Dal Panchratan / Pancharatni (Dal Curry with Five Lentil Types)

Dal or lentil curry is my go-to dish when my vegetable tray looks empty and I need a quick-fix lunch or dinner. Both TH and I love it with roti and if I am in no mood to mix, roll, and cook up rotis, I just make an easy jeera rice (please ignore the pictures in that jeera rice post. kthanx) and we are good to go.

What's better than a simple dal tadka or dal makhani? Dal Pancharatni! Panchratan means five jewels and in this particular recipe we use a mix of five different types of dal or lentils. A dal cannot get more interesting than that!

I got a bag of mixed dal from a  supermarket in Delhi when I was there last. This makes the job of making panchratan dal so much easier because otherwise you'd have to buy the dal separately. I haven't seen this in Singapore though.

Dal Panchratan / Pancharatani Recipe
Serves 2-4

Ingredients:
4 tbsp chana dal (split Bengal gram)
1/4 cup tuvar (arhar) dal
1/4 cup moong dal (split green gram)
3 tbsp urad dal (whole black lentils)
1/4 cup masoor dal (split red lentil)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 large tomato, pureed
1 large onion, ground to a paste
1" piece of ginger, grated
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste

For tempering:
2 tsp ghee (or oil)
1/2 tsp jeera / cumin seeds
1/4 tsp mustard seeds (optional)
A few curry leaves

How I Made It:

1. Pressure cook the mixed dal (lentils) with 5 cups water and the turmeric powder for 4-5 whistles or until the dal is cooked mushy. Alternately, bring the dal and water mixture to a boil and simmer on low heat until cooked. This will take between 45 mins to an hour.

2. Heat oil for tempering in a kadai (that's big enough to hold everything) and add the ingredients in the given order. Let the cumin seeds splutter and turn brown and the mustard seeds (if using) pop. Next, add the ginger and garlic and fry for a minute.

3. The onion paste and red chilli powder go in next. Cook until the paste is fried to a ligher colour (about 3-4 mins). Next, add the pureed tomato and salt. Mix well and let it simmer for another 3-4 mins.

4. Finally, add the cooked dal, mix well and simmer for 5 mins until all the flavours have blended. Check salt.

Best served hot with roti or lightly flavoured pulao / pilaf.

Banarasi Dum Aloo Recipe

If I see a bag of baby potatoes when I head to the supermarket near my place, I pick it up. Always. Good things always come out of having a bag of baby potatoes in your kitchen. You will see. 

Earlier last week, I was telling myself how inefficient and wasteful I am being. I almost always turn online if I want a recipe but love to buy cookbooks and stack them up in the kitchen shelf. In my new kitchen, all the books are out and neatly arranged so I really have no excuse for not using them more. 

So armed with about 15 baby potatoes, I turned to one of those small Tarla Dalal booklets, simply and efficiently called "Potatoes". There were some really great looking recipes in there but I had to zero in on Banarasi Dum Aloo because that's what I had all the ingredients for.

Since this is a cuisine I am not familiar with at all, I decided to not meddle with the original recipe and follow it to the T. This meant frying up the entire batch of baby potatoes but all I did was gulp once before going head and doing it. 

Banarasi Dum Aloo

Serves 2-3 as a side

Total cooking time: 45 mins

Source: Tarla Dalal's Potatoes

Ingredients:

12 to 15 baby potatoes
oil for deep-frying

1/2 tsp powdered cardamom (about 8 pods)

1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)

3 tbsp cream (or 1/4 cup plain curd)

A small bunch chopped coriander for garnish

2 tsp butter

Salt to taste

For the gravy:
2 cups roughly chopped tomatoes (2 large ripe tomatoes)
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
3-4 dry red chillies (use dry Kashmiri red chillies for added colour)
2 tbsp broken cashew nuts
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
2 1/2 cups water

How I Made It:

1. Wash and dry the baby potatoes. Pierce each potato all around with a fork and deep fry in hot oil, with the skin on, till the potatoes are cooked and golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper and keep aside.

