Mom’s recipe ( Colocassia leaves lentil)

Let’s talk about mom’s recipe, cooking daal ( lentil) for Nepali Meal daal bhat. We cook different daal for Nepali meal each day. So our meal goes interesting. As season, colocassia leaves are found in June/ July, a rainy season in Nepal. This vegetable is a huge source of vitamin A. So it is very good for our eyes, for our digestive system. It tastes really good while eating with rice. 

 

Ingredients and cooking method,

1. Colocassia leaves some. Clean it well before you cut.

2. Some salt as your taste

3. some turmeric powder about half tea spoon.

4. some beans, any type like brown soyabeans/ rajma beans. About one small bowl.

5. some rice washed water about half big bowl. All leaves should drown under it. You can use cooked rice or raw rice instead.

6. some red chilies and some fat of any meat , better goat meat fat dried properly. If not some butter.

Firstly you need to cut leaves in to really small pieces, as much as you can in julienne style. 

Now you need to mix rice washed water, all cut leaves,  beans, salt and turmeric powder. Now cook it well in a pressure cooker. 

Now you need to make hot some oil and fry those cut pieces of goat fat or make hot butter. then fry those red dry chilies till brown. Then chhonk it on well cooked daal. And it should be thik daal. Rady to serve. 

Yoga my medicine (19)

After again a long gap im trying to add some more about Yoga. Sorry for longer gap each time.

 

Let’s continue the rest step of standing postures.

31. Brikshyasana ( Tree pose (a) :

This position is done standing, keeping your legs apart at the size of your shoulders. Put your hands in front of your neval. Keep your right hand palm on left hand palm. Now slowly raise your hands upward breathing in same time. When your palm reached at the side of your shoulders, palm to downward and again raise your hands above your head, stretching them towards the sky. Try to stretch your legs heels up at the same time. Feel that you are trying to touch the sky as longer as you can. Then hands down slowly and back to position. Repeat this three times.

This posture helps to make your body in shape with flexibility, increase hight so it is best one for those who wants to increase their height. Specially the growing children. Headache, sinus problem goes.

32. Tadasana (Tree pose (b):

This posture is also done for same reason as Brikshyasana . Little different way we do. Stand up keeping your legs apart. Cross your fingers and keep it in front of your neval. Now raise your hands upward facing your palm to the sky. Stretch them towards the sky, lifting your heels up. Try to stretch your legs and hands as much as you can up breathing in at the same time. Then breath out, keeping hands up. Then breath in and move your upper body to the sides  from each side , from left and from right, stretching your hands, breathing out at the same time , back to the position. hands down.  Then breath in and move down your upper body in front, stretch your hands at the back making your hands crossed. Keep in this position as longer as you can, breathing out. This position is not suggested for those who has heart problems. Then back to the position. Now time to move your body to the back side breathing out. Stay in this position as longer as you can. Back to the position.

 

Yoga my medicine -(18)

Namaste after long gap again.

29. Ustrasan ( Camel pose):

I’m posting the rest postures after Ardhachandrasan, is Ustrasan. We have the position doing Ardhachandrasan, only change your legs position standing your toes. Then breathing in, one at a time move your hands behind and catch your ankle. Now you need to blow your throat taking your tongue out as much as you can from inside your stomach, opening your eyes wide open at the same time. Cry out loud ,,aaaaaaaaahh while you do this action for three times. So it is like you are cleaning your  inner throat area. Back to sitting on Bajrasan position. Give slightly throat massage.

This is done mainly to clean your throat, vocal makes better. Thyroid will function well plus   better motion if you have constipation.

30. Mandukasan :

Now sit on Bajrasan. Make a fist keeping your thumb in side, then keep just same distance to your navel. Now take a long breath in expanding your chest, and breath out squeezing your stomach by your both fists , lean down towards ground but looking in front, holding your breathing for few seconds. Then breath in and back to position. Repeat this for two more times. Then you can do nest step of Mandukasan. This time you need to open your palm and keep left palm on navel and keep right palm on left palm. Then same process, take a long breath in , forcing breathing out squeezing your stomach in pressing by palms, lean towards ground and look in front. Concentrating at one point in front hold your breath for few seconds then breath in and back to the position.  Repeat this for two more times.

This asan is best to balance sugar level of our body. Those can practice more times in regular basis to balance their sugar level.

Till here we have been doing sitting postures. Afterwards we will do standing positions.

HOME MADE WINE

Wine can be made at home?? I was quite surprised when i hear the very first time. Ramesh Ram Shrestha, very good friend and brother told me the recipe of and made a promise with me i will make it for sure. And i did it from last year. I started from black grapes. Was awesome. Ramesh dai graded it ” A” quality. And so do our guests from Pagoda who i let it taste it.

