Mixed Dal Tadka

I have been so busy plus idle for the past few weeks. I am craving for good home food prepared by Mom. But life as a wife in America is all about food cravings and missing dear ones. Left with no choice I had to prepare some yummy but simple food for myself and DH. What better dish could be comforting than making Dal and Rice. I made this yummy dinner for the both of us and trust me..It was so very relaxing!!

Ingredients:

Toor Dal - 1/4 cup
Moong Dal - 1/4 cup
Masoor Dal - 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
Medium Tomato - 1 - Chopped
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Red chillies - 3-4
Curry leaves - A few
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida - A pinch
Cilantro - To garnish
Oil / Ghee - 1 tbsp
Salt - To taste

Method:

• In a vessel combine the three dals and add a pinch of turmeric powder and salt and pressure cook it for 3 whistles.

• In a wok, heat oil/ghee. add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chillies and curry leaves.

• Once they crackle and splutter, add the chopped tomato and cook on medium heat until the tomatoes are cooked well.

• Add asafoetida, red chilli powder and turmeric powder to the tomato mixture.

• Mash the cooked dal and add the dal to the tomato mixture. 

• Mix it all well.Garnish it with cilantro.

• Serve hot with Rice and Roti.. Enjoy the simple and comfort food that gets ready in no time.

Sending in this entry to Serve It Series - Serve It - Pressure Cooked. This is my first entry for any activity in the blogging world. Hope to participate in many more such entries..

   

Its's all about Pressure Cooking!!

We are all familiar about how important pressure cookers are in Indian cooking. It is one of the very important things in our kitchen on which we are completely dependent. In India, the leading pressure cooker brands are Prestige and Hawkins.

This blog post is just a brief review on both the pressure cookers. Prestige pressure cookers have been one of the leading brands in South India. They are outer lid pressure cookers. Recently,they have also introduced inner lid pressure cookers. They have introduced many lines of cookers based on different materials they are manufactured from. The most used model is the prestige popular pressure cooker. A new line called prestige deluxe is equally good. Ideally stainless steel pressure cookers are the best. Hard anodized pressure cookers are in demand today due to its excellent non stick properties and minimal to no wear and tear. One more successful model of prestige pressure cookers is the handi model. It is very useful model and we can use it like the regular handi's to make main gravy dishes. All the models look very nice and are very safe to use.

For all living outside India, make sure you buy enough spare parts of the models you have at home. The important spare parts are the safety valve, weights, steam vent (whole assembly) and gaskets. Handles are also available as spare parts and are very handy to keep.

Hawkins Pressure cookers are also one of the leading brand. Many find it useful but some find that the inner lid locking is a little tricky and cumbersome. They are long lasting and have a very good safety locking mechanism. The hawkins company have quite good models like the classic model, contura and futura model. They also have hard anodized and stainless steel versions. I personally like the contura model a lot. I own one too. Futura model is classy and looks very sleek.

Pressure cooking is very energy efficient and time-saving. It is advisable to invest in a good pressure cooker of your choice. Pressure cooking with separators makes cooking faster and multiple things can be cooked simultaneously. Separator cooking is supposed to be one of the healthier ways to cook food. 


Pressure cooking is a method of cooking in a sealed vessel that does not permit air or liquids to escape below a preset pressure. Since the boiling point of water increases as the pressure rises, the pressure built up inside the vessel allows the liquid to rise to a higher temperature before boiling (wikipedia).

So this was a short write up about pressure cookers. We can have a discussion on which pressure cooker models you all use and which one did you find the best. Please do leave all your comments or you can even e-mail me at gayu.kitchen@gmail.com.


Hope to see you all again with a new blog post. Till then, bye and take care..

Dal Tadka - My simple version

Dal is THE comfort food for many people. Like others, we too enjoy a simple dinner of Rice and Dal :). It is just heavenly when you taste home cooked simple dal and rice after a busy and a tiring day at work. DH loves dal /blush and he is the most happiest person at home when the menu for the day has DAL....Its a surprise dinner for him today with his favorite food. Lets take a look at Dal Tadka - My simple version.

Ingredients:

• Toor Dal - 1/2 cup
• Tomatoes - 2 medium sized (I used grape tomatoes)
• Salt - To taste
• Water - 2 cups

For the seasoning:

• Ghee / oil - 1 tbsp (I used coconut oil)al cooks fast and gets really
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds / jeera - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - A pinch
• Curry leaves - a few
• Cilantro - Finely chopped for garnishing
• Dry Red chillies - 3-4

Method:

• Soak the Toor dal for 15 min. By doing so the dal cooks faster and gets really mushy. 

