Moong Dal Khichdi

I spent last (this?) summer in Germany on an internship and my survival there was based on a simple policy: grocery shopping only when I completely run out of food. And my little town actually had 3 Indian restaurants. Yes, yes...you heard me right: THREE! And this was such a small town...geez, people do like Indian food. To top that, there were at least FOUR Indian grocery stores that showed up on my Google search. And Germany being what it is, all of them were accessible by bus within 10 mins. I "heart" EU for this reason. Believe me, live in the US in small towns like Columbia and you'll know. I mean, you WILL know the pain.

So I shopped in the range of 250 gm packages of lentils, 1 kg packages of basmati rice, one packet of paratha, one packet of papad...you get the drift, right? And it gave me the amazing freedom to experiment within my limited budgetary constraints. That's how on the last week of my internship, I ended up with 1/2 cup of moong dal, 1 cup rice, 1/2 an onion, 1 tomato and 2 shrivelled up green chillies forgotten in the corner of the fridge. I was flying back to good ol' 'merica on the following Saturday and I still needed 10 meals...no, 9 meals (my manager treated me to a lunch on the last day) before I had to leave. The only thing that I could think was to make khichdi...but it was too late to call amma for the recipe. Which of course had me feverishly looking up recipes online. I found one which surprisingly did not call for any extra ingredients apart from my sad leftover stash. It was surprisingly good and I remember very clearly that I was chatting with Mai a.k.a Shweth when I was cooking and we chatted about recipes...good times :)

OK...after that really long rant, what follows is a minimal adaptation of the recipe I found online. It's the easiest thing to make...believe me. And I love moong dal, so it's a win-win dish for people like moi.

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup

Moong dal - 1/4 to 1/2 cup

Oil - 1 tbsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Hing - 1/2 tsp

Green chillies - 2, finely chopped

Onion - 1, medium sized

Tomato - 1, medium sized

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Garlic - 2 cloves

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala - 1/4 tsp (optional)

Coriander leaves (chopped) - 1/2 tsp

Water - 3 cups

Salt - to taste

Method:

1. Mix the rice and moong dal. Wash at least 3 times and set aside. You can also soak it for a little while, if needed.

2. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and splutter the jeera. Add the chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies. Fry for 30 secs. Then add the chopped onions and fry until transparent and pink.

3. Add the asafoetida and fry for 10 secs. Now add the tomatoes and all the masalas and fry for about 5 minutes until oil separates.

4. Now add the washed rice and moong dal, 3 cups water and salt to taste. Cover and cook for 3 whistles and then set on low for another 15 minutes.

5. After the pressure has released, open the cooker and add water and salt if needed. The consistency must be slightly liquidy. Garnish with the coriander leaves and serve with plain raitha, papad and pickle.

Source:

http://www.tarladalal.com/Rice-and-Moong-Dal-Khichadi-9951r

Bhindi Masala

Bhindi or Okra is a favorite green vegetable of mine. Amma makes a typical Southern Indian poriyal which is oh-so-simple and yummy. I especially love it with amma's rasam. Most of the recipes I have on my blog are skewed towards being Northern Indian cuisine which is a little weird given that I am actually a Tamilian a.ka. South Indian. Read here for the complete rant which had me side-tracked for about 30 mins. Yes, I DO know that I suffer from border-line ADD. And OCD. But, whatever.

Given my horribly health conscious lifestyle here, I hardly eat rice regularly anymore and so I'm always on the lookout for recipe variations of my favorite vegetables and other South Indian favorites that I can pair with rotis/phulkas. And that's exactly how I landed on this recipe. Everytime I pick out THE recipe to try, it's only because of one reason and one reason alone: I need to have ALL the ingredients in my spice shelf. I think I haven't yet reached that stage where I have begun experimenting wildly with my cooking. It's gonna take some time to get there. Until then, risk-averse me is going to stick to trying out recipes with minimal changes. So here goes!

