Idli: making strangers into friends since... last night

So we joined a supper club last winter. However, since we have been traveling abroad for the last 6 months, we had never actually met our supping amigos until last night. Having not cooked for our 6 strange new companions before, I was a little apprehensive about what to make. Would they have weird food allergies? Would they hate spicy food? What if they weren't into my default Ethiopian or Afghani dishes? My solution: make idli! Our new friends wouldn't be able to complain about something as delicious and mainstream as Indian food. And idli, in particular, is an amazingly versatile dish--little mild, pillowy dumplings that can be loaded with flavorful chutney. As it turns out, our supper club companions were a marvelous batch. And they loved the idli--almost too much! So a note to anybody out there: if you're not good at accepting compliments or you don't want to have new friends pestering you to make amazing Indian food every time you see them in the future, then this recipe isn't for you. But if you are into making a bunch of strangers think you're a marvel in the kitchen and clamoring for seconds, then this is your jam!

This recipe calls for urad dal, a split black lentil, which can be found at many Asian grocers or online. You'll also need to purchase an inexpensive idli steaming stand. The one I use makes 24 idlies with depressions that are roughly 3" across by 2/3" deep. This batch leaves me with just a little bit of batter at the end, so you may want to adjust the quantities based on your idli maker and needs.

However, if you end up with a lot of leftover batter, fear not! Leftover idli batter makes excellent uttapam! Uttapam is basically just like a crepe or pancake. To make these, just take your old idli batter and add any veggies you might like (carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, peas, and cabbage are all great) plus some extra salt, onions, and garlic. Ladle this mixture into hot, frying pan that has been sprayed with some cooking spray. I've had best results from cooking these covered and flipping each one halfway through.

Anyhow, back to the idli. You want to have a pretty good blender for this. I use a Vitamix, but anything of reasonably high quality will have the horsepower to break everything down.

You'll also want to serve the idli with coconut cilantro chutney or any other chutneys, dals, or other toppings of your choice, as the idlis themselves are fairly mild.

Prep time: 1 cocktail (after a couple days of fermentation)

1/2 cup urad dal
1/2 cup basmati rice
1/2 cup parboiled rice
Salt to taste
2 pinches baking soda
Optional toppings - including sauteed minced onions, brown mustard seeds, curry leaves, or diced chilies

In a large mixing bowl, combine the dal and both types of rice. Cover with a lot of water, as the contents will triple in volume as they absorb the water. Let soak 24 hours.

After soaking, drain the water off, but do it kind of half-assed. I like a little bit of the soaking water to make it into the final batter, as I think it accelerates the fermentation process a bit. In any event, after you have mostly drained the grains, transfer them to a blender. Add some fresh water and blend until the grains have totally been broken down--this can take several minutes. IMPORTANT: you want this batter to have the consistency halfway between crepe batter and pancake batter. So add as much fresh water as you need to in order to achieve this consistency.

Transfer idli batter to a mixing bowl and stir in salt. The amount will vary, but it should taste pretty damn salty. Stir well, cover with a wet towel and let sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours, until the fermentation has expanded the batter and it has a consistency similar to that of lightly whipped cream (the amount of time varies, depending on how warm the batter is--a really warm environment will achieve this in as little as 4 hours).

Now the batter is ready to use (alternatively, it can be stored in the refrigerator, covered with a wet towel, for up to 2 more days). Before cooking, sprinkle baking soda on surface of batter and VERY GENTLY fold it in a little bit with a rubber spatula. You need to be gentle because you want to preserve the foamy structure of the batter.

Now boil an inch or so of water in a pot with a lid that's tall enough to fit your idli steamer. Once water is boiling, spray the idli trays with cooking spray and ladle batter into each mold--filling each one 75-80 percent, allowing enough space for a little expansion. Sprinkle the tops of idli with any of the toppings you're using.

Transfer idli tray to pot, cover, and steam until idlis have steamed fully and are a bit firm and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. For me, this is 25 minutes, but will vary depending on batter, size of idlis, and snugness of your steamer lid. Remove and serve right away with chutney.

Vegetarian Hong You Chao Shou! Boom!

These spicy Szechuan tempeh wontons are amazing. Full stop. Ordinarily, these are made of pork, but this tempeh version is just as good (seriously). The origin of these dumplings (according to the interwebs) is that the Sichuanese traditionally wore wear large robes in cold weather under which they put their hands in the opposite sleeves to keep warm. This gesture--chao shou translates to 'folded hands'--resembles the shape of the dumpling with opposite corners of the wrapper pinched together. In fact, you can go into a restaurant in Sichuan to this day and wordlessly cross your arms and they'll bring you this dish, knowing exactly what you've just asked for by gesture alone. However, if you make it at home, you'll likely associate a massive fist pump and a dance around the dining room with this dish because that's what you'll do after tasting the first bite. It's that good.

