The Punjabi mab ki dal or black dal is what everyone drools over. Accepted that making good black dal requires painstaking care, but if well made, it is rich, creamy, buttery and well worth the effort. I have to argue, however, on behalf of the humble yellow Dal Tadka or Dal Fry. To my mind, just for flavour, nothing beats yellow dal tempered with spices, green chilles and onion. Like nothing beats yellow Mori Dal that the Parsis make with rice and prawn patio; or a yellow Varan that the Maharashtrians make with rice and ghee. In Pakistan, Dal Tadka is made with urad dal (split white lentils) instead of tur dal (split pigeon peas) or masur deal (red lentils). This variant of Dal Tadka will leave you asking for more.
RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
1 cup split white lentils (urad dal)
1/2 tomato, finely chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
2 cups water
Tempering
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
4-5 small round red chillies
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 springs curry leaves
3 tbsp oil
Garnish
Coriander leaves, chopped
5 mint leaves, chopped
2 two-inch pieces of ginger, julienned
1 green chilli, julienned
Hint: 45 mins; Serves 4; parathas or steamed rice and pickle
METHOD
In a medium-sized saucepan, pour water to boil. When the water is boiling, add the urad dal, salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and tomato. Lower the heat to medium and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the water has evaporated. Lightly mash the deal with your fingers ensuring that the grains still remain whole.
In a frying pan, heat oil on medium flame. Add the onion and saute for three minutes. Now add the cumin seeds, curry leaves, whole dried red chillies and fry until the onions turn golden-brown. Once the onions are golden-brown, pour the tempering over the dal. Mix gently.
Garnish with the ginger, coriander leaves, mint leaves, and green chilli.
Serve warm.
SOOKHA VATANA
This Sookha Vatana (green peas) recipe is one of my grandmom's favourites. With no direspect to her or this recipe, I have to admit that I can eat green peas any which way: boiled, curried or even raw. But please don't try that, unless you have a cast iron stomach like mine.
Speaking fondly of the green pea itself, I need to explore a myth. The green pea is not a vegetable. In reality, each pea pod is a fruit, and the peas themselves are the seeds. Peas have been around for a straggeringly long time. The earliest evidence of their consumption dates back to almost 12,000 years.
RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
4 cups green peas
1 tbsp ginger; grated
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 tbsp coriander powder
1 pinch asafoetida
1 tbsp dry mango powder (amchur)
1 tsp tumeric powder
1 tbsp garam masala
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 cup fresh coriander leaves
1 tbsp vegetable oil or olive oil
Salt to taste
Water as required
Hint: 45 mins; Serves 4; parathas or steamed rice and pickle
METHOD
Heat oil in a pan and add asafoetida, cumin seeds and grated ginger. When the cumin seeds begin to crackle, add the green peas, coriander powder, red chilli powder, garam masala and dry mango powder. Stir continously for the spices to combine. Add enough water to cover the peas in the pan. Cover with a lid and cook for five minutes, till the green peas are soft.
Remove the lid. Add half the coriander leaves and salt. Stir well.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve warm.
AKKI ROTI
Karnataka, the land of Udipi Cuisine. If Udipi is in Karnataka, so is Coorg and Mangalore, and the food from each region is distinctive. The cusine is influenced by Karnataka's three South Indian neighbours, as well as the state of Maharashtra.
From coastal Mangalore, Karwar to the hilly climate of Coorg, Chikmangalur to Bijapur, Gulbarga, to the Kodavas with the influence of Kerala, the state has it all. From this state comes the Akki Roti. It is a rice-based breakfast dish, very similar to dosa. I love it for its soft and crisp texture. Above all, I love that it allows you the freedom to add and subtract flavours and tastes in order to customize it to your whims.
RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup green gram (moong dal)
1/2 cup fresh coconut, shredded
2 cups white rice flour
1/4 cup carrot, shredded
21/2 green chilles, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Salt to taste
1 cup water
2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
HINT: 40 mins; Serves 2; plain yoghurt or chutney
METHOD
Soak the moong beans and refrigerate overnight. Drain the beans and reserve the excess water. In a bowl, combine the soaked beans, rice flour, cumin seeds, green chillies, asafoetida, coriander leaves, coconut, shredded carrot and salt. Gradually add water, kneading well with your hands to form a workable dough.
Shape the dough into balls (about the size of a table-tennis ball). Flatten one ball of dough into a thin, round roti using a rolling pin.
Heat two tbsp of vegetable oil in a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Place the roti and fry until golden-brown, for about 30-40 seconds. Flip the roti over and fry until golden. Repeat the process for each roti.
Serve hot.
BHOPALI ROTI
Whether it is a hot baguette, a freshly bake Brun Pav or a soft an buttered Tandoori Naan, I have always been a sucker for great bread. Fresh, white bread evidently sends my sugar levels shooting through the roof. Still, I cannot resist the aromas that roll out from a bakery making fresh sheermalls, roomalis, bagarkhanis or just plain chapati or paratha. The Bhopali Roti is one of the tastiest. As its name suggests, it originates from the nawabi state of Bhopal.
Historically, as in Hyderabad and Lucknow, there has been a lot of grandstanding in Bhopal about the virtuosity of and indulgence towards its homegrown cuisine. This roti is one of the finest examples of the gastronomical delights of that princely state.
RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
11/2 cup whole wheat flour (atta)
1/2 cup rice flour
3 green chillies, chopped
3 tbsp cashews, ground
3 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin seeds, dry roasted and ground
6 saffron strands soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
2 tbsp ghee
1 tsp salt
Water for kneading dough
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
Additional ghee for frying
HINT: 30 mins; Serves 4-5; green chutney or pickle
METHOD
Sift in and mix together the atta, rice flour and salt in bowl. Rub in two tbsp of ghee. Add the remaining ingredients to the dough, except the ghee for frying. Gently pour water and knead the dough just as you would to make a chapati.
Apply your hands lightly to make a soft dough. When the dough is ready, shape the it into ten small balls. On a flat surface, sprinkle some flour. On this floured surface, roll out each ball into medium-sized rotis.
On a hot griddle or tava, gently place the rolled out dough and roast. As the roti browns, smear a little ghee and drizzle some around the edges. Cook the roti until both sides are golden-brown.
Serve hot.
RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
1 cup split white lentils (urad dal)
1/2 tomato, finely chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
2 cups water
Tempering
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
4-5 small round red chillies
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 springs curry leaves
3 tbsp oil
Garnish
Coriander leaves, chopped
5 mint leaves, chopped
2 two-inch pieces of ginger, julienned
1 green chilli, julienned
Hint: 45 mins; Serves 4; parathas or steamed rice and pickle
METHOD
In a medium-sized saucepan, pour water to boil. When the water is boiling, add the urad dal, salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and tomato. Lower the heat to medium and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the water has evaporated. Lightly mash the deal with your fingers ensuring that the grains still remain whole.
In a frying pan, heat oil on medium flame. Add the onion and saute for three minutes. Now add the cumin seeds, curry leaves, whole dried red chillies and fry until the onions turn golden-brown. Once the onions are golden-brown, pour the tempering over the dal. Mix gently.
Garnish with the ginger, coriander leaves, mint leaves, and green chilli.
Serve warm.
SOOKHA VATANA
This Sookha Vatana (green peas) recipe is one of my grandmom's favourites. With no direspect to her or this recipe, I have to admit that I can eat green peas any which way: boiled, curried or even raw. But please don't try that, unless you have a cast iron stomach like mine.
Speaking fondly of the green pea itself, I need to explore a myth. The green pea is not a vegetable. In reality, each pea pod is a fruit, and the peas themselves are the seeds. Peas have been around for a straggeringly long time. The earliest evidence of their consumption dates back to almost 12,000 years.
RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
4 cups green peas
1 tbsp ginger; grated
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 tbsp coriander powder
1 pinch asafoetida
1 tbsp dry mango powder (amchur)
1 tsp tumeric powder
1 tbsp garam masala
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 cup fresh coriander leaves
1 tbsp vegetable oil or olive oil
Salt to taste
Water as required
Hint: 45 mins; Serves 4; parathas or steamed rice and pickle
METHOD
Heat oil in a pan and add asafoetida, cumin seeds and grated ginger. When the cumin seeds begin to crackle, add the green peas, coriander powder, red chilli powder, garam masala and dry mango powder. Stir continously for the spices to combine. Add enough water to cover the peas in the pan. Cover with a lid and cook for five minutes, till the green peas are soft.
Remove the lid. Add half the coriander leaves and salt. Stir well.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve warm.
AKKI ROTI
Karnataka, the land of Udipi Cuisine. If Udipi is in Karnataka, so is Coorg and Mangalore, and the food from each region is distinctive. The cusine is influenced by Karnataka's three South Indian neighbours, as well as the state of Maharashtra.
From coastal Mangalore, Karwar to the hilly climate of Coorg, Chikmangalur to Bijapur, Gulbarga, to the Kodavas with the influence of Kerala, the state has it all. From this state comes the Akki Roti. It is a rice-based breakfast dish, very similar to dosa. I love it for its soft and crisp texture. Above all, I love that it allows you the freedom to add and subtract flavours and tastes in order to customize it to your whims.
RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup green gram (moong dal)
1/2 cup fresh coconut, shredded
2 cups white rice flour
1/4 cup carrot, shredded
21/2 green chilles, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Salt to taste
1 cup water
2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
HINT: 40 mins; Serves 2; plain yoghurt or chutney
METHOD
Soak the moong beans and refrigerate overnight. Drain the beans and reserve the excess water. In a bowl, combine the soaked beans, rice flour, cumin seeds, green chillies, asafoetida, coriander leaves, coconut, shredded carrot and salt. Gradually add water, kneading well with your hands to form a workable dough.
Shape the dough into balls (about the size of a table-tennis ball). Flatten one ball of dough into a thin, round roti using a rolling pin.
Heat two tbsp of vegetable oil in a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Place the roti and fry until golden-brown, for about 30-40 seconds. Flip the roti over and fry until golden. Repeat the process for each roti.
Serve hot.
BHOPALI ROTI
Whether it is a hot baguette, a freshly bake Brun Pav or a soft an buttered Tandoori Naan, I have always been a sucker for great bread. Fresh, white bread evidently sends my sugar levels shooting through the roof. Still, I cannot resist the aromas that roll out from a bakery making fresh sheermalls, roomalis, bagarkhanis or just plain chapati or paratha. The Bhopali Roti is one of the tastiest. As its name suggests, it originates from the nawabi state of Bhopal.
Historically, as in Hyderabad and Lucknow, there has been a lot of grandstanding in Bhopal about the virtuosity of and indulgence towards its homegrown cuisine. This roti is one of the finest examples of the gastronomical delights of that princely state.
RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
11/2 cup whole wheat flour (atta)
1/2 cup rice flour
3 green chillies, chopped
3 tbsp cashews, ground
3 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin seeds, dry roasted and ground
6 saffron strands soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
2 tbsp ghee
1 tsp salt
Water for kneading dough
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
Additional ghee for frying
HINT: 30 mins; Serves 4-5; green chutney or pickle
METHOD
Sift in and mix together the atta, rice flour and salt in bowl. Rub in two tbsp of ghee. Add the remaining ingredients to the dough, except the ghee for frying. Gently pour water and knead the dough just as you would to make a chapati.
Apply your hands lightly to make a soft dough. When the dough is ready, shape the it into ten small balls. On a flat surface, sprinkle some flour. On this floured surface, roll out each ball into medium-sized rotis.
On a hot griddle or tava, gently place the rolled out dough and roast. As the roti browns, smear a little ghee and drizzle some around the edges. Cook the roti until both sides are golden-brown.
Serve hot.
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