Roz Ka Khana

I have been slacking again, and to be honest, nothing very inspiring has come along. I’ve tried a few dishes here and there over the last few weeks but didn’t have much to write home about, literally speaking. You know I’ve had that Indian Cooking Challenge badge for months now, and I’ve been following Srivalli of the Indian Cooking Challenge but never really got down to trying any of the challenges, for whatever reasons. I’m not making much sense, I know and am frankly running out of excuses too.

But I did glance at some of her past challenges and something I caught was probably inspiring enough to get me started again. I do have a weakness for Gujarati food, so the title is what got me going this time. This is about one month too late, though so I’m not submitting this post for the challenge but I did try:)

This recipe was apparently adapted from Sukham Ayu by Jigyasa Giri and Pratibha Jain.

Ingredients:

Split red gram (Toor dal) ½ cup
Turmeric powder ½ tsp
Dry soft kokam 4-5 pieces
Hard dry dates (optional) 4, halved
Drumstick 4-5 pieces, 2 inch length
Groundnuts 1 tbsp
Green chillies 2, slit
Ginger 1 inch piece, chopped fine
Coriander powder 2 tsp
Cumin powder 1 tsp
Garam masala (refer tip, p. 49) ¼ tsp
Coriander leaves to garnish
Powdered rock salt to taste

The tempering

Butter or ghee 2 tsp
Mustard seeds ½ tsp
Fenugreek seeds ¼ tsp
Cumin seeds ½ tsp
Dry red chillies 2
Asafoetida powder ¼ tsp
Curry leaves 5-6

1. Wash and soak red gram for half an hour. Pressure-cook in 2 cups water along with turmeric to a soft consistency. Churn well.

2. Pour the churned gram into a thick bottomed pan and add all the ingredients (except garam masala, coriander leaves and tempering). Add 1 cup water and allow to simmer over low flame for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. In a wok, heat ghee for tempering. Pop the mustard and then add the fenugreek. Reduce flame and with the browning of the fenugreek, add cumin, red chillies, asafoetida powder and curry leaves.

4. Pour this tempering into the simmering dal. Allow to boil for another 5 minutes. Switch off flame and garnish with garam masala and fresh coriander leaves.

Serve with hot rice or chapathis.

I skipped the jaggery in this recipe and just used the dates. This dal is sweet so if you don’t care for the tangy sweetness you can skip the dates too.

I had dosai batter coming out of my ears this weekend, thanks to my mom’s foresight and planning. That probably didn’t sound the way it was supposed to, but I mean that in a very nice way, actually. She just went back to visit India so she made sure she stocked my fridge with idli and dosa batter for those evenings when I could have a quick dosa dinner after work. Because she realizes that after almost 8 months of being here with me, I’ve had to re-learn things including quick dinners on weekdays. Not that I didn’t cook when she was here (it was mostly on the weekends to try out new recipes). Just in case you wonder why my posts were still not that frequent. All right, I’ve been busted. Excuses, excuses.

So I got around to making aloo masaal (spiced mashed potatoes with onions), spicy red chutney and was all set to make Pondicherry Masala Dosai. I’ve also heard this being called Mysore Masala Dosai. But I got this name from a chef at a restaurant in Plano, where I live. I’m not sure if this restaurant still exists so I will leave the name out, but this was a dish on their menu. When asked about the name, he said he used to live in Pondicherry and just learnt the recipe there so dedicates the dish to the name.

And so I tried this for the first time and it was so good that I decided to call this Pondicherry Masala Dosa as well:)

Ingredients:

Dosa batter - 2 cups (for about 15 dosas)

For aloo masaal:

Potatoes – 4

Onions (red or yellow) – 1 large

Green chilies – 4-5

Ginger, crushed – 1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp

Urad dal (black gram dal) – 1/2 tsp

Chana dal (bengal gram dal) – 1/2 tsp

Peanut oil – 1 tsp

Cilantro, curry leaves, a few sprigs, chopped

Method for aloo masala -

1. Heat the oil in a kadai or heavy bottomed fry pan.

2. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. After it starts to splutter, add the urad dal and chana dal.

3. Add ginger, onions, curry leaves and fry well till the onions become transparent.

3. In the meantime, boil the potatoes and mash them well.

4. Add the mashed potatoes to the oil. Add turmeric, salt and mix well. Cook for about 5 minutes, add cilantro.

Spicy red Chutney

Ingredients:

Dry red chilies – 10-12

Garlic pods – 2

Red bell pepper – 1/4 chopped into pieces

Tamarind paste – 1/2 tsp

Grind all the above in a blender with some salt and keep aside.

Method for Pondicherry Masala Dosai

1. Heat a flat griddle and add a tsp of oil.

2. Spread the dosa batter with a ladle on the heated griddle or tawa. Add another 1/2 tsp of oil and let it cook on the griddle. When it is half cooked or when brown/red spots start appearing, spread the spicy red chutney on the dosai.

3. Now heap the potato masala in the center of the dosai and fold the dosai. Let it cook for a minute more and gently take it off the tawa onto a plate. Serve hot with sambar.

