Tag Archives: Dal

Recipe: Gujarati Dal

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IMG_5632[2]Dal or pulses is the staple of any Indian meal, more so, if its a vegetarian meal as this is the one which supplies the protein to the meal. So every community in India will have their own versions of dal. We also make some sort of dal almost every day, and one of my favourites is this sweet and sour dal from the state of Gujarat. This dal is quite simple to make and uses ingredients found in the pantry. For non-Indians reading this blog, the dal I used can be brought from any Indian store or any supermarket which sells grains.
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Gujarati Dal

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup yellow moong dal, washed and soaked in water for 10 minutes
  • 2 tbsps raw peanuts, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 green chilli, chopped finely
  • 1 inch piece of ginger, grated
  • 1 tsp grated jaggery (sugar or brown sugar can be a substitute)
  • 1-2 tsps lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • Salt to taste
  • Water as required
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

To temper

  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/4 tsp fenugreek (methi) seeds
  • 2 inch piece cinnamon stick
  • 3-4 cloves
  • 2-3 dried red chillies
  • A pinch of asafoetoda

Method:

  • In a pressure cooker, add the dal, tomato chopped into 4 large pieces and the turmeric powder and cook till it becomes mushy. This should take 3-4 whistles, but you can cook it on a stovetop also.
  • Once cool, open the cooker, remove the skin of the tomato and mash the dal well and add it to a large pan along with enough water to make it into a thin consistency. To this add the red chilli powder, chopped chilli and ginger and the peanuts (remove from the water first).
  • Add salt to taste and let it come to a nice rolling boil. Let it boil for around 10 minutes and then prepare the tempering.
  • In a small pan, heat the ghee and when warm add the tempering ingredients in the following order: mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, dried red chillies, cinnamon stick and cloves, stirring for a couple of seconds each time before adding the next ingredient.
  • Once the spice mixture has sizzled, add it to the dal.
  • Switch off the gas and add the lemon juice and check for salt. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice and a vegetable of your choice.

Delicious Gujarati dal is ready!

 

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Chow Chow (aka Chayote) Kootu

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A kootu is another traditional South Indian food item. Kootus are generally vegetables mixed with a lentil or dal (usually moong, but can be others also) with a coconut/chilli gravy all mixed together. This is another example of Indian meals being complete meals as this kootu will have proteins from the lentils, plus fibre from the vegetables. This is usually eaten with a carbohydrate like rice or roti and you have all the important parts of a meal together.

Today’s recipe is Chayote or Chow Chow Kootu

Chayote is an edible plant belonging to the gourd family, being roughly pear-shaped and light green in colour. The skin is not used in Indian cooking and the flesh has a bland taste. This means it takes on any flavouring that is added to it. The seeds are generally not used in cooking.

Chow Chow Kootu

Ingredients:

  • 3 Chayotes (peeled, seeds removed and diced)
  • ½ cup Moong Dal
  • 3 tbsps Channa Dal
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • salt to taste
  • ½ cup freshly grated cocounut (you can use frozen coconut if you don’t have access to fresh coconut. I have used frozen coconut in this recipe)
  • 4-5 fresh green chillies (this is what I used, but please adjust according to the intensity of the chillies and your spice tolerance level)
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • ¼ tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp oil
  • ¼ tsp urad dal
  • A small sprig of curry leaves
  • A pinch of asafetida

Method:

In a pressure cooker, cook the moong dal and 2 tbsps of the chana dal with ¼ tsp of turmeric powder. While the dals are cooking, peel the chow chow, remove the seeds and chop into small, bite-sized cubes. Cook the chow chow in a pan with very little water, ¼ tsp of turmeric powder and some salt.

In a mixer, add the coconut, cumin seeds and chillies and grind it to a fine paste without adding too much water. Some people prefer to add yoghurt here, but I don’t, preferiing to add water to provide the moisture to grind it.

Once the Chayote is cooked but firm, add the dal to it along with the coconut mixture. Adjust the salt and let it boil for a while, around 5-7 minutes. Then turn off the gas and start the tempering to finish the dish.

In a smaller skillet, pour 1 tsp oil oil and wait for it to heat up. Once heated up, put the mustard seeds and wait for it to pop. Once it pops, add the urad dal, curry leaves and asafetida and lightly stir. When the urad dal starts to brown remove from flame and add it to the kootu. Mix well and serve with rice or rotis.