Thursday, April 1, 2010

Announcing an event - 'Delicious Dals' from India


Some of the beans / legumes / dals I cook regularly in my kitchen.

An update:
I think the word 'Dals' confused many. I used the Hindi term to refer the Indian version of stews prepared using beans and did not mean 'dried beans'. I have been receiving subzi / curry / usli recipes prepared using beans. Please note that I am not looking for any dish prepared with beans. I need entries only about dal preparations like kootu / huli / pappu / pulusu / saaru / sambhar / dals and such from India. I hope I cleared the confusion now.

Let us move on to lunch / dinner after the breakfast session. This time, I want to focus on the regional and traditional dal* recipes from India. I am not talking about the dried legumes / pulses but the (stew like) preparations involving them.
Being an Indian and a vegetarian, I need my share of dal preparations everyday and I would count it as my comfort food. Usually, I go with sambhar / pappu / pulusu, which are familiar ones and represent my state's cuisine.
India happens to be a land of vast diversity and each state there, is like a mini country with it's own language, food, traditions and customs. In spite of going through various cook books and websites regularly, it is hard for me to figure out what is being cooked in various (Indian) states on a daily basis. I therefore want to concentrate on that diversity of food and in this event, partcularly on 'dals'. Not only the preparations but even the variety of legumes and spices used to cook keep changing from state to state.
I thought of putting together regional dal preparations at one place and hence this announcement. I am asking fellow food enthusiasts to join me in the celebration of dal delicacies from India and hoping there are going to be entries representing India's diversity. Please remember that a preparation that appear mundane to you may be unheard of in another state. Send in those traditional gems to the event.

Some guidelines for participation:
1. Prepare a dal recipe which you think is traditional / have a local flair - flavor / not well known / only prepared at your home.
2. The cooked dal needs to be vegetarian & suitable to serve with rice or rotis. You can include vegetables and/or fruits in the dal preparations. Also please no gojju / rasam recipes. They deserve an event of their own and that gives me an idea for my next event. :)
3. Publish the recipe on your blog between April 1st - May 31st, 2010 and link to this event announcement page in your post.
4. Please send me an email notifying about your entry at toveggieplatter@hotmail.com with the subject 'Dals'
and the following details.
Your Name:
Recipe Name:
Recipe URL:
Picture of the dish, if you have one.
5. Non bloggers can email me the recipe and a picture, if they have one.
6. The deadline for this event is May 31st, 2010.
7. Multiple entries and recipes submitted to other entries are welcome.
8. Recipes from archives can be sent only if they are reposted with a link to this announcement page.

Now don on those caps, cook that special dal and send it to me.
Also note that I try to respond to your entry submissions with in a day or two. Don't hesitate to contact me if I didn't respond in time.
I would post the round up during the first week of June.

* Dal is a term in Hindi used to refer both pulses and preparations involving pulses.

Post a comment

43 comments:

  1. What a great idea! I can't wait to see the delicious home-style dals that show up. I will definitely send one or more.

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  2. Very nice event. Dal is very imp part of the meal.
    Count me in.

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  3. Wow Suma, great event. Will surely post recipes. Dal is the main protein for us vegetarians :)

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  4. Dear Suma,a very wonderful event indeed.Do count me in.Waiting for the breakfast roundup.

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  5. Great event! We will be sending our entries soon :) Happy hosting!

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  6. gr8 idea suma! will send one or more recipe...

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  7. Suma, can I update old posts that I am sending to the event instead of reposting?
    Thanks.

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  8. Suma very happy to see this event :) I already have few ideas now....will post some truly traditional recipes :)

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  9. Great idea! Will send in my entries..

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  10. Wat a fantastic event, Suma..hope we can prepare the dals with veggies na?? else do u need just dals prepared with simply with dals?? do let me know..

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  11. wooow!!Suma nice event,,,count me in....waiting for round up.....

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  12. Nupur,
    I am also eagerly waiting to see how diverse our Indian kitchens are.

    Panchpakwan, Priya, Yummy team, Prema
    Thank you and waiting for those yummy entries.

    Kiran,
    Thanks. Probably I will post the round up on Monday.It is really hard to do the round up.:)

    Mona,
    If possible,try to repost it so that more people would know about the event.
    Also I mention to repost because people forget to provide the link to the announcement page.

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  13. Life is beautiful, Suma, Swapna,
    Looking for those delicacies. :)

    Priya,
    Yes, you can include veggies / fruits.

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  14. Dear Suma,
    I was just going through your other blog "A Clueless Cook".The garlic bread recipe is simple and easy for the kids to handle.One thing that caught my attention and brought a smile to my face was the names of your kids Shreyas,Shravya and my kids names are Shreyas and Sahithi.Nice coincidence.

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  15. Priya,
    Guidelines for participation updated.

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  16. Hey Suma,
    I cook dal atleast 4 times every week. It has been on my mind for a while to document those simple traditional Maharashtrian/ Goan dals on my blog which I grew up eating everyday. Will try to send in few entries for this event. Thanks.

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  17. First time here ...your blog rocks ..

    count me in dear

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  18. Hi Suma, G8t event definitely i will post my recipes,hope u count me!

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  19. Hi Suma,

    Nice one. Will try to post some which i know..

    Anu

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  20. Wonderful event !

    Already waiting for the round up.. God knows how many entries you might get :)

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  21. this is a gr8 event, will surely send in something!

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  22. Selvi, Thanks for your interest in the event. You are welcome to send as many recipes as you wish. :)

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  23. Great event....Will send in my entries..

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  24. Lovely idea Suma. Here is my entry, the Punjabi Moong Masoor Dal

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  25. gr8 event! just sent in my entry.

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  26. hey Suma, we were wondering if we could send multiple entries in multiple emails or u prefer having all the entries in one single email?

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  27. Harini-Jaya, I don't mind either way. Choose whichever is convenient for you.

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  28. Nice event.Will try to participate in it.

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  29. Hi Suma.. this sounds like a great event. I just sent you an entry. Look forward to the round-up!

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  30. New to your space. You have great stuff out here.. and an event, too! Will send in my entry asap!

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  31. Hi suma

    just send one more entry, panchmel dal. . very excited to wait for the roundup.

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  32. Hey suma this is my first event after i started my bloggig.. so im very much eager to participate in this event. nice and will send my recipe too asap....

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  33. Hi, lovely event of dals. Count me in.

    If you wish to feature your event in my event blog do drop in n leave a comment.

    www.sarafoodevents.blogspot.com

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  34. I'm a dal lover cause its so dal-e-cious. Count me in :)

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  35. count me in...wil love to particiapte..great thought...

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  36. Hi Suma, first time in your space, lovely blog..

    Great event, will send our entry soon!!

    Lobve
    Kairali sisters

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  37. First time in your site beautiful recipe pictures, would like to participate and have sent a recipe to your email.

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  38. hello..i have sent in my entry..hope its fine

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  39. Hi Suma,
    Just learned about this event, will send in my entry in a day or two. Nice theme BTW.

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