Tadka Dal ( Toor Dal with Instant Seasoning)

This is a tasty and easy-to-cook Toor Dal dish.

Ingredients:
1 cup Toor Dal
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 tbsp garlic chopped finely
10 curry leaves
2 slit green chillies (optional but preferred)
1 tbsp cooking oil
Salt to taste
1 tsp turmeric powder
3 tbsps melted ghee (clarified butter)
1 tsp mustard seeds
¼ tsp asafetida powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp red chili powder
2 whole dry red chillies
1 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves

Method:

• Soak Toor dal for 30 minutes. Mix this with the chopped tomato, chopped garlic ,1 tbsp cooking oil, turmeric powder in a pressure cooker. Add 3 cups of water to it and cook till one or two whistles. Switch off flame.
• When cooled, open the pressure cooker and add salt. Stir the boiled lentils well to blend into a smooth consistency. If it is too thick, add some warm water and stir till the consistency is right.
• Heat the Daal through again. It shoudl be piping hot before you carry out the next step in this recipe.
• Heat the ghee on a medium flame, in a small pan till hot. Now add first mustard seeds and then cumin seeds, fry till spluttering stops. Add the curry leaves and green chillies and cook till spluttering stops. Turn off the fire and add the asafetida powder, whole red chili and red chili powder. Stir to mix well and immediately add this tempering mix to the boiled lentil mixture otherwise red chili will burn . It will sizzle and might splutter a bit, so be careful when you do this. Stir well.
• Garnish with cilantro and some tadka ( tempering).
• Serve hot with plain boiled rice.

Do You Know:

Tempering/ Instant Seasoning/ Tadka/ Baghar/ Chonk is the technique to add flavor to a dish in a flash. Spices and herbs are added to hot oil/ghee. Hot oil extracts and retains the aroma, essence and flavor of the spices and herbs.

This tempering is done in two ways. 1. As the first step in the cooking process, before adding the rice, vegetables or lentils. 2. Pouring the tempered oil over dal. Spices and herbs cooked this way retain and enhance their flavors.

Tangy Cabbage with Peas

We can’t think of Indian cooking without a dash of green chillies. Slit, sliced, chopped or diced, we just have to add a few green chillies to add that tang to our food. Cook cabbage with green chillie and peas and enjoy it with daal and hot Paratha.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium green cabbage chopped
• 1 cup green peas
• 4 green chillies finely chopped
• 1 whole dry red chilli
• ¼ tsp asafetida
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp black pepper powder
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

• Heat oil in a skillet on medium flame. Add mustard seeds, allow them to splutter. Add dry red chillies and asafetida.
• Stir in cabbage, green chillies and peas, mix well.
• Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, black pepper and salt. Stir well.
• Cook covered for some time, stirring occasionally, till the cabage and peas are just tender.
• Serve hot with dal and roti.

Tip: Remove green chilli stems before storing them in refrigerater ,they will last longer.

Do You Know?

Cauliflower, Broccoli, Cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables that belong to the Brassica family are commonly reputed to not only increase flatulence, but to increase the pungency of the flatus.

Certain spices have been reported to counteract the production of intestinal gas, most notably are cumin, coriander, caraway, ajwain, turmeric and asafetida (hing).

String Beans

It is a simple recipe to prepare nutritious string beans with potato.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound string beans cut into 1 cm long pieces
• 1 big potato cut into 1” cubes
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• Pinch of asafetida
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp Chaat Masala or Amchoor powder
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

• Heat oil in a skillet or pan.
• Add asafetida, cumin seeds and red chilli flakes.
• Stir in potato cubes. Fry till light pink.
• Add beans to this. Stir. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt. Cook covered till potato and beans are tender.Add little water if required. Add Chaat Masala or Amchoor powder and mix well.
• Serve hot with hot Roti.

Chickpea/Garbanzo/Kabuli Chana Salad

Tangy chickpea salad made of kabuli chana, potatoes and carrot.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup garbanzo beans (Kabuli Chana) boiled
• 1 small potato boiled and diced
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 carrot chopped
• 1 tsp cilantro chopped
• 1 green chili finely chopped
• 2 tsp lime juice
• ¼ tsp black salt
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp chat masala

Method:
Mix all the ingredients together and chill.

Do you know?

Black salt is a special type of rock salt mined from the volcanic regions of Pakistan and India.It is full of therapeutic benefits and is recommended for patients with high blood pressure.

