Daring Cooks cook Indian : Masala Dosa (Updated)

Masala Dosa with Sambhar, coconut chutney and Podi

Debyi from http://www.healthyvegankitchen.com hosted this month’s challenge and ordered Indian Dosas for all of us at Fresh Restaurants (www.freshrestaurants.ca) in Toronto, Canada. Since we all live in a virtual world these days, we were all handed over a recipe from their cookbook  and asked to make dosas to serve ourselves. Now, masala dosas (and oh my dear idlis, made from a similar batter) are a very big favorites with me. I can eat them all the time. My parents and I spent a couple of years in Vishakhapatnam , Andhra Pradesh and that is where my mother learnt to make good idlis and dosas. Another big influence was my Aunt who spent half her life in Chennai, then Madras and cooked fabulous South Indian meals.

Unfortunately I cannot make something with grains and flour and call it a dosa. A similar fare called Chil-ra is made in North India and I will be talking about it at the end of the post. Hence, I used my regular recipe for making dosas . I hope Debyi won’t mind it……..I kept the whole thing Vegan 🙂 .

The Recipe:

Dosa:

• Idli Rice 3 cups soaked in water overnight
• Black gram (Urad Daal)  1 cup soaked in water overnight
• Fenugreek seeds 1 tsp.
• salt to taste

Fenugreek seeds,urad daal soaked and drained and idli rice soaked and drained in picture 2

Soak fenugreek seeds and urad daal together in water overnight. Since I make idlis and dosas from the same batter, I soak rice and lentils separately. Grind the lentils with little water till a very smooth paste is achieved.

Ground lentils

Rice needs to ground well too…..adding rice paste to lentils paste and final paste before fermentation

After lentils and rice are ground well, add rice paste to lentils paste and add about 2 tsp. salt. Leave to ferment 12 to 14 hours. Unless, you live in a hot weather, in that case check after 5-6 hours. The dough should almost double.

 

Half the batter : after fermentation. Add water as required and dosa batter’s ready

 

Ladle the dosa batter in circular motion

Potato filling:

• Potatoes 4 medium boiled and chopped
• Onion 1 big sliced
• Ginger grated 1 tsp.
• Canola Oil 2 tsp.
• Asafoetida (Heeng) 1/2 tsp.
• Mustard seeds (Rai) 1 tsp.
• Fresh Curry leaves 2 stems washed
• Bengal gram (Chana Daal ) 1 tsp.
• Black gram (Urad Daal) 1 tsp.
• Turmeric powder (Haldi) 1 tsp.
• Red chilli powder (Lal mirch) 1/2 tsp.
• salt to taste

Potato filling ingredients clockwise:Fresh curry leaves, boiled potatoes, asafoetida, urad daal, chana daal, grated ginger, mustard seeds and sliced onions

To make the filling:

Heat the oil in a wok and add all the ingredients except potatoes, onion and salt.

Fry for one minute then add the onions. Let them fry for 2 more minutes.

When the onions start to turn translucent, add the potatoes and salt. If the mixture seems too dry, add 2 Tbsps. water. Cover and cook the filling for 5 minutes. The filling is ready.

Add the potato filling as the dosa starts to brown at the bottom

Fold the dosa and we’re done

I prepared 2-3 dosas at a time on a big electric griddle as I was serving 5 people at a time. The best crispness and color is achieved on an iron griddle. The iron griddle is heated , a couple of drops of oil are added to it and a raw onion just sliced at the top is used to spread the oil on the griddle. This is the traditional way of preparing dosas.

Sambhar :

• Split yellow pigeon peas (Arhar/Toor Daal)  2 cups boiled in a pressure cooker with turmeric and salt
• Canola Oil 1 Tbsp.
• Mustard seeds (Rai) 1 tsp.
• Cumin seeds (Jeera) 1 tsp.
• Asafoetida (Heeng)  1/2 tsp.
• Fresh Curry leaves 2 stems washed (remove the stems 😉 )
• Ginger 2 tsp. grated
• Garlic 2 cloves minced
• Shallots/pearl onions 1/2 cup (cut if required to bite size pieces)
• Tomatoes 2 chopped
• Vegetables of choice (beans, bell pepper, bottle gourd etc. ) optional
• Sambhar Masala powder 1 Tbsp.
• Tamarind concentrate 1/2 tsp.
• Salt to taste
• Cilantro/coriander leaves for garnish

To prepare the sambhar heat oil in a big saucepan. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida and fresh curry leaves. When you hear the mustard seeds crackle, add the ginger and garlic.

