Masoor dal Archives | Sindhi Rasoi |Sindhi Recipes

Tadka Dal

Alka Keswani — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:30:41 +0000

Who likes to mess up with life? Who loves complications? If given a choice who prefers walking on a long hurdled road to a smooth drive? Raise your hands, if you like to get in the way of things, if you like to be in a tricky situation, if trouble is a name of your best pal…. I really, really want to see how do crazy people look like 😉 The gibberish geek talks just put me off, while simple straight forward vocabulary really amazes me. I really can’t understand why people need to take a long unnecessary route to put up their thoughts, why people go around, round and round and round in their talks, confusing you about their intentions , and making you wait for the time immemorial, just to say at the end “Sorry I can’t help you”..Darn ! Simplicity is the word Dear…why can’t people just BE SIMPLE..why on Earth one needs to dig in the Lexicon to find one “more Appropriate” word, when there is no dearth of uncomplicated words used in our day to day life? The ranting has nothing to do with my personal life..no I am not bogged down with such situations..I just wanted to check how annoying could the rambling stuff be, while reading a post, when actually all that I wanted to talk was about a Simple Tadka Dal Recipe…lol. Dal as you might know is a very staple food of Indians.Its almost impossible to jot down all the variety of Dal/pulses/legumes that we Indians eat and all the different ways these are cooked in different homes.The permutation and combination will be enough to boggle anyone, so lets not get into details at this moment. Lets just focus on today’s simple comforting Dal, Dal tadka or Tadka Dal, that is made with Masoor Dal. Tadka Dal, is one common way of making Lentil Curry, wherein Masoor or moong dal is cooked with tomatoes (and sometimes with onion and garlic too) and then tempered with different seasonings, mainly of cumin and mustard seeds, curry leaves and Whole red chillies. The taste, the texture, the tempering and the spices varies from place to place as we move from North (Punjabi cuisine is very famous for Tadka Dal) towards South, each having its own unique Flavor. There are probably hundreds of ways to make Tadka dal, the one which I chose to make, was the way Sindhis generally make Fry Dal (with moong dal) Print Tadka Dal Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 35 mins Serves: 3 Restaurant style Tadka dal. Ingredients 1 Cup Masoor dal ( split orange Lentils) 1 Onion 1 Large Tomato 2-3 Green chillies( Adjust according to choice) 3 Cloves of garlic Salt ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder 1 tsp oil Fresh Coriander leaves for garnishing 1 Cup Masoor dal ( split orange Lentils) 1 Onion 1 Large Tomato 2-3 Green chillies( Adjust according to choice) 3 Cloves of garlic Salt ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder 1 tsp oil Fresh Coriander leaves for garnishing 1 tsp Oil ½ tsp Mustard seeds ½ tsp Cumin Seeds 1 whole dried Red chilly Few curry leaves(optional) Method Pick, rinse several times with water, and soak Masoor dal for atleast 10 minutes. In a pressure cooker, add 1 tsp of oil, saute chopped onion till translucent. There are two ways to use garlic in this Dal, either cook it along with Onion, or add it along with Tadka.Since I do not like to chew on garlic pieces if added in Tadka, I added it with onions. Add chopped tomato and add salt and turmeric powder. Saute till tomato is cooked, then add soaked Dal, about 2-3 small cups of water(bit above the level of dal). Mix well and close the lid of pressure cooker and wait for 2 -3 whistles. Let the pressure subsides, whisk the dal well, but do not overdo.Adjust the consistency as per your preference, check the seasonings and adjust accordingly. Just before serving, pour the dal in a serving bowl . Prepare the tempering , with one 1 tsp of oil, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and Dried Whole red chilly and let the seeds splutter. Immediately pour the tempering carefully over the Dal in serving bowl Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with Rice, Jeera rice or Pulao. 2.2.1

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Just For You Final Round Up~ Maincourse

