Paruppu Thuvayal

This is again a real samaritan, when you are running out of vegetables or are bored of the usual lunch. I prefer paruppu thuvayal to thengai thuvayal. I like the flavours of the toor dal and gingelly oil in my food!!!!

Moong Dal Sundal

Day 5 - Im thinking what to prepare and again my MIL was the eleventh hour samaritan. She suggested Payatham Paruppu Sundal.You can try the same recipe using different dal's and your simple and tasty sundal is ready!!

Chickpea Sundal

Day 2 of Navaratri and its a thursday. Sundals are a must for navaratri. So prepared this yummy Kondakadalai Sundal for today's neivedhyam.

Pachai Payiru Kootu

I learnt this from one of my friends in Notts. He used to tell  me that its a dish from Pollachi. Very nutritious and pretty simple.

Ingredients
Green Gram - 2 cup
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Garlic - 3-4
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Coriander Seed Powder - 1 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Red Chili - 2
Curry Leaves - a little
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Soak moong dal overnight and pressure cook with lots of water till mushy along with garlic.
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and once it splutters; add cumin seeds, red chilies, curry leaves and onions.
Add finely chopped tomatoes and saute for a while.
Add chili powder, salt, coriander powder and cooked moong dal.
Add water as moong dal tend to get dried up quickly. Once it reaches a saucy consistency your moong dal kootu is ready. Tastes good with rice and chapathis.

Im sending this to this month's MLLA Event by Preethi and will be looking forward to add entries to future events. Thanks for the opportunity Susan's MLLA Event Page

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Paruppu Rasam

I dont think I can have a south indian lunch without rasam. There are different varieties of rasam thats we can prepare. Here's the simplest of all.

Ingredients
Toor Dal - 1/2 cup
Tomato - 1
Tamarind Extract - 2 cups
Rasam Powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Green Chili - 1
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - a little
Salt to taste
Ghee for garnishing

Method
Pressure cook toor dal with turmeric powder, a tsp of oil and lots of water till mushy.
In a pan, add tamarind extract, rasam powder, salt, asafoetida, green chili, cut tomato and allow to boil.
Once the raw smell is gone transfer to a smaller vessel; we use a tin vessel that's been in the family for long (eya sombu). Donot use the tin vessel to boil rasam; becase it will melt.
Add 3 cups of water from the dal to the rasam. If the water is less, take a spoon of dal and dissolve it well in water and add that to the rasam.
Keep this on low heat, and when you see froth fully covering the top, your rasam is ready. Donot boil the rasam after the dal water is added. Add a tsp of black pepper and cumin powder if you like a spicy rasam.
For garnishing, heat ghee in a small pan, add mustard seeds and once they splutter add cumin seeds and add it to the rasam. Top it with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Lemon Parupu(Dal)

My MIL keeps telling me about this dal which her MIL used to like a lot. I knew of this only after marriage. Later I came to know that there are still other variations to the normal dal we make.

Ingredients
Toor Dal - 1 cup
Green Chili - 1
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Gram Dal - 1 tsp
Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil for garnishing

Method
Pressure cook toor dal till its mushy.
Heat 2 tsp oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds and once they splutter; add urad dal, gram dal, and green chilies.
Add this to the toor dal along with salt, lemon jucie. Mix well and serve with rice. Tastes best with vathal kolambu

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Fulka Rotli and Dal

Today was our first day in Malaysia. Trying to cook something with the limited kitchen is tough. Roti and dal is probably one of the simplest dishes to make. But I missed my rolling pin in India which left me handicapped. So I took up the dare and prepared hand made roti's. We were lucky, though shapeless - it dint turn out bad.

Ingredients
Toor Dal - 3/4 cup
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Red Chili - 1 or 2
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Chili Powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking


Method
Pressure cook toor dal with some turmeric powder and a tsp of oil till its mushy.
Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, red chili, ginger garlic paste, onions and saute.
Add tomatoes, chili powder, salt and mix well. Deglaze the pan by adding some water.
Whisk the dal well till its smooth and add it to the pan.
Once it comes to a boil, add finely chopped coriander and serve hot with fulka rotlis.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Ulundu Vadai (Urad Dal Vada)

Medu Vadai or Ulundu Vadai is a deep fried snack prepared using, offcourse Urad Dal. Pongal-Vadai and Idli-Vadai are served for breakfast in South India. My dad and my FIL both go ga-ga over Ulundu vadai. I keep tabs on them though!!!!

Ingredients
Urad Dal - 1 cup
Raw Rice - 4 tbsp
Green Chilies - 5
Asafoetida - 1/4 tbsp
Curry Leaves - a little
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Onion - 1 medium sized (optional)
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Method
Grind urad dal, raw rice, green chilies, asafoetida together. Add salt and mix well.
Make flat round shapes with a hole in between and deep fry in oil. Serve hot with chutneys.
We can also soak the vadas in sambar/ spicy rasam and have it as an evening snack.

Note:
Donot soak Urad Dal for more than half an hour.
Grind by adding less water. Sprinkle water whenever needed.
Add salt only before frying. Else the batter will become very loose.
Dip hands in water before shaping and dropping the vadas in oil. Use a banana leaf of plastic bag if its uncomfortable to shape.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Parupu (Dal) Payasam

Today being Aadi Velli (Friday of Aadi month) we prepared Parupu Payasam, my favorite. All the friday's of the month of Aadi are considered auspicious and people invite married woman and offer them with fancy items for their shringar.

Ingredients
Moong Dal - 1/2 cup
Channa Dal - 1 tbsp
Jaggery - 1 cup grated
Milk - 1 cup

Method
Clean and pressure cook moong dal and channa dal nicely till they are soft and mashed.
Boil water in a vessel and dissolve the jaggery in it. Filter stones and dirt if any.
Now mix the jaggery and the cooked dal and allow to boil.
Once a consistency is reached, garnish with elaichi, cashew nuts and kishmis(dried grapes)
Add milk and serve hot or cold.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra