Thursday is My Favorite Day

We all have a favorite day. What’s yours? Mine used to be Friday because I had two days of relaxation and free time ahead of me to look forward to. Now my favorite one is Thursday.
Why?
...Because it’s Aloo Chop Day at NAG. Well, that’s what I call it, at least. :) And most of you know how important food is to me. Yes, I love to eat! I also love to cook, something I haven’t done for a couple of months. So, I’ve decided to post some of my favourite foods that I want you to cook for me when I get back. Ok? After all, I will be pretty rusty at cooking by then! ;)

So as far as I know, ‘aloo’ means potato and ‘chop’ means chopped up (I’m assuming).

Basically what is needed, although I’ve noticed variations:

Aloo Mixture:
boiled and peeled potatoes
salt
spices: cumin, coriander (roasted and ground, preferably)
chopped green chili peppers
chopped white or red onion
chopped cilantro
ground ginger

Batter:
gram flour (I think that’s chickpea flour)
turmeric and red chili powder
oil to fry

Serve with:
spicy tomato dipping sauce

Mash up the potatoes, then mix in the spices, chilis, ginger, onion and cilantro.
In a separate bowl combine the flour,  turmeric and water to make the batter. Make an oval-shaped ball or patty with the potato mixture, dip it in the batter and fry it in hot oil.

I am already imagining other things to mix in with the potato....Bacon? Cheese? Jalapeños? Red bell pepper? Mmmmh!

                                          NAG’s Aloo Chop ala Cook Didi

Watch this video (in Nepali), if you’d like to see the steps:

https://youtu.be/eTy9HamdE5k

Jungle to Jamacho

On my day off, I’m trying to get out and see or do as much as I can....or just relax, read and drink coffee somewhere in Thamel. Yesterday some of my roommates and I ventured up Kathmandu’s closesest little peak. We were well equipped with plenty of food for the journey, missing three buses just to make sure we had eaten and packed enough to eat later. We also had somewhat of an idea of how to get there, that’s good, right? My favourite part had to have been seeing a couple of trooops of monkeys. Being attacked by ferocious bloodthirsty leeches was yet another highlight. I stayed totally calm in that moment, believe me.

So Many Smiles

Volunteering is definitely work, but a different kind of work. Three weeks in and I’ve met hundreds of people (whose names I still can’t remember...Samina, Mina, Amrita, Sabita, Pabrita, Sabina, Samrita to name a few. And you wonder why I struggle? 🤷‍♀️). Every day, I face new challenges which test my ability to adapt and be creative. I’m gaining an understanding of a totally different school system and figuring out how to address the needs of students with ages ranging from 6 to 47! 

Exhausted yet fully content, I depart from NAG in the evening with a smile on my face, usually hearing a few young students shout,  “Subha ratri (good night) सुभ रतृ,  Jessica Miss!”