Alka Keswani — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:42:40 +0000

Priti of Indian Khana made this lovely Baby corn manchurian for her Nephew Kedar. She wanted to make Gobi Manchurian but instead went ahead to make this colourful Babycorn manchurian and thus i got yet another lovely entry Again Kedar(her nephew) wished of eating Palak paneer,and lucky him,he got to relish it in no time.You know what? in my maternal family everybody goes crazy at the mention of palak paneer.Ever tried it with Sindhistyle Bhughe chaawal??I personally believe that nothing else in the world goes as well with palak paneer as Bhughe chaawal 🙂 Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen made Chenna Masala typical south Indian-Tamil Nadu style and she lovingly keep making this for her daughter who loves to relish it with paratha or roti Ghee Pongal aptly called A comforting Breakfast by Hema ,is loved by everyone in her family.The boy likes it with curd,while her hubby dear wants it with sambhar and chutney and Hema herself relishes it with Gothsu And also she wished to make Veg Masala Paneer Dum Biryani from too long.So when finally she got a perfect recipe,she not only enjoyed it with her kids but also with her Amma .Now that’s what i call a lovely daughter 🙂 Arundhuti of Gourmet Affair loves to make Jeera rice with ghee rather than oil,and that is especially made for who else but her hubby,who loves to have this jeera rice with Mutton curry.Umm can u sniff the aroma? Its heady,isn’t it? Keerthana of Kitchen Vibes made very very innovative Cucumber Parathas for her hubby.Now everyone knows those regular potato,dal,radish,panneer parathas,but cucumber??Man ,this was just a wonderful experiment and not to forget, a healthy one too ! Then comes Deepti of Vegetable Platter with lip smacking ,spicy,and flavorful Drumstick Sambhar,an absolute favourite of her Hubby.I am glad that she echoes my thoughts about feeling happy for cooking someone’s favourite.Though she says that it takes bit more efforts to make this sambhar,but then Joh Pati se kare pyaar woh mehnat se kaise kare Inkaar 😉 Sunanda Dey of Sunandas Kitchen made this Chickpea curry called Karaishutir Ghugni.When i first read the name i was confused since i had never heard of that.But when i visted her blog ,the mystery was solved.Heres what she explains; Ghugni’ is considered to be one of the most popular dish in the eastern part of India Specially Bengal. This is a delicious curry made of mainly Chickpeas (Karai shuti) “Thanks sunanada for a lovely traditional recipe Priya Suresh of Priya’s Easy n Tasty Recipes send in this protein packed Channa Pulao that she made for her little sweetheart ,her daughter who adores Chana.She made this as Sunday special with chicken fry and do i need to tell you how nutritious it is? Priyanka of asankhana made khatta and teekha chola curry,which is her Hubby’s favorite since long(since pre marriage) .The name itself is enough to make most of us drool isn’t it? Now as they they,a way to Man’s heart is through his stomach. So let them enjoy this lovely meal and silently hop on to our next entry Sanika of Spicy & Tangy….Sweet & Yummy!!!! came up with Veg Fried Rice and Paneer Chilli which she made for her dear sister who is so very fond of Chinese.Now come to think of it,who won’t love those yummy veg rice and paneer chilly ? Ann from A Delighted Foodie chipped in this OH SO LOVELY Brown Rice Vegetable Pilaf,of course a wonderful combination of brown basmati rice and daal , just for her Hubby.Do check out her space for some wonderful info on Brown Rice Sudeshna of Here I Cook made this yummy Masoor dal for her Fiance.Why ? Here’s what she says”My fiancee is in love with this dal, he just licks his fingers whenever I cook it”. Hmm…So who wont cook the same again and again? Indy of Adi potoba Whose lovely wife(Indy i loved her pic in Maharashtrian Bride attire…too cute) is very fond of Mexican style Rice and Beans,but this Pune boy craves for the good old humble Lentil khichdi.So one fine day he made Toor dal khichdi for his wife,and i am glad he did it,coz how else would i had got his entry for this event ? Honestly speaking his is the only blog that i have read each and every post of.Pune guys you will love walking down memory lane about your place ,with his funny write ups 🙂 Varsha of Will-O’-the-Wisp whose wish of making a Traditional Sadya remained unfulfilled when she tried to prepare the whole feast on her own,on her 1st Onam in Us,due to unavailability of Moong dal .So now since its her Hubby’s favourite too, she made some KattiParippu,A traditional Yellow Moong Dal curry and shared it with me too(virtually though..sigh) Madhu of Madhu’s cooking gallery made this awesome Special Vegetable Biryani for her Brother who is in Australia right now.According to Madhu “When she prepares this biriyani, my bro would not like to eat anything after that, as he wants that taste to linger in for sometime.”Now that must be a hell tasty one ,what say ladies???And aren’t sisters so adorable?? Then she send in these Soy chunks in gravy , which she made for her Hubby.And btw this is hot favourite at our home too,specially my hubby loves these chunks in onion gravy Then came oh so Hilarious ! and a sweet sweet friend Harini or more popularly known as Sunshinemom of TONGUE TICKLERS with her hilarious but tragic post (read it to know what’s this antithesis is all about) accompanied with yummy food too .So if you want to drool at Venn-Pongal, Chakra Pongal and Masala vadai,which she made so that her kids are kept in sync with traditions and culture,then what are you doing here? Go and read her post,i am sure you all are gonna love it Vidya of Delectable Vegetarian Recipes made this Arachu vitta Sambar and her family loves it when she makes this with chickpeas+toor dal+ashgourd.And it reminds her of her best friend Bobby who is also very fond of this sambar chitra of Ratatoullie – any one can cook made these lacy Rice dosa and Rice koozh for her hubby.She not only gave two different methods to make these,but also some wonderful info about Rice.Thanks for all the efforts put in, dear chitra ! Sumarajesh of Suma’s Cuisine made these special Phanna patravodo ,an exotic Konkani dish,dedicating it to her Grandparent’s 60th Wedding Anniversary .Wow ..and i am so honored that she made me a part of this grand affair.She made these lovely patravado in two different ways..Enjoy both types:-) At last JFU got one Sindhi dish as an entry from any fellow blogger,and Medhaa i am so happy that you send in this very favourite of mine Singhi Aloo,a typical Sindhi style drumsticks and potatoes in tangy curry,perfect with steaming rice or phulaks,i simply love this combo.Though she says she is not very fond of Drumsticks