Next add the shallots or pearl onions and fry for a little bit more. Next add the tomatoes. When the tomatoes start getting mushy, add the boiled lentils. Mix well and let it come to a boil. The consistency should be like lentil soup. It can be thinned a bit more if desired.  Finally add the sambhar masala powder and the tamarind concentrate.

(If using actual tamarind, soak it in hot water for 15 minutes. Take the pulp out and discard the fibrous portion and the seeds.)

Garnish with cilantro leaves and the sambhar is ready.

Coconut Chutney:

• Grated coconut (fresh/frozen) 1 cup
• Dalia Daal (Roasted split Bengal gram) 1/2 cup
• Peanuts 2 Tbsp.
• salt to taste

for tempering:

• Canola Oil 1 Tbsp.
• Asafoetida 1/4 tsp.
• Mustard seeds 1 tsp.
• Fresh Curry leaves 2 stems washed
• Whole Red chili 1

Dalia Daal/ Roasted split Bengal gram

This is a very basic coconut chutney but tastes great! To prepare the chutney, grind the chutney ingredients in a grinder (ideally) or a blender (I use) and add a little water. Grind the ingredients well till you get a smooth consistency.

Heat oil in a small wok and add all the tempering ingredients. Heat till you hear crackling noise and the tempering ingredients look crisp. Do not let it burn. Add immediately to the ground chutney.

The coconut chutney’s ready!

Coconut chutney

Please help yourself 😉

Dosa with Nutella , caramel sauce and some sweet butter

 

Chil-ra or Godhuma Dosa:

The actual recipe given by Debyi uses spelt flour to make the crepe. In North India , it is called Chilra and in South India, it is called Godhuma Dosa (whole wheat flour dosa)

The way we make it in North India is slightly different and hence my clarifications. We do not eat the chil-ra with any curry. It is usually eaten with pickle or cilantro chutney or even Bhukni (a dry tangy spice powder)

The Recipe:

• Whole wheat pastry flour (atta) 2 cups
• Onion 1/2 medium minced
• Ginger 1 tsp. grated/minced
• green chilli 1 cut fine
• tomato 1/2 medium chopped fine
• Carom seeds 1 tsp.
• salt to taste
• water

Clockwise: Atta , water , onion, green chili, ginger and tomatoes

Chil-ra with yogurt and mango pickle……comfort food

Add all the ingredients and enough water to make a smooth batter. Make sure no lumps remain.

Heat a griddle and make crepes out of these. These will not be as thin as the lentil mixture. But the meal’s ready instantly. I used to love eating these as kid and still do. My kids are a big fan as well……….only I do not know if it’s the chance to eat pickle or chil-ra that draws them to it. Anyway, it’s a good quick fix for me 😉 .

Edit : 17 Sep.  09 : Oh Dear me! I just re-read my post and realized that I have written the quantity of rice as 1 cup and that of the lentils too. It was a typo. I am so very sorry if anyone has tried making this with the wrong ratio given.  I have marked in red , please do check.

Imli ke Bade (Lentil Fritters in Tamarind Sauce)

Imli ke Bade

Barely any time to say anything. Coming steaming hot from an American kitchen which has roots in Uttar Pradesh, India.

The Recipe:

For the Fritters: (Makes 18 medium size badas)

• Black Gram lentils/Urad daal 1/2 cup
• Ginger 1″ piece
• Green chillies 2
• Oil for frying

For the Sauce:

• Tamarind concentrate 1 Tbsp.
• Jaggery / Gud 2/3 cup
• Fat free Yogurt 2 Tbsp.
• Salt 1/2 tsp.
• Oil 2 tsp.
• Asafoetida powder/heeng 1/2 tsp.
• Cumin seeds/Jeera 1/4 tsp.
• Mustard seeds/ rai 1/2 tsp.
• Turmeric powder/Haldi 1/2 tsp.
• Fenugreek seeds/ methi 1/4 tsp.
• Fennel seeds/ saunf 1/4 tsp.
• Green chilli 1 minced
• Ginger 1 ” piece minced or grated
• Cilantro to garnish

1.Wash and soak black gram lentils in water for 2-4 hours.

