Masoor dal – Goan preparation

 This is a yummy preparation that tastes so different from the usual dal cooked in a pressure cooker. We had this in a Goan restaurant . My husband liked it very much and managed to get its recipe. So here it goes...

Ingredients

-          1 cup masoor dal

-          4 cups water

-          Salt to taste

-          1 tbsp oil

-          2 tbsps finely cut onion

-          ½ tsp turmeric powder

-          1/3 tsp red chilli powder

-          1 tsp coriander powder

-          ¼ tsp garam masala powder (optional)

Instruction

- Wash, clean the dal and soak for 3 hours. You can cook it without soaking too. 

- Add 4 cups water to the soaked dal, also salt and ½ tsp oil. Keep on high flame, bring to boil and reduce the flame. Simmer for 15 minutes to let the dal get cooked.

- Heat the oil, add cut onion and sauté till transparent. Now put in the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder. Add this to the cooked dal.

- Stir well and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Serve with steamed rice or chapatis.

Sweet Potato Oratti

 

I had some mashed sweet potatoes, was planning to make sweetpotato parathas when I saw the grated coconut. An idea clicked and decided to make oratti instead. It tasted awesome. My husband enjoyed it and said it was similar to puran poli, which is our favourite.

Ingredients

1 cup wheat flour ( for 3 orattis)

¾ cup boiled, skinned, mashed sweet potatoes

½ cup grated coconut

A pinch of salt

½ tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp white sesame seeds

2 tbsp ghee

Water to make the dough

Instruction

-          Take all the ingredients ( add only ½ tbsp ghee, remaining is for applying on the oratti) except water, mix well. Keep adding water slowly and knead into smooth dough

-          Heat a thava on medium heat, apply ghee. Remove the thava from the flame, take one third of the dough, spread lightly between the palms, put on thava and spread into a round with wet fingers. Put the thava back on the medium flame.

-          When the lower side is cooked, pour some ghee over the top surface, flip it upside down and let the other side also cook.

-          Remove and serve with butter or tomato sauce.

Sweet Potato Halwa

This is a very delicious sweet that is easy to prepare.

                                             Sweet potato halwa served with kala chana chat

Ingredients

1 ½ cups boiled, skinned and mashed sweet potato

½ cup jaggery

¾ cup water

2 tbsps ghee

1 tbsp raisins

¼ tsp cardamom powder

Instruction

-          Pour the ghee in a thick bottomed vessel, add the mashed sweet potato. Keep on low flame and keep stirring in between.

-          Meanwhile put the jaggery and water in a pan and keep on low fire. By the time this melts, the sweet potato will become light brown and give out nice aroma.

-          Pour the melted jaggery through a sieve into the roasted sweet potato and add raisins and cardamom powder.

-          Stir for two minutes and remove from fire. Serve hot or cold. 

Parippu Pradhaman ( Split green gram payasam)

This is a much awaited item for our ‘Onassadya (Onam feast).

Ingredients

1 cup (100gms) Split green gram (mung) with skin, roasted till it turns light brown ad gives out nice aroma

50 gms Sago, soaked in 1 ½ cups water for 10 minutes

300 gms Jaggery

2 ½ cups grated coconut, add water and extract 2 cups coconut milk

½ tsp cardamom powder

1/3 tsp dried ginger powder (optional)

1 tbsp kismis(raisins)

To season

1 tbsp ghee

1 tbsp broken cashews

A few curry leaves

1 tbsp coconut pieces (optional)

Instruction

-          Wash and clean the roasted green gram and soak in 2 ½ cups of water for 15 minutes. Pressure cook it for 8 minutes. Let it cool and then open.

-          Keep the jaggery with ½ cup water on medium flame.

When it dissolves totally, sieve it to remove any impurities and add it the cooked green gram.Let it simmer on low flame for about 8 minutes. Stir in between to avoid it sticking to the bottom of thevessel.

-          Meanwhile, cook the soaked sago on low flame, stirring in between for about 6 minutes when the pearls will turn partly transparent. Keep covered for ten minutes. 

Add this to the green gram jaggery mix along with kismis  and stir in.

-          After five minutes, add the coconut milk, cardamom powder, dried ginger powder and stir. 

Remove from flame after two minutes

-           Heat the ghee and add the curry leaves, cut coconut pieces and broken cashew nuts. 

When the cashews turn light brown, add the whole thing to the payasam. It is ready to be served.

Sago(sabudana) thalipeet

 

This is a delicious alternative for the popular fasting dish, sabudana khichdi.

Ingredients

1 cup sago soaked overnight with equal quantity of water- for four thalipeets

3 potatoes, cooked, peeled and mashed

1 tbsp roasted, powdered peanuts

Salt to taste

1/3 tsp turmeric powder

¼ tsp red chilli powder

1 green chilli cut fine

1 tbsp finely cut coriander leaves.

2 tbsps oil or ghee to roast on thave

Instruction

-          Knead all the ingredients together into soft dough.

-          Heat thava on medium flame, oil it and spread one fourth of the dough on the thava into a circle. 

      Cover and let it cook for three minutes.

-          Now remove the lid, pour some oil on the thalipeet, flip it over and let cook for two minutes without covering with the lid.

-          Serve hot with curds, tomato ketchup or pickle.

                                                          Sago thalipeet served with curds

Versatile gravy

 

Recently we had lunch in a friend’s hotel and my husband loved the gravy that was provided with the meals. He asked for the recipe and graciously the owner gave it to us. Any vegetable can be added to this gravy. I had some raw papaya at hand and decided to add it.

Ingredients

1 cup raw papaya skinned and cut into small cubes.

1 ½ cups water

1 small onion sliced

1 tomato cut small

1 tbsp oil

¼ tsp mustard seeds

Salt to taste

To grind:

1 cup grated coconut

6 pepper corns

2 large byadige chilli

½ tbsp coriander seeds

Instruction

-          Boil the cut papaya in water with salt till it is cooked and tender, takes about 10 minutes

-          Grind the coconut with pepper, red chilli and coriander seeds. Add this to the cooked papaya and mix. Add more water if needed.

-          Heat the oil, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the cut onion, reduce the flame. When they become translucent, add cut tomato. Keep on low flame, stirring in between till they become mushy.

-          Add this to the papaya with gravy, adust the salt, and simmer for five minutes.

Jackfruit seed hummus

It is easy to prepare Jackfruit seed hummus, a great accompaniment with rice, chapati or bread rolls. We have experienced that hummus is easier to digest as compared with other jackfruit seed preparations.

Ingredients:

2 cups jackfruit seeds, with outer covering removed

4 cloves of peeled garlic

1/3 tsp cumin seeds

Salt to taste

1/4 sesame oil

1/2 cup vegetable broth OR water

Juice of one lemon (or more according to your taste)

For garnishing

1/3 tsp red chilli powder

1 tbsp finely cut coriander leaves

Instruction:

-         -     Pressure cook the jackfruit seeds with 2 ½ cups water and salt for 15 to 20 minutes till soft. Cool, open, drain, and discard the water.

-          -      Let the seeds cool down, add all other ingredients and grind in the food processor until smooth.

-          Pour into a plate, drizzle some oil on the top, garnish with red chilli powder and cut coriander leaves. 

Jackfruit seed hummus served with toasted 'pav', 

sautéed baby corn and fresh fruits