she still went ahead and make this yummy dish for her hubby.Why? Well partly out of love and some for other reason too,so go and figure it out at her place:-) PS:Medhaa it was a nice barter exchange 😉 Do check her blog Cook with love for some more innovative as well as authentic (sindhi) recipes Srivalli need no introduction,yeah the same Never -say- die-lady who amuses each one of us with her Marathon Events and all the stuff she keep doing simultaneously ,honored our event with her Delicious (I am still drooling) Fresh Black Eyed Peas Kurma which she made for HERSELF(ofcourse everyone else in family relished it too)She says that she adores these beans, cause some childhood memories of her are spun around this wonder beans .Do check out the wonderful writeup about the family trip to valli’s SIL’s place Rajma n Baby Aloo Masala the name itself activates my taste buds and i just can’t keep a control on my drooling tongue .Rajma and potatoes…. what a killer combination !Well Valli, i had been suffering so much of torture at your blog,since all those yummy Mutton and Chicken delicacies that you come up with,every now and then,makes me feel so jealous about you 😉 Kayal of Kayal’s Kitchen send in these Coconut rice which reminds her of her Oh- so- wonderful -school days of sharing lunchboxes with friends.And i loved the coconut rice which she served with potato fried .Ahem ,she dedicated this aromatic rice to herself…well well, srivalli you have a company here…lolz Then came this Healthy Raagi adai which she made while fondly remembering her grandpa,who was a disciplined man and had perfectly balanced diet all his life Now we all know how great story teller is Sia of Monsoonspice ,but have you heard of her story where she tells us about the first time she had first hand experience of eating spicy food, and the day she was first introduced to spicy Vangi Baath,Not yet?Then be sure you have missed some great write up.Better late than never,so just hop around her place,read her amusing nostalgic memories of childhood,feast yourself with delicious Vangi baath,and have a bit of chit chat with this chatter box ;-).You surely will enjoy the visit to her place(virtual….. mind you) Rekha of plantainleaf says she makes lots of varieties from brinjal.And that her hubby loves this curry so much that everytime he brings home the eggplant ,he wish to have this VANKAYA PODI KURA (egg plant stir fry). Rekha i too loved the recipe.Will surely try it out and let you know how it comes out 🙂 Iron skillet spaghetti…a quick ,30 min meal as soma of ecurry puts it,is a fun filled food for the family,reason being the kids who enjoy eating this on their own and in soma’s own words”Those long unmanageable strings hanging down from the fork & then from their mouth and the intentionally “ZOOOOP”, when they all disappear inside at one shot behind that gleeful smile” Now won’t you all ladies around would love to make this for your near and dear ones? So why to wait,just read her recipe,and recreate this flavorful “Skilletini”.And since you are already making this,do send me in some,coz; i ain’t that good in cooking spaghetti 😉 Rajee of exotickitchen send in a recipe adapted by Alfred Prasad, Kadai paneer.It was a delight to have this at this event,cause i tried it and simply loved the flavors of capsicum and kasoori methi .The only change i did was that i used less tomatoes.Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe with us dear Rajee 🙂 Now Mints who generally writes her Blog in Marathi called Vadani Kaval Gheta,with selected Few recipes translated in English too, Send this bursting with flavors Maharashtrian style Stuffed Eggplants or Bharali Vangi which is favorite of her Hubby and also of a Friend, called sandeep.So do enjoy this amazing dish,which she served with Jowar roti Usha of My spicy Kitchen send in these Chikkudu kaya kura or Indian Broad Beans fry,which is one of the few veggies that are her Hubby’s favourite .The recipe sounds so traditional and i am sure it tasted great too.Thanks usha for letting me know one more way of incorporating greens in my diet Indosungod of Daily Musings writes about the scientific base of Fasting and i completely agree on what she said.So enjoy this creative way of making an Okra dish with what else…Taro roots..sounds interesting ?Yeah ofcourse …so just check it out at her place and i am sure you will love the combo Vidhas of Appetizing recipes send in these Masala Dosa with tomato chutney which is her hubby’s favorite.Well a masala dosa served with tomato chutney and garlic flavoured coconut chutney couldn’t be more fascinating.Thanks Vidya for the flood of entries for this event.I truly appreciate your enthusiasm. Poornima of Tasty Treats shared some of the sweet things about her hubby and In laws,way back when she was a newly wed bride.Her fears of being inexperienced in elaborate cooking ,were shoo-ed off by her understanding,supportive and patient hubby.Now wont it be fair enough to dedicate a post for such a sweet hubby?That’s why poornima made Tomato Rasam and Potato Fry ,two of her hubby’s favorite food Are Tomatoes fruits or vegetables?Yeah we all ponder upon the same question,so did Nithya of A Culinary Odyssey! but then finally she agreed to the Supreme court decision and stamped it as vegetable(read her blog to know more about it) , hence the Bharwan Tamatar ,a heady combination of stuffed tomatoes in yummy-licious gravy Then comes yet another Unheard of a recipe called Spring onion and Tomato curry ,from Saritha of My Kitchen’s Aroma, which her mother in law use to make.This time she made it for lunch for the Hubby who is on diet.Hmm the recipe sounds interesting ! Preeti of Khaugiri came with a yummy Traditional Dish of Nagpur(Maharashtra),called Vada Bhat which is her hubby’s favorite. White rice with crisp vadas on its side,and some crushed over it too,seasoned with a tadka might be a lovely food to relish .Droooling 😉 Finally i wind up this Round up and also the Just For you Event with My hubby’s Favourite two , Methi Paratha and Gujrati Thali Methi paratha for my Honey,who is very fond of theplas,but when one day i ran short of chickpea flour,i made the same with Wheat flour and thus the methi parathas were born 😉 And a Gujrati Thali,specially for My Better half .The thali here consists of Gujrati kadhi,and Sambhariya Shaak,along with poori,roti,papad,Masala chaach,salad and crispy Kheecha A Big Thank You to those who participated,to those who gave me moral support,to those who visited my blog and left back trails of comments.Thanks a ton to those who took out time to mail me the Good luck wishes and also those who mailed to congratulate.I might not be able to reply each and everyone,but i truly am obliged to everyone of you

