Spinach-Mango Dal

Spinach and Mango makes a wonderful, pleasant combination for a dal which is served with rice or rotis. They are cooked with split yellow moong beans which adds an earthy flavor. All together they make a match made in heaven. This recipe is family favorite in many homes in Andhra Pradesh, India. The dal is tangy, yet subtle and lip-smacking good.

Ingredients:

1 cup - yellow moong dal(pesara pappu)
1 cup - roughly chopped spinach
1/2 cup - peeled and diced mango cubes
2-3 - green chillies, slit in halves
1/2 tsp - red chilli powder
1/4 tsp - turmeric
Salt to taste

For tempering :
1 tsp - mustard seeds (rai,avaalu)
1 tsp - cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tsp - urad dal (mina pappu)
Pinch of asafoetida (inguva)
Few curry leaves
2-3 tsps - Oil


Method:

1. In a pressure cooker, cook moong dal, mango pieces, spinach and green chillies together in 1 1/2 to 2 cups of water. Cook for up to 2 whistles. If you are cooking directly cook using the same amount of water until dal is almost cooked. Please remember, which ever way you are cooking, dal should not turn soft and mushy.


2. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, on medium heat. When hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, asafoetida, curry leaves. When mustard seeds splutter and jeera and urad dal turns brown, add the cooked dal mixture.


3. Add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and cook for 5-6 minutes or till your desired consistency. Turn off the heat.


4. Serve hot with white rice or with rotis.

Note:

1. You can avoid using red chilli powder and increase the amount of green chillies or vice-versa.


2. You can substitute moong dal with Tuvar dal.


3. You can add 1/2 cup chopped onion and ginger garlic paste to the above recipe for a variation in taste. If you are adding onion and ginger garlic paste, please add after the tempering, before adding the dal mixture. Saute till onions turn translucent and then add it to the cooked dal mixture. You can also add onions along with dal and the other ingredients in the pressure cooker.


4. You can cook mango pieces separately in a cup of water and add it to the cooked dal.

Gatte Ki Sabzi

A few days back I saw a lady on Television making 'Gatte ki Pulao' and it sounded totally new to me (and wanted to try it, haven't yet, will post it soon). Later while browsing my cookbooks for new recipes I found 'Gatte ki Subzi' recipe in Nita Mehta's Great Indian Cooking. By now, I guess I've cooked most of the recipes from that book and I've loved all of it.

Gatte ki Sabzi is a Rajasthani dish made with Gatte (gram flour dumplings) and yogurt base. The taste is totally new and very tasty. Though it's a time-consuming process it is totally worth every effort.

Ingredients:
Servings : 4-5

For Ghatte:
1 cup - gram flour (besan)
1/2 tsp - carom seeds (ajwain)
1/2 tsp - turmeric powder
1/2 tsp - red chilli powder
1/2 tsp - cumin powder ( jeera powder)
1/2 tsp - saunf (fennel seeds),coarsely ground
1/2 tsp - coriander powder (dhania powder)
1/2 tsp - garam masala powder
1/2 tsp - ginger paste
1/2 tsp - green chilli powder
3 tsps - cream (malai)
2-3 tbsps - yogurt
few springs of mint leaves, coarsely chopped
a pinch of soda bi carb
1 tsp - salt or to taste
Oil for deep frying

Mix together:
1 cup - yogurt, preferably 1-2 days old
2 tsp - gram flour (besan)
1/2 tsp - turmeric powder
1 1/2 tsp - salt or to taste

Gravy:
1/2 cup - tomatoes puree
1/2 tsp - cumin seeds (jeera)
1/2 tsp - red chilli powder
3-4 - cloves (laung)
few curry leaves
3 tbsp oil



Method:

To make ghatte :

1. Mix all the ingredients under 'For Ghatte' into a soft dough like chapathi dough. Add more yogurt if required. Do not add any water.


2. Smear oil on both your hands and roll out 4"-5" long cylinder like pieces.


3. Boil about 6 cups of water. Keep the gatte in a round steel strainer and place on the pan of boiling water and cover with lid. Cook for 5-7 minutes. If it is not possible to do the 'strainer-way', add the gatte directly into the boiling water and cook for 8 minutes without placing the lid.


4. Let them cool. Drain them, once cool, cut them into 1" long like shown in the picture above. Keep aside.


5. Heat oil for deep frying, add the cut ghatte pieces and fry them till they turn crispy and golden brown. Set aside.


To make gravy:

6. Mix together yogurt, besan, turmeric powder, salt, ginger paste and green chilli paste. Add 1 cup water and beat well.


7. Heat oil on medium heat, add cumin seeds, when brown add curry leaves. Add cloves. Fry for a minute.


8. Add red chilli powder and the yogurt mixture. Keep stirring for 5-6 minutes. Add tomato puree and cook covered for another 5 minutes. Add water if the gravy is too thick.


