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Hoilo garma
ہوئیلو گرما (hoilo garma): Hunza greens cooked with hand-pinched dough pieces and finished with butter
In early spring the first wild greens appear on the terraces of Hunza before anything else is ready, and families gather them for hoilo garma, a thick, warming pot of chopped greens cooked with small pieces of wholewheat dough pinched off by hand. The dough pieces turn soft and slightly chewy, almost like dumplings, and the greens melt into a glossy, savoury mass enriched at the end with butter and a little apricot-kernel oil. It is a one-pot lunch eaten from a shared dish with the fingers or a spoon, often with salty tea. Rolling the dough pieces too thick is the common error; they stay doughy in the middle. Chef's tip: spinach is the easiest choice, but a handful of dill, spring onion or chard makes it closer to the mix of wild greens used in the valley.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the dough pieces
- 5 ½ oz wholewheat flour (atta)
- 1 /4 tsp salt
- ¼ cup waterapproximately
For the greens
- 1 oz butter
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 2 cloves garliccrushed
- 1 green chillichopped
- 14 oz spinachwashed and roughly chopped
- 3 ½ oz spring onions, dill or chardchopped
- 2 ½ cups water
- 1 tsp salt
To finish
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Mix 5 ½ oz wholewheat flour (atta) and 1 /4 tsp salt with ¼ cup water and knead to a firm, smooth dough; cover and rest for 10 minutes.
5 minStep 2: Pinch off small pieces about the size of a fingernail and press each flat between finger and thumb to about 3 mm thick; lay them on a floured plate.
5 minStep 3: Melt 1 oz butter in a heavy pot over a medium heat and fry 1 onion for 5 minutes until soft, then add 2 cloves garlic and 1 green chilli for 30 seconds.
5 minStep 4: Add 2 ½ cups water and 1 tsp salt, bring to the boil and drop in the dough pieces, stirring so they do not stick together; simmer for 4 minutes.
4 minStep 5: Add 14 oz spinach and 3 ½ oz spring onions, dill or chard and cook, stirring often, for 7–8 minutes until the greens have wilted and the dough pieces are tender with no raw centre.
8 minStep 6: Cook uncovered for 3–4 minutes more, stirring, until the pot is thick and almost dry.
4 minStep 7: Drizzle over 1 tbsp culinary apricot-kernel oil or extra butter and serve hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 280 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does hoilo garma take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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