Finger Foods For Awards Night

   This is it. Our big weekend. Others pig out over the Superbowl, but around our house it's always been the Academy Awards, and yes the Golden Globes too, but Golden Globes night does not involve the wearing of a plastic tiara.

   Usually I'm looking for easy, quick foods to fling at my guests so as not to miss any of the Red Carpet action. This year I've decided to serve a variety of things buffet style. Since I'll be having 2 gluten-free guests, one vegetarian/pescatarian, and 10 omnivores I'll be serving Indian salads and side dishes along with hot Momo and steamed Spring Rolls with a variety of fillings.

   I've been practicing my rolling, steaming and filing techniques, and one of the stuffings I'll be serving this weekend is lamb. I gave the lamb a test run this weekend when our guests from LA were visiting and it was a hit. They're simple to mix and make. One pound of ground lamb, some nuts and spices and you're in business. Once you get going you can't stop steaming and eating them. At least that's what happened here.

Lamb Momo

Here's What You Need:

1lb of ground lamb
1/4 cup of chopped pistachios
8 finely chopped dried apricots
1 small onion finely chopped
1 shallot finely chopped
3 Tbs of chopped fresh cilantro
3Tbs of finely chopped fresh mint
1/4 tsp or  to taste Kashmiri chili powder or a mixture of cayenne and paprkia.
1 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of ground coriander
1 tsp of salt or to taste
1 package of wonton wrappers

Here's What to Do: 

Mix all of the above listed ingredients together.
Refrigerate the mixture for about 1 hour.
Put 1 Tbs of the mixture in the center of each wonton wrapper.
Put the Momo into a steamer.
Place the steamer over boiling water
Cover it and let steam for about 12 minutes.

Serve with chutney or raita or sauce of your choice.
I served these with Mango Curd, a mint raita, and Quick Tomato Chutney. This Tamarind dipping sauce works great too. Serve 'em up and stand back.

Other great finger foods for Awards night are Indian Potato Fritters

Here's a recipe for Steamed Bao with an Indian Filling

As to desserts, I'll be working on a very special gluten free treat involving chocolate, but there are always Baked Spiced Mini-Donuts
 

...or a lovely Gluten Free Chocolate Mandarin Orange Cake

   The great thing about all these dishes is that they can all be made ahead of time, and for the things that need to be served hot, the makings can be prepped early to await steaming. It couldn't be simpler than that.

   Coming up next, that gluten free chocolate dessert, follow along on Twitter @kathygori