Black gram lentils before and after soaking.

2. Drain the water from the lentils completely. Grind with ginger and green chillies. Start with no water and keep adding 2 Tbsp. of water till you can grind very fine. Keep grinding and cream if possible. To test that the lentils are ground properly, take a cup full of water. Make a small ball of the ground lentils and drop in  the water. If it floats, the lentils are ground well. If the ball of lentils sinks to the bottom, the fritters are going to hard, so grind more, maybe add a little more water to facilitate grinding. Grinding the lentils properly is the most important step.

Lentil ball floating in water: the lentils are ground well.

3. Now heat the oil to high in a saucepan. When the oil is ready, lower the heat to medium high and fry the fritters. Let them turn golden brown.

Fried lentil fritters

4. Mix 1 tsp. of tamarind concentrate with 2 cups water. Remove the fried fritters on a paper towel and put them in the tamarind water. Let them soak for a while till they have softened. Remove them when soft and press lightly with your hands to remove the water. This just helps further soften the badas. These can be refrigerated like this for a couple of days. This can be done ahead and kept.

5. Soak jaggery in 2/3 cups of water for 10-15 minutes. Press with your hands, and mix jaggery well with the water. Strain the water so that no dirt comes in the sauce. Blend this jaggery water with yogurt. Mix well.

6. Heat the saucepan again and add the  2 tsp oil. Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, asafoetida, turmeric fenugreek seeds and fennel seeds.  When all this sizzling, add ginger and green chillies. To this add the jaggery yogurt mixture and 2 cups water. The water used to soak the badas is ideal. Add salt and stir well initially. Cook for 5- 10 minutes on medium heat till the whole thing comes to a rolling boil.  Put the gas off, add the badas and cover. In 10 minutes the Imli ke bade are ready!  Adjust the salt, chilli, jaggery as per your liking. Add red chilli powder and roasted cumin seeds powder if you want it hotter and spicier. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Tastes best with rice, even though Rotis are always made along with it in my house. It can also be eaten like a snack.

The Imli ke Bade are rushing to Sig hosting the JFI – Tamarind this month which was started by Indira of Mahanandi. I hope I make it in time. Huff, puff, bye everyone!

Deliciously sweet & sour : Imli ke Bade

Peethi ki Paronthi (Lentil filled Flatbread)

Peethi ki Paronthi & Aam ka Achar (Mango Pickle)

Paronthi is the Parantha’s younger sister OR………. who knows………. maybe Parantha is the husband and Paronthi, the wife. Well, the relationship is quite hazy here. But, as the wise have said……….”Don’t go where you are not required to go” All I can tell you is that the Paronthi is smaller and thinner than the parantha, (may I add , a little more delicate there;) ).

Peethi is a filling made with Urad Daal (Black gram lentils). I have heard that there was a time when people in Northern India would only eat Pooris and Kachoris at every meal. For the longest time, my husband’s Grandmother ate Poori or Kachori, she was not a Roti, Phulka liking person. She was a fabulous cook and would work very very hard to cook good food. I have been fortunate enough to taste her handmade Mungodis which absolutely melted in one’s mouth when cooked. I am mentioning Kachori several times cause a very similar filling is used in traditional North Indian Kachori. But for the faint of heart like me, making a paronthi with peethi is good enough. It’s made very rarely at our place and it is such a treat, that we all end up eating way more than we should.

The Recipe: (For 18-20 paronthis)

For the Dough:

• 4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 3/4 cups water

For Filling (Peethi):

• Urad daal/ split black lentils without skin 1 cup
• Ginger 2″ piece chopped fine or grated
• Oil 2 tsp.
• Green chili 2 chopped fine
• Red chili powder 1 tsp.
• fennel seeds/saunf 1 Tbsp.
• cumin seeds/jeera 2 tsp.
• Fenugreek seeds/methi 1/2 tsp.
• Garam masala 1 tsp.
• coriander powder/dry cilantro powder/dhaniya 1 Tbsp.
• Asafoetida/heeng powdered 1/2 tsp.
• Dry mango powder/Amchur 2 Tbsp.
• Salt to taste

Make a dough with whole wheat flour and water. More about the dough can be found in my post here.

