Split Red Lentils Daal / मसूर की दाल फ्राय

Red Lentils

Ingredients:


1 cup Split red lentils
1 medium sized onion. Cut into vertical strips
2 small or 1 medium tomato finely chopped
salt to taste
turmeric
mustard seeds
cumin seeds
green chillies chopped as per taste. 
1/2 Tsp sugar
1 Tsp coriander powder
1/2 Tsp cumin powder
1 Tsp grated ginger
Asafoetida
For garnishing, finely chopped coriander


Procedure:

1. Pressure cook the Masoor / Split red lentils for approximately 3-4 whistles ( as per your pressure cooker,but it should cook properly soft). After pressure cooking ,the red lentils become yellow:) so don't be surprised to see red lentils daal fry as yellow!!!
2. In a pan heat up 2 Tsp oil.
3. Once oil is hot, put mustards seeds,cumin seeds, Asafoetida, chopped green chillies.
4. Stir well. Add chopped onion.
5. Sprinkle little water to fasten the cooking of onion. Once onion is cooked well, add chopped onion, grated ginger.
6. Stir well.
7. Add little water. Add coriander powder,cumin powder,turmeric.
8. Let it come to a boil. 
9. Churn little bit the pressure cooked daal before adding it to the pan.
10. Add cooked Masoor/red lentils.
11. Mix well. While stirring add salt to taste. Add sugar.
12. Once it comes to a proper boil. Switch off the stove and pour chopped coriander for garnishing. 

Goes very well with steamed plain rice.

Raw Mango Pickle / Mango Takku / कैरीचा तक्कू

My favourite ..most favourite version of pickle is this....you can eat with paratha..chapati and rice...mmmm I love it..

Simple to make as well.:)

Ingredients: 

medium sized 2 raw mangoes. Grated with medium thick grated

Red chilli powder 1Tsp or to taste

1/2Tsp Turmeric

salt to taste

2 Tsp oil

Sugar 1/4 Tsp

For tempering:

1/4 Tsp Fenugreek seeds

1/4 Tsp Mustard seeds

1/4 Tsp Cumin seeds

Asafoetida

Procedure:

1. To the grated mangoes, add red chilli powder,salt,turmeric,sugar.
2. Heat up oil. Add Fenugreek seeds,mustard seeds,cumin seeds,asafoetida.
3. Let the tempering cool down.
4. Pour it on mango mixture.
5. Mix well.
6. Add any ingredients as per your taste.
7. Store it in glass container.

In cooked rice add this Takku, little roasted groundnut powder and oil. Mix well. Add chopped coriander leaves.

It tastes amazinggggg.

Stuffed Capsicum

One of my brother's favourite curry. Whenever mom used to make he used to enjoy it like anything..I didnt that time..But Today I did. :) 


Ingredients: 
2 Bell peppers  ; If medium sized take 4 or cut  big pepper into 2 halves. 
5-6 medium sized potatoes; boiled and mashed
1 Big onion finely chopped
Coriander leaves finely chopped
Lemon juice 1 Tsp
Salt to taste
Green chillies to taste finely chopped
Turmeric 1/2 Tsp


Procedure:

1. remove the seeds from peppers. 
2. To mashed potatoes, add finely chopped onion,coriander leaves,green chillies,salt,lemon juice,turmeric. Mix well.
3. Stuff capsicums with this mixture.
4. In kadhai or pan add 2 tsp oil. Keep stuffed capsicum one by one.
5. Cover with lid. Cook on medium-low flake.
6. If capsicums are tender then no problem otherwise sprinkle little water with hands while cooking.
7. Cook for 10 min. Do not let the underside of capsicum burn.
8. Once proper cooked, capsicum will be soft also, the stuffing's color will be changed. Uncooked potatoes to cooked potatoes:)

Serve Hot!!

Karnataki Style Tomato Rassam / टोमँटो रस्सम

Since long I wanted to put this recipe, today was the day may be:)
I am giving the basic style here. The ingredients how many will be totally depend on your own taste. Hence  adjust the quantity as per your taste  :)


Ingredients:


Half cup Tuvar daal
1 medium sized tomato
1/2 Tsp Turmeric
1.5 Tsp Rassam masala
1/2 Tsp Tamerind extract
Jaggery as per taste
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds,curry leaves,Asafoetida for seasoning
Chopped Coriander leaves for garnishing


Procedure:

