Tag Archives: Food

Navratri Recipes: Chana Dal Sundal

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Since it’s the festival of Navratri going on, I am making some kind of Sundal every day as an offering or neividhyam to the Goddess. Today’s Sundal is a simple and delicious Sundal made out of Chana Dal. This is easy to make and took me less than 10 minutes to make (without taking into account the soak time). This is a definite keeper for me.

Chana Dal Sundal

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups chana dal
  • 2-3 tbsp grated coconut
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp split urad dal
  • 4-5 curry leaves
  • 3-4 dried red chillies, broken
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Soak the chana dal in hot water for 1-2 hours.
  • Cook the chana dal in the same pan it was soaked in with 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, salt and 1/8 tsp asafoetida in enough water on the stove till it gets cooked, but still retains it’s shape. Remove from the flame and drain and cool the chana dal.
  • If you plan to use the pressure cooker, just cook it for a max of 2 whistles. Remove from the cooker when the pressure goes down and drain the chana dal.
  • In another pan, heat the oil and when it warms up, add the mustard seeds and let the seeds pop.
  • Then add the urad dal, remaining asafoetida, curry leaves, grated ginger and broken dried red chillies and stir for a few seconds.
  • Now pour in the drained chana dal and stir well to mix everything for a few minutes.
  • Switch off the flame and add the lemon juice and grated coconut. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve as a salad or side with a south indian meal.

For more Navratri Sundal recipes, here are some other recipes:

Recipes: Berry Smoothie/Milkshake

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Most mornings GG has Museli for breakfast while BB does not eat anything before going to school. So we usually have a selection of berries in the fridge as GG loves them in her museli. Earlier this week, I felt some of the berries would spoil if kept long and so decided to make a smoothie/milkshake with them. It was quite tasty and is a good quick breakfast, especially if you can’t eat solid food in the mornings or are in a hurry.

Berry Smoothie/Milkshake

Ingredients:

  • 1 ripe banana
  • 6 medium sized strawberries
  • 15-20 blueberries
  • 1-1.5 cups skimmed milk
  • 1 tbsp honey or 1 tbsp sugar (optional)

Method:

  • Wash and dry the blueberries, remove the leaves and wash and dry the strawberries, peel the banana and keep all the fruits inside an airtight container and freeze overnight. You can also hull and chop the strawberries if they are big before freezing.
  • The next morning, blend all the frozen fruits along with the skimmed milk to a smooth paste. Thin the smoothie to the consistency you like. Add the honey or sugar if you feel you need to add some sweetness to the drink.
  • You can drink it as it is. You can also add some drops of vanilla essence to enhance the flavour or even add some plain vanilla yoghurt or icecream to thicken it up.
  • If you want to make this vegan, just substitute the skimmed milk for some nut milk like soya, almond or cashew or even some light coconut milk

Recipes: Hyderabadi Khatti Dal

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Dal, in most Indian households is ubequetiois and gets prepared almost every day. For those who are vegetarian, this is the main source of protein in their diet. What this means is that there are probably as many variations of dals as there are households in the country!

I came across this recipe for Khatti Dal which literally means ‘Sour Dal’ in my Facebook feed. I really don’t know which website this was from, so I can’t credit them here. I also slightly changed the recipe because I only saw it once and it may not be the most authentic recipe around.

The recipe was this slightly garlicky dal with the children saying it reminded them of a garlic sambar or rasam. I thought though it reminded me of a puli kozhambu. Irrespective of what this dal reminded us of, it was delicious and is a definite keeper in our home.

Here’s the recipe I made so I can refer to it the next time I make it.

