METHIWALI ARHAR KI DAL

 METHIWALI ARHAR KI DAL

It is essential that we have a fair amount of lentils in our daily diets for better health. Spilt Pigeon Peas, is one of the most popular of these lentils in our Indian cooking. It is called Toor Dal or Arhar Dal in Hindi; Togaribele in Kannada; and Thori Dali in my mother tongue, Konkani. Toor Dal is considered to be a great source for proteins, carbs and dietary fibres as detailed in this article in NetMeds. 

Often the simple, comfort foods taste great especially after the festival season when we tend to eat a lot of rich food. 

Today's recipe is for an easy to make dish from North Indian cuisine made with Fenugreek Leaves (Methi Leaves) and Arhar/Toor Dal. I have adapted this from "Methiwali Arhar Ki Dal" from the YouTube video in Sanjeev Kapoor's Khazana. 

We enjoyed this immensely with hot rotis! 

Ingredients:-

• Arhar/Toor Dal (Split Pigeon Peas), 1 cup 
• Methi (Fenugreek) Leaves, 1/2 of a medium bunch
• Turmeric Powder, 1/4 tsp
• Jaggery, grated, 1 tsp or to taste
• Chilli Powder, 1/2 tsp
• Garlic, chopped, 1 tbsp
• Hing (Asafoetida) Powder, 1/4 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Ghee, 1 tbsp

Method:-

Remove the methi leaves from their stems, wash thoroughly in several changes of water

Finely chop the methi leaves

Chop the garlic 

Grate the jaggery

Wash and soak the arhar dal in a vessel with 3 cups of water for about 2-3 hours

Add turmeric powder to this and keep this vessel in a pressure cooker

Cook for 3-4 whistles or till the dal gets fully cooked

When the cooker cooks remove the cooked dal, mash it lightly 

Add the grated jaggery, chilli powder, salt and 1/2 cup of water

Mix well and bring to a boil

Heat ghee in a thick-bottomed pan and add the chopped garlic and saute till it turns a golden brown and gives off a nice aroma

To this add the asafoetida powder and saute

Now add the chopped fenugreek leaves and saute for 1 minute till they wilt

Add a little salt, (the methi leaves will shrink in volume), mix well and cook for 1 minute 

Next add the cooked and mashed arhar dal, mix well and add water to get the desired consistency 

Cook for 1-2 minutes 

Switch off the gas and transfer to a serving bowl

Serve the Methiwali Arhar Ki Dal hot with rotis, naan etc

BEANS PARUPPU USILI

 BEANS PARUPPU USILI 

French Beans is perhaps one of the most commonly available vegetables in India. It is used in cuisines of different parts of the country. They have numerous health benefits as detailed in this article in WebMD. 

Elsewhere in this blog, you will find other recipes for dishes made with French Beans, such as:-

• French Beans Stir Fry
• Beans Talasani
• Beans Poriyal
• French Beans and Garlic
• Farasbi chi Sabzi 

Today's recipes is for a side dish made with French Beans and lentils. This is commonly made in  Tamilnadu and I learnt this from one of my aunts who lived there for many years. 

I make this once in a while and we usually have this with steamed rice and Mor Kuzhambu. 

Ingredients:- 

• French Beans, 250 gms
• Toor Dal, 1/4 cup
• Chana Dal 1/4 cup 
• Byadgi Whole Red Chillies,4-5 
• Turmeric Powder, 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida (Hing), 1/8 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, for greasing the moulds 

For Seasoning :

• Mustard Seeds, 1/2 tsp
• Urad Dal, 1/2 tsp
• Curry Leaves, 1 sprig
• Oil, 2-3 tbsp 

Method:-

Wash the French beans, de-string them and chop them fine

Steam cook the beans with a little salt and 2 tbsp of water till done.  Once it cools, remove from the steamer and keep aside.  

Wash and soak the two dals together in adequate water for 2 hours

Drain the water fully and transfer the dals to a mixer jar

Grind the dals along with dried red chillies, turmeric powder, asafoetida and salt to a coarse paste without adding any water 

(It is useful to start grinding in the pulse mode to get a coarse paste)

Grease the idli moulds, fill them with the coarse paste and steam it for about 10-12 minutes

Once cool, de-mould  and crumble them with your fingers. Keep aside

Heat oil in a thick bottomed kadhai and on medium heat add the mustard seeds, when they splutter add the urad dal and sauté till the urad dal changes colour

To this add the curry leaves and sauté for a few seconds

Now add the crumble made with steamed dals and mix well

Cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes

Then add the cooked beans and mix well 

Check for salt and add if required

Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat 

Switch off the gas and transfer the Beans Paruppu Usili to a serving bowl 

Serve with steamed rice and Mor Kuzhambu 

MENTHI KURA PAPPU

 MENTHI KURA PAPPU

In the early days, I used to think that Andhra food was mainly biryani and salan! As I started blogging and trying out more dishes from different regions of India,  I realized there are so many wonderful dishes from Andhra. Many of them tend to be spicy which we particularly enjoy. 

