Tasty split Bengal gram with some spices (according to your taste)

Here’s another yummy way to eat split Bengal gram that is so good for health.

Ingredients:

100 gms.                  Chaney ki daal (Split Bengal Gram)

1 pinch                      Asafoetida

Salt

Red chilli powder

Turmeric powder

1 Tsp.                        Fennel seeds (powdered)

1                                 Indian Bay leaf (Tej Patta)

Sunflower Oil

1 Tsp.                        Cumin

2-3                             Whole dried red chillies

1 small piece           Ginger (finely chopped)

1 medium                Onion/ shallot (finely chopped) (optional)

1 medium                Tomato (finely chopped) (optional)

¼ Tsp.                                   Garam masala

Green coriander leaves (finely chopped)

Procedure:

Take split Bengal gram, add water and boil it with asafoetida, fennel seeds, bay leaf, salt, red chillies powder and turmeric powder. 

Take it off the fire when it’s well done.

Tadka

Heat oil in a pan.

Add cumin seeds.  When they start spluttering add whole dried red chillies, ginger and onions.

Once the onion and ginger start turning brown, add chopped tomatoes.   Add boiled split Bengal gram to the mix once tomatoes are well cooked.

Mix well.  When the lentils start boiling, add garam masala.  Mix well.

Take off the fire and garnish with finely chopped green coriander.

Serve with steaming rice/ chapattis and/or vegetables.

I hope that you’ll enjoy this meal.  May you have a healthy meal!

Daal waalaa parantha (Fried Indian Flatbread with Split Bengal Gram filling)

Paranthas are my favourite breakfast and there are so many types of paranthas.  Today’s recipe is daal waalaa parantha which is a parantha filled with Split Bengal Gram.  When I was young I used to call it lentils for the horse, a reference to the fact that in India it is fed to horses because of its nutritive value.  It is a good source of calcium, iron and dietary fibre.  So here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 Cup             Wheat flour

50 gms          Split Bengal Gram (Chaney ki daal)

1 pinch          Asafoetida (hing)

1 Tsp  Salt

1 pinch          chilli powder

1 pinch          garam masala

1 small          Onion/ Shallot (finely cut)

1 or 2            Green chillies (finely cut)

Water

Ghee (clarified butter) or Oil

Procedure:

Knead flour so that when you make a hole in it with your finger, it doesn’t stick to your finger.

Filling

Take split Bengal gram, add water and boil it with asafoetida.

Take it off the fire when it’s well done and dry all water.  Mix and crush the Bengal gram, so that it becomes a sort of dry paste.

Add salt, red chilli powder and garam masala and mix well.

Add onions and green chillies.  Mix well.  Keep it aside.

Paranthas

Take a small part of it and roll it into a small ball and ensure that there’s no crack in the ball.

Roll this ball in dry flour and flatten it.

Use rolling-pin and flatten the circle further till it is around 4-5 inches in diameter.

Take 1 Tea spoon of the filling and put it on the flattened dough.

Take all ends and close it in the dough.

Roll it in some dry flour and flatten it upside down i.e. the folded end should face the plate.

Use rolling pin to further flatten it and make it into a bigger circle.

Put the girdle on fire.

When it is hot, put the flattened dough on the girdle.

Once it is cooked on one side (it will become somewhat yellowish brown), turn it over and put oil on the cooked side.

After some time, turn it over again and if the other side is cooked oil it as well otherwise turn it back till it is cooked.  Once it is cooked, turn it over and oil the other side (that you’ve not oiled earlier).

After around 1 minute turn it over and let it cook for some time.

Serve it with pickle or/and vegetables or/and plain yoghurt and/or raita and/or dahi pakodiyan and/or Tomato chutney.

I hope that you loved this healthy meal as much as I do.  Enjoy your meal!

Tomato Rasam

A quick and yummy recipe, especially for summers.   One of the basics and essentials of south-Indian cuisines that is much loved by north-Indians as well.  Today, I’m sharing the recipe of one type of rassam because contrarily to the way we, north-Indians, look at it Rassam is not just one dish.  There are several types of rassams…

Ingredients:

2-3 medium       Tomatoes (cut into big cubes)

25 gms.               Toor/ arhar dal

1 pinch                      Asafoetida

20 gms.               Tamarind (pulp, without seeds)              

Salt (according to taste)

Water

3-4                         Green chillies

10-15                    Curry leaves

50 gms.                Green coriander, finely chopped.

1 Tb. Sp.               Sunflower Oil

1 Tsp.                    Mustard seeds 

1 pinch                 Asafoetida powder (Hing)

1 Tb. Sp.              Coriander powder

1 Tb. Sp.              Sambar powder

Procedure:

1.                   Boil toor daal with 1 pinch of  Asafoetida and keep it aside.

2.                   Take tamarind pulp / raw tamarind, boil it in 200 ml water.  Crush and filter it and add more water to it.

3.                   Add 1 table spoon coriander powder, Sambar Powder and start heating the liquid at small flame.

4.                   Add asafoetida.

5.                   Add salt.

6.                   Add cut Tomatoes, half cut green chilli ( 2-4 pieces max), onions and curry leaves(only a few).

7.                   Boil at a higher flame till the tomatoes are cooked.

8.                   Add toor dal to the above and Letit boil for another 5-6 minutes.

9.                   Switch off the gas and add green coriander (sufficient amount) to the hot rasam.

10.               Heat oil in a pan.

11.               Add mustard seeds.

13.              When the mustard seeds start spluttering add dal and tomato mix to this.

14.               Add dal and tomato mix to this.

15.               Take off the heat and garnish with green coriander, mix.

16.               Serve in a bowl as an appetizer or with rice.

I hope that you enjoyed this soup-style dish.  It is good especially if you suffer from constipation but must be avoided if you have cough and cold or stomach upset.

Mung Beans (Lentils): Sabut moong ki daal

Ever since we were kids, we have been told how good moong daal is for our health… and probably started hating it for this reason.  I fell in love with it only when I started living alone and realised how easy it is to cook and how little time it takes.

Ingredients:

100 gms               Whole Moong daal (mung bean)

Water
1 pinch                 Asafoetida (Hing)
Salt (according to taste)
1 pinch                  Red chilli powder (according to taste)
½ Tsp.                   Turmeric powder
1 Tb. Sp.               Sunflower Oil
1 Tsp.                    Cumin (jeera) 
1 medium            Ginger (cut in fine cubes)

1                             Green chilli (optional)

½ medium sized  Onion finely chopped (optional)
1 small                  Tomato (finely chopped)
20 gms                  Coriander (finely chopped)

Procedure:

1.                   Look through the moong daal to check that there are no stones.  Then wash it 2-3 times.
2.                   Put it in pressure cooker and cover it well with water.
3.                   Add asafoetida , salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder and mix well.
4.                   Let it boil in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes.

5.                   Heat oil in a pan.
6.                   Add cumin seeds.
7.                   When the seeds start sputtering add ginger and green chillies.

8.                   When ginger becomes somewhat brownish add finely chopped onion and stir fry till
                it’s a bit golden.

9.                   Add finely chopped tomatoes.

10.               Add boiled lentils.

11.               Mix well.
12.               Take off the heat and garnish with green coriander.

Serve with rice and chapattis in the main course.  Hope you enjoyed this simple yet healthy meal!

Did you know whole mung bean is an excellent ayurvedic remedy for constipation?