Palak Papu \Spinach Lentil curry

One of the mild but rich in nutrients dal.Try this easy dal.

Ingredients:

1 cup Thoor Dal

1 cup chopped Spinach \Palak

5 or 6 Green chillies slit

5 to 6 Garlic cloves slit

1 pinch turmeric

Salt to taste

For seasoning

1 tsp oil

1 pinch Asofoetida

1 sprig curry leaves (optional)

1 tsp channa dal

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Cumin

2 to 3 red chillies broken into 1/2

Method:

1.Pressure cook toor dal, turmeric, green chillies, garlic and chopped spinach with sufficient water.

2.In a small pan heat oil and add mustard seeds, Asfoetida, curry leaves, cumin, channa dal, and red chillies.Fry till crisp.

3. Add salt and seasoning to the dal and stir.

4.Serve hot with cooked rice or roti.

Note:

Let the pressure cooker whistle for an extra whistle than usual to get a well done and soft dal.

Serve palak papu along with raw chopped onions and fried sour chillies.

Dal Makhni - King of all Dals

If you were to name a dish that is as popular as Chole, easy to prepare and yet equally tasty, it is Dal Makhni. Those who have never tried, this dish looks tough but is extremely easy to prepare. Interestingly there is another dish similar to this named Dal Bukhara which perhaps is less known than Dal Makhni. People say that adding rich cream  makes this dish Dal makhni although the confusion still exists. To shed some more light go to
 http://www.virsanghvi.com/vir-world-ArticleDetail.aspx?ID=451

For this you need:-
1 tsp cooking oil
1 cup Whole Urad Dal/ Kaali Dal
1/4 cup Rajma or kidney beans
1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
salt to taste
red chilly powder
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp ginger
3 tomatoes pureed  ( 2  is enough if tomatoes are sour)
1 tsp dal makhni masala or Garam masala
1 cup milk
Sour cream (to decorate)
1 tsp Kasoori Methi (optional)



Seasoning
Thin slices of ginger
2 Red chillies
pinch of Asafoetida
chopped coriander leaves
Butter (optional)
1 tsp oil

Method

1)  Cook the pulses in pressure cooker with salt and using 6 cups of water . (yes this needs a lot of water)

2) In another pan, add some oil. Add cumin seeds. Once they crackle add garlic, ginger. After a minute, add pureed tomatoes. Add garam masala.

3) Once tomatoes get cooked, add the cooked dal. Add 1 cup milk. Stir once. Add Kasoori Methi. Now simmer the flame, close it with lid and let the dal get cooked.

4) The aroma of dal would spread which means it is almost done. Keep checking that the dal does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

5) For seasoning, take a pan. Add oil. Add red chillies and once they crackle, add asafoetida and pour the seasoning on the dal. Season dal with chopped coriander leaves and thinly sliced ginger. You could decorate it with thick curd or sour cream.

Masoor Ki daal

Name a daal that is humble and yet manages to please us with its flavour, it is masoor ki daal. You need no garam masala, no pre-soaking of daal and free from endless cooking time. The credit goes to my ma-in-law who taught me this recipe which would otherwise have been ignored in the shelf itself.  

Ingredients

Jeera

3 Chopped Green chillies

1 inch Chopped ginger

3 pods of garlic chopped into very small pieces

1 onion chopped

2 tomatoes chopped

1 tbsp cooking oil.

Cooked Masoor daal (generally 1/2 cup masoor daal in 3 cups of water cooks well without getting too mashed up)

Chopped coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Method

1) Add 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add jeera, onion, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Cook till onion gets translucent. 

2) Add tomatoes and fry them well.

3) Add cooked Masoor daal and salt to taste. Let them blend well while they cooked in slow flame. Add water if it gets too thick.

4) Season with chopped coriander leaves and serve with hot rotis or rice. 

A Simple Homely Daal

Elaborate, heavy dishes are tasty, but nothing can beat a simple dish that gives a complete satisfaction. I am talking about Daal. Our eyes lit up when after a tiresome travel outside home, we come across this dish that has its own way to delight us. You could make Daal out of any pulses. I made it using Toor Daal.

Ingredients:-

1 cup Toor daal

chopped Ginger

chopped green chillies

juice of 1 Lemon

Turmeric powder

1 tomato chopped

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp Sambar powder

Salt to taste

For Seasoning

1 red chilly broken into two halves

1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds

1/3 tsp Cumin Seeds

1 green chilly chopped

1/2 tsp Chopped ginger

1 garlic chopped into very small pieces

Chopped coriander leaves

Method

1) Pressure cook Toor daal using cooker with sufficient water. If the daal is slightly hard, mash up well using a ladle or big spoon when it is still hot.

2) Take another pan. Add some oil. Add chopped tomatoes, salt, turmeric powder and fry tomatoes well till it gets cooked.

3) Now add the cooked toor daal to it. Add salt to taste, turmeric powder, garam masala, sambar powder and cook it till the dal starts boiling. Once done, keep it aside in a vessel.

4) Take a small pan. Add 1 tbsp oil in it. Add mustard seeds, green chillies, cumin seeds, ginger and broken red chilly. Fry it and season it to the dal.

5) Add the lemon juice to it. Add chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or Roti.