Posted by simplytibetan on March 6, 2008
Today, I am thrilled to post my recipe for the famous Amdo Bhaley. Traditionally, Amdo bread is cooked by placing the bread dough in hot sand in the hearth. I am told that the bread baked in this fashion is delicious and never got burnt; it would always come out golden brown. Amdo Bhaley is especially coveted for the golden brown crust, and as young children, we would fight over the crust. I have now learnt to slice the bread so that the golden crust is distributed evenly, and there is peace at the table. Please enjoy Amdo Bhaley!
Ingredients :
1 ¼ Cups of Warm Water
¼ Cup Milk
½ teaspoon active dry yeast
½ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups regular bleached Flour
½ teaspoon Shoptsa (Fenugreek Leaves)
Oil – Canola or Vegetable Oil
In a large bowl, add the Milk to the Warm Water. Then add yeast and sugar (sugar helps to activate the yeast). Cover the bowl and let stand for about 10 minutes.
The mixture will get slightly foamy on top which means that the yeast has begun to rise. Add one cup of Flour and mix thoroughly using a spatula or mixer until you have a smooth paste. Cover the bowl again and let stand for 20 minutes at room temperature.
Now add Salt and the remainder of the Flour and start folding the flour into the paste. You should be able to knead this until the dough is a smooth consistency (takes a couple of minutes of kneading to get a smooth dough). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 45 minutes or so)
Roll out your dough to about 10” round. Sprinkle your shoptsa and one teaspoon of oil and smooth it evenly on the flat dough surface. Now, starting from one edge, roll the dough to form a cylindrical shape and tuck the sides under. Place in an oiled baking tray, cover and let stand for 10 minutes while your oven is heating to 375 degrees.
Bake the bread at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, then turn over the bread once and bake for another 10 minutes. This will ensure a golden crust on both sides of the bread.
Amdo Bhaley straight out of the oven, served with some butter is simply delicious!!!
Posted in bread, food, recipes, tibet, tibetan | Tagged: amdo bhaley, Amdo Bread, tibet, tibetan, tibetan cooking, tibetan food, tibetan recipes | 2 Comments »
Posted by simplytibetan on March 6, 2008
Sha Dhok Tsoe (Rang Kho Rang Sim)
This style of cooking meat is called “Rang Kho Rang Sim” meaning its cooked in its own juices thus retaining all its flavors. Tibetans love eating boiled meat and the word “Rang Kho Rang Sim” is almost uttered as something precious and unfathomable. It’s a recipe treasured by few only because most people fear the meat will burn if not enough water is added to it. The trick is to manage a medium low heat that’ll cook the meat very slowly. Once you get the hang of it, its really easy. I make this with all kinds of meats but my favorite remains beef.
Ingredients
21/2 – 3 lbs Beef (Top Round or Roast Cut )
2 Stalks Celery (cut into 3 inch pieces)
3 Stalks Scallion (cut into 2 inch pieces)
2” Ginger (crushed to let out juices … I usually smack it with the side of my cleaver!!)
One medium onion – (peeled and cut 4 large chunks)
Spices:
2 Tablespoon Soya Sauce
¼ teaspoon Whole Black Pepper
¼ teaspoon Whole Sichuan Pepper (Emma)
Procedure :
Cut your meat into big 4” or 5” chunks and place them in a large pot. Add ¼ cup water and the spices. Throw in the Onion, Celery, Scallion and Ginger.
Cover the pot with the lid and place on the stove at medium heat for 15 minutes. At this point, turn over the meat in the pot and lower the heat just a bit to ensure that all the water doesn’t evaporate too quickly. Now let it cook on medium heat for 40 minutes or until the meat is tender. (You can turn the meat occasionally so that it browns evenly and you can add a little water if you feel the liquid has completely evaporated).
Once your meat is ready, discard the celery and ginger and serve with Amdo Bhaley, Boiled Whole Potatoes, Labu Salad(recipe coming) and hot sauce.
Some other options
* Let cool then slice thinly to make great sandwiches.
* Cut up leftovers into bite size pieces and stirfry with sliced onions, green chilly, scallion and some soy sauce (use a non-stick pan and let the meat brown).
Posted in food, recipes, tibet, tibetan | Tagged: cooking, recipe, sha, tibet, tibetan, tibetan cooking, tibetan food, Tibetan Pot Roast, tibetan recipe | 1 Comment »
Posted by simplytibetan on February 21, 2008
I’ll like to start this foodblog with Lephing as this is one recipe that everyone asks me for. An all time favorite tibetan streetfood, Lephing is sold on the streets of Lhasa, Tibet’s capital city and Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama lives in exile. It is a spicy mung bean gelato flavored with garlic and chillies. The gelato itself is very simple and kind of flavorless but the sauce that covers it, is full of flavor and it will absorb that flavor. Everyone has their own version of the sauce and here’s mine.
Lephing (Spicy Mung Bean Cake)
Ingredients
7 Tablespoon Mung Bean Flour-Phingtsam
4 cups water
½ teaspoon salt
(Mung Bean flour is available in asian/korean grocery stores and sometimes labeled as Green Bean Flour)
Sauce :
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 Tablespoon water
4 Tablespoon Soya Sauce
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
Chilli to taste (dried chilli powder or bottled/homemade chilli sauces)
Cilantro – chopped
Chives – chopped (if available)
Mix the Mung Bean powder with 1 cup of cold water until the powder completely dissolves – this will make a milky liquid.
Bring the rest of the water to a boil in a saucepan. As soon as the water starts boiling. turn the heat low, add the salt and slowly pour the mungbean mixture into the pan little by little while constantly stirring with a whisk or spatula. (Quick and constant stirring is the key to great lephing – continue until your liquid is colourless and the mixture is thick and gel-like.)
Pour into a slightly oiled container – (you can use cupcake holders if you want individual servings or just use a large rectangle dish). Let this set at room temperature. After about 15 minutes, when the surface of the lephing is hard to touch, you can cover it with cold tap water – this helps the lephing set faster and keeps it from drying).
Your lephing should be ready in about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Cut into bite size pieces, add your sauce and serve with Bhaley(Tibetan Flat Bread – recipe coming) or pita bread. (There is a trick to cutting lephing – you have to wet your knife .. a wet knife will just slice through your lephing otherwise it will stick).
Sauce :
In a small container, mix the garlic and water – let stand while you make your lephing. This garlic water forms the base for your sauce. You can just use the water or use it with the garlic which is my preference.
Add the rest of the ingredients stir well and your sauce is ready. (Use chilli generously as this is a dish meant to get you sweating – the spicier, the better)
Posted in food, recipes, tibet, tibetan | Tagged: appetizer, Lephing, snack, spicy mungbean cake, tibet, tibetan, tibetan cooking, tibetan recipe | 5 Comments »