In the plate (clockwise) green chili, red chili powder, fennel seeds,cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, Garam masala, coriander powder, asafoetida powder, dry mango powder, ginger minced and salt in center. Soaked and ground black gram also in picture.

To prepare the peethi for the filling, soak urad daal overnight or at least 4-6 hours. Grind it coarse in a grinder the next morning. In a wok or sauce pan (preferably non-stick), heat 2 tsp. oil and add the rest of ingredients except salt and dry mango powder. Add the ground urad daal and fry a little till it dries. Next add salt and dry mango powder. Mix well.

Peethi is ready!

Make balls of the whole wheat dough of the size shown below.

Whole wheat balls with dry flour for dusting

Flatten the dough balls with a rolling pin and fill the peethi as shown below.

Whole wheat dough flats and the filling

Pull the whole wheat edges and form a ball again. Dust a little flour and roll out the Paronthi. Heat a cast iron griddle. Oil the griddle a wee bit and then put the rolled out paronthi on the griddle. Make sure you put the paronthi only when the griddle is sizzling hot, that is you should be able to throw some drops of water and they should first sizzle and then evaporate. If they evaporate right away, the griddle is too hot. Turn the paronthi over when you start seeing tiny bubbles on the surface. Spread a little oil on the surface of the paronthi and apply a little pressure with a spatula to ensure uniform cooking. Turn it over once more and apply pressure gain. A well made paronthi will puff up on all sides.

Peethi ki paronthi on the griddle

A paronthi well cooked should not have doughy edges and should be uniformly cooked. Peethi ki paronthi tastes fabulous with achar, dried potato curry or my all time favorite Masaledaar Aloo ki Sabji.

Have a bite!!

Peethi ki Paronthi is off to Srivalli for the Roti Mela. Looking forward to a variegated collection of flatbreads there.

I was making paper fans for my son and he was scribbling on them. A few minutes later he comes to me & asks me to make a paper AC this time……….ha. I could only look at him in astonishment! Now, if we could all make paper AC’s , wouldn’t that solve India’s energy problems!  I asked my son to grow up and do something about alternative energy as I have little hope from myself. That certainly left him content with paper fans………..for now.

Dressing up the Dulha……….Bhara hua Daal ka Dulha Series……….Round 2

Peethi Bhara Daal Ka Dulha

Ok, so we are onto filling no. 2 for our daal ka dulha. Peethi bhara daal ka dulha means ground black gram (peethi) filled whole wheat pastas. I could have easily listed the types of fillings for daal ka dulha but I wanted to chronicle the procedure as well. Please refer to my earlier posts Daal Ka Dulha and Dressing up  the Dulha………… if I seem to be talking Greek (or khadi boli (that’s village Hindi) for that matter;))

Peethi means soaked and ground Urad daal/Black gram. This dish is like pasta with spicy lentil filling in lentil soup. Sounds strange but tastes quite good;).

The Recipe:

Initial tempering:

• Oil 1/2 tsp
• cumin seeds/Jeera 1/2 tsp.
• turmeric powder/Haldi 1 tsp.

For Daal:

• Toor Daal/Arhar daal/split yellow pigeon peas 2 cups
• Water 6 cups
• sugar 1 tsp
• salt to taste

For Dulha:(This is the ratio for making roti dough.About 1/10th is used to make the dulhas in the daal given)

• Whole wheat flour 4 cups
• Water 1 3/4 cups
• Salt (optional)

For Filling:

• Urad daal/ split black lentils without skin 1/4 cup
• Ginger 1″ piece chopped fine or grated
• Oil 2 tsp.
• Green chili 1 chopped fine
• Red chili powder 1 tsp.
• fennel seeds/saunf 2 tsp.
• cumin seeds/jeera 2 tsp.
• Fenugreek seeds/methi 1/2 tsp.
• Garam masala 1 tsp.
• coriander powder/dry cilantro powder/dhaniya 1 Tbsp.
• Asafoetida/heeng powdered 1/2 tsp.
• Dry mango powder/Amchur 1 Tbsp.
• Salt to taste

Final tempering:

• Oil (preferably ghee) 2 Tbsp.
• Asafoetida/heeng powdered 1 tsp.
• Cumin seeds 1 Tbsp .
• Red chilli powder 2 tsp.

