Global Cuisine

Traditions from Nepal

Name of Employee: Sujan Mahato

Age: 28

Nationality: Nepalese

Foodstore Location: Foodstore Portomaso

Role: Cleaner

This month, for our ninth Global Cuisine issue, we had the pleasure of speaking with Sujan Mahato, our very own cleaner at Arkadia Foodstore Portomaso, about his Nepalese culture and traditions. Sujan described his childhood growing up and spending time in the rice fields where all the children used to help out their families. Sujan himself had been working to support his family with the rice fields since he was around ten to eleven years old. When asked about some of his favourite traditions, he mentioned Dashain and Holi. The Dashain Harvest Festival honours the Hindu Goddess Durga during which the elders are blessed and marked on the forehead with tika, a red vermilion mixed with yogurt and rice. Holi is a Nepalese Festival of Colours which marks the end of the Winter season and the start of Spring or Phalguna, according to the Hindu calendar. The Holi celebration also presents some delicious traditional dishes like Gujiya, Malai Peda and Bhang Laddoos. Sujan has been working at the Foodstore in Portomaso for three years now, and he feels very confident in his job. For this month’s issue, he decided to share with us the traditional recipe for Nepalese rice and curry.

Recipe: Nepalese Chicken Curry

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 5 green cardamom pods
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• 10g ginger, peeled and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 150g natural yogurt
• 660g chicken thighs and drumsticks
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 4 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp mace
• ¼ tsp chilli powder, medium
• 250ml chicken stock, made with ½ stock cube
• 4 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 bay leaves

A wide variety of quality ingredients for our recipes are available from Arkadia supermarkets in Malta and Gozo, including Arkadia FoodExpress Swatar and Arkadia Food Market Valletta.

Method:

1. Crush the cardamom pods and remove the seeds. Place a frying pan over a medium heat and add the cardamom seeds and fennel seeds. Heat, stirring frequently until fragrant, for about 2-3 minutes. Leave to cool, then add to a pestle and mortar with the ginger and garlic. Grind together until a paste forms.

2. Add the yogurt to a large bowl with the spice paste and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine.

3. Add the chicken and stir until completely covered. Cover and leave in the fridge to marinate for at least 2 hours.

4. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4. Heat the oil over a medium-high heat in a large oven-proof pan. Remove the chicken from the marinade and carefully add the chicken to the pan. Fry for 6 minutes on one side until browned, then turn over and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan, transfer to a plate and set aside.

5. While the pan is still hot, add the onions, cumin seeds, cloves, and cinnamon stick. Reduce the heat to low and sauté the onions and spices until the onions are golden for about 6-7 minutes.

6. Add the turmeric, mace and chilli powder and cook for a further 1 minute.

7. Add the stock to the pan. Leave to simmer for 2-3 minutes.

8. Add the tomatoes to the pan along with the yogurt left over from the marinade and two bay leaves, stirring until combined. Nestle the chicken on top and pour over any juices, then transfer to the oven, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes until the meat is cooked through.

Stay up to date with our Global Cuisine Posts - https://arkadiafoodstore.com/globalcuisine/

Tell your Facebook friends about it.