A - Z Biryani / Khichdi / Pulao Series ~ U for Uttarakhandi Khichdi (Tilantha Khichdi)

When I made a list of recipes to try for this marathon, I made it a point to pick as many as possible choices for each alphabet. The idea was that I can cook whatever I can depending upon the mood and the ingredients I have on hand at the time of cooking rather than sticking my guns at one dish which may have proved not feasible at all. I went on to cook about 2 dozen different pulaos and biryanis in the past couple of months that we my husband somewhat hit a vexation point just at the mention of it. He enjoys them once in a while but not when his wife is determined to experiment and cook all known varieties, in the span of few weeks. 

My initial plan was to cook a 'ulava chaaru biryani' for the alphabet "U'. I zeroed on a particular recipe and bought a packet of horse gram for the first time in my life.  I kept delaying the preparation until this weekend to break the biryani monotony but it turns out that I was no longer in the pulao / biryani mood. I therefore turned to this easy-breezy kind khichdi, the one pot meal being a dish which I don't get tired of, irrespective of regional variations. 

I tried to pick a handful of khichdis for this month's marathon, each with at least some minor variations. This one pot khichdi which is also called as tilantha khichdi or tilwali khichadi that I found on youtube, comes from the Uttarakhand region as the name suggests. It doesn't use any garam masala either in whole or ground forms, which seems to be a norm in most of the masaledar khichdis. This version is prepared using rice and small sized lobia / black eyed peas which are brown in color. I used chori beans instead. The khichdi is supposedly preferred during the winter months as sesame seeds and ginger are natural warmers. A paste made with toasted sesame seeds, generous amounts of ginger and garlic and green chillies is used in this khichdi preparation. I omitted garlic from the recipe but feel free to use it liberally if you prefer it's addition. The delicious khichdi is quite spicy on it's own, thanks to green chilies, chili powder and ginger in the recipe. Serve it along with some plain yogurt, papad, and ghee to make it a wholesome and filling meal.

Ingredients: (Yield 2 servings)
1/4 cup small sized brown colored black eyed peas
1 tbsp. white and /or black sesame seeds
1 inch piece of ginger
2 green chillies
2 tbsp. ghee
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1/8 tsp. chili powder
1/2 cup basmati rice

1.5 cups water

Directions:
* Soak beans overnight. Drain after the soaking period.
* Toast sesame seeds on low flame until they start to crackle and turn off the stove. Let them cool.

* Grind sesame seeds, ginger and chilies together finely adding water as needed.

* Heat ghee directly in a pressure cooker. Add cumin seeds and when they start to brown, add drained beans and saute for a minute. Next add the sesame seed paste and fry on low flame for about a couple of minutes.

* Next add salt, coriander powder, turmeric and chili powders and stir well. Continue to cook until the paste thickens and the beans are coated well with it, about 3 - 4 minutes.

* Rinse and drain the rice. Add it to the cooker and saute for few seconds. Add water and bring the mixture to a boil. Close the lid and pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles. 
* Wait for few minutes after the valve pressure is gone. Open the lid of the cooker, gently mix and serve warm.

So far in my Biryani / Pulao / Khichdi series,
A - Ambur Biryani
B - Basanti Pulao / Misthi Pulao
C - Corn - Fenugreek Greens Pulao
D - Donne Biryani
E -  Ek Toap na Dal Bhaat
F - Fada ni Khichdi
G - Gutti Vankaya Biryani
H - Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani
I - Iyengar Puliyogare
J - Jaipuri Mewa Pulao
K - Kashmiri Pulao
L - Lucknowi Biryani
M - Motiwale Pulao

N - Nei choru
O - Oodhala Pulao
P - Pariba Khechudi
Q - Quinoa Panchkuti Dal Khichdi
R - Rajma Pulao
S - Sindhi Biryani
T - Tehri / Tahiri

 
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#99.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Alasanda - Vankaya Pulusu