We begin as usual by making the daal or lentil soup in a pressure cooker. Heat oil and add the initial tempering. Once the cumin seeds are crackling, add the ingredients listed under daal and close the pressure cooker. Further details on making the daal can be found in my post Everyday daal.

In the plate (clockwise) green chili, red chili powder, fennel seeds,cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, Garam masala, coriander powder, asafoetida powder, dry mango powder, ginger minced and salt in center. Soaked and ground black gram also in picture.

The most important part is our Dulha (filled pasta). Dulhas can be prepared while the daal is cooking. To prepare the peethi for the filling, soak urad daal overnight or at least 4-6 hours. Grind it well in a grinder the next morning. In a wok or sauce pan (preferably non-stick), heat 2 tsp. oil and add the rest of ingredients except salt and dry mango powder. Add the ground urad daal and fry a little till it dries. Next add salt and dry mango powder. Mix well.

Fried urad daal along with spices ………peethi is ready:)

Take a small ball from  the whole wheat dough. Make a thin flat round of the ball. A drop of oil can be spread on the fingers and the dough while making the flat. Keep the filling (peethi) in the flat and close it. Use the palm of the hand to flatten the filled round of the dough. Make as many dulhas as required.

Peethi filling and wheat dough flats

Flattened uncooked dulhas

Heat the daal if made earlier. Make sure that the daal is hot when the dulhas are added to it in the pressure cooker. Give two more whistles to the cooker or let it simmer for at least half an hour if one is not using a pressure cooker. Make the final tempering in a separate pan. When the cumin seeds start crackling, add it to the daal.

Daal ka dulha and final tempering (chhaunka in Hindi)

Peethi (ground urad daal) filled daal ka dulha is ready to be served. It does not soften up as much as plain daal ka dulha or the potato filled one but this is really delicious too. It can be eaten alone or with roti and some vegetables also.

Here’s the authentic rustic peethi bhara daal ka dulha

Dressing up the Dulha……….Bhara hua Daal ka Dulha Series…….Round 1:

Aloo Bhara Daal Ka Dulha

Our dulha is coming of age in my house (the daal ka dulha is being made so often). So, we thought we start dressing it up in various forms we know of and then decide the winning costume for our dear dulha:). Credit goes to my mother for all these recipes.

The first filling is of the evergreen potato. This dish is like spicy pierogies in lentil soup. This truly is a delicious combination. Our dear rustic dulha too can stand among the finest raviolis and pastas of the world when dressed up;)

The Recipe:

Initial tempering:

• Oil 1/2 tsp
• cumin seeds/Jeera 1/2 tsp.
• turmeric powder/Haldi 1 tsp.

For Daal:

• Toor Daal/Arhar daal/split yellow pigeon peas 2 cups
• Water 6 cups
• sugar 1 tsp
• salt to taste

For Dulha:(This is the ratio for making roti dough.About 1/10th is used to make the dulhas in the daal given)

• Whole wheat flour 4 cups
• Water 1 3/4 cups
• Salt (optional)

For Filling:

• Potatoes 2 boiled and mashed
• Ginger 1″ piece chopped fine or grated
• Cilantro/coriander leaves a handful chopped fine
• Green chili 1 chopped fine
• Red chili powder 1 tsp.
• Garam masala 1 tsp.
• Dry mango powder/Amchur 1 Tbsp.
• Asafoetida/heeng powdered 1 tsp.
• Salt to taste
• Onion 1/2 finely chopped (optional)
• Garlic 1 clove finely chopped (optional)

Final tempering:

• Oil (preferably ghee) 2 Tbsp.
• Asafoetida/heeng powdered 1 tsp.
• Cumin seeds 1 Tbsp .
• Red chilli powder 2 tsp.

We begin as usual by making the daal or lentil soup in a pressure cooker. Heat oil and add the initial tempering. Once the cumin seeds are crackling, add the ingredients listed under daal and close the pressure cooker. Further details on making the daal can be found in my post Everyday daal.