2. Combine all the ingredients together under the "gravy list". I know this sounds weird but trust me on this. Dunk all the ingredients together along with the water and cook on a low flame for around 15 mins or until the tomatoes have turned mushy and soft. Cool and blend to a smooth paste. If you have one of those soup blenders like me, just go ahead and whip it up hot. Saves a lot of time.

3. Heat the butter in a pan and add the powdered cardamom and gravy paste and allow it to come to a boil. Simmer till the oil separates form the gravy. This will take about 12-15 mins. Keep the fire on simmer throughout and be prepared for a slight mess if you don't use a deep pan. The tomato gravy will bubble up all over your stovetop.

4. When the gravy is ready, add the potatoes, kasuri methi, and salt and simmer for another 3-4 mins. Finally, add the cream and coriander and serve hot with jeera pulao or rotis.

Notes:

- I like to use powdered cardamom because its not pleasant to bite into the pods when you are eating. 

- The original recipe also called for 1 tbsp honey but I omitted this because we were not in a mood for a sweet-ish dish. I think this is meant to be hot and sweet so add that in if you want to get more of an authentic Banarasi Dum Aloo. 

- You can boil and add the potatoes to the gravy if you want a healthier version. Adding cubed, fried regular potatoes will also taste brilliant, I am sure. 

- Banarasi Dum Aloo does not use dahi or curd as normal dum aloo does so use cream if you have it. Substitute with curd as a last option. 

- The gravy gets thick on sitting for a while so if you are reheating leftovers, add a little bit of curd of water before heating it up. Don't add more cashews than what's mentioned, it will make the gravy even thicker.

- As you can clearly see, I was out of coriander leaves :)

Vegetable Kurma / Kuruma Recipe

Let me confess and say upfront that I made this very similar to the navratan kurma which The Husband really digs. Boys seem to like mixed vegetables disguised under some spicy gravy don't they? If I make TH a single-vegetable dish, he is okay with it. Add two vegetables, he is happy. Add three, he loves it! True story.



I have another confession too. This picture was taken the day after I made the kurma. This is a pile of leftover vegetable kurma that got reheated, got transfered to a nice bowl, and got clicked. This also explains why the gravy is much thicker than it will be when you make it fresh.

Vegetable Kurma
Serves 4 as a side
Adapted from Sashi Recipes

Ingredients:
2 onions
4-5 green chillies
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1.5 cups mixed chopped vegetables (I used carrots, beans, cauliflower, peas)
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp yogurt (optional)
2 tsp coriander powder / malli podi
1/2 tsp cumin / jeera
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
A few curry leaves
Coriander leaves for garnish
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp ghee
Salt to taste

Grind Together (with sprinkled water if needed):
4 cloves
2" cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
5-6 cashew nuts
2 green chillies
1/4 cup grated coconut

How I Made It:

1. Grind the listed ingredients to a fine paste.

2. In a pan, heat the oil and ghee together. When hot, add curry leaves, cumin and fennel seeds. Immediately add the chopped onions, green chilies and saute the onion till it turns golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for another minute.

3. Add the vegetables, coriander powder and 1 cup water and allow the vegetables to cook covered in medium flame for a few mins (8-10 mins should be sufficient)

4. Add yogurt (if using) and the ground paste with some salt and allow it to boil for 3 min. Then add the milk, stir well and bring to boil. Remove from fire, garnish with coriander leaves and serve warm with idiyappam, appam, roti, Kerala parotta, etc.

Note:

The dish will have much more gravy than what you see in the picture but the vegetables absorb it if you leave it in the fridge overnight. Still tastes great though. 

Chow Chow Kootu Recipe

No kootu I've ever made has looked this pretty. The mom-in-law made this the day after they landed in Singapore earlier last month. Thank God I had some chow chow languishing in the fridge. Sometimes, letting vegetables stay in there results in good things - like this kootu. 