When I saw Gayathri's announcement recently about an event revolving around our childhood favorite dishes which we never got to learn about, two recipes came to my mind instantly. Surprisingly both the dishes were not from my mother's kitchen but from my MIL's. That's probably because I have been planning for so long to post them. Besides, most of the recipes I publish here are the ones I grew up eating and thanks to my ma, I know how to prepare most of my favorite foods. Naturally, my focus shifted to my beloved late MIL.
One of those recipes happen to be this rustic, very yummy homestyle dal because it takes my husband down the memory lane. Yes my husband, not me. :) I didn't even know that it was his favorite until a few years ago when my SIL casually mentioned about this dish their mother used to prepare during their childhood. Until then I had never even noticed red chori beans at stores since I was so much used to dals made with toor. My MIL was a great cook and naturally my husband keeps reminiscing about her cooking and his wonderful childhood days. I never got a chance to see my MIL cooking this but I got hold of the recipe through my SIL for my husband's sake. Though I had not eaten it before, my version is decent and the beaming face of my husband is the proof. :)
I had this in my drafts folder for the past few years. I have cooked this a couple of times but each time I have to consult the folder and so I think this makes it eligible for Gayathri's event.

Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients. Most of them go in tadka and grinding.

Ingredients:
Alasanda / Red chori beans / cowpeas - 1/2 cup
Vankaya / Eggplant slices - 1 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
Tamarind juice to taste (2 -3 Tbsp)
Salt to taste
1 tsp of jaggery powder (optional)

To toast and grind:

Coriander seeds - 1 Tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp

Red chillies - 12
1" inch piece cinnamon - 2

Grated coconut - 1/4 cup

For tadka:
Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - A few pinches

Few curry leaves

Method:
* Pressure cook red chori beans, eggplants and turmeric adding about a cup of water.
* Meanwhile, add all the ingredients except the coconut to a pan and toast them until the coriander and cumin start to change the color. Let cool and grind them along with the coconut. Use a few Tbsps of water if needed.
* Heat oil in a pan and add the tadka ingredients. When mustard starts to pop, add the cooked beans, ground paste, salt, tamarind and jaggery. Add water if needed and adjust the ingredients if needed. Bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for a few minutes. Turn off the stove.
Serve with hot steamed rice and papad.

This is my fourth day entry for blogging marathon #12 under "delicious dals" theme. Check out the Blogging Marathon page to find out what other marathoners have been cooking.

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Sweet - Tart Cowpeas / Alasandala Pulusu

Today is the last day of BM#7 and I am here with a recipe adapted from Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries.

I use red chori beans frequently in my kitchen and my MIL's red chori bean - eggplant preparation is one of our favorite dishes. When I noticed several recipes using this bean in Iyer's cookbook, I was fascinated and copied down the recipes (only the list of ingredients to be precise) to try later. And today's post happens to be one of them. A delicious, hearty, sweet- tangy dal that goes well with rice / rotis.

Ingredients: (4 Servings)

1/2 cup cowpeas / red chori beans

3 - 4 Tbsp peanuts - toasted and ground

2 tsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

3 -4 green chillies (I used Serrano peppers.)

Pinch of asafoetida

Few curry leaves

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

 2- 3 Tbsp tamarind juice or to taste

Jaggery to taste

Salt to taste

Method:

* Cook chori beans until soft adding plenty of water in a pressure cooker. Once the valve pressure is gone, remove the beans and drain the water used to cook. Wash the beans thoroughly. If you prefer a gravy, 1/4 of the cooked beans can be pureed.

* Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida. When mustard seeds start to pop, add green chillies and turmeric powder. Fry for about 30 seconds.

* Then add the cooked beans (and puree if using), peanut powder, jaggery, salt and tamarind. Add water if needed, to bring it to a desired consistency. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil. Lower the heat, simmer for a couple of minutes more and turn off the stove.

For those of you who missed any of my posts in this marathon, here is a recap.

1st week - "Microwave Cooking" Recipes

1. Pear Jam

2. Eggless, 2 Minutes Microwave Brownie  

3. Chocolate Popcorn Trail Mix

4. Danedar Dal

5. Carrot Halwa

6. Vermicelli - Coconut Upma

7. Egglesss Microwave Cake (10 minutes)

2nd week - "Cooking from Cookbooks" Recipes

1. Magori Palak Ki Kadhi

2. Easy, Eggless Lime Cookies

3. Chole Panjim

4. Black Pepper - Cashew Rice

5. Imli Aloo

6. Vermicelli Dosas

Check what my fellow marathoners made today.

