Dhaabay Di Dal

Dhaabas, the roadside eateries serving Punjabi food is a common feature along the Indian highways. The traditional dhaabas mostly cater hearty food at a reasonable price to weary truck drivers and the others who are eager enough to try out their greasy offerings. I have not been adventurous enough to try out the food from a roadside shack but have tried to create some of their dishes in my kitchen albeit low cal versions. This dhaabay di dal which literally means a lentil preparation from dhaaba comes from a cookbook by Sanjeev Kapoor and have been tried in my kitchen many times over the years. This tasty and spicy dal is prepared using a mixture of three different kind of lentils and is a favorite of mine.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup kidney beans / rajma
1/4 cup whole black gram / sabut urad dal
2 to 4 tbsp. roasted split chickpeas / chana dal
2 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. ginger - garlic paste
1 small green chillie, chopped fine
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 tsp. cumin powder
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp. red chili powder
1 to 1.5 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. kasuri methi
Minced cilantro to garnish

Method:
* Soak all the beans overnight or for about 8 to 10 hours and pressure cook them softly adding sufficient water. Drain the water if preferred and lightly mash the dal with the back of the ladle.
* Heat oil in a pan and add ginger and garlic paste and saute until golden brown. Next add chillies and onion and fry until the onion start to brown. 
* Next add cumin and chili powders and stir. Add tomato pieces and cook until mushy. 
* Add the cooked dals, butter, salt, cilantro and extra water (to the desired consistency) to the pan and stir. Bring it to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about five minutes.

* Crush kasuri methi between your palms and sprinkle over the dal. Stir and turn off the stove.
* Serve hot with rotis / rice.

This goes to Blogging marathon #69, under the theme 'Bookmarked Recipes'. Check here to find out what the other marathoners are cooking as part of the BM.

Comments

Rajma Masala

For today's blogging marathon post, I had to pick a protein based gravy dish. Legumes and paneer seemed to be the obvious protein choices but decided to settle with the latter. I promptly prepared a paneer dish in advance but lost the pictures due to computer glitches. This is what I got for being ready in advance this time. :)At the last minute, I realized that I could go with rajma masala as I haven't posted it yet surprisingly.

Protein packed rajma masala happens to be a filling, comfort dish popular in Punjab and other north Indian states. Kidney beans are simmered in onion- tomato - spice gravy, yielding in a melt in mouth kind, delectable side dish. I have given below the method that I usually follow which gives more liquidy gravy. Sometimes I grind onion, tomatoes, ginger and the whole spices (instead of adding garam masala). I add the ground paste after step 2 and fry until the raw smell of the onion leaves, so that I have a thick gravy as shown in the image above. Basically the method below yields you a nice gravy while the rajma in the picture is on a thicker side.

Ingredients:
1 cup kidney beans / rajma
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ginger paste / grated ginger
2 onions2 - 3 tomatoes, finely chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chili powder or as needed
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp crushed kasuri methi (optional)
Cilantro to garnish
(Rajma usually contains garlic and so feel free to add.)

Method:
1. Soak kidney beans overnight in plenty of water or for at least 8 - 10 hours. After the soaking period, cook the kidney beans adding water in a pressure cooker. The cooked beans should be soft but not mushy.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they start to brown add ginger and onion. Fry onion on low flame until it turns translucent.
3. Then add tomatoes and spice powders. Cook until the tomatoes turns mushy.
4. Next add the cooked beans and salt. Add water to the desired consistency and let it cook slowly for about 10 minutes. Add kasuri methi into the pan, stir and turn off the stove. Garnish with cilantro.
5. Serve along with rotis / rice. 

Check here to find out what others are cooking during the marathon.

Comments




 

Delectable Dal Makhani

                   Dal Makhani literally means buttery lentils.