Ingredients:

Bhindi/Okra - 1/4 to 1/2 lb

Oil - 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 tsp

Green chillies (slit) - 2

Red onion - 1 medium, halved and sliced lengthwise

Tomato - 1 small or 1/2 medium, halved and sliced lengthwise

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Amchoor powder (dried mango powder) - 1 generous tsp

Coriander leaves - freshly chopped

Water- 1/2 cup

Salt - to taste

Method:

1. Wash the bhindi/okra and cut off the ends. Slit it lengthwise and chop into 1 inch pieces. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a pan and splutter the cumin seeds. Add the ginger garlic paste and green chillies. Fry for about 30 secs and add the turmeric powder. Give it a quick stir and add the sliced onions and dry until transparent and pink. Add some salt to speed up the process and prevent the onions from burning.

3. Now add the bhindi/okra and let it cook for about 5 to 8 mins. Add the red chilli powder, coriander powder and salt to taste. Mix well, add 1/2 cup water and cover and cook for about 15 mins.

4. Add the tomatoes after it has cooked and mix. Add a little more water at this stage if you would like. Mix the tomatoes and cover and cook for another 15 mins.

5. Finally, add the amchoor powder and coriander leaves. Check the seasoning to make sure its right. Switch off the stove, cover and set aside until you're ready to eat.

I personally love this with fresh ghee phulkas. I've made some changes to the original recipe based on my judgement and personal taste. I've tried this umpteen times and love it. It's got an amazing tangy taste to it due to the amchoor powder and the tomatoes that are added at the very end. It also goes well with thayir sadham :) Yes, I am a South Indian who loves my thayir sadham...sue me!

Source:

Minimally adapted from this recipe -

http://www.honeywhatscooking.com/2010/05/punjabi-bhindi-masala-okra-sauteed-with.html

Instant Papad palya

If you have had Mangalorean home food, you definately would not have missed Papad and Odi (Known as Sandige in Kannada or Fritters in English) in your meals. I managed to get this recipe of Onion Odi from Aayis recipes so that you get an idea of how it is prepared.

Here is a recipe of a quick side dish that my mom used to make from leftover Papad / Odi which goes very well with Rice and Dalitoy (Dal in Konkani cuisine). This recipe does not have a specific name due to which I have termed it as Instant Papad palya

Ingredients:

One cup of Crushed Papad / Odi (of any type)
One medium Onion chopped
One small green chilli chopped
Quarter cup coconut scraping
Quarter cup grated carrot
A pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients except crushed Papad / Odi in a bowl. Papad / Odi are generally a little salty and spicy. Adding salt and chilli is are your taste requirements. Add crushed Papad / Odi a couple of minutes before serving so that it retains its crispiness and mix well. Instant side dish ready!

Credit to my Mom for the recipe.

Puliodharai - Tamarind Rice from Southern India

MTR may disagree with me on the name here, but hey I'm a Tamilian and this is how I know it. Not as puliogare or anything else. Simple and spicy puliodharai. Especially the one we can buy from Sri Ranganathar Kovil. Everytime we make a visit to the temple, my dad and I queue up behind the long snaking line in the sun just to buy some puliodharai. To what I can recall, amma never made puliodharai from scratch. We do have an equivalent of the same that is eaten with dosas and idlis - pulikachal. It's quite a favorite and traditional recipe from Tirunelveli ( my native town). The only puliodharai we had at home was the one that came out of the famous 777 ready-to-mix jar. Other versions that I remember are the ones from Grand Sweets, Parvati Bhavan etc.

I dutifully carried a jar of 777 puliodharai paste when I came to the US. It's almost half-empty now but it somehow doesn't taste the same. I'm not sure if it's the temperature change or the water or the rice from the Indian store here or whatever. But like I said, it just does NOT taste the same. And thus began my quest to find a recipe online. After much research, I chose this recipe. Reason: I had all the ingredients it called for and it seemed minimum fuss compared to the others AND it had the ubiquitous "temple style" tag in it. So I was pretty much sold on it 'cause I really did not care much and just wanted something to try on a lazy mid-week day.

Ingredients:

Cooked rice - 2 cups

Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp

Coriander seeds - 2 tsp

Fenugreek seeds- 1/4 tsp

Sesame seeds - 2 tsp

Channa dal - 4 tsp

Red chillies - 6

Peanuts (dry, roasted and halved) - 2 tsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - a few

Asafoetida / Hing - 1/4 tsp

Gingely oil - 2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

1. Heat a pan and fry the coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds and sesame seeds. Do NOT add oil to fry them. Remove and set aside to cool.