An easy yet healthy (as always) entry from Anusuya’s kitchen. She insisted that I not call it a Maharashtrian Dal as she isn’t really sure if this is authentic Maharashtrian, but given that it tastes better than the the dals I’ve tried and the fact that it required “Goda Masala”, a must spice ingredient in authentic Maharashtrian cuisine – these were reasons enough for me to give it the original name. I’m adding the quotes just for her sanity:). This is an easy recipe as it calls for red gram dal and Rotel..once again, a creative twist to an otherwise common dish, true to Anusuya’s kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 cup red lentils (masoor dal)

4 cups water

1 can Rotel (mild or medium)

1/2 tsp Goda Masala (this was a generous contribution from Anusuya’s kitchen)

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

2-3 green chilies (optional)

1 small red onion

Curry leaves – a few

Oil – 1 tsp

Method:

1. Boil the red lentils in about 3 cups water in a saucepan, till the lentils are cooked.

2. Add a can of Rotel.

3. In a small frying pan, add a tsp of oil. When the oil gets hot, add finely chopped onion, the cumin powder, coriander powder, goda masala, curry leaves. Fry till the onions get transparent. You may also add chopped green chilies for extra spice.

We had it for lunch with some hot quinoa and aloo methi (potato with fenugreek leaves). Finger-licking good!

A friend of ours recently introduced us to quinoa and all its benefits. Quinoa or KEEN-WAH as it is pronounced,  is 100% whole grain and I was excited to note that not only does it have fewer carbs than rice but is a great source of protein – 12% to 18%. To learn more about Quinoa and its benefits, go here.

We had been trying to find alternative methods to cut down rice from our diet. Brown rice, broken wheat are all great alternatives, but I find that neither has the protein content that quinoa provides. Basically, quinoa seems the closest to providing a balanced nutrition, the carbs, protein, Vit.B etc.

Of course, we tried it as an alternative to plain rice and then mixed it with plain yoghurt for the traditional South Indian staple, thayir saadhan or rather thayir quinoa! The other characteristic of quinoa that differentiates it from brown rice or broken wheat is that though there is a slight nutty flavor, you cannot taste it at all when you mix it with spices or curries. This, to me, is a perfect alternative to white rice!

Girish came up with the brilliant idea of trying bisi bele huli quinoa today for lunch and my mother got equally excited with the idea and pulled out her staple recipe for bisi bele huli bhaath. She and I got busy making it and I have to say it was awesome. So if you truly want to try this with rice, the recipe is just the same, only replace the quinoa with cooked rice.

Ingredients:

Boiled Toor Dal (yellow pigeon peas)  – 1 cup

Cooked quinoa – 1 cup (1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water in a pressure cooker, or a rice cooker)

Madras Sambar Powder – 2 1/2 tsp (you can use the MTR brand)

Turmeric – 1 tsp

Tamarind – lemon size soaked in water and made into a paste

Beans – 1/2 cup julienne sliced

Carrots – 2 julienne sliced

Peas – 1/2 cup

Cauliflower – florets 1/2 cup

Masala – to be ground into a paste

Onions – 2

Garlic – 8 pods (optional, if you dont like the smell of garlic, you can skip)

Red chilies – 8-10

Ginger – 2 inches

Khus Khus – 2 tbsp (poppy seeds)

Cloves – 4

Cardamom – 2

Dalchini (Cinnamon sticks) – 2

Grated coconut – 1/2 cup

Oil – 1/2 cup

Garnishing: cilantro – 1/2 cup, cashew pieces – 1/2 cup, mustard seeds – 1 tsp, curry leaves – a bunch, red chilies – 2

Method:

1. Take 2 tsp of oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add all the ingredients for the masala and fry lightly for about 5 minutes.

2. Add the turmeric powder and fry again for 2 more minutes. Allow to cool.

3. Put all the ingredients in the pan, add the tamarind and the tomatoes and grind to a smooth paste. Keep this aside.

4. Now take the same kadai, add the remaining oil and lightly fry the vegetables for about 5 minutes.

5. Add the ground paste and continue to fry until the oil separates, for about 10 minutes. Then add the sambar powder.

6. Now add the boiled and mashed toor dal, add about a cup of water and leave it to boil, for about 5-7 minutes. Add salt to taste.

7. Now add the cooked quinoa to the above mixture, and mix well. Cook a little more for about 5 minutes until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

8. In a separate pan, add a little oil, about 1 tsp. When the oil gets hot, add the mustard seeds and fry till they crackle. Now add the curry leaves and the red chilies. Add cashews and fry till they brown a little.

Add this to the bisi bele huli quinoa. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.

You’re correct in the assumption that of the 12 days I spent in India, more than 8 were at restaurants. I visited 4 cities in 12 days, and each one had its own specialty, Hyderabadi Biryani, Bombay pav bhaji and gujarati food. I probably spent the most time eating at home in Chennai. I had to ask my sister in law Meena, to make this dish for me and of course share it on Roz Ka Khana. Its called Ambat (Sour) Bhaaji (vegetable dish). Its made from sour greens like amaranth or puli keerai as we say in Tamil. Can also be made from spinach leaves. The sourness to the dish comes from adding the tamarind.

