Tadka Special
If you think dal is a simple food that does not make for a hearty meal, here's how you can make your family fall in love with it. Try our recipes and make it a perfect dinner dish.
Dal Nawabi
INGREDIENTS
* 1 cup split black gram lentil
* 1/2 cup chana dal
* 1 piece ginger
* 4 onions
* 7-8 garlic buds
* 6 tomatoes
* Some tamarind
* 2 green chillies
* Few coriander leaves
* 50 gm cottage cheese
* 1/2 cup curd
* 1 cup cream
* 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
* 1 tsp cumin seeds
* 2 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
* 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
* 2 tsp sugar
* 4 tbsp clarified butter
METHOD
Soak all dals in a container for 6-7 hours. Grind ginger, garlic buds and onions. Finely chop green chillies and tomatoes. Soak tamarind in 1/2 a cup of water for 1/2 an hour and then strain. Boil all dals in a pressure cooker with turmeric and salt until they are cooked properly and then remove the cooker from the flame. Heat ghee in a pan and fry cottage cheese. In the same ghee, crackle cumin seeds and fry onion paste until it turns pink. Then add tomatoes and cook for a few seconds. Then add curd and stir continuously. Add salt red chilli powder, black pepper powder, sugar and tamarind and fry for a minute.
Then add some cream and cook for some more time. Lastly, add all boiled dals and cottage cheese pieces and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the flame and garnish with coriander and serve hot.
Parsi Dal
INGREDIENTS
* 1 cup masoor dal
* A pinch of turmeric powder
* 2 chopped green chillies
* 2 flakes chopped garlic
* 2 tbsp ghee
* Salt to taste
* 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
* 1 tsp cumin seeds
METHOD
Cook dal with the turmeric powder and sufficient water in a pressure cooker. Remove from the flame. Mash it with a wooden spoon. Keep aside. Heat ghee in a pan. Add the garlic, salt, green chillies and the cumin seeds. Fry for a minute over a low flame and pour over dal.
Return dal to a low flame. Add a little water if required and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the flame. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Khatti
Meethi Dal
INGREDIENTS
* 1 cup chana dal
* 100gm beet root
* 50gm groundnut
* 1 tsp mustard seeds
* 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
* 2 dried dates
* 50 gm jaggery (gur)
* 1/2 cup tamarind juice
* 1 tsp turmeric powder
* 2 tsp coriander powder
* 6-7 curry leaves
* 1 piece cinnamon
* 2 tsp cloves
* 1 tsp clarified butter
* 1 tbsp chopped coriander
* 1 tsp salt
* A pinch of asafoetida
* 2-3 chilli paste
METHOD
Rinse chana dal, add beet root pieces to it and cook in a cooker. When done add turmeric powder, salt, coriander powder, jaggery, dry dates, tamarind juice, curry leaves, groundnut, chilli paste and boil.
For seasoning, heat oil and add asafoetida, cloves, butter, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and cinnamon. Add to the dal and cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with coriander and serve.
Moong Dal With Palak
INGREDIENTS
* 1 cup split moong dal
* 3 cups chopped spinach
* A pinch of turmeric powder
* 1 tsp red chilli powder
* 1 tsp asafoetida
* 2 tbsp butter
* 1 tsp chopped garlic
* 1 tsp chopped ginger
* A pinch of sodium bicarbonate
* 1 tbsp fresh cream
METHOD
Wash and soak the gram for 30 minutes. Boil some water in a pan. Add spinach leaves and sodium bicarbonate and cook the leaves for a minute over a high flame till the leaves are well-cooked. Drain the leaves and keep aside to cool. Grind in a blender. Cook the dal, turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt in a pressure cooker. When the dal is cooked remove from the flame and keep aside. Transfer the dal to a pan and add the spinach paste. Mix thoroughly. Cook over a low flame for two minutes. Remove from the flame and keep aside. Melt butter in a pan. Add garlic and fry till the garlic turns light brown in colour. Add the ginger and the asafoetida and fry for a few seconds over a low flame. Add the dal and mix thoroughly. Remove from the flame and serve hot, garnished with cream.
All you expert and novice cooks out there - do you have a recipe that will tantalize the tastebuds, or a tip that would make lives easier in the kitchen, share it with our readers. Send them at foodies@magtheweekly.com