Hyderabadi Khatti Dal

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup toovar dal, washed and soaked for 15 mins in warm water
  • 1 small lime sized ball of tamarind (or 1-2 tbsp tamarind paste)
  • 1 medium sized tomato
  • 2 tbsp grated garlic
  • 1.5 tbsp grated ginger
  • 2 medium sized green chillies
  • 1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp ghee or oil
  • 2-3 dried red chillies
  • 8-10 curry leaves
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Soak the tamarind in warm water for 15 minutes, squeeze and mash it and strain the water. Keep aside
  • In a pressure cooker, add the toovar dal and 1.5 cups water with the turmeric powder, 1 tbsp each of grated ginger and garlic and half the asafoetida.
  • Make an x slit in the stem of the tomato and add it to the soaked dal and then pressure cook it for 3-4 whistles. Switch off the flame and let the pressure reduce.
  • When the pressure reduces, open the cooker and remove the tomato gently. Remove the skin which should have started peeling and put it back with the dal. Using a hand-held blender or whisk, whisk the dal till it becomes a smooth paste.
  • Switch on the gas again. Chop the green chilli into 2-3 pieces and add it to the dal along with the tamarind water. Add the tamarind water slowly till it reaches the sourness you like. When it comes to a boil, add the salt, red chilli powder and coriander powder and let it come to a nice rolling boil. Boil on a medium heat for around 10 minutes till the raw smell of the tamarind goes away. Check for seasoning and add what extra is needed. Keep aside.
  • In a smaller skillet, add the ghee or oil and when it warms up, add the cumin seeds and let the seeds crackle. Then add the curry leaves, the balance of garlic and ginger and the red chillies. Let the grated ginger, garlic and red chillies start to brown switch off the flame and pour this tempering directly into the dal.
  • Garnish with coiander leaves and cover for 10 minutes till the flavours blend well. Serve hot with plain rice.

Recipes: Tangy and Sweet Chana Dal

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Monday was Ganesh Chaturthi and as usual I made traditional modak or the sweet dumplings filled with coconut and jaggery as an offering or neividhyam to the Lord. I had about 2 tbsp of the filling left over and was wondering what I should do with it when I thought of incorporating it into a dal. I know Maharastrians do something similar with the filling of puran poli, so I took a leaf out of their book.

Fret not if you haven’t made modak the day you want to make this dal, all you need to do is just add coconut and jaggery to the dal and you get a lipsmacking tangy, yet sweet dal to eat with your rice and rotis.

Tangy and Sweet Chana Dal

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup chana dal
  • 1 small piece of tamarind, soaked in hot water for 20-30 minutes
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/8 tsp asafoetida
  • 4-5 curry leaves
  • 1 tsp crushed green chillies or geeen chilli paste
  • 1-2 tbsp modak filling
  • I tbsp grated coconut, roasted (if not using the stuffing)
  • 1 tbsp grated jaggery (if not using the stuffing)
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Wash the chana dal and cook it either in the pressure cooker or on the stovetop till it is completely cooked and starts to lose its shape. Remove when cool and whisk it to a fine paste. Keep aside.
  • Mix and strain the tamarind pulp and get the juice. Keep aside.
  • Heat oil in a largish pan and when it starts to warm up, add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Then add the cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida and stir for a couple of seconds.
  • Then add the green chilli paste and stir for a few seconds. Now add the whisked chana dal and stir well. Add the tamarind juice slowly and taste test for the level of sourness you want. Season with salt.
  • Thin the dal with water to your preference and let it come to a boil. When the dal comes to a rolling boil, add the modak filling and stir well.
  • If you don’t have the modak filling, just add 2 tbsp roasted coconut plus the jaggery and continue boiling the dal.
  • Finely chop the coriander leaves and garnish the dal. Serve hot with any Indian bread or rice.

Recipes: Ginger, Lemon & Honey Drink

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Over the weekend, both GG and I came down with rather bad colds. I was really suffering and the hacking cough made it really difficult to sleep.

Then I remembered a drink I used to make many years back and decided to try to replicate it. It turned out to be this nice soothing gingery and lemony drink which I have been spamming over the past few days. I also make some and give it to GG in a small thermos to take to school. It has really given me a lot of relief and really soothed my throat which was raw from all that coughing.

Ginger, Lemon & Honey Drink

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 inch piece of ginger
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 glasses water

Method:

  • Grate the ginger and add it to the water in a largish utensil. Heat the water.
  • Let the grated ginger and water come to a boil and once it reaches the boiling stage, lower the heat to a medium and simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Remove from the flame and strain into another large bowl.
  • In this bowl, add the lemon juice and honey and stir well.
  • Adjust the honey and lemon juice according to your taste.
  • Store this drink in a thermos and sip throughout the day.

If you find it too strong for your taste, then dilute it with some warm water and drink.