 Chow Chow Kootu

Ingredients

• 1 chow chow cut into small cubes
• 1/2 cup channa dal / Bengal gram / kadala paruppu
• 
  
• Grind Together:
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
• A pinch of turmeric
• 1 tsp jeera / cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 green chilli (optional)
• Salt to taste
• 
  
• For Tempering:
• 2 tsp (coconut) oil
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp urad dal (optional)
• A generous pinch of hing / asafoetida
• A few curry leaves

Instructions

1. Wash the Bengal gram and add to the cut, cleaned chow chow. Add 4 cups water and cook on a low open flame until the chow chow is cooked soft and the Bengal gram is cooked yet firm (about 15-20 mins). Add salt and turmeric.
2. Grind the ingredients in the list well with a bit of added water and add to the cooked chow chow mixture. Mix well and simmer until all extra water is absorbed and the mixture takes a thick consistency.
3. Heat oil for tempering and add ingredients in the order given. Once the mustard seeds pop and the urad dal turns brown, dunk everything into the kootu mixture and mix well. Adjust salt. Serve hot with rice and kozhambu of choice.

Yield: Serves 4
Prep Time: 00:10
Cook time: 00:30

Notes: 

- If the kootu is too watery even after simmering for a while, mix 1 tsp rice flour with some water and add to the mixture. Bring to light boil and the mixture should get thicker. 

- Another alternative is to drain the water once the chow chow and channa dal have cooked. I don't prefer this method too much because of the loss of nutrients through the water. 

Green Mor Kozhambu / Buttermilk Curry Recipe

Mor Kozhambu / Moru Kachiyathu is my go-to kozhambu recipe when I am in a hurry or I have spent too much time making the side dishes. Its quick, easy, and delicious and both of us like it. 

There's a small twist to this recipe - I added fresh coriander leaves to the coconut paste. The flavour is distinct and very enjoyable. A great idea if you have coriander-indifferent people in the house.

Green Mor Kozhambu Recipe
Serves 2-4

Ingredients:
2 cups buttermilk + 1 cup water
Salt to taste

Grind Together:
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/2 tsp jeera
A pinch of turmeric powder
1/2 cup coriander leaves, loosely packed

For Tempering:
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
5-6 fenugreek seeds
1" piece of ginger, crushed
1 dry red chilli, halved
A few curry leaves

How I Made It:

1. Heat oil for tempering. Add the rest of the ingredients in the order given. When the mustard seeds pop and the fenugreek seeds turn a golden brown and fragrant (take care not to burn!), add the ground coconut paste. Mix well and turn off heat.

2. Add the diluted buttermilk, mixing well as you do. Add salt.

Serve with warm rice and side dish of choice.

Pictures taken in the home made light box for food photography

Schezwan Vegetables Recipe - Indo Chinese Series

Understandably, you all loved the Chilli Paneer Recipe I posted last week. Of course, frying up something and mixing it in a delicious spicy sauce should be up everyone's alley, no surprises there.



After moving into the new apartment, we had friends over and I decided on an Indo-Chinese menu. I was badly craving some and grabbed the opportunity to cook some up myself. I made the Chilli Paneer, Vegetable Fried Rice and Schezwan Vegetables for some gravy to go with the fried rice.

Schezwan Vegetables Recipe
Adapted from Sailus Food
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 large onion, cubed into 1" pieces roughly
1 carrot, cut into small, thin discs
8-10 french beans, cut into 1″ pieces
8 baby corns, each cut into 6 round discs
1 green capsicum, cut into 1" pieces roughly

2 tbsps oil

2 tbsps finely chopped spring onion greens (for garnish, optional)

For The Sauce:
2 dry red chillis, halved
1/4 tsp red chilli pwd
1 tsp crushed garlic (about 6 small flakes)
1.5 tsp soya sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsps tomato puree (or 1 tsp tomato paste)
1 tbsp cornflour
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups vegetable stock or water (I used vegetable stock)

How I Made It:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the onions. Cook until soft and transparent - about 3 mins.

