Dal Varieties

1.                                                     Dal Maharani

Ingredients:

• Red gram dal [Tuvar dal] - 1/2 cup
• Coconut [Grated] - 1/2 cup
• Ginger - 1 inch piece
• Garlic - 5 flakes
• Onions - 2 or 3
• Green Chillies - 4
• Tomatoes - 2
• Lemon - 1.

To garnish:

• Curry leaves
• Coriander leaves
• Salt - As required
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Jeera - 1/2 tsp.

Method:

Cut onions, slice tomatoes & slit green chilles into two. Grind coconut, ginger & garlic together. Cook dal in pressure cooker with enough water & turmeric powder. Heat oil & fry onions till it becomes transparent. Add chillies, tomatoes & fry for few more mins. Mix cooked dal with mixture [grained] & salt. Cook till the raw smell goes. Toast jeera in hot ghee & add it along with curry leaves & coriander leaves to the dal. Serve hot for phulkas, steamed rice with squeezed lime.

Variation:

Use masoor dal instead of tuvar dal. Fry fenugreek seeds & few red chillies along with jeera.
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2.                                                   Pancharatna Dal

Ingredients:

• Bengal gram - 1 handful
• Gram - 1 handful [Payatham parupu]
• Broken black gram - 1 handful
• Red gram dal - 1 handful
• Lentil [Masoor dal] - 1 handful
• Red tomato - 3
• Onions - 3
• Ginger garlic - 1 tbl sp [Finely chopped]
• Cumin seeds - 1 sp
• Ghee - 2 tbl sp
• Lemon - 1
• Red chillie powder - 1 sp
• Salt - As per taste
• Finely chopped coriander leaves - 2 tbl sp.

Method:

Wash all the dals & keep aside. Then take one pressure pan, pour 2 sp of ghee & add cumin seeds. When it splutters, add onion, ginger garlic & fry for 5 mins in low flame. When the onion turns into golden colour, add salt, turmeric powder, chillie powder & mix well. Then add the dal to that along with 4 cups of water. Close the lid & wait for the whistles to come. After 2 whistles, simmer the gas & keep the dal in the gas for 15 mins. Then remove the dal from the gas. After the pressure cools down, open  the lid & mix well. Add the lemon juice & coriander leaves. Serve this dal with jeera rice or with pulkas.

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3.                                                              Dal Fry

Ingredients:

• Red gram dal - 1 / 2 cup
• Masoor dal [ mysore paruppu ] - 1 / 2 cup
• Salt - as per taste
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 sp
• Greeen chillie - 2 [ slit ]
• Ginger - 1 / 2 inch piece
• Garlic flakes - 2
• Red tomato - 1 [ big, cut into pieces ]
• Curry leaves - little
• Onion - 1 [ cut into dices ]
• Coriander leaves - little
• Sugar - 1 / 4 sp
• Oil - 1 tabl . sp
• Ghee - 1 tabl . sp
• Cumin seeds - 1 sp.
 

Method :

Wash the dals in clean water. Take one pressure cooker keep on the gas, pour oil, ghee together add cuminseeds, when it splutter add onion, ginger, garlic to that fry for 5 mints in lower flame till the onion turns into gloden brown add the dals,salt, turmeric, green chilli, curry leaves, coriander leaves & mix well. Add enough water, along with little sugar [ it gives more taste. ] Close the cooker & wait for 4 whistle to come.Then  remove the cooker from the gas. After the pressure goes open the cooker & mash the dal with spoon. Your dal fry is ready to eat. Serve with hot pulkas, steamed rice.

Strawberry Milk Shake

Ingredients :

Fresh strawberrys - 5 to 6
Milk - 1/2 litre
Sugar - 4 to 5 sp
Strawberry essence - Few drop.

Method :

Boil the milk & make it cool. Then cut the fruit & put it in the mixer or blender along with sugar, milk & essence & blend it for 3 mins. Then pour it in a glass & garnish with finely cut strawberrys. Serve it chill & enjoy your drink.

Hommade Ice Creams !!

1.                                                                Kulfi

Ingredients:

• Full cream milk - 1 litre
• Cornflour - 2 tbl sp
• Sweetless mava [kova] - 100 gms
• Sugar - 8 tbl sp
• Cardamom powder - 1 sp
• Fresh cream - 1/4 cup
• Milk masala powder - 1 tbl sp.

Method :

Take one thick bottom vessel & pour milk, cornflour, sugar & mix well. Then keep it on the gas in a high flame. Stir nonstop otherwise the milk will stick in the vessel. When the milk starts boiling & becomes thick, remove from the gas. Then add mava, fresh cream, cardamom powder, mix well & keep aside. When it becomes cool, put it in the mixer grinder & blend it  for 10 mins till the ice cream  mixture becomes soft. Then shift the mixture to either aluminium container or air tight plastic container & keep in the fridge [freezer] for 14 hrs. Your mouth watering  kulfi  is ready to eat. Before serving sprinke milk masala to that [See picture].

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2.                                                          Custard Apple

Ingredients:

• Custard apple - 3
• Milk [Creamed milk] - 1/2 litre
• Custard powder [plain] - 1 1/2 tbl sp
• Corn flour - 1 1/2 tbl sp
• Sugar - 12 sp
• Cardamom powder - 1 1/2 sp
• Fresh cream - 1/2 cup.