Ambat Bhaji is a Tanjore Marathi inspired dish and is sort of a hybrid between a sambar (lentil and vegetables soup) and a koottu (vegetables in gravy).

Ingredients:

Spinach – 1 bunch. You may also use amaranth.

Tamarind – lemon sized ball

Turmeric – 1 tsp

Asafetida – a pinch

Toor dal (yellow pigeon peas) – 1 cup boiled and mashed

Methi seeds (fenugreek) – 1  tsp

Dry red chilies – 4-6

Chopped Cilantro – for garnish

Method:

1. Wash and chop the spinach. You can chop the spinach and steam in a heavy bottomed vessel with a little bit of water. This helps retain the green color better. You can also microwave the fresh spinach. Alternatively, you may use frozen spinach.

2. While the spinach cooks, soak the tamarind in a little warm water, and squeeze it to extract tamarind paste. Alteratively, you may use about 1 to 1 1/2 tsp of tamarind paste. Add water to this paste (about 1 cup) and take this tamarind water in the heavy bottom vessel (kadai)

3. Add the spinach, salt and asafetida to the tamarind water. Let this mixture boil till the raw smell of tamarind goes away.

4. Now add the boiled and mashed toor dal. Boil for another 5 to 10 minutes till everything is well blended.

5. Now dry roast the methi seeds and the red chilies, grind to a fine powder. Add this powder to the dal mixture and boil one more time for another 2-3 minutes. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with white or brown rice.

In the above picture, we mixed the mashed dal with the ground powder and then added the mixture to the tamarind water. You may do this as well, but I think adding the powder at the end and then boiling provides an added taste.

When my son started public school, I discovered something about myself that I didn’t know before. I actually enjoyed packing his lunches! I liked to plan out a weekly menu for him just like his school calendar, scour the various blogs and sites for back-to-school lunch ideas and yes, also make his lunch look colorful enough for him to want to eat it! It felt very satisfying to pack greens, nuts, veggies, fruits and grains and get a lunch review from him every day. On most days the lunches come back empty, and on some, there are a few half eaten bites. The rule is to leave everything in the box so I can keep track of what he is eating every day.

I tried to be a little more creative than packing mac n cheese and PBJ and being vegetarian, I also had to ensure there was enough protein and fibre in his lunches. And so began the search for a lunch box that would go beyond the basic brown bag. Laptop Lunches did the needful for me! The simple, colorful, plastic containers were just what I needed to get my creative juices flowing and make those lunches look edible too. What follows is a series of some lunch ideas for your school goer…and it works for those work lunch totes too.

Sprouts and Potato Sandwich

Ingredients:

Moong Sprouts – 1/2 cup

Potatoes – boiled and mashed – 2

Whole wheat bread – 4-6 slices

Chaat masala – 1 tsp

Onion, chopped – 1 medium

Green chilies – 1, finely chopped

1. You can prepare the filling the night before. Boil and mash the potatoes, add the onion, green chilies, chaat masala, salt to taste. Mix well.

2. The next morning, preheat the sandwich maker. Butter each slice of bread, add the filling in between, and toast the bread till golden.

Note: You can also add green chutney to this mixture before you add the filling to the buttered slices. Adds some spice to it, so this may be an option for the grown up lunches.

To pack Nikhil’s lunch, I used a kitchen shear to cut the sandwich into smaller triangles, and added orange wedges and yoghurt to make it a filling laptop lunch!

I haven’t mustered the courage (call it timeliness) to submit any of my entries to a food blog event…but it’s always nice to read them all after the event is done. It’s like having a cookbook full of recipes to choose from! So when I saw Nupur’s blog at One Hot Stove, calling for entries for “Less is More” or recipes that call for 5 ingredients or less, I thought of submitting this recipe that I got from my dear friend PM. The only problem was that this was an original recipe, not borrowed from another blog as the event called for. So, as usual, I waited..for the event to be done, so I could, once again, read them all and maybe experiment later.

The dish, that I very plainly call “Sprouts and Salsa” is something that I do want to share, not as an entry to the event, but more for its simplicity. It’s literally that..Sprouts with salsa and some seasoning to create a dish that tastes much like Indian moong dal!

Ingredients:

Green gram sprouts (moong dal sprouts) – 1cup

Salsa (hot) - 1/4 cup

Garam Masala – 1/2 to 1 tsp

Chopped cilantro – 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

1. Soak the moong beans overnight and leave them for a couple of hours until they germinate. You can find a detailed description on how to sprout moong beans here.

2. Take a saucepan or a heavy bottom vessel. Add the hot salsa and heat over a low flame for a few minutes.

 3. Add the garam masala. You may also add some chopped green chiles for added spice.

4. While the salsa is cooking a little, cook the moong sprouts. Take the sprouts in a microwave safe bowl, add a thin layer of water and cook on high heat for about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

5. Add the steamed moong to the salsa. Add salt. Mix well and cook for another 5 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with chapatis or rice.