October 30, 2009

Moong Daal Sabzi (Green Gram Daal)

Ingredients:  Serves 4-5

1 cup Moong daal (soaked for about 30 mins)
1 tbsp grated coconut
1 tsp red chili flakes / dried red chili (optional)
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
4-5 Curry leaves
1/2 tsp Coriander-Cumin powder (Dhaniyajeera)
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tbsp Oil
Cilantro for garnishing

Method:

1.Heat Oil into a pan. Add mustard seeds and after they crackle add hing, cumin seeds.

2. Add curry leaves, chili flakes and coconut and stir for 2 minutes.

3. Now add soaked daal and all 3 powders

4. Add Salt and around 2 cups of water (along with the water used for soaking the daal). Let the daal cook for 10-15 minutes.

5. Garnish with Cilantro.

Tips:

Serve with phulkas.
You can add few drops of lemon juice to the daal.

October 29, 2009

Dal Fry (Desi Style)

Ingredients: Serves 4-5

1 cup - Yellow Lentil, Toor dal, Tuvar dal
1/2 cup - Tomato : Cut into small pieces.
1/2 cup - chopped Onion
1 tsp - Pav bhaji Masala
1 - Green chilly : Chopped
1 - Clove
1 tsp - Red Chili Powder
1 tsp - Cumin-Corriander Powder (DhaniyaJeera)
1 tsp - Onion-Garlic Powder (Kanda-Lasun)
4-5 - Curry Leaves
1 tsp - Mustard Seeds
1 tsp - Cumin Seeds
1/2 tsp - Hing
1 tbsp Oil

Cilantro For garnishing

Method:

1. Boil Toor Dal into pressure cooker Take care not to over cook and not to smash.

2. Heat Oil into a pan. Add mustard seeds and after they crackle add hing, cumin seeds, Clove, Curry leaves into it.

3. Add chopped onion and saute until they turn light brown. Also add chopped green chili to it and saute again.

4. Add tomato , red chili powder, Cumin-Coriander powder, Onion-Garlic powder and saute well till the oil come out of the mixture.

5. Now add daal and about 1 1/2 cup of water and let it cook for 8 minutes.

6. Add Pavbhaji masala and stir and garnish with coriander.

Tips:

You can add 2 tsp of butter at the end to the daal.
Try adding little amount of jaggery to get a sweet and spicy taste.

Gujrati Meethi Daal

Ingredients:

1 cup - Yellow Lentil (Toor Dal) (Cooked and mashed)
1/2 medium size - Tomato :cut into small cubes
1 medium size - jaggery piece
1/2 Green Chilly : cut into 2 pieces
Turmeric Powder
Red Chilly Powder
Coriander-Cumin seeds powder (Dhaniyajeera)
4-5 Curry Leave
Mustard Seeds
Cumin Seeds
Asafoetida (Hing)
1 tbsp Ghee

Method:

1. Whisk the cooked daal.

2. Take Ghee into a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When the splutter add hind and cumin seeds. (Mustard seeds should be less than cumin seeds)

3. Immediately add Curry leaves, Green chillies and tomato cubes into it. Saute until tomatoes become soft.

4. Add dhaniyajeera pwd, red chilly pwd as per taste, turmeric pwd to it and continue to saute until tomatoes turn softer.

5. Now add daal, tamarind, jaggery and about 1 cup of water. Let it cook for next 5 minutes till you smell its sweetness.

6. Garnish with chopped coriander.

Tips:

You can also add few drops of lemon juice to it.
You can also add peanuts to this daal.
Take care not to make it too water while adding water.
Serve with hot phulkas (rotis) or plain rice and enjoy.

Kachi Paki Daal (Yellow Lentil)

Ingredients:

1 Cup - Yellow Lentil (Toor Daal)
2 small pieces of Tamarind
1 tbsp - Grated Coconut
Red Chili Powder
Cumin + Coriander seeds powder (Dhaniya-jeera)
Turmeric Powder
Salt as per taste
4-5 Curry Leaves
Mustard Seeds
Cumin Seeds (Jeera)
Asafoetida (hing)
1 tbsp Oil
Chopped Cilantro

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add some mustard seeds into it. When they splutter add hing , Cumin Seeds, Curry leaves to it.

2. Add grated coconut and cilantro and stir for about 30 seconds.

3. Add about 2 cups of water and then add dhaniyajeera powder, red chilly powder, turmeric powder to it.

4. Add yellow daal and after about 5 minutes, add tamarind into the pan.

5. Let the daal cook. Take care not to overcook this daal.

6. Daal is now ready.

Tips:

Add few drops of lemon juice to this daal and enjoy the taste.

Paneer Tikka Masala

Ingredients: Serves 4

5 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 green chili, chopped
3 tbsp. chopped coriander
1 tsp. chili powder
salt to taste
250g paneer cut into cubes.
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped in 1-inch long thin slices
¼ tsp. turmeric powder
3-4 tbsp. thick yogurt
½ cup milk.
1 tomato puree

Method:

1.Mix together lemon juice, ginger, garlic, green chili,yogurt, half of the coriander, chili powder, salt, and paneer in a bowl . Cover and leave to marinate for an hour

2. After enough marination heat oil in pan. Add cumin seeds when oil heats add chopped Onion. Fry till they turn little brown.

3.Add tomato puree and fry for some time, add some water needed.

4. Add turmeric powder, little yogurt, milk, and remaining coriander. Stir few minutes.

5. Add marinade along with paneer to the sauce. Cook for sometime.
Can add little kasoori methi to get a nice flavour.

Tips:

You can add sliced green or red peppers (bell pepper or Shimla mirch), thinly sliced to the marinade mixture. This adds to the colour of the dish.
Different marination : Mix tandoori,chat and chana masala along with half of the ginger garlic paste with yogurt.
You can also marinate for the whole night by keeping the paneer cubes in freeze in a airtight container.