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Masoor Daal

Alka Keswani — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:42:00 +0000

The week that went by,was surely a crazy one, with lots of unusual, unexpected, ugly stuff coming in my way of sanity, thereby making me feel irritable (huh ..whats new in that?), frustrated and of course ranting and rambling. Agreed, that some good things did happen, like a Teejri fast (An Indian festival) which I enjoyed this year and getting cleaned my home (that was pending from hell lot of time), the rest of things kept my stress levels high and Blood pressure levels really low.Moreover hubby dear sulked for many days feeling cheated by much hyped awaited launch of iphone in India, that too with less features and more moolah than expected. Its high time India comes above the level of being dumping ground for poor quality/rejected/over priced stuff.But people waiting for hours outside the malls to catch the glimpse of Apple’s latest gizmo, will make it hard for India to take a firm stand against all the hype created for Eemported stuff .For now, Thank you Mr Steve Jobs for ditching us …. Well in this scenario I just don’t feel like cooking, but if I do cook, it has to be some comfort food…and what’s better than Dal rice (Dal rice …again???). This time its not a routine one…but one of my favourite kaali masoor dal Print Masoor Dal Whole orange lentils or masoor dal recipe Ingredients Masoor dal kaali (sabut masoor daal or whole orange lentils) 100 gm Onion 1 medium sized Tomatoes 2 Ginger Garlic 5-6 cloves Green chillies 2-3 Salt as per taste Turmeric powder ¼ tsp Coriander powder 1 tsp Oil 2-3 tsp Method Rinse and soak masoor daal in water for few hours (if urgent, it could be cooked without soaking) Take a pressure cooker and put daal along with salt and water (double the quantity of dal) Pressure cook it till 4 whistles if soaked and 6 if used without soaking In the meantime, take some oil in kadai or pan, add pounded/grinded ginger- garlic and saute it, till the paste changes its colour to light brown Then add chopped onions and saute it till light brown in colour Then add chopped or grated tomatoes, chopped green chillies, turmeric powder and coriander powder and fry properly till oil separates out from mixture Now add this mixture into the semi-cooked dal and either simmer it or close the lid and wait for two more whistles of cooker Adjust the consistency and garnish it with coriander leaves Serve with plain white rice and enjoy ! 2.2.1

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