1. Cook Tuvar daal in cooker for 3 whistles (whistles depend on your cooker) 
2. Cook tomato in cooker. ( Should be able to make paste out of it) You can also cook it in microwave if you want. Cook it till it totally becomes soft and able to make a paste out of it. Once cooked, make a pure of tomato in mixer.
3. Keep around 2 cups of water in pan to heat.
4. In water,add tomato pure, turmeric, Tamerind extract/pulp,jaggery.
5. Let it come to boil. Add Rassam masala.
6. Boil it till it comes to a nice boil.  
7. Remove the water from cooked daal if it is there before adding to the water mixture because it will make Rassam more watery. Adjust water as per your taste or choice of consistency 
8. Add cooked and mashed Tuvar dal now. 
9. Stir well.Add salt.Mix well.Taste and check the spices. Add if necessary.
10. Once it comes to a nice boil, all the ingredients are proper. Make the flame on slow. And keep a small pan on stove ready for seasoning.
11. In this pan add 1 Tsp pure Ghee. Once hot, add mustard seeds. Let it splutter well. Add Asafoetida,curry leaves. 
12. Add this seasoning on the top of Rassam. 
13. Garnish with chopped Coriander leaves.

Serve with steamed rice...hot hot :)

Cabbage Pakoda!!!

Tastes great and you can make your family eat cabbage without complain much ;)
Nice snack dish for these depressingly cold winter evenings :)


Ingredients: 


1 cup Finely chopped cabbage
2 ladles Gram flour
Water
Red chilli powder to taste
Salt to taste
1 Tsp Coriander powder
2 pinches of Soda bi carb. 
1/2 Tsp Carom seeds ( Ajwain/ओवा )
1/4 Tsp Turmeric


Procedure: 

1. Finely chop the cabbage. Or you can cut into vertical shaped roughly as well. 
2. Add sufficient Gram flour just that much to accommodate the cabbage. 
3. Add salt,carom seeds,red chilli powder,coriander powder,turmeric.
4. Add 1 Tsp hot oil.
5. Add soda.
6. Mix well so that all the ingredients are mixed well.If you feel to have more Gram flour,add little.
7. Slowly add water in order to just bind flour not like usual BHAJI batter. :) Put only few spoons of water slowly one by one and check. It shouldn't be fluidly at all.
8. Heat up oil.
9. On medium flame pour little mixture by spoon in arbitrary shape. 
10. Once they pop up in oil, then flip the side.
11. Fry till golden brown.

Tastes good with Tamerind-jaggery sauce............

Enjoy !!!

Spinach with 4 Lentils / पालक ४ डाळीन सोबत

Recipe by my aai :)  I tried and liked it too :) Hope you all like it too. Being spinach in it, a true Iron source plus Lentils give nice Proteins supplement as a bonus we can say:)
Enjoy Healthy Foods!!!


Ingredients: 
225gm Spinach finely chopped
Green chillies to taste
Mustard seeds for seasoning
Cumin seeds for seasoning
Curry leaves 2 twigs
Garlic cloves chopped ( optional)
1.5 Tsp Tuvar daal 
1.5 Tsp Yellow split moong daal
1.5 Tsp Black split Urad dal ( split black gram)
1.5 Tsp Split Bengal gram ( chana dal / हरभरा डाळ)
Turmeric
1 Tsp Coriander powder
1 Tsp Cumin powder
salt to taste
1/2 Tsp sugar

Procedure:

1. Put chopped spinach and all daals in cooker and cook well for 3 whistles putting just enough water.
2. Once cooker is cooled down, in the cooker only, churn the palak well with the manual churner what we use for preparing buttermilk. ( रवी ). Since palak is cooked well it will become soft and even consistent.
3. Put pan for heating. Pour 1 Tsp oil. Let it heat. Put mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add cumin seeds, curry leaves,chopped green chillies, Asafoetida,turmeric. 
4. Pour the Spinach-daal mixture in it and stir well.
5. Add water as required by you. Whatever thin or thick consistency you want.
6. Mix well. Add coriander powder,cumin powder,salt to taste,sugar.
7. Let it boil for 4-5 min. Stir well from bottom properly.
8. Keep a small pan on different stove with 1 Tsp oil to heat.
9. Once oil is hot, add chopped garlic . wait till it turns golden brown. Pour this Tadaka on the curry and cover the curry immediately. ( This will prevent the Tadka aroma from escaping)

Serve hot with chapatis or even rice. 

Happy eating!

Tiranga Paratha

The name is Tiranga because of its ingredients:)

Ingredients:

Wheat flour to make dough.

1 big capsicum or 2 medium sized capsicums finely chopped

1 big onion finely chopped

1 medium sized tomato finely chopped ( don't take very juicy tomato so that it wont become soggy)

1 cup crushed paneer

1 Tsp garam masala

red chilli powder to taste

salt to taste

sugar 1/2 Tsp

mustard seeds

cumin seeds

1/2 Tsp coriander powder

1/2 Tsp cumin powder

Procedure:

1. Prepare the wheat flour dough what we generally prepare for chapatis. Cover it with some pan and keep aside.
2. Heat 2 Tsp oil in a pan. Once heated, add mustard seeds,cumin seeds. Let them splutter.
3. Add chopped onion. Stir fry well till it is half cooked. Add capsicum.
4. Once onion,capsicum are cooked well, add chopped tomato and stir well.
5. Add salt,red chilli powder,coriander powder,cumin powder,sugar.
6. Stir well. Add crushed paneer.
7. Mix well.
8. Switch off the stove.
9. Prepare medium sized 2 balls of the dough per paratha. And roll them into small round chapatis.
10. If the mixture is cooled down, put this mixture in the centre of one of the chapati and close it with the other one; close it well. And roll into a thick paratha.
11. Roast it nicely crispy on Tava. Put butter on top or spread oil after it is roasted properly.