So then i did some more wine of normal grapes, plums, mangoes,oranges. It is good to make wine of any juicy sweet fruits like pomegranate, pears etc. Yes, of course grapes is the best.

Let me tell you what Ramesh dai has given me the recipe about grape wine. If you want to make other fruits just you can take any juicy fruit instead of grapes. Rest ingredients are same.

Short ingredients :

1. Grapes – 1 and half kg

2. sugar 1 and half kg ( same amount of fruit or if you like more sweet add or not keep bit less.

3. one egg white

4. 50 grams of wheat grain

5. 20 grams of dry yeast.

6. warm water 2.75 liters

Now you need to clean all your needy utensils clean with hot water. Your hand should be cleaner with hot water as well or you can wear gloves instead.  You need a plastic jar with tight cover and need to keep it in cold place.

First take yeast and put very hot water and soak until it gets well puffed up. Then add all the ingredients in to the warm water. Stir it well. and keep it in cool place with tight cover. You need to stir it everyday about 2/3 minutes. Thats it!! Leave it for 22 days. And then on 23 rd day you need to sieve it. Use white piece of cotton cloth and a siever to keep the liquid apart. When you are done to keep liquid apart put liquid in to a jar again. Then  keep it for more 22 days. Liquid goes cleaner with awesome color. Then on 23rd day pour that clean liquid, wine in to a bottle and put it in to freeze. When it is chilled it is ready to serve with any of your snack to your guests. I bet they will give you very much of good complements for sure.

 

 

Yoga my medicine -(17)

Hello viewers,

Namaste!

I was not able to post some new ones recently. After the strong hit of earthquake in Nepal, it  was terrible time for few months and it is now getting back to normal again. So i thought of my blog and trying to post about yoga more.

Let’s talk about the more postures after we have done before. Now comes to another posture done in position after Bajrasana.

28. Ardhachandrasana ( Half moon faced pose):

To do this posture you need to sit on bajrasana and then stand on knee. Keep your right hand under your left armpit and then right hand on your right arm. Now take a long breathe  in and just tilt back slowly as much as you can. Then move back breathing out. If you feel dizzy close your eyes while tilting back. If not you can open your eyes while doing. Repeat this two more times. This posture is useful for your back.  

Flowers !!

Here are some pictures bloomed in Pagoda terrace.

Juju Dhau ( king of Yoghurt) only in Bhaktapur

When you visit Bhaktapur, you must try yoghurt , which is known here as Juju dhau. It’s made of cow/buffalo milk. White creamy texture which is sweet as an creamy ice cream . Yammy stuff and it is used for every special occasions here in Bhaktapur in Newar community.

I went to a near by small factory which produces fresh yoghurt daily basis. It is called Famous Dahi Bhandar at Bolachhen tole. Mr. Mrigendra Pradhananga  ( 45) and his family is continuing this business for about 80 years from generation to generation. They are known as Satta dhau here in locals. He told he buys milk from the village market , per liter Rs 70 these days. He makes about 50 pots bigger and smaller in daily basis. He makes three four times more in occasions and festivals. He has pots in four sizes. Small  he charges Rs 150, medium Rs 450, bigger Rs 650 large and extra large in 16 inches and 22 inches costs from Rs 1500 to 3000. To order special ones like without sugar inform him  one day before and others two days before is fine for him, he told.

He starts his work making yoghurt about 6:30 am everyday. He boils milk and cooks it,  hours. He boils and once it is boiled he keeps boiling it for about one or one and half hours. He stirs milk in between several times. He checks every time . When the thikness is ok for yoghurt he starts putting sugar in it as to taste it sweet. Then he prepares the clay pots. He has managed about 2 feet high rice peel of layer . It maintains temperature to keep warm up. He told temperature should be about 50 degrees in winter and about 40 in summer. 

After pots are ready then he pours down milk in each pots about half in first. It needs to be cool down before he puts curd in it.  

 

He waits to pour more milk about 20 mins and  he checks if milk in pot cools down or not? Then he adds more milk in it slowly and fills it up.

 

 

Now it’s time to put one day old curd to make new curd. In small pot one big spoon and for medium three big spoon full is good.

After keeping cover on the pot he covers with cotton quilts so temperature about 50 degrees will be ok.

After covering on quilts he told it needs to keep for 3 hours and  yoghurt will be ready to serve. As it cools down it gets stick in to that pot. To check good quality yoghurt  you can turn over the pot it won’t fall off. So you can eat Yoghurt with muesli , fruits, beaten rice or plain. Enjoy!!