Filling Ingredients clockwise……potatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, asafoetida, red chili powder,dry mango powder, Garam masala, green chilies and salt………missing is cilantro leaves…

The most important part is our Dulha. Dulhas can be prepared while the daal is cooking. To prepare the potato for the filling, I like to pierce the potato with a fork, wet the potato well and bake it in the microwave.Boiling the potatoes in water causes them to get watery at times. Mix all the ingredients listed under filling and make small balls of the filling. Onions and garlic are optional, I like them, but the original recipe as made by our elders did not have onions or garlic. Make a thin flat round of the wheat dough. A drop of oil can be spread on the fingers and the dough while making the flat. Keep the filling in the flat and close it. Use the palm of the hand to flatten the filled round of the dough. Make as many dulhas as required.

Potato filling and wheat dough balls

Flattened uncooked dulhas

Heat the daal if made earlier. Make sure that the daal is hot when the dulhas are added to it in the pressure cooker. Give two more whistles to the cooker or let it simmer for at least half an hour if one is not using a pressure cooker. Make the final tempering in a separate pan. When the cumin seeds start crackling, add it to the daal. Aloo (potato) bhara daal ka dulha is ready to be served. It can be eaten alone or with roti and some vegetables also.

So, how does the bhara hua daal ka dulha look?

Daal ka Dulha

Hi, Not that I have started looking for a dulha or groom for my daughter already. Daal ka dulha is the name of a favorite recipe of mine. After eating 3-4 types of pasta that I had been making for my mother, Mummy (with a smile) asked me if I had made daal ka dulha in the recent past? I had completely forgotten about daal ka dulha these years.

I mentioned pasta cause daal ka dulha comes closest to pasta in North Indian cuisine (of course leaving vermicelli aside). This recipe can also be called a very crude form of Daal bati……….but crude really:)).

Daal ka Dulha

Recipe:

Initial tempering:

• Oil 1/2 tsp
• cumin seeds 1/2 tsp.
• turmeric powder 1 tsp

For Daal:

• Toor Daal 2 cups
• Water 6 cups
• sugar 1 tsp
• salt to taste

For Dulha:(This is the ratio for making roti dough.About 1/10th is used to make the dulhas in the daal given)

• Whole wheat flour 4 cups
• water 1 3/4 cups
• salt (optional)

Final tempering:

• Oil (preferably ghee) 2 Tbsp
• asafoetida 1 tsp
• cumin seeds 1 Tbsp
• red chilli powder 2 tsp

Ok, this is a quick, simple one. Begin by making plain simple toor daal as detailed in my everyday daal post Arhar daal.  That is : add the initial tempering, add daal ingredients and give two whistles in a pressure cooker.

Make the whole wheat dough (which is basically roti dough). The directions for making the dough is detailed  in  Beginning with the staple: The ROTI . The important part of this recipe is making the dulha. Take a small ball in the and thin it it out with fingers. One could use a rolling pin, but traditionally hands were used to flatten the dough ball. Once you have made it quite thin. Apply a dropful of ghee or oil in the center of the flattened disc. Bring  four ends of the disc together and pinch making a flower like shape.  The shape is very important as it allows the daal to seep in and soften the dulha. 6 to 8 dulhas can be made per person.

When the cooker is safe to be opened, open the cooker cover. Add the dulhas  while the daal in the cooker is hot, otherwise the dulhas don’t soften properly. Close the pressure cooker and give two more whistles. When the pressure cooker is cool enough to be opened, add the final tempering. The plain daal also tastes more delicious than usual. One could try adding this in everyday daal to see if they like the taste of it before making a complete meal only of daal ka dulha.

And daal ka dulha is ready to be served. A drop of ghee in individual servings adds a lot of taste. Anybody fond of pasta should like this, though this is quite an old simple recipe concocted when women of the house would be in a hurry. There are other varieties of dulhas like stuffed about which I will post soon. This is the simplest form. This is also my entry in Lights Out, Knives Out event  hosted by Celine Asril. This is a great earth hour event in which no electricity is used in cooking. Well! in this recipe, no electricity is used (apart from using an electric stove) nor are any knives used:)

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Daal ka Dulha with pickle………..fabulous afternoon meal

Moong Ki Daal

Another addition to my staple meals. Washed Moong ki daal or Split green gram without skin was always sick peoples food for me as I was growing up. I wanted arhar/toor/pigeon pea lentils on my plate every afternoon. How boring can that be. Ah, but my Mother would make all varieties of lentils nevertheless and I had to eat or go hungry. Wonder when but I really started liking her version of moong daal by the time I was a teenager.