2. Add the remaining vegetables with some salt and saute lightly for 3-4 mins.

3. Mix all the sauce ingredients together and add to the cooking vegetables. Let it simmer for 5 mins or until the vegetables are cooked, yet firm. If the gravy is getting too thick, add more water. Adjust salt and add pepper and spring onion greens - and its ready to serve!

This is one of those dishes where the preparation time is higher than the cooking time but the end result is very satisfying and can really help you get rid of your Indo-Chinese craving!

Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Masala - Step by Step Recipe

I have been posting way too many dessert recipes of late so here's something to offset that. I have talked about my dislike towards the sliminess of Okra in my Okra Fry with Peanuts recipe post so you can rest assured that if I use Okra, the final dish will show no signs of sliminess. This is another one of them.



Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Masala
Source: Monsoon Spice
Serves: 2 - 4 as a side dish

Ingredients:
3 cups Bhindi/Okra, washed, dried and cut into small pieces
8 shallots, sliced fine (or use 1 large onion)
2 tomatoes, finely chopped (or 1 tbsp tomato paste)
1 tsp ginger garlic Paste
A pinch of sugar (optional)
1 cup yogurt, beaten
1 tbsp grated coconut, fresh/frozen
8 cashew nuts, soaked in warm milk for at least 10 mins
A generous pinch of kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves
1 tsp garam masala
½ -1 tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp amchur / dry mango powder
1 tsp coriander powder / malli podi
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

For Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Urad Dal/Split Black Lentils
2-3 Dry Red Chillies, halved
A Pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
Few Curry Leaves
1 tbsp Oil

How I Made It:

1. Sia's tip: Sprinkle little salt to okra pieces and mix well. Keep it aside for half an hour. This helps in reducing the sliminess while frying the okra. I did this and it worked!

2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and add okra pieces to it. Fry them continuously at high flame till they turn brown retaining their crispiness, about 7-10 mins. Alternatively you can also deep fry them. Transfer these fried okras to a plate lined with kitchen/paper towel and set aside.

3. Grind soaked cashews and coconut to smooth paste adding the milk used for soaking. Set aside.

4. Heat oil for tempering in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When they pop, add cumin seeds, urad dal, dry red chillies, hing and curry leaves and sauté it for a minute till the dal turns golden brown in colour.

5. Now add finely chopped onions and fry till they turn light golden. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for another minute. Add all the dry masalas - garam masala, red chilli powder, amchur, turmeric and coriander powder - along with kasuri methi and fry for a minute in sim.



6. Mix in finely chopped tomatoes (if using) and sauté till they turn pulpy and release their juice, about 2 minutes (or add the tomato paste at this stage). Now add ground cashew-coconut paste and mix well. Keep stirring for a minute.



7. Add yogurt, sugar and salt to taste and stir well. Depending on the consistency of gravy required, add ½-1 cup of water and mix well. Simmer the gravy and let it cook uncovered for another 5 minutes.



8. Mix in fried okra and adjust salt. Add little more water if you think the gravy is too thick and simmer for another 3-5 minutes.



9. Done! Serve with rotis or any mixed rice.

Navratan Korma / Navaratna Kurma Recipe - Step by Step

I love kurmas (or kormas, for those of you who feel that's the way it should be spelled). The ones I grew up eating had lots of coconut or coconut milk in them as you would expect, since the growing up happened in Kerala.

A bit about Navratna Korma although I don't usually like doing yada yada (get to the recipe already!), but this dish is seriously interesting. Navratan means nine jewels and this dish is supposed to contain a mix of 9 fruits, vegetables and fried nuts. In true Mughlai cuisine fashion, cream (or cashew nut paste) is added to form the gravy.

I have seen quite a few variations in the 9 items used by different restaurants. TH is quite the spoilsport, he doesn't like it when sweet stuff is mixed with spicy (Ok, I admit, I am like that too, there's a reason why I married that guy) so I didn't add pineapple to my version, which is quite a popular "ratna" to add to Navratan Korma. Since we also don't like biting into raisins in our curries, and I really couldn't omit all the sweet stuff, I ground it into the paste. Genius, eh?