Method :

Keep one thick bottom vessel on the gas &  pour the milk. Add the custard powder, cornflour, cardamom powder & mix well. Stir non stop in high flame till it becomes thick. Then remove from the gas. After it becomes cool add 1/2 cup of fresh cream, blended custard fruit to that & grind  in the mixer till it becomes very soft. Then transfer the mixer to a air-tight container. If there is some excess fruit remaining, add that also to the container so that it gives a natuaral taste. Keep it in the freezer for 12 to 14 hours. Before keeping in freezer mix the blend custard apple to that. After 14 hours your ice-cream will be ready to eat.

Note : Remove the seeds from the fruit & blend the fruit in a blender or in the mixer.

Pav Bhaji

Ingredients :

Cauliflower - 1 cup [made into flowerettes]
Big Potato - 3 [cut into big pieces]
Capcicum - 1 [cut into dices]
Ripe red tomatoes - 3 [finely chopped]
Onion - 3 [cut in to big pieces]
Garlic - 2 flakes
Oil - 1 tbl sp
Red chillie powder - 2 sp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
Salt - As per taste
Everest pav bhaji masala powder - 2 tsp
Amul butter - 50 gms
Pav - 6 pieces

For Grinding :

Take the mixer vessel,  put onion, garlic, tomatoes, red chillie powder, turmeric powder. Grind them smoothly & keep aside.

Method :

Keep the pressure cooker on the gas & pressure cook the vegetables with salt, & turmeric powder. Then keep one kadai, heat oil or ghee to that. Add the grained masala & fry for 5 mins. Add chopped tomatoes, smashed vegetables to that & fry for 5 mins more in low flame. Add pav bhaji masala & amul butter to that & mix well. Keep on stirring from bottom till it thickens. Serve with pav halved toasted with amul butter on both sides. Before serving keep 1 tsp of chopped onion, coriander leaves & diced lemon pieces.

Baingan Bhartha

Ingredients:

• Brinjals - 1/4 kg [big purple seedless]
• Onions - 3 [peeled & chopped]
• Green chillies - 2 [cut into tiny pieces]
• Garlic - 2 flakes [chopped]
• Red tomatoes - 3 big [finely cut]
• Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup [finely chopped]
• Salt - As required
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
• Red chillie powder - 1 1/2 sp
• Sugar - 1/2 sp
• Lemon juice- 1 tbl sp
• Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
• Oil - For seasoning
• Cumin seeds - 1 sp.

Method:

Select good purple colour brinjal [seedless], wash well & wipe with a cloth. Then apply little oil & roast the brinjal directly over the fire. Then remove the outer skin. When it becomes cool, blend the brinjal in the blender or in the mixer & keep aside. Then keep one kadai on the gas, pour oil, add cumin seeds. When it splutters, add onion, green chillie, ginger garlic & fry for 5 mins. When the raw smell goes, add chopped tomatoes, put salt, turmeric, red chillie, sugar & fry in low flame. When the oil leaves sideways, add the blend brinjal & mix well. If required, add 1/2 cup of water & boil. Check for salt, add lemon juice & garnish with cut coriander leaves. Remove from the gas & have it with phulkas or paratas.

Pine Apple Rasam

Ingredients:

• Tuvar dal - 1 cup
• Tamarind paste - 2 sp
• Pine apple pieces - 2 cups [peeled & chopped]
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 sp
• Asafoetida - 1/4 sp
• Salt - As required
• Rasam powder - 1 1/2 sp
• Red chillie powder - 1/2 sp
• Green chillies - 1 [slit]
• Sugar or jaggery - 1 1/2 sp.

For Garnishing:

Coriander leaves & pine apple pieces..

For Seasoning:

• Ghee - 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 sp
• Dry red chillie - 1 [broken]
• Curry leaves - Little.

Method:

Wash tuvar dal in the pressure cooker, adding 3 cups of water. When the dal gets cooked, smash well, add required water to that & keep the vessel on the gas & add  tamarind paste, turmeric powder, rasam powder, red chillie powder, asafoetida, & sugar or jaggery. Keep in low flame till the quantity is slightly reduced. Put 1/4th portion of pine apple to that & blend the other portion of pine apple pieces in a mixer & keep aside.When the rasam gets boiled well, add the pine apple juice & mix well. When it comes to boil, add curry leaves. As soon as it starts boiling add coriander leaves. Keep the gas in sim position for 2 mins & remove from the gas. If u want, you can also add a few drops of pineapple essence to rasam in this stage. Season with mustard seeds & dry red chillie, curry leaves in ghee. Your tasty pineapple rasam is ready for your lunch.

Medu Vada

Ingredients:

• Whole black gram dal - 2 cups
• Green chillies - 4
• Asafoetida - 1/4 sp
• Ginger - 1 inch piece
• Salt - As required
• Rice flour - 2 tbl sp
• Oil - Enough for deep frying.

Method:

Wash & soak dal in enough water for 2 hrs. Drain water completely & add green chillies, ginger piece, asafoetida, salt & grind it to a fine paste. Sprinkle water, now & then, during the process of grinding to make it a ball like dough. Mix rice flour with this. Then heat oil in a deep curved frying pan. Using wet hands shape little dough into a ball & then pat on top of a plastic sheet, put a hole in the centre. Deep fry in hot oil. [Few vadas can be fried at a time]. Do not disturb till underneath turns to golden colour. Turn once to fry the other side brown & crisp. Remove the vadas gently & keep over a colander to drain the excess oil. Serve hot with coconut chutney & sambar.

Note:  Make vadas as soon as the dough is ready. In this way it will not absorb too much oil.