Amaranth Dal

Ever since I saw this recipe at Indira's blog, I have been craving it. To my delight I found fresh Amaranth leaves yesterday at the Indian grocery store. Aah ! the dal was such a delight - the combination of the nutty Tur dal, creamy Amaranth leaves, tangy tomato and tamarind and the heat of the green chillies - my taste buds were ecstatic :) This easy and delightful recipe will now be a regular feature in our home. Thanks Indira :)
(Original recipe here)

1 cup Tur Dal
4 cups chopped Amaranth leaves and tender stalks
4 green chillies, finely chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 tsp tamarind concentrate
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 1/2 cups water
Salt to taste

For the Tadka
1/4 tsp each minced garlic, curry leaves, cumin seeds, mustard seeds
2 tsp ghee

In a pressure cooker, cook Tur dal + Amaranth leaves + green chillies + onion + tomato + tamarind + turmeric powder + salt with 2 1/2 cups water , for 2 whistles. Remove from heat and keep aside. When the dal cooker cools down, coarsely mash the dal.
In a small pan, heat ghee and add all the tadka ingredients. When the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the tadka to the Dal. Mix well and simmer on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Serve hot with rice and a bowl of yogurt. Enjoy !!

This is my entry to the RCI Event : Andhra Pradesh, hosted this month by Latha @ Masala Magic.

Panchratan / Panchmel Dal

The afternoon rain left me craving for something that was wholesome and comforting. I always associate cold weather with Kadhi, Pakoras and this Panchratan / Panchmel dal. Made with 5 dals and a generous use of tomatoes, this Dal is nutritious and very, very comforting. I generally have this by itself, without any Rice or Roti. This is my contribution for the JFI:Tomato event over at RP's Workshop.

1/4 cup Split Urad dal
1/4 cup Chana Dal
1/4 cup Sabut (Whole) Masoor Dal
1/4 cup Split Moong Dal
1/4 cup Tur / Arhar Dal
3 medium tomatoes, chopped (I used 2 handfuls of grape tomatoes, cut into half)
2 cloves
1/2" dalchini (cinnamon)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2" ginger, grated
6-7 curry leaves
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
Chopped coriander to garnish (Optional)
Salt to taste
Oil
Clean and wash all the dals. In a pressure cooker, add the dals, 3 cups of water, turmeric powder, a few drops of oil and cook till the dals are cooked. Remove from heat and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cloves and cinnamon stick. When the seeds begin to sizzle, add the grated ginger, green chillies and curry leaves.Cook for abut a minute and then add the tomatoes and Salt. Mix well and cook till the tomatoes are mushy and cooked. Add the Dal to this tomato tadka, mix well and on low heat let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Now add the lemon juice and mix well. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot. Enjoy !

Masoor Dal

When I saw Sandeepa's post "Masoor Dal", I took a trip down memory lane. I always associate this Dal with the Rains or cold, bitter winter. Ma would do the tadka with tomatoes and garlic - heavenly taste. This dal is a simple one, with no masalas (spices) - the Panch phoran, tomatoes and garlic give it the delightful flavor.
(Recipe adapted from Sandeepa)

Split Masoor Dal

1 cup Masoor Dal
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 green chilli, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 fat cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp Panch phoran
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander to garnish
Oil
Pressure cook the Dal with turmeric powder, Salt and 3 cups of water for 2 whistles. Remove from heat and let cool. Whisk the dal gently, till mixed, adding 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water to make the dal a little thin. Keep aside.
In a pan, heat oil and add the Panch Phoran, garlic, green chillies. Cook for a couple of minutes, till the garlic turns light brown. Now add the tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are cokked and oil separates. Add this mix to the dal, bring to boil and simmer on low heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. (You can add some more water, if you want a thinner consistency). Now add the lime juice, mix well, garnish with the chopped cilantro leaves and serve hot with plain rice. Enjoy !!