Navratan Korma / Navaratna Kurma Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 cups of diced, mixed vegetables - I used carrot, beans, peas, corn and potato (cauliflower will be nice too!)
A few cubes of paneer
10 cashew nuts and 10 raisins soaked in warm water, drained and ground to a paste
1 large onion, minced
1 tomato, quartered and pureed
3 green chillies
1" piece of ginger
4 garlic cloves (or use 1 tsp ginger garlic paste)
1 tsp tomato paste (or use another pureed tomato)
1 cup milk
1 tbsp butter (or ghee)
Salt to taste

The Spice Powders:
2 tsp garam masala (or use 1 tsp freshly ground masala like cloves, cardamom, cinnamon)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp jeera



Sidenote: I got these blue flexible chopping boards from IKEA the other day and totally love them. Yeah they scratch easily but don't they make awesome  background for the 'ingredients picture'?

How I Made It:


1. Heat the butter or ghee in a kadai / pan.


2. Add minced onions and fry until pink and transparent.


3. Grind the green chillies with the ginger and garlic and add to the onions. If using ginger garlic paste, just crush the chillies and add along with it. Fry for 30 seconds.


4. Add all the spice powders. Fry for a minute.


5. In go the pureed tomato and the tomato paste


6. Mix well and let it cook until the butter appears on the sides (about 4-5 mins)


7. Add milk and about 1/2 cup of water, more or less.


8. Add the chopped vegetables. Mix well an cook covered for another 5 mins or so, until the vegetables are cooked, yet firm.


9. Add the cashew nut-raising paste and mix well. Add salt and paneer cubes. Cook open for another 5 minutes until the gravy thickens and comes together.



Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with chapati, nan, roti, or pulao. This is a guest-wower recipe, btw.

I am sending this to Divya's Show Me Your Curry event.
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On a very unrelated note, Sig is having a giveaway on her blog so hope on by if you are interested to learn more.

Aloo Channa / Pressure Cooker Potato Chickpeas Curry Recipe

This is a one-pot, or rather, one-pressure-cooker side dish that can be put together in a jiffy. Its a weeknight dish for me and the nights I make any kind of side dish using just the pressure cooker, my entire cooking gets done in less than 30 mins.

The only preparation you need to do in advance is to wash and soak the chickpeas either overnight or before you leave for work so that its all soaked and ready when you get back and need to make dinner.

Confession: on some nights, I get lazy on the way back in the train and drag TH to have dinner outside. On those nights, I come back, drain the soaked chickpeas and stick it in the fridge. It can be stored like that for a week until you are ready to make what you want with it.

Go ahead, I promise the chickpeas won't feel bad or anything.



Aloo Channa in the Pressure Cooker - One Pot Dish
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 cup soaked chickpeas
1 large potato, cubed
1 onion, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
1 tsp tomato paste (optional but gives depth to the gravy)
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp jeera / cumin
1 tsp coriander powder / dhania powder / malli podi
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp red chilli powder
A pinch of turmeric powder
A pinch of amchoor / dry mango powder (optional)
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
A few curry leaves
Salt to taste

How I Made It:

1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker pan and add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. When the seeds pop, add the jeera and sliced onions. Fry until transparent.

2. Next add all the powders - red chilli powder, coriander, turmeric, garam masala and amchoor if using, and fry for 30 seconds.

3. Top it off with the ginger garlic paste and fry for another 30 seconds. Then add the chopped tomatoes and stir around until well combined.

4. Throw in the cubed potatoes, chickpeas, about 1.5 cups water and some salt and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. The idea is to cook it until the potatoes are mushy and the chickpeas are cooked well. Open up the pan and if you find that the curry is too watery (which shouldn't be the case normally), boil it for a while until the curry is thick enough. Check salt and remove from fire.



Serve hot with rotis. Goes well with pulao and even plain rice.

