Raiders of the Lost NEPALI Recipe

        ~In another dimension of time ~ (before the NC bloomed into a blog), when Trina was new to the NC kitchen and our spice-cookin' ways, there existed a flavor-moment experienced by Trina that we at the NC believed we'd never be able to recapture... until now.

          Let me explain.

          See, Trobee and I thought to cook for the spicing-newbie a dish that would demonstrate that spicy need not mean hot, that creamy need not involve cream. And we wanted to encourage Trina's blossoming tastebuds.

          So Trobee and I pulled out this recipe from the NC File Cabinet labelled 'Recipes to Try'. It looked like a dish that she just might like. Was I busy that day? cause I don't remember trying any, and I took no notes on it. Trobee was either full that day or in a hurry... she only vaguely recalls cooking it. Like I said, it was *another dimension of time* for the NC -- pre-blog, when I didn't always take notes.

          When Trina claimed to love it, I didn't take it seriously. She was new here and seemingly nice and polite. How was I to know that the dish truly rocked her world? Or that it would become the favorite chicken dish of another NC taste-tester (who at the time was new and seemingly polite. Hi, Brad.).

          Because since then, People, I have not heard the end of it. How could I have lost the recipe? Blahblahblah. Believe me, we have searched our files, raided the NC folders, only to conclude that the recipe was tossed. A flavor-moment lost and gone forever. (I swear there is a black hole existing in my karma universe that swallows up such things from time to time).

          Until this week...

          "Trina, I think... I do believe this is it! The one! The Lost Recipe!"

          We had been going through a stack of papers that had been shoved in an unlabelled folder -- a recipe for Creamy Chicken hid at the bottom.

           Trina scanned it suspiciously and commented that it didn't say where it came from. But suddenly it was all coming back to me. The paste made of ground almonds that lent the tell-tale creaminess. The fact that it was plucked from a list of tantalizing Nepali recipes. (The spicing style of Nepal had intrigued me). And --

          "Tulsi Regmi," I said. "Yes, Tulsi Regmi!"

          This utterance was not, as Trina might have thought, the Hind or Tamil name of the dish. Nor did it mean 'victory' in Sanskrit. It is a woman's name -- the source of the Nepali recipes, including this one.

RECIPE B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N

"Now, Tro. Be questioning of this recipe. Trina made it the other day without a peep. No questions, no discussion. So I'm guessing it's pretty easy..."

"Wow. Ok."

*     *     *

"No! Chicken does NOT need oil when you're just cooking it up by itself."

"Oh. Well Trina only used like a teaspoon. And I'd have to say, her chicken was melt-in-your-mouth tender..."

I hid my wicked grin. Trobee and Trina have this thing as to who can cook the tenderest chicken. I figure, competition is good. For me.

"Just do what you want," I said. "Really."

"So I can just add drops of water to tenderize it? That's Ok?"

"Yes! And if your oil-free version is as good, we'll finalize the recipe that way."

Trobee got out the skillet and began adding the chicken pieces, muttering  all the while about how her chicken was damn tender and she never ever uses oil...

*     *     *

"It says to use cloves in the masala. Does that mean garlic cloves or whole cloves?"

Whoa. My face worked hard to not have that 'Are you kidding me?' expression... you know that one. I allowed a silent moment to pass.

"Probably whole cloves, huh?"

"HM. Probably."

She shook her head and flew to the spice shelf.

Once upon a time, during one of the first times Trobee tried her hand at spice-cookin', she had used garlic cloves for the 'whole cloves'. And that is when she learned why clove-the-spice are termed 'whole cloves' in recipes -- to distinguish them.

Thank god it hadn't been a chai recipe that day...

*     *     *

The frying of onions with spices is often an intoxicating event here at the NC kitchen. The sizzling slurps, the aromatic wafts of steam...we get giddy with the glories of flavor-anticipation. It's masala in motion.

"Ooooh, Courty!" Trobee purred happily."We've got cinnamon and onion here together! Do you smell it yet?"

"Mmm, no. Not yet."

"My good God, it's amazing!"

"Ok, ok. Bring it over, bring it over." It was like waiting to be kissed. "Oh, then it is. "I murmured, "Ah, yes. It's been too long."

Trobee happily returned the stove with the skillet. I thought for a moment she might break into a skip.

Click here to see Tulsi Regmi's site of yummy traditional recipes from Nepal.

photos by Trina and Trobee

---

Nepali Creamy Almond Chicken or Seitan

2 chicken breasts or 8 oz. seitan

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground black pepper

2 garlic cloves

1-3 dried red chilies

¼ cup almonds

½ tsp cumin seeds (or powder)

½ tsp coriander seeds (or powder)

1 tsp oil

1 cup onion, finely chopped

½ cup plain yogurt or soy yogurt

Masala:

1 bay leaf

2-inch cinnamon stick

2 whole cloves

3 green cardamom pods, bonked slightly open

1. Cut the chicken or seitan into 1-inch strips, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Grind the garlic, dried chilies, almonds, cumin, and coriander with 1 Tb water in your coffee grinder to form a smooth paste. Set aside.
3. In a medium skillet, cook the chicken or seitan with a couple splashes of water in medium skillet. If using chicken, cook until it’s white. Set aside. 
4. Rinse off the pan. Then heat the oil until it is sizzle-hot. Add the masala and cook for about 30 seconds, then add the onions and sauté until they are brown.
5. Add the paste mixture to the pan and sauté for about2 minutes. Add the yogurt and stir until it is creamy. Now add the chicken or seitan and cook on low heat until tender and the almond sauce is thick. Done.

Click here to see Tulsi Regmi's original recipe