2. Add 1/2 tsp oil and fry the red chillies followed by the channa dal and peanuts. Set aside to cool.

3. Dissolve the tamarind paste in 2 tbsp water and set aside.

4. Now add the remaining oil to the pan and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the curry leaves, turmeric powder and hing followed immediately by the tamarind extract. Then add salt and let it boil for 5 mins.

5. In the meantime, grind the ingredients from step 1 into a fine powder and the ingredients from step 2 into a coarse powder separately.

6. Add the powder from step 1 to the boiling tamarind mixture. Switch off the stove and let it sit.

7. Spread out the rice in a plate or wide mixing bowl and add 1 tsp gingely oil to it and sprinkle some salt. Keep in mind that the tamarind mixture also has salt added to it.

8. Now pour the tamarind mixture over the rice and mix well. Finally add the powder from step 2. If the rice feels dry, add another 1 tsp of oil.

It helps if the rice is a little over cooked. Kinda adds to the taste. I usually eat puliodharai with plain papad or curds. Another good side dish to go with puliodharai is urlai kezhangu podi maas :) I promise I'll add the recipe soon.

Source:

Adapted minimally from this recipe -

http://samayal-ulagam.blogspot.com/search/label/SPECIAL%20TAMARIND%20RICE%20-%20TEMPLE%20STYLE

Dal Makhni

Update#2
So, In my search for a Dal Makhni that was a happy medium between Meena's version and Vegeyum's version, I came across this simplest version of in Sanjeev Kapoor's website. I made some tweaks and added a few of my own touches to come up with a more indulgent version for those one-off occasions. In this case, that one off occasion was Diwali and I made it for a potluck. It was liked by all and I got rave reviews from everyone :) You can find it HERE!!!
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Update#1
I made a better version of Dal Makhni from Meena's blog here. Totally in love with it! Also, there's a free cookware giveaway. Read here for rules to participate :)

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My first impression of dal makhni (as seen on TV and other media) was a very tasteless and overcooked dal with little to no seasoning. But when I did taste good dal makhni at Mast Kalandar in Bangalore, I was sold!

When I looked up the recipes online, they were way too complicated and the stupid social stigma associated with stocking black dal at home kept me further away from the dream. Anyways, being away from home has its benefits and I finally got to make some dal makhni at home. After the research, I knew the recipe was rich...but I was NOT prepared for this level of rich. I haven't used this much butter, ghee and cream in ONE SINGLE dish. Being a health freak, now that I have actually made this and know how much of butter, ghee and cream goes into this...I don't see myself making this often or for that matter ordering it at a restaurant too. It's seriously a crazy rich dish and personally for me, I just cannot stomach it.

Of course, I may be totally wrong here. Because the alternate name for Dal Makhni is apparently Maa Ki Dal. So it has to be a healthy too, right? There were many versions out there but I picked on one from "A Lifetime of Cooking". The recipe is supposed to be handed down from the chef of Oberoi Hotels in Bangalore. With a small prayer to the Gods that I don't die of cholesterol, I began gathering the ingredients for this dish. Hope you guys have the courage to try it too.

Ingredients:

Black Urad Dal (whole) - 300 gm

Rajma (red) - 100 gm

Channa dal - 100 gm

Ginger - 20 gm

Garlic - 6 cloves

Green chillies - 4

Salt - to taste

For the tadka:

Ghee (clarified butter) - 50 gm

Jeera - 2 tsp

Garlic - 6 cloves

Hing - 1/2 tsp

Methi seeds (fenugreek) - 1 tsp

Tomato (puree) - 200 gm

Finish:

Butter - 100 gm

Half and half (non-fat) - 30 ml

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala - 1 tsp

(I doubled all the ingredients in the recipe EXCEPT for the ghee and butter. I also used non-fat half-and-half instead of cream. BUT, in spite of all of this...the dal was way too rich for me)

Method:

1. Soak all the dals overnight in warm water. Wash well the next day ( at least 3 times).

2. Chop the garlic, ginger and green chillies finely. Add this to the dal along with some salt and pressure cook for at least 3 whistles. Then set on low and cook for another 15 mins.

