 400F for 20 minutes.
9. Serve patties with lime and tamarind chutney. 

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