Lal Chana - Red Garbanzo Curry

Both K and I like Garbanzo. As a student, many a meal was made using the combination of Rice, Spinach and Garbanzo beans. For variety we used to switch between the white, green and reddish brown garbanzo. Hummus, Garbanzo curry, as a snack ... there was no end to how we used this versatile bean.
One of my favorite garbanzo curry is the way Ma makes it. Today, I am going to share her recipe with you.

1 cup dried garbanzo, soaked overnight in warm water
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 onions - 1 onion sliced fine; 1 onion chopped fine
2 garlic pods, chopped
1" ginger, grated
2 Bay leaves
1 black cardamom
1" stick cinnamon
2 cloves
2 green cardamoms
1 potato, cubed (I used Red potato)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
To garnish : 2 green chillies, sliced lengthwise & chopped coriander leaves
Oil
In a pressure cooker, put garbanzo beans, chopped tomato, chopped onion, garlic, ginger, bay leaf, cardamoms, cinnamon stick, cloves, cubed potato, 1 tbsp oil, 3 cups water and pressure cook for 3 whistles. Remove from heat and cool.
Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. When the seeds begin to sizzle, add the sliced onion and cook till the onion turns brown. Add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt and cook till the masala is cooked. Keep sprinkling water occasionally so that the masal does not stick to the pan. Add this masala to the garbanzo curry and cook on medium low heat for about 10 minutes, till all the flavors have blended. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and green chillies and serve hot with Rice / Paratha / Roti. Enjoy !!!

Food for my Honey - Methi Rice, Dal Makhni, Tandoori Chicken

Methi Rice

Dal Makhni

Tandoori Chicken

(Recipes will be posted later today)

Comfort Food - Moong Dal Bharta

This is a typics dish from Bihar. Simple, with a few ingredients, but what flavor. We used yo have this Bharta (Chokha, we call it at home), especially during summer when vegetables would be scarce. It is a very rutic but filling dish. Rice, Dal and Moong Dal Bharta .... Mmmm Mmmm good.
1 cup whole Moong Dal
1 small onion, chopped
2 dry red chilli ( I used 2 green chillies)
Salt to taste
1 tsp mustard oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Dry roast the Moong Dal. Remove from heat and let cool. In a pressure cooker cook the dal with 1 1/2 cup of water for 2 whistles. Remove from heat and let cool.

Dry roast the dry red chillies. Keep aside. In a bowl, mash the boiled Moong dal coarsely. Add the chopped onions, salt, lemon juice, mustard oil and the chillies. Mix well. You can have this with Rice and Dal or with Roti and a bpwl of yogurt. I use the extra bharta to make a stuffing for Dal Parathas.

Spinach-Split Pea Dal- Palak Chana Dal

Dinner : Naan, Baked Potato, Spinach-Split Pea Dal

I had seen this recipe on Indira's blog and since then had been wanting to try it out. Dal Palak (Spinach Dal) was a staple in my house during the winter days, but we used Moong Dal instead of Chana Dal. I definitely wanted to try this recipe with the Split Pea. I decided then that I was going to make this dish. A quick trip to the Grocery store and I was good to go. Thanks Indira for this wonderful recipe.

1 cup mixed green and yellow split pea (You get this packet at Trader Joe's)
1 small packet baby spinach
1 medium sized onion, sliced fine
4 fat cloves of garlic, minced
3 tomatoes, chopped
1" ginger, finely grated
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
4 cups water
Salt to taste
Oil

Wash the split pea and soak in warm water for about 15 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan, add the garlic and cook for a couple of seconds. Now add the sliced onion and cook till it turns pink. Add the grated ginger and cook till onion begins to turn a light brown. Now add the chopped tomatoes, and cook till the tomatoes become mushy and soft.
Add the spinach and cook till it wilts. Add the washed lentils, 4 cups of water, salt, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder. Bring to boil, cover the pan, lower heat and let simmer till the lentil is cooked. Serve hot on a bed of rice / Roti / Paratha or just by itself and enjoy.

16 Pulses/Bean Dal

This recipe is from my elder sis. Full of the goodness of 16 different types of beans and lentils, this dish is easy to make and tastes really good. You can add any variety to beans and lentils, but to make life easier, you get this in all the grocery stores.