Prep time: 3 cocktails

Wontons:
4 TBSP peanut oil
8 ounces tempeh, crumbled
2" piece of ginger grated with Microplane or finest side of cheese grater
5 cloves garlic, minced
White parts of 4-5 scallions, chopped
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
3 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP rice wine
1 egg, beaten
Store-bought wonton wrappers (you can use small for pot-stickers or big for egg rolls)

Sauce:
1-2 tsp toasted sesame oil
4 TBSP Hong You (Szechuan chili oil), recipe here
2 TBSP soy sauce
2-3 TBSP Zhenjiang (or Chinkiang) black vinegar (available at any Asian grocer)

Garnish:
A small drizzle of toasted sesame oil
Green parts of 4-5 scallions, sliced into small wheels
Sesame seeds (optional)

Heat peanut oil over medium-high heat in frying pan or wok. When hot, add tempeh and stir fry for about 2 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, and scallion whites. Continue to stir fry until tempeh begins to turn golden brown, about 3-5 more minutes. Stir in white pepper, soy sauce, and rice wine and cook for a few more seconds. Remove from heat and stir for a few more seconds.

Start the sauce by combining all sauce ingredients over low heat, stirring occasionally. Also, put medium to large pot with water on the stove to boil--this pot will be for boiling the wontons.

Now fold your mixture into wontons. If you're using big egg roll wontons, you'll use about 1/4 cup of tempeh mixture; if you're using small pot-sticker-size wontons, it'll be more like a TBSP of mixture. Place the mixture in the middle of each wonton sheet, then brush the edges of the dough with egg using a pastry brush. Now fold the wonton over to make a triangle and use your fingers to firmly seal the edges. Traditionally, you'll also fold the two points of the longest section of triangle back together and connect these tips to make a "cap" shape, but this step is optional.

Now gently lower the wontons into your pot of boiling water. Boil until they have had time to cook through--about 3 minutes for small wontons or 5-6 minutes for large wontons. Remove with slotted spoon. Serve with generous portion of sauce and add garnishes.

Momos!!!

These traditional Tibetan steamed dumplings are one of my favorite foods. They're typically served with a tomato chutney called achar. However, I think tomato achar tastes too much like Mexican salsa and is a pain in the ass to make. Instead, I just whisk together keycap manis (a sweet Indonesian soy sauce available at any Asian grocer) with Siracha and soy sauce.

Prep time 2-3 cocktails

Dough:
3 cups white flour
1 cup water

Filling:
2 Potatoes
3 TBSP ghee or oil
½ cup shallot, minced
2” Ginger, minced
2-4 cayenne or Serrano chilies, chopped

5 cloves Garlic, minced
Pinch of curry powder
3/4 cup additional shredded veggies (bell pepper, cabbage, daikon, bok choi, etc).
¾ tsp Salt
Several good grinds black pepper
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
2-4 cayenne or Serrano chilies, chopped
1 tsp cumin

Dipping Sauce:

4 TBSP keycap manis
2 TBSP Siracha
2 tsp soy sauce

Start with the dough. Combine flour and water in a bowl and mix well. With a stand mixer or by hand, knead the dough for 10 minutes. The consistency should be somewhat like pizza dough--if it is too dry, add a TBSP or two of water. Let stand at least 30 more minutes, covered.

Bake or microwave the potato. Cut into small cubes. Set aside in a covered container.

Heat the ghee or oil over medium heat in a frying pan or wok. Add all filling ingredients except the potatoes and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently until everything becomes a bit

tender. Add potatoes and sauté another minuter or two.

Bring a bamboo or stackable steamer to a boil on high heat.

Now assemble your momos. Divide the dough into 18 small balls and cover. With a rolling pin, roll a dough ball into a 4-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Spoon a few tablespoons of filling into the disk. Pinch the dumpling closed around the filling. As you may have noticed from the picture above, I'm not great at making this look very pretty. But there are many momo how-to videos online. I recommend you check them out before attempting.

After you're dumplings are formed, it's time to steam them. I recommend that you brush the bottom of the steamer with a bit of oil to prevent sticking. Steam 8-10 minutes or until dumplings are tender but not chewy and dried out.

While the momos steam, make the dipping sauce by whisking together the three ingredients.