I did my spring-cleaning and cleared almost all the clutter from every nook and corner of our home, before my parents arrived. However, some ingredients from the pantry were begging to be cleared off. One among those was a cup of black urad dal bottled up, may be for years now after sunnundalu preparation.
Nupur's dal makhani seemed a nice way to use up that left over urad dal, to check one of the recipes from my 'bookmarked' folder and also to participate in this month's 'Blog bites - What's lurking in the kitchen'.
Dal makhani, one of the delectable sidedishes from the Punjab region of India also happens to be one of my favorite ones. However, I usually reserve this rich and creamy dish to those occasions when I dine out. To watch oodles of butter and cream going into a dish while cooking, (however favorite that may be) would give me a heart attack. Keeping apart my reservations, those butter and cream lend the flavor and richness to the dish and protein packed dal makhani happens to be one of the popular and standard items on Indian restaurant menus, here in this country.
Preparing dal makhani is a simple task and even a novice cook can master it. Urad dal with the black husk (not the skinned* ones), rajma, chana / garbanzo beans are soaked and cooked till they attain a creamier texture. Also in go the spices, butter and cream resulting in a palate pleasing dal.
This was a decent recipe that contained less amounts of butter & cream. 

Ingredients used:
Black uraddal (uraddal with skin) - 1/2 cup
Rajma / kidney beans - 1/2 cup
Chanadal - 1/4 cup
Tomato puree / tomato paste - 2 cups
Heavy cream - 1/4 cup
Butter 1 -2 Tbsp
Ginger paste / finely minced ginger - 1 tsp
Chili powder - 1 tsp (or as needed)
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
For tadka: 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp. cumin seeds, a pinch of asafoetida, 8-10 fenugreek seeds
(I doubled the recipe to serve us twice, about 10 - 12 servings to serve with rotis. I omitted the garlic from the original recipe, used about 12 oz tomato paste, homemade garam masala and about 3 tsp of chili powder in the doubled recipe.)

Cooking method:
1. Soak overnight (or as needed) the red kidney beans, black urad dal and chana dal. Throw away the soaked water and wash the legumes thoroughly. (Freeze the legumes, if using later.) Pressure cook them together and mash coarsely.
2. Heat the oil and add the minced ginger. When it starts to brown, add cumin seeds, asafoetida and the fenugreek seeds. When cumin starts to splutter, add the tomato puree. Cook the mixture for about ten minutes or till the tomato appears cooked, stirring often.
3. Add the cooked legumes and salt to the tomato mixture and bring to a boil. If it appears too thick, add a few Tbsp of water.
4. Stir in red chilli powder, garam masala, heavy cream and 1 tbsp. butter. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and turn off the heat.

Our dal makhani was served with rotis, along with onion slices and lemon wedges.

* Skinned - Skin/husk removed

Post a Comment

Rajma - Aloo / Kidney Beans & Potato Curry

I am reposting this for Jihva - Rajma, guest hosted by Divya and the event creator is Indira. Irrespective of eating habits, beans are an integral part of Indian cooking. The protein rich beans are used to create a wide array of delicious dishes ranging from enchanting breakfasts to delectable dals / sambhars (Indian stews), scrumptious subjis (Curries), delightful desserts and many more. Today on VeggiePlatter, it's time for the gorgeous, red kidney beans to shine. This beans have been used to create a palate pleasing curry which goes well with rotis / pooris.

Ingredients: Rajma / kidney beans - 1 cup or substitute with canned beans. Chopped potato, onion and tomato - 1 cup each ( or two of each vegetable) Grated ginger & cumin seeds - 1 tsp each Cumin powder & coriander powder - 1/2 tsp each (optional) Chillie powder - 1 tsp Salt to taste Oil - 2 Tbsp Chopped cilantro for garnishing

Cooking Part: Wash and soak dry kidney beans in water overnight or 8-10 hours. Drain the water. Cook the beans with sufficient water in a pressure cooker till done.Throw away the water used to cook the beans. Alternatively cook in a sauce pan on stove top till the beans are soft but not mushy. Turn off the stove. If using canned beans, skip the cooking part.

Heat oil in a wok / deep pan. Add cumin seeds and fresh ginger to it. When they start to brown, add the onion and turmeric powder. Saute till onion turns translucent and then add potato & tomato to it. Cook till potatoes are done. Add a cup of water if needed. Add the cooked beans, chillie powder, salt, coriander powder and cumin powder to the onion - potato mixture. Taste and adjust the quantities of the spices if neccessary and also add some water if the curry is too thick. Let it simmer for 10 - 15 minutes on low to medium flame. Turn off the stove. Garnish with cilantro.

Originally published on May, 24 2007 as 'R' entry for Nupur's A - Z of Indian vegetable series. Comments