Beans soaked overnight in warm water

1 cup beans-pulses, soaked overnight in warm water
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

Salt to taste

Oil

Coriander leaves, for garnish

In a pressure cooker, add the soaked dal, salt, 1/2 tsp oil, salt and water and cook for 1whistle. Remove from heat and let it cool down.

Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onion. Cook till the onion turns golden brown. Add the green chillies, tomato, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and cook till the oil separates and the masala-tomato mix is well cooked. Add the dal to the pan and let it simmer on medium low heat for 5-7 minutes.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with Rice or Roti. Enjoy !!

Dhaba Dal

My brother and his friends would go to one of the many Dhabas on the outskirts of the city and get dinner from there home once a week. It would give my Ma and the cook a break from cooking for a bunch of ever hungry young adults. Food from the Dhaba was something my Dad also enjoyed. We were unanimous in our love for the Dhaba Dal. I present to you our version of this delicious Dal. Enjoy it with steaming rice or Naan.

2 cup urad dal, picked and cleaned
3/4th cup chana dal, picked and cleaned
2 tbsp chopped ginger
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp butter
2 medium sized onions, chopped
6 green chillies, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
Oil
Salt to taste
Handful of mint/coriander leaves, chopped to garnish
2 eggs (optional)

Cook the lentils in a pressure cooker with salt, 1 1/2 tbsp ginger, 1 1/2 tbsp garlic and butter. Once the cooker cools down, mash the Dals against the side of the pan. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and fry till golden. Add the remaining ginger and garlic and cook for a couple of seconds. Add the green chillies and tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are almost cooked and mushy. Add the dal to this and mix well. Add the coriander / mint leaves. If using eggs, make scrambled eggs and add to the dal. Mix well and serve hot with naan or Rice. ENJOY :)

Saboot Masoor Dal

This recipe has been adapted from Nita Mehta's cookbook. it was one of the first cookbooks I had brought when I started cooking and this dish always came out tops. It is an easy to make dish and delightful to taste.

1 cup Saboot (whole) masoor Dal
1 large onion - half onion chopped and the other half finely sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic
2 tbsp whole coriander
1 1/2" ginger
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 dry red chillies
Salt to taste
Oil
Chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Pick and wash the Masoor dal. Pressure cook it for 3 whistles with 5 cups water and the chopped onions.
Make a paste of the garlic cloves, ginger, dry red chillies, cumin seeds and whole coriander seeds.
Heat oil in a pan. Add the sliced onion and cook till onion turns light golden brown. Add the ginger-garlic-chilli paste. Add the tomatoes and salt and cook till the tomatoes are mushy and cooked. Add this mix to the dal and on low flame cook for 10 minutes. garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice/ paratha. Enjoy !

Dal Makhni

This recipe is from Aunty M. Every time she visited, we would ask her to make this in a large batch. She would freeze the dal in a couple of Ziploc bags and we would enjoy this dish for the next month or two. This dish and Bhein (Lotus root) were her signature dishes.

Generally Rajma (kidney beans) is added to the dal makhni but Aunty M would make it only with Sabut (Whole) urad dal. Without further ado, here is the recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup sabut urad dal, washed, picked and soaked overnight
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1/2 chopped garlic
1/2 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp tomato paste/puree
1 tbsp ghee
Salt to taste
Milk (if using 2 cups water to cook the dal, use 1 1/2 cup milk)
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves

In a pressure cooker, add urad dal, onion, garlic, ginger, powders: cumin, cayenne, coriander, garam masala, tomato paste, salt, ghee and 2 cups water. Cook till dal is done. Remove from heat, stir the dal well, set aside and let it cool.



Once the dal mixture has cooled, add 1 1/2 cups of milk (do not use Fat free milk). cook the dal for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly till the dal thickens. Add the coriander leaves, cook for a minute and remove from heat. Serve hot with Rice/ Roti or Paratha. Enjoy !!