Since my husband and I like Andhra cuisine, elsewhere in this blog you will find recipes for dishes from Andhra, such as:-

• Dondekaya Pachadi 
• Spicy Bhindi Andhra Style
• Pesarattu
• Mamidikaya Menthi Pachadi 

Today's recipe is for an accompaniment for rice and rotis, made with fenugreek leaves (called Menthi Kura in Telugu) and toor dal. This dal is on the thick side. 

This is quite easy to make and I would recommend you give it a try! I am sure you will like it!!

Ingredients:-

• Menthi Kura ( Fenugreek Leaves), 2 cups
• Toor Dal / Arhar Dal, 1 cup
• Tomatoes, medium- sized, 2
• Green Chillies, 3
• Onion, medium-sized, 1
• Turmeric Powder, 1/4 tsp
• Salt, to taste

For Seasoning:-

• Mustard Seeds, 3/4 tsp
• Cumin Seeds, 3/4 tsp
• Curry Leaves, 1 sprig
• Dry Red Chillies, broken into halves, 2
• Garlic Cloves, 6-8
• Ghee/ Oil, 1 to 1 and 1/2 tbsp  

Method:-

Remove the fenugreek leaves from their stems, wash them thoroughly and roughly chop them. Keep aside

Chop the onion and tomatoes

Slit the green chillies

Peel and lightly crush the garlic cloves

Wash the toor dal and transfer to a vessel , add the chopped tomatoes and slit green chillies

Pressure cook this in adequate water for 3-4 whistles or till the dal gets cooked

Once the cooker cools, remove the cooked dal and tomatoes, lightly mash it with a ladle and keep aside. 

Heat ghee/oil in a thick-bottomed pan and on medium heat add the mustard seeds

When they splutter add the cumin seeds, and when they sizzle add the curry leaves and the broken red chillies and sauté for a few seconds

To this add the lightly crushed garlic and sauté till it gives off a good aroma

Now add the chopped onion, mix well and sauté till it becomes translucent

Add the fenugreek leaves, turmeric powder, and salt and sauté till they wilt

Next add the cooked dal and tomato mixture and mix well

Add water as required and bring this to a boil  

Lower the flame and let it simmer for a few minutes

Switch off the gas and transfer to serving bowl

Serve the Menthi Kura Pappu with rice or rotis

PARUPPU RASAM

PARUPPU RASAM

When we talk of the use of rice in South Indian cuisine, the conversation usually turns to the accompaniments of sambar and rasam. There are in fact so many different types of both sambar and rasam. They can be made by using sambar or rasam powder or by grinding the ingredients as in Arachuvitta Sambar.

Today's recipe is for Paruppu Rasam  which has Split Pigeon Peas as its main ingredient. Pigeon Peas are called Paruppu in Tamil, Toor Dal or Arhar Dal in Hindi, Thogari Bele in Kannada and Thori Dali in my mother tongue, Konkani.

This recipe is best enjoyed with steaming hot plain rice.

I have adapted this recipe from cookery expert Smt Chandra Padmanabhan's book, "Simply South."  I have always been impressed by her authentic recipes and am so proud to be her friend.

Ingredients:-

• Split Pigeon Peas (Paruppu/Toor Dal), 1/2 cup
• Tamarind, ball of a medium-sized lime 
• Turmeric (Haldi) Powder, 1/2 tsp
• Tomatoes, medium-sized, 2,  cut into quarters
• Jaggery, powdered, 2 tbsp
• Salt, to taste
• Coriander Leaves, finely chopped, 2 tbsp, for garnishing

For the Spice Paste

• Coriander Seeds, 1 tbsp
• Mustard Seeds, 1 tsp
• Fenugreek (Methi) Seeds, 1/4 tsp
• Black Peppercorns, (Kali Mirch), 3/4 tsp
• Cumin Seeds, (Jeera), 3/4 tsp
• Byadgi Red Chillies, 2
• Asafoetida (Hing) Powder, 1/4 tsp
• Fresh Coconut Gratings, 1/2 cup
• Oil, 1 tsp