9. Add ghatte and cook on low heat for another couple of minutes. Serve hot with rice or pulao.

Tomato-Methi Curry

Who doesn't love tomatoes ? I love them and I'm always in hunt for more recipes with tomatoes. Did you know that they contain Lycopene, a powerful natural antioxidant ? Lycopene helps to improve skin's ability to protect against the harmful UV rays and prevents against certain cancers.

Coming to the recipe part, this curry is really tasty and is been taught to me by my dear friend, I. The flavor of tomatoes in the curry are futher enhanced with methi leaves, and you know about my recent love for methi and that I'm trying to use them more often. It's a very easy recipe and uses a short and sweet list of ingredients. What more can I say ? Try it and you'll love it too.

Ingredients:

5 - large ripe tomatoes, diced into cubes
1 - medium sized onion, chopped finely
1 - small bunch of methi leaves, chopped and which yields around 1/2 cup
1/2 tsp - ginger-garlic paste 'or' 3 - cloves of garlic, chopped finely ( both are optional)
2 tsps - dry coconut powder
1 tsp - coriander powder
1 1/2 tsps - red chilli powder or to taste
1/4 tsp - turmeric
1 tbsp - oil
Salt to taste


Method:

1. After all the prep work, like chopping and stuff. Heat oil in a pan, on medium heat. When hot add chopped onions and ginger-garlic paste or chopped garlic(if you are using). Cook till onions are transculent.


2. Add diced tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Mix well. Cook tomatoes till they are half-way done. Add coriander powder, dry coconut powder and red chilli powder and mix once again. Cook for another 3-4 minutes. Do not over cook. Please note that the tomatoes should not become mushy. The curry should be runny with the tomato juices and tomatoes should be in nice red color.


3. Add chopped methi leaves in the end and mix well. Cook for another minute and turn off the heat


4. Serve hot with hot rice and a dollop of ghee if you please or serve as salsa to your chips.

Vaangibhaath

After a short break from blogging I'm back with my post, Vaangibhaath or Vangibhaath. It is super delicious rice item made with eggplants/brinjals and spices. Being an ardent fan of eggplants, this is one of my and my family's favorite dish. This rice item is from Karnataka, India. You can use ready made Vaangibhaath masala powder which is available in many Indian stores or make the powder right from scratch, like the way I did it. The homemade one is definitely superior in taste and is fresh. You can make a big batch of this powder and store it in the freezer for later use.

Please Note : The quantity of the ingredients for the masala powder given in my recipe below is for single use. If you need to make a large batch, double the quantity of the ingredients accordingly and store it in a ziploc/plastic bag in the freezer.

Ingredients:

2 cups - rice
10-12 - small eggplants ( Indian variety)
2 medium sized - onions
3 - green chillies
1 lemon sized - tamarind or 1 1/2 tbsp - tamarind paste
1/2 tsp - turmeric powder
Few curry leaves
Salt to taste
For tempering :
1 tsp - mustard seeds ( rai, avaalu)
1 tbsp - Chana dal (sanaga pappu)
3 tbsps - roasted peanuts
2 - whole red chillies
4 tbsps - groundnut oil or regular oil
Masala Powder :
3 - whole red chillies
1 tbsp - peppercorns
1/2 tbsp - fennel seeds (saunf)
1 tbsp - poppy seeds (khuskhus, gasaalu)
2 or 3 - cloves
2 0r 3 - green cardamoms

Method:

1. In a pan, dry roast(without oil) all the ingredients under ' Masala powder' and grind into powder.



2. Wash and slit eggplants into fours, keep aside soaked in water, it prevents discoloration. Chop onions and green chillies. Soak tamarind into 1 cup of hot water.


3. Wash rice and add 4 cups water and cook till done.


4. In a deep pan, on medium-high heat, add oil, when hot, do the tempering. Add mustard seeds, chana dal, peanuts and red chillies. When the mustard seeds splutters and chana dal turns golden brown(please make sure you don't burn dal and peanuts), add curry leaves and chopped green chillies. Add chopped onions and saute till onions turns transculent.


5. Add slit eggplants/brinjals, salt and turmeric powder and mix well. Cook till eggplants are half done. Now, squeeze pulp out of tamarind and add the tamarind water into the curry. Place lid and cook till all the water is evaporated and the eggplants are completely cooked.


6. Add the masala powder into the curry and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat. Mix cooked rice into the curry. Mix well and mix the rice gently.


7. Serve hot with papad, or raita, or just plain yogurt.

Happy Ugadi -2009

Asvadha wishes all the readers and dear friends a Very Happy Ugadi and Gudi Padwa. Hope the New Year brings in peace and prosperity in your home !

Here, is a lovely Carnatic music video of the music jewel of India, Bharat Ratna M.S.Subbalakshmi Garu, which I truly love. It's a beautiful song praising Lord Ganesha. Meaning of this song can be checked here. Enjoy !

Picture courtesy : apfamgs.org