Dal fry

The last time I was in Delhi(some couple of years ago), the cook at the guest house made us tasty North Indian dishes, which I am a fan of. The last day of our trip, since we were packing our bags, wanted to have something light during the journey, and the cook made Dal fry. I simply loved its taste and still remember it. But surprisingly I never made it, although it's no rocket science. Today I made this for my kid and even clicked it. Simple and easy to make!!

Ingredients:

Split green gram skinless( dhuli moong dal): 3/4 cup
Red lentils( masoor dal): 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder: 1 tbsp
Green chilies, slit: 2
Ginger garlic paste: 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Ghee: 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Onions, chopped: 2 medium
Tomatoes, chopped: 2 medium

Method:

1. Wash the dals together and add turmeric powder, red chili powder, green chilies, ginger garlic paste, 2.5 cups of water and cook in a pressure cooker for 4 whistles.
2. When the pressure is gone, remove the lid and do not mash it. 
3. Heat clarified butter(ghee) in a kadai. Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds.
4. When they splutter add onions and fry till translucent. 
5. Add tomatoes, salt, cooked dal and sufficient water to bring to your desired consistency and cook on low flame for 5 minutes.
6. Garnish with coriander and serve with roti. 

Notes:

• Do not mash the dal after cooking it. You would love to feel the soft pieces of dal when you eat it. 

Linking this to Prachi, Gayatri's cookspot

How to make Dosa batter

     

        When I first sat down to write this, my husband's reaction was, "Who wants that?" But I know almost all of us must know the right amounts of urad dal and rice for a perfect, soft and yet crispy dosas. In the initial days of my marriage whenever I planned to make Idli or Dosa I used to call up my Mom for asking, how much rice to be added for 1 cup of urad dal? It took me sometime for that to sit in my head. Once you get the knack of it, its very easy. You can make the dosa batter in bulk and refrigerate it for 3-4 days. After that it starts getting sour.
        These days you get ready made dosa and idli batters in all supermarkets. Working people too who do not have time to grind all these can happily relish the dosas.

Prep time: 8 hours
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

Black gram, skinless: 1 cup
Rice: 2 cups
Cooked rice: 3 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds/ Methi dana: 1 tbsp
Bengal gram/ Chana dal: 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil for drizzling

Method:

1. Soak black gram in water overnight. Wash the rice and soak it separately. Soak fenugreek seeds and chana dal along with rice.
   
2. Drain and mix them.
3. Grind it to a fine paste by adding water and cooked rice in a blender or wet grinder.
   
4. Transfer it to a bowl, cover it with a lid and let it ferment for a whole night or 10 hours. 
5. Add salt before making dosas.

How to make dosas:

1. Heat a nonstick pan or tawa. Sprinkle some water with your fingers so that the tawa is at right temperature.
2. Take a ladle full of dosa batter, drop it on the tawa and spread it in a circle.
3. Drizzle some oil around the dosa, when the dosa is ready the edges will start leaving the tawa. Transfer it to a plate. If you want your dosa to be a little crispy  flip the dosa and cook it on the other side for some 10 secs, i.e. cook on both sides. 
   
   
   
4. Serve with chutney or sambar. 

Notes:

• Soak the black gram and rice for a minimum of 4 hours.

Badam ka harira/ Badam milk

Badam ka harira is made mostly during Ramzan in my house. After a whole day of fasting, a glassful of this badam milk re-energises you. During hot summers, you can make this for your kids and also for yourself. You can have it warm or cold. I love cold badam milk. I make this and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  If you don't have that much time, all you have to do is add a cube of ice into your glass. This is also good for pregnant and lactating mothers.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Almonds/ Badam, soaked and peeled: 10
Wheat flour: 1 tbsp
Rice: 1 tbsp
Poppy seeds: 1 tsp
Milk: 250 ml
Cardamom powder: 1/2 tsp
Sugar: 4 tbsp
Ghee: 1 tsp
Watermelon seeds: 1 tsp