3. Once the pressure is released, open the cooked and mash the dal well. I did not drain the water since it probably has all of the proteins in it. But the real recipe calls you to drain the excess water. I think it's a judgement call here.

Tadka:

1. Heat the ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add the cumin seeds and let it splutter.

2. Then add the methi seeds (fenugreek) and fry until lightly brown.

3. Now add the chopped garlic and fry until the color changes a little.

4. Add the hing and then add the tomato puree. Cook until the oil separates from the puree.

5. Now add the dal to this tadka and mix well. After it boils once, add the masalas and salt along with the butter and half-and-half. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes until well blended.

Serve hot with rotis or steamed rice.

Source:

http://vegeyum.wordpress.com/2008/06/23/dalmakhani/

Usually, normal dal that I make does not last more than 4 meals in my house. But this one lasted for a week and a half. Even VJ couldn't stomach too much of this. He was completely aghast at the amount of butter that went into it. When I told him it was half of what the recipe called for, he literally went ballistic. All I say is this, try this dal at your own peril. You won't regret it once it's done. It does taste heavenly and absolutely like the dal makhni in restaurants. The only difference is now, you do know what goes into that innocent dal makhni that is served to you in restaurants.

Paneer Butter Masala

Being a vegetarian, I think it's very understandable when I say that I love paneer. It's one staple that's always stocked in my freezer along with that packet of frozen parathas. Paneer is also probably the one thing that I would take with me if I would be marooned in an island. My love for paneer can be traced back to this one restaurant in my hometown of Pondichéry: Hotel Surguru. When it opened back in the late 90's, it took the small city of Pondichéry by storm. That was the place where I ate stuffed nan and paneer butter masala for the very first time. And since then, paneer and I have shared a relationship that's stronger than many bonds I've formed since then.

I tried to re-create the recipe many times over the years and although all of those attempts were good in it's own way, they always lacked that kind of "restaurant" taste that I craved. When I stumbled upon this recipe on Nags website...it was like a BINGO moment for me. The one thing about her recipe that I did change was the use of the cream. I remember from some vague memory of a PBM version that using cashew paste was the trick. So I decided to substitute the cream with the cashew paste. So Nags, this one's for you...I enjoy your blog a lot and I'm happy that I tried this recipe of yours. It's a favorite of VJ's and Kupy's now and it's a joy to see them gobble it all down like kids.

Ingredients:

Paneer cubes - 2 cups

Onion - 1 medium sized

Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala powder - 1 tsp

Tomato - 1 medium sized

Tomato ketchup - 1 tbsp

Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) - 1 tbsp/a generous pinch

Milk - 1/2 cup

Cashew nuts (whole/broken) - 1/4 cup

Bay leaf - 1 small

Oil - 3 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

1. Set the paneer out to defrost and cut into cubes.

2. Chop the onions, puree the tomato and make a paste of the cashew nuts with little milk or water.

3. Heat the oil in a pan. Add th ebay leaf first, followed by the onions and 1/2 tsp salt. Fry until the onions are browned.

4. Now add the ginger-garlic paste and fry until the rawness fades away.

5. Add all the masalas (chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder) and fry for 30 secs.

6. Now add the tomato puree, tomato ketchup and the kasuri methi. Mix well and cook for about 5 minutes until it is all well blended. You can also fry the mix a little extra in this step until the tomato leaves oil. This is for the people who don't enjoy the tangy taste of the tomato puree. But I haven't tried frying extra and I'm not sure how it would be.

7. Add the milk and lower the fire. Cover and cook for 5 mins.

8. Finally add the paneer, cashew paste and salt to taste. Mix well and cook for another 5 mins with the lid.

Serve hot with oven baked nan (which I am definitely going to try sometime) or phulkas.