Vazhakka Pulissery Recipe

This is probably not an authentic Kerala Pulissery recipe for a couple of reasons. In the traditional pulissery recipes, I don't see the addition of coriander seeds. Also, the vegetable or fruit of choice is usually ripe mangoes, ethappazham, or raw mangoes for a sweet and sour pulissery. In this pulissery recipe, Seetha aunty, a relative of ours in Singapore, has used vazhakka (raw bananas) and winter melon (poosanikkai).

We go over to her place now and then for dinner and this pulissery was one made as an accompaniment to adai. It was a gorgeous combination and I loved it so much that she packed up the remaining pulissery and I brought it home with me!



Vazhakka Pulissery Recipe
Serves: 2 to 4

Ingredients:

1 cup cubed vazhakka / raw banana
(You can use ripe mango or green mango according to your preference of wanting sour pulissery or sweet and sour pulissery.)
1/2 cup cubed winter melon / pooshanikkai
1/2 cup grated coconut
2 green chillies
1 cup thick curd / yogurt
1 tsp coriander seeds / malli / dhania
1/4 tsp mustard seeds  / kaduku
1/4 tsp fengureek seed / menthayam / uluva
A few curry leaves
2 dry red chillies
1/2 tsp grated jaggery(optional)

How to Make:

1. Cook the banana and the winter melon in a pan with little water, salt and turmeric.

2. Meanwhile, grind the coconut, green chillies and coriander seeds with 2 tablespoons of curd to a fine paste.
Add this to the cooked vegetables and let it come to boil. Cook on low fire for 3-5 mins.

3. Add the rest of the curd beaten with a spoon. Turn off when the mixture is just reaching boiling point.

4. For tempering, heat 2 tsp oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds, fengureek seeds, red chillies and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add to the gravy. Adding jaggery enhances the taste so do add it if you have some in hand.

Huge thanks to Seetha aunty for the lovely dinner and for this fantastic pulissery recipe.

Dal Makhani / Creamy Black Lentils (but) No-Cream Recipe

I have posted my original dal makhani recipe before. The problem with that recipe was, it lacked colour although the flavour was just fine. Also, that recipe has cream in it. Why use cream when you can get lovely, creamy Dal Makhani without the cream. I've been 'hooked' to this Dal Makhani recipe since coming across Meena's recipe.




Dal Makhani Recipe
Serves 2
Adapted from: Hooked on Heat


Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole black lentils / whole urad dal
1 onion, minced
1 tomato, finely chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp tomato paste (or 1 large tomato, pureed)
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
fresh coriander leaves, for garnish
water, 1 to 2 cups
salt to taste

How I Made It:

1. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and saute onions till lightly browned. Stir in salt, chilli powder, coriander powder, ginger-garlic paste, and tomato paste and fry for a few seconds.

2. Add in the chopped tomatoes and cook for a few minutes to combine well. Add dal and enough water to cover them (about 2 cups). Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles minutes till lentils are soft and done. Stir in milk and let it come to a boil.

3. In a separate pan, heat butter and add whole garlic cloves slit in the middle. Stir the tempering into the lentils and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Serve with warm rotis or pulao.

Methi Yellow Dal / Fenugreek Leaves in Yellow Dal Recipe

I am a huge methi fan and at every given chance, I try to catch up on all the methi eating I missed while in Kerala where methi leaves are almost unheard of (although fenugreek seeds are very much part of the cuisine).

Sometimes methi parathas are too much trouble because I am so darn lazy so I whip up this super easy methi dal. All you need to serve it is some steamed white rice and ghee. 

Methi Yellow Dal 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 bunch of fenugreek/methi leaves

3/4 cup toor dal / tuvar dal

1/2 tsp tamarind paste or 1 tsp amchur / dried mango powder

3-4 green chillies, slit

1 tsp red chilli powder (optional)

A pinch of turmeric

Salt to taste

For tempering:

2 tsp oil

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp jeera / cumin seeds

A pinch of hing / asafoetida / perungaayam

2 cloves garlic, sliced long

A few curry leaves

How I Made It:

1. Pressure cook the toor dal in 2 cups water with chopped methi leaves, turmeric and green chillies until soft (about 4 whistles). 