Dal Palak ( Moong Lentil with Spinach)

Moong lentil take on seasonings and spices very well. When it is mixed with spinach it makes nutritive comforting food.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups yellow moong dal soaked (for 1 hour)
• 1 cup spinach boiled and pureed
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 tbsp grated garlic
• 2 green chilies, chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 5 cloves
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp. ghee
• ¼ tsp asafetida
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp. lemon or lime juice

Method:

• Add the dal in a pot with a tight lid. Add 5 to 6 cups of water, 5 cloves, and turmeric. Bring to a full boil, lower heat to medium low and add the salt. Cover and cook until dal is soft and cooked. Adjust water so the dal does not stick to the bottom of the pan. The moong dal should be whole and not mashed. Remove from fire and set aside.
• Heat 2 tbsp. ghee in a deep skillet. Add grated ginger, garlic, green chilies. As they start spluttering, quickly add pureed spinach. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
• Add moong dal. Cook until all the spinach is blended in with the dal.
• Remove from heat and add lime juice.
• Temper dal palak: Heat the ghee on a medium flame, in a small pan till hot. Turn off the fire and add the asafetida powder, cumin seeds and red chili powder. Stir to mix well and add this tempering mix to the Dal Palak mixture. It will sizzle and might splutter a bit, so be careful when you do this.
• Garnish with ginger juliennes and serve hot with roti (Indian flat bread).

Do you know?

Moong beans are easily digested, containing few oligosaccharides which cause flatulence, making them a good choice for children, older adults and when one is not feeling very well as digestive systems are delicate at these times.

They contain between 19-25% protein, 60%carbs and 4% fiber. They also contain lysine, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and traces of thiamin, riboflavin and niacin.

Stuffed Baingan (Stuffed Eggplant)

Long, slim, purple-black skinned eggplants stuffed with a delicious, tangy spice mix. Serve this easy-to-cook dish with hot missi roti and Lehsuni Dal (garlic-flavored yellow lentils).

Ingredients:

• 4 baby eggplants washed, stalk trimmed and slit lengthwise
• 1 tsp very finely chopped garlic
• 1 tsp finely chopped ginger
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp dry mango powder
• ½ mustard seeds
• 6-8 curry leaves
• Salt to taste
• 3-4 tbsp cooking oil
• Chopped fresh coriander to garnish

Method:

• Heat the oil in a skillet on a medium flame. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves, Cook till spluttering stops.
• Now add chopped onion, ginger and garlic, fry for a minute.
• Mix in coriander, cumin, turmeric, red chili powders, dry mango powder and salt.
• Add 2 tbsp of water. Fry till oil separates. Remove the skillet from fire.
• Fill the slits in the eggplants with this spice paste. Keep aside.
• Heat the oil in another heavy bottom pan on a medium heat.
• Add the eggplants and gently stir.
• Cover the pan and cook on slow heat till the eggplants are done. Stir occasionally but do it gently so as to avoid knocking the filling out of the eggplants.
• Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and serve hot with paratha.

Do you know?

Some sources, particularly in the natural health community, state that eggplant, can cause or significantly worsen arthritis and should be avoided by those sensitive to them.

Chicken Drumsticks Curry

If you like mild, creamy gravied chicken drumstick curry then try this quick recipe.

Ingredients:

• 8 Chicken Drumsticks
• 2 cups fresh yogurt
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 2 tbsp All-purpose flour (maida)
• 1 tbsp chicken masala (available in Indian Grocery Stores)
• Salt To Taste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp dry fenugreek leaves
• 1 tbsp cooking oil for marination
• 3-4 tbsp cooking oil for gravy
• Pinch of Deep Orange Food Color ( Optional)

Method:

• Make two shallow diagonal slashes in each chicken drumstick.
• In a bowl mix all the ingredients;
• Add chicken drumsticks and coat well, set aside for 2-3 hours.
• Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add bay leaf, fry till is is light brown.
• Add chicken with marinade.
• Cook it covered on medium fire till chicken is tender.
• Serve chicken drumsticks hot with thin slices of onions , lemon and hot roti.

Note:

Most gravied Indian dishes have certain ingredients in common, so preparing and storing one when you have some spare time is a great idea. That way when you're ready all you do is add the meat or veggie to the gravy and cook through.

Tip:

I always grind extra ginger and garlic and store them in the form of cubes (set in ice trays) in Ziploc Freezer bags.