Moong daal (washed), tomato and Coriander leaves

Very simple to make. This is my second entry to food during pregnancy hosted by simpeindianfood. Just hearsay maybe but after my son was born, I had eaten a lot of moong dal , just like soup to aid lactation. More than anything, it would help fill me up with something nutritious as I would be always hungry those days:).

The recipe:

• Moong Daal 1 cup
• Oil 1/2 tsp.
• Cumin seeds/ Jeera 1/2 tsp.
• Turmeric/Haldi 1/2 tsp.
• Tomato 1 big chopped small
• water 3 cups
• Salt to taste

Tempering:

• Asafoetida 1/4 tsp.
• Cumin seeds 2 tsp.
• Chilli powder 1/2 tsp.
• Oil/Ghee 2 tsp.

Garnish:

• Cilantro/Coriander/Dhaniya leaves 1/2 a bunch chopped fine

I always like to temper my daals before I put the daal in the pan. So first heat the 1/2  tsp. oil  in a pan and add cumin seeds and turmeric. Once they start to to brown a little, add the moong daal and 3 cups of water. Add the tomato and salt. Now cook the daal without covering for 30-40 min’s on medium flame. Keep stirring in between to avoid the daal from settling at the bottom and getting burnt. The idea is not to mush the daal too much and that is why its not covered. Daal when ready, is tender but not mashed and consistency is thin. In case the daal thickens, please add some water. This moong ki daal tastes great when it is of watery consistency.

The main thing is the final tempering. Heat oil or ghee (ah! if you can indulge;) ) and add 2 tsp. cumin seeds, chilli powder and asafoetida. Add it to the hot daal and cover the daal for a couple of minutes so that the vapors stay in the daal. Add coriander leaves and enjoy! Cilantro adds a lot of flavor to this daal.

Moong ki Daal

Very simple to make but tastes really good. Moong ki daal goes best with hot fresh rotis and also with rice.

Moong ki daal, mixed vegetables and roti……tasty, simple meal

This is the only way I enjoyed eating Moong ki daal until I came across Indira’s beerakayapesara-pappu-kootu. This is a very different taste of moong daal but delicious. So, go ahead and enjoy moong ki daal.

The everyday Dal

Presenting……..the everyday dal

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of arhar (toor) dal is this everyday dal recipe. I have eaten it, in at least one meal for at least 60% of the days of my life………yeah that boring…………yet so intriguingly delicious that I still make it 4 days a week. So when I read about  Jihva for Toor dal , I thought I should muster courage  to post it for a fellow Michgander.

This recipe is of my favorite basic dal. Right from childhood, we are encouraged to eat the everyday dal in a big katora ( steel bowl) so that we vegetarians get our required amount of protein. I have read a lot of recipes of arhar dal on the internet but my version is the simplest,  emphasising the taste of the dal more than anything else. Even salt and red chilli are miserly used.  The most important thing is heeng (asafoetida), that is what imparts the most distinguishable taste to it.

Recipe:

Initial tempering:
oil 1/2 tsp
cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder 1 tsp

Toor dal 1 cup
water 3 cups
sugar 1/2 tsp
salt to taste

Final tempering
oil (preferably ghee)  2 tsp
asafoetida 1/4 tsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp
red chilli powder 1/2 tsp

The intial tempering ingredients are added directly to the pressure cooker. Once the cumin seeds start crackling, toor dal , water, salt and our secret ingredient: sugar is added.  The dal is then pressure cooked on low-medium heat for at least 45 mins or until 4 whistles, till the dal reaches the consistency of thick pumpkin soup. If the dal is too viscous, some water may be added to achieve the consisitency mentioned. Conversely, if the dal is thin, it can be heated further in an open cooker.

The most important step is the final tempering. In a separate small pan, ghee/ oil is heated. All the ingredients except red chilli powder are added to hot ghee/oil. The chilli powder is added at the end, after the cumin seeds have crackled. The tempering is then added to the dal in the pressure cooker and the lid is closed to retain the smell of the tempering.  And voila……our everyday dal is ready to be enjoyed with roti and rice.  Top it with good “danedaar ghee” and the day is made:)

Our daily meal: Roti, dal, vegetables and yogurt