2. Once the pressure leaves the pan, set it back on moderate heat and add salt, chilli powder and amchur or tamarind paste. Bring to a slow boil. If the consistency is too thick, add some water when boiling. Once the ingredients all come together, remove from fire and set aside. 

3. Heat oil for tempering and add all the items in the list to temper. When the mustard seeds start popping, dunk it all into the prepared dal and mix well. 

Serve warm with rice and ghee or rotis.

Sending this to Priya's Think Spice - Think Fenugreek event, a brainchild of Sunita. 

Soya Chunks Kurma Recipe

We like soya chunks, for its meaty texture, for its flavour-absorbing nature and for all that protein it hides in there. What we are not a fan of is the smell it gives out. Here are a couple of tips shared by readers in my Chilli Soya Chunks Recipe post. 

- Add some minced garlic to the nuggets and boil in water for 5 mins. Cool, squeeze out extra water and use

- Soak nuggets in a bowl of hot water along with 3-4 spoons of milk - that takes away the raw soya taste and leaves the soya nuggets creamy and smooth.

I have tried and they both work. I used the second method for this recipe. The list of ingredients may seem long but its all pantry staple in an Indian kitchen so you won't need to go running for anything, hopefully :)

Soya Chunks / Meal Maker Kurma Recipe

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

1.5 cup soya chunks

1 large onion, sliced long

1/2 cup chopped mixed vegetables (carrots, pea, beans, cauliflower, anything you have in the fridge)

1/4 cup grated coconut, ground in a mixer

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

2 green chillies

1 tsp red chilli powder (optional, or adjust to taste)

A pinch of turmeric powder

1 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

Spices:

1 bay leaf

2 pods cardamom

3 cloves 

1" piece of cinnamon

1 star anise (optional)

1 tsp roasted jeera / cumin powder

1 tbsp coriander / malli powder

How I Made It:

1. Soak soya chunks in a bowl of hot water along with 3-4 spoons of milk. After about 20 mins, drain, squeeze out all excess water and set aside.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add the sliced onions. Fry until transparent and add all the spices. Fry for 2 mins until the flavour and smell comes out. Then add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric and chilly powder/green chillies. Fry for another 30 mins. 

3. Next, add the ground coconut, mixed vegetables and soya chunks. Mix well and cook closed for about 10-12 mins until the vegetables are soft. There's no need to add any water, the soya chunks will give out water as they cook. 

4. Once the vegetables are done, add salt, lower flame to sim and add the coconut milk. Mix well, bring to a soft boil and remove from fire. 

Goes very well with chapatis, rotis, nan and pulao.

Vendakka Thayir Pachadi / Okra Curd Pachadi Recipe

I had forgotten how easy and quick it is to put together a thayir pachadi and call it a side dish. Now that summer has officially set in in Singapore (its technically summer here throughout the year!), our consumption of buttermilk and curd has gone up significantly - as if TH wasn't guzzling down enough of it already.

Pachadi, especially vendakka pachadi is a very common part of a sadya or wedding meal. Its simplicity balances out the heat of the other curries and side dishes that are seen as more important. I have always had a soft corner for the simple pachadi.

Vendakka Thayir Pachadi
Serves 2

What I Used:

10 vendakka / okra
1 small onion
1 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp roasted jeera / cumin
1 green chilli (or to taste)
1 cup thick plain yogurt
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
Salt to taste

How I Made It:

1. Cut the okra into thin rounds. Chop the onion finely and the green chilli into small pieces (or crush using a pestle and mortar).

2. Heat oil, add mustard seeds and when they pop, add the onions, green chilli and okra. Fry for 8-10 mins until the onions are golden and the okra is fried and crisp. Drain and leave aside to cool.