• Add salt, tomatoes and pressure cook for about 4-5 whistles.

• For the seasoning, take a tadka pan and add the ghee/ oil. I used coconut oil to get an authentic south Indian taste.

• Add the mustard seeds and allow it to pop. Then add cumin seeds, dry red chilies, asafoetida and curry leaves.

• Pour the tadka/seasoning into the cooked dal and mix well.

• Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with basmati rice or phulka rotis. 

• Enjoy!!

Notes:

• You can use ghee or any kind of oil suited to your taste.
• You can choose to add tomatoes or make a plain dal without any veggies which would taste just as fine.
• You can even use moong dal or masoor dal/red lentils for this dal tadka.

Kitchen - The Chef 's Paradise: Tips & Tricks

Kitchen - The Chef 's Paradise: Tips & Tricks:                                                                   Image Source: Graphics Fuel This page is all about tips and tricks in ...

Onion Sambar

Onion Sambar is one of the favorites in our home. Ideal to be eated with rice, idlis and dosas it is hard to stop drinking the sambar literally. I had cut an onion a day before and preserved half of it. (And I used the remaining half to garnish Pav Bhaji). My Mom and Grandmom make the best arachivitta kuzhambu. I used their recipe to recreate the taste (close to it , but not quite there). The sambar masala is a blend of very simple spices that gives a fresh taste. Tonight we are going to have this tasty sambar with idlis.

Ingredients:

For the Sambar masala:

• Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp
• Chana Dal - 2 tsp
• Urad Dal - 2tsp
• Curry leaves -1 sprig (fresh or dry)
• Grated coconut - 1/4th cup (fresh /dessicated)
• Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1/4th tsp
• Black pepper - Few corns
• Dry red chillies - 3-4

For the Smbar:

• Red Onion - I medium sized - Cut lengthwise
• Cooked Toor dal - 1 cup
• Tamarind Pulp - 1 tbsp
• Salt - To taste
• Asafoetida - A pinch
• Water - As needed
• Curry leaves - For Garnishing/ tempering
• Cilantro - For Garnishing
• Ghee - 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/4th tsp 

Method:

• Firstly, cook 1/2 cup of toor dal  in a pressure cooker until soft and mush and keep aside.

• In a pan, add all the dry spices like coriander, cumin seeds, chana dal, urad dal, black pepper, curry leaves, red chillies and grated coconut in a pan and dry roast them till a nice aroma comes from them.

• Remove from heat and allow it to cool down. Grind all the spices until it is all crushed. Keep the consistency somewhere between fine and medium coarse (not too fine or not too coarse).

• In another pan, add ghee, mustard seeds, dry red chillies and curry leaves. Let the mustard seeds pop up and then add the cut onions.

• Once the onions have softened and become translucent, add 1 tbsp of tamarind pulp.

• Add 2 cups of water, salt to taste and asafoetida and allow it to come to a boil.

• Once it starts boiling and starts frothing from the sides, add the ground sambar masala.

• Mix it in well and add another 1/2 cup of water and allow this mixture to boil for another 5-7 minutes.

• Then add the cooked toor dal and simmer for 5 minutes.

• Garnish with cilantro, curry leaves and add 2 tbsp of ghee over the sambar and serve it hot with rice, dosas or idlis.

• Enjoy the sambar and I am sure you will love this.

Notes:

• You can use any type of onion. Red onions taste the best. Even pearl onions taste very good in this recipe.
• I used dessicated coconut and dry cilantro as I ran out of fresh ones. Fresh is always the best.

Shri Rama Navami

Ram Navami is festival celebrated by the Hindus. This festival is celebrated to mark the birth of Lord Rama. Lord Rama was the son of King Dasharath. Lord Rama restored peace and Dharma by defeating the demon king Ravana.

On this auspicious day of Ram Navami, which is the ninth day of the Vasantha Navaratri (Navaratri of the Spring Season) we serve Kosambari which is a snack dish made out of soaked lentils cucumber and coconut, Neer Mor which is watery buttermilk with herbs and spices and Panagam which is a sweet drink made of jaggery and cardamom.