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Red Chori Bean Sprouts Usli

Usli, a protein rich snack is usually prepared using soaked and cooked dry beans or sprouts. My mom used to make usli / guggillu with various beans for a quick evening snack. Based on that, I made a nutritious, sprouted red chori bean usli which you can put together in around 5 minutes (if you have sprouts ready).

Red chori bean sprouts

You need:
Red chori beans sprouts - 1 cup
Fresh grated coconut / frozen coconut, thawed - 1/4 cup
Medium sized green chillies, finely chopped - 2
Oil - 2 tsp
Chanadal - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Few curry leaves
Salt
Juice from half a lime / lemon (optional)

Red chori bean usli

Preparation:
Heat oil in a small pan, add chanadal and mustard seeds. When chanadal turn red, add chillies and curry leaves and stir them for a few seconds.
Next add sprouts, coconut and salt to the pan, stir the whole mixture and saute them for a couple of minutes before turning off the stove.
Drizzle with lemon juice, if using.
Serve hot.

This goes to RCI-Karnataka hosted by Asha of Foodie's hope.

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Sprouting In The Dark

Sprouting is a way of increasing the nutrient value and digestability of beans, seeds and nuts. Sprouts are the most nutrient dense food on earth. They are rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins and phytochemicals, as these are necessary for a germinating plant to grow. They are also rich in nutrients essential for human health. On wikipedia, there is a long list of seeds, beans and nuts, which can be sprouted. Kidney bean sprouts however are toxic and so, should be avoided.(source: wiki)

I have been following the method of sprouting in the dark, from the past few years and enjoy the crunchy sprouts all through the year. I usually sprout green gram (mung beans), garbanzo beans (chana), red chori beans, which are my favorites.

For 1/4 cup of green gram soaked, you will have about a cup of sprouts. Here is (an example of) how I do the sprouting.

• Sunday night: Before you go to sleep, soak the mung beans in plenty of water in a bowl.
• Monday morning: Throw away the water used to soak the beans. Sprouting would have already started. Wash the beans with fresh water twice or thrice without rubbing the beans much. Drain all the water and cover the bowl and keep it in a dark, warm place such as an oven (turned off).

Soaked green gram by morning. Sprouting already started.

• Monday night: Take out the bowl from the oven and add water to the beans and drain it. Again cover the bowl and put it back in the dark place.
• Tuesday morning: Your sprouts would be ready.

Sprouted green gram

Note: For red chori beans, follow the above process but it will take a few hours more. So on tuesday morning, add water, drain and again put them back in the oven (or a dark place). You will have your sprouts ready by evening. Also the broiler burner we have may be playing an active part in the sprouting process.

Refrigerate the sprouts and use as required.

Sprouted red chori beans

Recipes with sprouts will be posted soon.

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Red Chori Beans Dosa - 1

These dosas were created as an experiment in my kitchen. When we bought red chori beans for the first time, we had no idea they would double up in their volume. We used half of the soaked beans for the intended purpose and were still left with a huge amount of beans. These delicious dosas were therefore born with the addition of some basic ingredients and grinding into a coarser batter. Later on with some experimentation, I came up with another recipe which I am going to post soon.

Ingredients required:

Red chori beans - 1/2 cup

Rice - 1/4 cup

Red chillies - 10

Salt

Two onions, finely chopped

Oil - To make dosas

Soak chori beans and rice over night in plenty of water. These beans tend to double in their volume. This quantity makes around 10 - 12 dosas. Increase the quantity of the ingredients accordingly, if you need more dosas,.

In the morning, drain the water used to soak and wash the beans and rice thoroughly with fresh water.

Grind them into a coarse batter along with chillies and salt. Use only the amount of water required to grind the batter. Let the batter be on thicker side. It will take around a minute to grind the batter. If you wish, add the chopped onions to the batter.

To make dosas, heat a griddle or a shallow pan. When you sprinkle a few drops of water on the griddle, the water should sizzle and evaporate. This means the griddle is ready. Pour a ladle full of batter on the center of the griddle and spread it into a thin circle with the back side of the ladle. If you haven't added onion to the batter, now sprinkle some onion pieces on the dosa. Pour a tsp of oil along the edges of the dosa. Cook on medium flame till the bottom side turns brown. Flip it and again spread some oil along the edges. Let it cook on the bottom side. Then remove the dosa and repeat the process with the remaining batter.

Serve hot dosas with chutney.

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