Tastes good with yoghurt or any of your favourite pickle :)

Low fat stuffed-spicy Brinjal

This is my favourite recipe...just while writing it also I am feeling my mouth is watering ;)

I prepare Jowar-Ragi roti with this curry.

Preparation time: 10 min

cooking time: 10 min

Ingredients:

Medium sized Brinjals

For stuffing: desiccated coconut ( Dry coconut grated)

Garam masala ( काळा मसाला / गोडा मसाला )

Red chilli powder

Garlic cloves

Roasted ground nuts powder

Salt to taste

Turmeric

Jaggery

For garnishing: Finely Chopped coriander leaves

* adjust the quantity of stuffing masala as per Brinjals in number and size.

Procedure:

1. Dry roast grated ( dry) coconut in kadhai or pan for 3-4 min just till it changes color by little.
2. In mixer, put the roasted coconut, ground nut powder ( roasted peanuts's powder),red chilli powder, salt to taste, garam masala,turmeric and grind on low speed for 2-3 minutes.Now remove the pan and add garlic cloves and grind again for a minute. Add grated Jaggery and mix the ground masala well with hand in order de solve the lumps if any while grinding.
3. Slit the Brinjals to give a + sign. That is 1vertical and 1 horizontal slit taking care that Brinjal doesn't get cut into 2 pieces:)
4. Fill the above ground masala in the slitted Brinjals as much as possible. If masala is remaining, keep it aside. It can be used while cooking the Brinjals.
5. In a small vessel which can be properly fitted into your pressure cooker, keep these stuffed Brinjals one by one.
6. Pressure cook them for 2 whistles. Note: Don't put water in the container in which you have kept Brinjals.
7. Let the cooker cool down.
8. Keep a pan on stove to heat up. Add 1 Tsp oil. Once oil is hot, keep the cooked brinjals one by one in the pan on oil carefully.
9. After 2-3 minutes just flip them carefully in order to apply the oil all over the Brinjal.
10. Shallow fry them like this for 3-4 minutes. Add the extra masala iff any remaining.

Ready to serve!!!!!!

It saves lots of time and gas and oil :) yet the same taste..and more healthy :)

Garnish it with nice fresh cilantro.

Happy eating!!!!!!!!!!!

Moong Ghavan / Healthy Green Gram Dosa / मूगाचे घावन

This is a traditional Marathi preparation. Less time consuming and healthy...yet very tasty ;)

I had soaked Green gram overnight to make sprouts and then make curry of it but then sudden changes in plans and i made this delicious Dosa :) Its very very easy with very few ingredients.

Do try it!

Preparation time: 10 min ( and 2 hours of soaking of Dal)

Cooking time:4 minutes

Ingredients: Mung bean ( green gram)

Green chillies

Grated ginger

Salt to taste

Finely chopped onion

finely chopped coriander leaves

Procedure:

1. Soak Mung bean ( Whole green gram / हिरवे मूग ) for 2 hours in water. ( You can soak it overnight as well)
2. Drain all the water properly but while grinding, put Green gram ,green chillies,ginger in mixer and just add few spoons of water just to make the grinding easy. Make a paste.
3. Add salt to this paste as per your taste.
4. Add little water to get the consistency of Idly batter i.e little thicker than Dosa batter.
5. Keep chopped onion,coriander leaves aside ready.
6. heat up Tava enough.
7. Spread little oil.
8. Take a ladle full Batter and spread it like Dosa.
9. On top, spread chopped onion,coriander.
10. Let it cook on medium flame.
11. It has to be cooked only on one side. So wait patiently till you see the top side of Dosa is not wet which means Dosa is properly roasted from bottom( other side).
12. Once ready, fold it half ( like we do for masala Dosa)
13. Serve hot with tomato sauce or pudina chutney or any hot powdered chutney mixed with yogurt :)

Note:

• If you are using non-stick Tava, you don't need to apply oil for the second Dosa. also no need to sprinkle oil from side unlike usual Dosa. Which makes this Dosa more healthier :)
• You can even do it with sprouted Mung bean because that way it will increase the nutrition contents. ( and I never liked any curry of green gram with any spice ;) so this is the best option :) )