“I’d love to serve her a proper Nepali Thali set,” unveiled the actor who debuted in the movie “Parkhi Basen.” “And then, we’d be looking into each other’s eyes, sharing all those butterflies we have for each other.”
Cooking is like writing poem for Koirala who is fond of writing poems and often posts them on his Facebook account.
“While writing poems, one doesn’t limit himself to one particular idea. As he starts to write, he is often obstructed by many thoughts and will experiment new ideas and words into them. Just like that, I’m very experimental while cooking. I don’t basically follow the set rules of cooking,” he explained.
Fond of watching television channels like “Arirang” and “Travel and Living,” Koirala takes a lot of inspiration from the said channels to experiment with foods. His relationship with cooking dates back to the time when he was a teenager. Because he had a poultry farm in his hometown Pokhara, boiling eggs and making omelets were the first few things he learnt to do. Furthermore, he had to learn cooking because as the eldest son in his home, he had to take care of the kitchen works whenever his mom went through her menstruation cycles.
“You have to spend a lot of time with vegetables to understand them and what it takes to make a good meal,” said the actor who makes sure that whatever he cooks tastes good and unique. At times, he experiments with eggs by scrambling them with fresh spinach, or he tries to cook simple noodles. It’s another story that his experiments have not always been good. “But who cares?” says Koirala. “At least you try some different things.”
Like many, Koirala agrees that men who get themselves into cooking are likely to be more homely and sensitive in comparison to those men who know nothing else than boiling water, that too if they know how to light the gas stove.
“Involving yourself in the kitchen means taking care of the people you’re preparing the meal for. Taking care of their appetite and making sure that they are no longer hungry,” he shared and added, “If you can cook for at least yourself, you’re always a survivor.”
Immediately, he went on experimenting with chicken with saag (spinach) which turned out to be his unique tasty menu. And believe us, you’ll ask for more if you get to taste the “aalu jeera” made by Raj Ballav Koirala.
I. CHICKEN WITH SAAG
Ingredients
Chicken breast: 1 Kg
Chinese spinach: a bunch
Chopped onion: 250 grams
Chopped ginger and garlic: 10 grams
Fresh tomatoes: 200 grams
Green chili – 100 grams or as per your taste
Olive oil: 7 big tbsp
Salt: 2½ tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1½ tbsp
Cumin powder: 1½ tbsp
Chili powder: 1½ tbsp
Hot spices (Garam masala): 1 tbsp
Meat Masala: 1½ tbsp
Coriander leaves: a bunch
Method
In a non-sticky wok, heat 3 tbsp olive oil.
Now fry the Chinese spinach for some three
minutes and keep that in a bowl for a while.
Cut chicken breast into slices.
Chop the onion, green chili and tomatoes.
In another deep frying pan, heat 4 tbsp olive oil.
Add green chili and onion into it and fry them for some 40 to 50 seconds.
Now add chicken slices into it and stir them properly.
Add all the spices together and mix it properly once again.
Add chopped ginger and garlic along with the spinach that you fried beforehand.
Leave it to cook properly for some five-ten minutes and add chopped tomatoes.
Within next five minutes, your chicken with saag is ready to eat. Garnish it with coriander leaves and tomato slices.
II. AALU JEERA
Ingredients
Potato: 500 grams
Mustard oil: 3½ tbsp
Water: ½ a jug
Cumin seeds: ½ tbsp
Fenugreek seeds: a pinch
Salt: 1½ tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1½ tbsp
Chili powder: ½ tbsp
Cumin powder ½ tbsp
Chopped tomatoes: 50 grams
Chopped green chili: 10 grams
Hot spices: ½ tbsp
Coriander leaves: a bunch
Method
Wash the potatoes properly and peel them.
In a cooking vessel, add water, add ½ tbsp turmeric powder and boil the potatoes till they are half cooked.
Meanwhile, chop the tomatoes and green chilies.
After the potato is boiled, cut them into long and thin slices.
In a deep wok, heat mustard oil.
Add fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds together and let them turn hash brown.
Now add the chopped green chili. (You can also add the green chili in the end, which is before the delicacy is served)
Put the potato slices and mix it properly.
Now add all the spices together and leave it to cook for next five minutes.
Add tomato slices and mix it once again.
In next three minutes, your “Aalu Jeera” is ready to be served.
Don’t forget to garnish it with chopped green chilies, tomato slices and fresh coriander leaves.
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