3. Beat yogurt with salt and jeera. Dunk in the fried okra mixture and mix well.

Serve with rice and side dish / kozhambu.

This goes to JFI - Wedding Treats hosted by Priya of Akshayapaatram, originally conceived by Indira of Mahanandi.

Hyderabad Style Bagara Baingan Recipe - Step by Step

I am getting increasingly lazy these days. I feel like I have lost the mojo to try out new stuff with as much frequency as I used to or click pictures with as much interest. I have about 4 food photography basics posts in my drafts just lying there because I have to edit and upload pictures to go as examples with the posts. I also haven't been visiting as many blogs as I used to and my unread blogs list on reader just keeps getting longer and longer.

I made this Bagara Baingan ages ago. Its loosely based on a recipe I saw in a Nita Mehta book at the library. I didn't borrow it so made this based on what I could remember from her recipe. The amount of ingredients are all my own approximation but it turned out very tasty, a perfect combo with roti, pulao or biryani (like they serve it in Hyderabad).

Ok now for the step by step. First, dry roast about 2 tbsp of white sesame seeds / til / ellu until golden brown. Set aside.

Then, dry roast 2 tbsp peanuts until roasted and brown. Mine was raw and unsalted so if you are going to use the salted kind, then make sure you keep that in mind while adding salt to the final dish. Set aside.

Next, heat 1 tbsp oil in the same kadai and throw in the washed and slit baby brinjal. We are using the same kind used for ennai kathirikkai kuzhambu. Fry until soft and set aside.

In the same oil, add 1 onion, chopped fine.

To this, add a 1" piece ginger and 2 garlic pods ground together. Alternately, add 2 tsp readymade ginger garlic paste.

While you let that fry, grind the sesame and peanuts with 2 tbsp grated coconut to a smooth paste.

Which looks like this. Yes, you can add a little bit of water while grinding.

By now, the onions would have started to brown. Add the ground paste and mix well.

To this, add 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp jeera, 1 tbsp coriander powder and 1-2 tsp red chilli powder, with salt.

Mix well and stir for a minute until the paste thickens.

I know this looks kinda gross so let's quickly get this over with. Add the tamarind water made with a small lemon sized ball of tamarind and 1 cup warm water. Ok next step, quick!

*Please ignore the stains on my stove. They are from a dish I made just before this. Thank you*

Ah, not so bad once its mixed. So mix well and then..

.. add the fried baby brinjal.

Cook closed for 5-10 mins until the gravy thickens.

Serve warm with a garnish of chopped coriander leaves. This tasted really really good and I really think I should make more curries with roasted peanut paste as the base. The sesame really helps enhance the taste too!

I am too lazy to type the recipe again!

The recipe, all in one place now (sigh..)

Bagara Baingan Recipe

Serves: 2

What I Used:

6 purple baby brinjals

2 tbsp white sesame seeds

2 tbsp peanuts

2 tbsp grated coconut

1 onion, chopped fine

1" piece of ginger

2 garlic pods (or 2 tsp ginger garlic paste)

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds

1 tbsp coriander powder/malli podi

1 tsp red chilli powder (or to taste)

A small lemon sized ball of tamarind

1 tbsp oil

Salt

Fresh coriander leaves for garnish

How I Made It:

1. Dry roast the peanuts and sesame seeds separately until golden brown. Set aside to cool. Then, grind together with the coconut and little water to form a smooth paste.

2. Extract the tamarind paste in 1 cup warm water. Grind the ginger and garlic together if using fresh gg paste.

3. Fry the brinjals in oil until soft but still holds shape. Drain and set aside. In the same oil, fry the onions and ginger garlic paste until golden. Then add the ground paste and fry for a minute.

4. To this, add turmeric powder, chilli powder, jeera, coriander powder and salt. Mix well and fry for another minute.

5. Add the tamarind water, mix, then add the brinjals and cook closed for 5-10 mins. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves before serving.

Ranjani made a video of this recipe so if you want to check it, click here.