Source:

Minimally adapted from http://www.cookingandme.com/2009/10/paneer-butter-masala-restaurant-style.html

And this time you don't get the usual lame lines, 'cause I can now take pics with my Panasonic LUMIX...Ha! :)

Tirunelveli Sodhi + Chepa Kezhangu Varuval + Ingee Chutney - Virundhu Saapadu Series

My native place is the city of Tirunelveli; famous for its temples (Nellaiappar Kovil), the Thamirabarani river, Rmkv and most importantly it's cuisine. As a kid, I never realised how distinct amma's cooking was and the way we mixed our ingredients giving it that unique flavor. It will always be reminiscent of home and amma and everything that goes with it. I have been to Tirunelveli about 5 times in my whole life and on each visit it was for a wedding or some other religious trip. And all such trips have one major component in common; the food. Amazing , delicious, mouth watering yet simple vegetarian food. Rice is our staple and the curries that go with it are countless with each curry having a vegetable stir-fry (poriyal) as it's accompaniment.

On that note, I am going to introduce a typical Tirunelveli dish called Sodhi. It's a coconut milk based curry and it's kind of the Indian version of the Thai Green Curry. And yes, that's the reason I love Thai food. Sodhi is served during the Maru Veedu function of a Tirunelveli Saiva Pillai wedding. When amma makes this at home, ingee chutney (ginger chutney) is a given for the simple reason that coconut milk and rice is a heavy meal and the ginger chutney balances the taste and is easy on the stomach. But my most favorite dish that goes with sodhi is the cheppa kezhangu varuval (tarro root/eddoe).

Amma and appa used to literally take the entire morning in the pre-prep for making sodhi. They extracted the milk from two fresh coconuts by hand and later on using a mixer/blender. But now, thanks to consumerism, when I want to make sodhi I go to the nearby super market and buy a can of coconut milk.

What follows is a recipe that's as authentic as a sodhi recipe can get.

Sodhi

Ingredients:

Coconut milk - 1 can

Moong dal/Paasi paruppu - 2 tbsp

Potato - 1 small sized

Carrot - 1

Drumstick (if available) - 1/2

Eggplant/Aubergine/Brinjal - 1 small sized

Onion - 1/2 medium sized

Green chillies - 2 spicy hot

Curry leaves - a few

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Coconut oil - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Method:

1. Wash and cook the dal in 1/2 cup water in a vessel.

2. Slice the onions, slit the green chillies and chop the vegetables in big peices. Add the coconut oil in another vessel and splutter the mustard seeds in it.

3. Add the curry leaves, green chillies, onions and turmeric powder and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. 4. Now add the vegetables and fry for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cooked dal to this, 1/2 cup water and cover and cook until the vegetables are done.

5. Add the coconut milk and water as needed to get a thin pouring consistency like sambhar or rasam. Now add salt to taste and let it come to just one boil. DO NOT OVER BOIL as the coconut milk will break/curdle.

Cheppa Kezhangu Varuval

Ingredients:

Cheppa kezhangu/Arbi/Tarro Root - 6 medium sized

Gram flour/besan - 4 tbsp

Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste

Oil - to deep fry

Water - as needed

Method:

1. Wash the kezhangu in water until all the mudiness is gone and place in a vessel with enough water to cook it. Alternatively, you can also cook it in a pressure cooker - 2 whistles should do the trick.

2. Once cooked, let it cool and then peel it. Cut into half (lengthwise) and then into wedges (again going lengthwise).

3. Place in a plate or wide vessel. Mix the besan with the chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt. 4. Sprinkle on the kezhangu and mix until they are lightly coated. Repeat if necessary and add water if it is too dry.

5. Heat the oil to almost-smoking temperature in a kadai. Lightly slip in the pieces one by one and deep fry until they are a nice golden brown. Remove using a slotted spoon onto a paper towel.

Ingee Chutney

Ingredients:

Ginger - 8 inch piece

Red chillies (dried) - 2

Urad dal/uluntham paruppu - 1 tsp

Channa dal/kadalai paruppu - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds/kadugu - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - a few (optional)

Method:

1. Cut or slice the ginger into rough pieces. Do not chop finely.

2. Heat oil in a small kadai and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the urad dal, channa dal, curry leaves and fry until lightly browned.

3. Add the ginger and fry for 2 to 3 mins. Remove and set aside to cool.

4. Once cooled down, blend in a mixer with salt to taste until it's a smooth paste.

Source:

Amma, aachi and possibly countless other mother's, daughters, daughters-in-law etc. from other Tirunelveli Saiva Pillai homes :)