steamed Tibetan bread : Tingmo ... and a sweet sour spicy vegetable curry


A warm comforting meal of a lot of vegetables cooked lightly in a spicy sweet and sour gravy to dunk torn pieces of a soft warm bread . This Tibetan steamed bread is so comforting that i have liked it with a red lentil soup , thick vegetable soup and with mutton and chicken curries. Making soupy curries is my favorite way to consume more and more vegetables, specially during the winter months as i want to have more and more warm liquids going down my throat. Yes, the days are darker now and the evenings quicker than i can wind up my days.

This Tingmo is made with only a little bit of white flour in it. Making all my breads with whole wheat and mixed grains is a habit now and i had to try these Tigmo with whole wheat too. All purpose flour gives these steamed breads a very nice and light pillowey texture and the tiny air pockets in these layered breads are crucial as they soak the soupy gravies or soups it is served with. I added 1/4 quantity of all purpose flour to the dough just to ensure that lightness in the bread.

A steamed bread is quite a safe way to start with breads if you are new to the wonders of yeast. The dough is easier to work with and there is no apprehension of getting the crust right. The bread rises well one the yeast has bubbled to a nice froth. Just knead it , let it rise, roll it and shape the bread for a fun time in your kitchen. Working with a dough, shaping it into interesting things is always therapeutic. Try it to believe it.

This is nice link to explain shaping of Tingmo along with the recipe on youtube.

I used a mix of whole wheat flour and APF in 3:1 ratio. With a tsp of dry active yeast per large cup of flour , salt and little sugar, the flour is kneaded using warm water and kept in a warm place to rise, covered with a cling sheet. Make cricket ball size portions, knead every ball to smooth and roll in a chapati like disc. Roll the chapati in a tight roll , cut in 3 inch long portions and fold each one like shown in the video , let the rolled up buns rise a bit more before steaming them in a steamer or a makeshift arrangement, whatever suits you.

ingredients for the sweet sour and spicy gravy...
(4 large portions)
mixed vegetables chopped into1 -1.5 cm bits10cups
(i used carrots, beans, cabbage and spring onions)
minced ginger 2 tbsp
minced garlic 2 tsp
minced onion 4 tbsp
red chilly powder 2 tsp or to taste
puree of raw tomatoes 2 cups
tomato ketchup 1/2 cup
salt to taste
vegetable oil 1 tbsp
nutmeg to be grated freshly in the last stage of cooking

spices to be lightly roasted and powdered together... 
(called kopan masala, a Tibetan spice blend)...
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp or a bit more black pepper corns
half a broken black cardamom
2 cloves
1/2 an inch pc. of Indian cinnamon

procedure...

Heat the oil in  pan and tip in the minced garlic and ginger in that order. Fry for a few seconds before adding in the minced onions. Sprinkle a lil salt over the cooking mixture to accelerate cooking. Wait for ther cooked onion smell, lightly starting to get pink.

Add the carrots , then the beans and then all the other leafy ones in the order of their cooking time. Stir fry till the veggies sweat a bit. Add red chilly powder and the roasted and powdered spices and toss or stir to mix well.

Add the freshly made tomato puree and the tomato ketchup, adjust salt and let it boil for a couple of minutes.

A nice bright color and fresh aroma indicates the gravy is done. Grate nutmeg over the cooking curry and mix well. Take off heat and serve hot.

Do not cook the vegetables too much as the slightly crunchy vegetables make it all the more enjoyable.

The buns can be steamed alongside the curry and they get ready conveniently together, to be served warm together. The buns can be warmed in the MW too and the curry also reheats well but try and serve the vegetable fresh as it doesn't keep well in the fridge as leftovers.

The crunchy texture of the vegetables demands freshly prepared luxury.

You are luckier if you get all the vegetable available growing in the garden. This possibility is remote for my gypsy garden in near future. I have been a lazy gardener lately and only a few of the herbs have survived my neglect.

Unroll the buns, break the soft layers into bite sized bits and mop off the curry with it. Use your hands , the food is always tastier using your fingers. As it is therapeutic to to use your hands to shape these buns.

How i want to make Tingmo again. The wintry feeling is making me crave for all things soupy and all things hot. Will have to go hunt for freshest of vegetables once again.

Enjoy till then....

Comments

  1. yummy awesome and tempting.
    indu srinivasan
    kattameethatheeka.blogspot.com

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  2. never heard of this breaad...looks so cute with those soft pillowy curls.

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  3. I like that gravy the soup looks yummy :)
    the bread looks good tooo

    Bikram's

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  4. Oh...I love the new avatar of yeast in this steamed bread!

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  5. Yummy yum gravy..vegetable curry !!
    Thanx for dropping by my space and leaving your sweet comments!!

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  6. This looks delicious,similar to IHM pics.Bookmarked it....

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  7. Welcome to HFDV and thanks Varunavi.

    If you are referring to the G+ pics by IHM, we enjoyed that plate of Tingmo and curry together and i told her right then i am going to make this :)

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  8. Oh my god!! This is torture! I have bhindi and dal for dinner and you are showing these gorgeous slurrrrpy pictures :D

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  9. The photographs are delicious!! Yes, this would be a perfect treat for the coming winter months!!

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  10. @Varunavi - That was one lovely treat in Leh!! One of my fav meals ever!

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  11. looks so good love the bread new to me have never eaten a steamed bread before

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  12. The flavours make this dish sound so delicious. Have never seen this type of bread before. They two sound a great combination. Great post!

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  13. Lovely - the soup looks divinely nourishing !!

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  14. The soup looks very delicious & satisfying Sangeeta!! Thanks so much for your lovely comment on my blog, yes, you can cook Karela without discarding the water - that method of salting & draining is only for those who dislike the bitter taste. Do try the Bafat powder too, it is very versatile, but try to gather the ingredients & give it to a powdering mill if you are making in a bulk or you may use a coffee grinder to get a finer texture which regular mixer grinders wont give

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  15. Thanks Shireen ..That bafat powder is waiting to come to my kitchen :)

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  16. This one sounds risky to me :) as we do not like chinese food too much

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  17. Note the kopan masala used in the mixed veg Amrita...it does not taste Chinese...do not get fooled by the looks :)
    And this tingmo can be had with a light masoor daal soup too. I actually enjoyed it with masoor daal at Leh too. Now that you have already experimented with bread baking why not some steamed bread?

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