I am posting the above mentioned recipes and hope you all have a blessed year ahead with the grace of Lord Shri Rama.

आपदम्-अपहर्तारम् दातारं सर्व संपदां

Apadam-apahartAram dAtAram sarva sampadAm
लोकाभिरामं श्रीरामम्  भूयो भूयो नमाम्यहम् ॥

lokAbhirAmam shrIramAm bhooyo bhooyo namAmyaham
आर्तानामार्तिहन्तारम् भीतानां भीतिनाशनं

ArtAnAmArtihantAram bheetAnAm bheeti-nAshanam
द्विषतां कालदण्डं तं रामचन्द्रं नमाम्यहम्  ॥

dvishatAm kAladanDam tam rAmchandram namAmyaham
सन्नद्धःकवची खड्गी चापबाणधरो युवा

sannaddhah kavachI khaDgI chApabANadharo yuvA
गच्छन् ममाग्रतो नित्यं रामः पातु सलक्ष्मणः ॥

gachchan mamagrato nityam rAmah pAtu salakshmaNah 
नमः कोदण्डहस्ताय संधीकृत-शराय च 

namah kodanDa-hastAya sandhIkruta-sharAya cha
खण्डीताखिल-दैत्याय रामापायन्-निवारिणे  ॥

khaNDItAkhila-daityAya rAmApAyan-nivAriNe
रामाय रामभद्राय रामचन्द्राय वेधसे 

rAmAya rAmabhadrAya ramachandrAya vedhase
रघुनाथाय नाथाय सीतायाः पतये नमः ॥

raghunAthAya nAthAya seetAyah pataye namah
अग्रतः पृष्ठतश्र्चैव पार्श्र्वतश्र्च महाबलौ 

agratah prushThataschaiva pArsvatascha mahAbalau

आकर्णपूर्ण-धन्वानौ रक्षेतां रामलक्षमणौ ॥ 

AkarNapoorNa-dhanvAnou rakshetAm rAmalakshmaNau

Source: Nandini

               Kosambari

Kosambari is a snack dish made out of soaked lentils, cucumber and coconut along with some seasoning and tempering.

Ingredients:

Moong dal - 1/2 cup

Chana Dal - 2 tbsp

Freshly grated coconut - 1/3rd cup

Mini seedless cucumbers - 2 (Finely Chopped)

For Seasoning:

Ghee - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - A few

Asafoetida - A pinch

Salt - To taste

Curry leaves - A few

Cilantro - Finely Chopped - 1 tbsp

Method:

• Soak the chana dal and Moong dal for 2 hours and drain off the water completely.

• In a big bowl, combine the 2 dals, add finely chopped cucumber and the grated coconut and salt.

• Prepare the tempering with the ghee, mustard seeds, asafoetida and the curry leaves. Allow the tempering to cool and then add it in the bowl.
• Combine all the ingredients well and Kosambari is ready for Neivedyam.

             Neer Mor

Neer Mor is watery buttermilk with herbs and spices.

Ingredients:

Curd - 1 cups

Water - 2 cups

Salt - To taste

Ginger - Grated - 1 tbsp (You can even use powdered ginger)

Curry Leaves - A few

Asafoetida / Hing - 2 pinches

Cilantro - Finely chopped - 2 tbsp

Tempering of mustard in 2 tsp ghee (optional)

Method:

• Whisk together the curd and the water well so that it gets frothy.

• Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk it in really well.
• Add the tempering only after it has cooled down completely.
• Neer Mor is Ready For Neivedyam.

           Panagam

Panagam is a sweet drink made of water, lime/lemon juice, jaggery and cardamom.

Ingredients:

Juice of lemon - 1 tbsp

Water - 2 cups

Grated / Powdered Jaggery - 1/4th cup

Grated Ginger / Powdered Ginger - 2 tsp

Powdered Cardamom - 1/4th tsp

Method:

• Dissolve the jaggery in the water.

• To this add the ginger, cardamom and lemon juice.
• Panagam is ready to be served.

Notes:

• Always add the tempering once it has cooled down completely as none of these dishes involve cooking with heat.
• Make sure you have fresh ingredients for an authentic taste. Even if you do not have you can improvise with the things available in your pantry.
• You can substitute brown sugar for jaggery.

Ramaya Ramabhadraya Ramachandraya Vedase !

Raghunathaya Nadhaya Sithayaha pathaye namaha !!