For Tempering

• Ghee/Oil  2 tsp
• Mustard Seeds, 1/2 tsp
• Cumin Seeds, 1/2 tsp
• Dried Red Chilli, broken into halves, 1
• Curry Leaves, 1 sprig

Method:-

Wash the toor dal and pressure cook with 1 cup of water for 2-3 whistles
Once the pressure cooker cools, remove and mash the cooked dal. Keep aside

Soak tamarind in 1 and 1/2 cups of water for 10 minutes

Extract the juice and discard the pulp. Keep aside

In a small pan, dry roast the coriander seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, peppercorns, and cumin seeds on medium heat till the spices give off a good aroma and change colour slightly. Keep aside. 

In the same pan, heat 1 tsp of oil and fry the asafoetida powder and the Byadgi red chillies on medium heat till the asafoetida gives off an aroma and the chillies change colour 

Next, in a mixer jar grind together the fresh coconut gratings along with the roasted spices and the roasted asafoetida and red chillies adding the required amount of water to form a smooth paste. Keep aside.
In a large pan, heat the tamarind extract, turmeric powder, chopped tomatoes, powdered jaggery, and salt and simmer uncovered for 10-12 minutes till the raw smell of the tamarind goes
To this, add the cooked dal and the ground spice paste and bring to a boil
Reduce the flame and allow it to simmer for 5-7 minutes stirring from time to time 

Add more water to get the rasam of desired consistency and bring to a boil

In a small pan, heat ghee and on medium heat add the mustard seeds, when they splutter add the cumin seeds and when they sizzle add the broken dry red chillies and the curry leaves and saute for a few seconds
Pour this tempering over the rasam
Lastly, garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve the Paruppu Rasam hot with plain rice

PALAKOORA PAPPU (SPINACH DAL)

PALAKOORA PAPPU (SPINACH DAL)


From time to time, I like to try out dishes from different parts of India. Today's dish is "Palakoora Pappu" or spinach dal cooked in the Andhra style. It derives it's name from the main ingredients of spinach and dal. We had this with rotis and it tasted great!

Elsewhere in this blog, you will find other recipes from Andhra Pradesh such as Pesarattu, Allam Pachadi,  and Mamidikaya Pappu.

Today's recipe has been adapted from Dal Palak/Spinach Dal or Palakoora Pappu by Chef Sanjay Thumma of Vah Chef.

Make sure that the cooked Toor Dal is well mashed for this dish. The recipe called for the addition of fenugreek (methi) leaves if desired but I didn't use this. If you are using fenugreek leaves, the ratio should be 70 of spinach to 30 of fenugreek leaves.

Ingredients: 

• Palak ( Spinach) 2 bunches, 
• Cooked Toor Dal, boiled and mashed, 1 cup
• Onion, chopped, 1
• Large-sized Tomatoes, chopped, 2
• Green Chillies, slit, 2
• Butter, 1 tbsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, 1 tbsp

For the Seasoning: 

• Mustard Seeds, 1/4 tsp
• Cumin Seeds (Jeera), 1/2 tsp
• Garlic Cloves, chopped, 5
• Whole Red Chillies, broken in to halves, 2
• Asafoetida, (Hing) a pinch (optional) 
• Turmeric Powder, a pinch
• Curry Leaves, a sprig

Method: 

Remove the palak leaves (spinach) from their stems and wash them in several changes of water
Transfer to a collander and allow the water to drain.
Roughly chop the spinach and keep aside.
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and when it gets hot, on medium heat add the mustard seeds and when they splutter add the jeera (cumin seeds) and when they sizzle add the chopped garlic, whole red chillies broken into halves, and a little salt
Saute till it gives off a good aroma and changes colour
Add asafoetida, turmeric and curry leaves and saute for a few seconds
Next add the chopped onion and green chillies and butter and saute till the onion becomes translucent. (Do not let the onion get browned)
Add the chopped tomatoes before the butter melts fully

Now cover and cook tomatoes for a few minutes till they become soft

Add spinach and cook uncovered on medium heat for 2 minutes

To this, add the cooked and mashed toor dal and enough water to get the desired consistency
Check for salt and add if required
Bring to a boil then allow it to simmer for a couple of minutes
The pakoora pappu is likely to thicken when it cools
You may have to add a little water to adjust the consistency
Serve hot with rotis or rice