Method:

1. Soak almonds, rice for 4-5 hrs.
2. In a blender, make a paste of almonds, rice, poppy seeds by adding milk/ water. 
3. Transfer the paste to a bowl and add wheat flour. Mix well so that there are no lumps.
4. Fry watermelon seeds in ghee till they turn golden brown and keep aside. 
5. Boil milk in a deep bottomed vessel and add cardamom powder. 
6. Lower the flame and add the almond paste. Stir continuously to prevent lumps. 
7. Milk becomes little thick, add sugar and cook for a minute.
8. Garnish with watermelon seeds and serve hot/ cold. 

Notes: 

• Garnish with dry fruits of your choice. 
• You can use honey instead of sugar. 

Linking this to Prachi, Gayatri's cookspot, Buelah Arun

Dum ka Murgh/ Dum Chicken

         
            Hyderabadi cuisine, I bet, no one can ever say 'No' to it. It is an amalgamation of Mughlai, Arabic and the native Telugu cuisines. The one thing that stands out is the skilled use of spices. The aroma of the dishes makes you gorge on the dishes guilt free. Today I am going to write down the recipe of Dum Chicken, one of the many hyderabadi varieties.

            Dum Chicken tastes best with Rumaali Roti. It can also be had with Biryani.

Prep time: 2 hours 30 minutes(including marination)
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients for masala paste:

Tomatoes: 3 medium size
Green chilies: 6(suit your spice level)
Peppercorns: 5-6
Almonds: 7-8
Cashews: 7-8

Ingredients for marination:

Chicken, bone/ boneless: 1 kg
Fried and powdered onions: 3 medium size
Ginger garlic paste: 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder: 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Garam masala: 1 tsp
Yogurt: 100 grams
Saffron: 5-6 strands
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Masala paste
Oil: 1+1( frying onions + Cooking)
Coriander leaves, chopped: 1 bunch

Method:

1. Heat oil in a frying pan, add sliced onions. Saute till they are dark brown in colour and remove them from oil. Let it cool. Once it cools down, powder the fried onions with your hand. 
2. In a blender, first blend almonds, cashews and peppercorns together. Add tomatoes, green chilies and blend again to make a paste.
3. Wash the chicken in a bowl and drain the water. Add ginger garlic paste, garam masala powder, turmeric, red chili powder, salt, coriander powder, yogurt, saffron, fried onion powder and the masala paste.
4. Marinate for at least 2 hours in refrigerator.
5. Heat oil in a flat vessel and add the marinated chicken. Add half glass of water and cook on low flame. Stir often so that the masala does not get burnt.
6. Turn off the flame when the oil starts leaving the vessel.
7. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Notes:

• Instead of mashing fried onions with your hands, you can blend them in a blender. 
• You can use red colour if you do not have saffron. 

Linking this recipe to Fullscoops , Tanya

 

Broad beans and Cauliflower curry

Like many out there, I am also a bean hater. When I made this curry for the first time, I was skeptical how it would turn. Its simple and flavorful. Cauliflower brings in the required flavour. So now I can never say, 'I hate beans'.

Ingredients:

Broad beans, chopped 1" pieces: 1 cup
Cauliflower, florets: 1 cup
Tomatoes, chopped: 1 medium size
Onions, chopped: 2 medium size
Green chilies, slit:  2
Ginger garlic paste: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder: 1 tbsp(suit your spice level)
Salt to taste
Oil: 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves, chopped: 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a kadai, add onions and green chilies.
2. Add ginger garlic paste when the onions turn golden brown and saute for a minute.
3. Add the broad beans, cauliflower and tomatoes and let them sit for 5 minutes on a low flame.
4. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt and mix well.
5. Add half glass water and cook on low flame till the vegetables become soft or till they are cooked. 
6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice. 

Notes:

• You can even pressure cook it to save time. Cook for 4 whistles.

Linking this to Prachi Agarwal, Gayatri's cookspot, Rafeeda