Minumala Annam / Urad Dal Rice

Here is a simple and quick south Indian style rice idea using black gram / urad dal. This rice does not need even vegetables and does not involve any elaborate prep work or cooking. I saw the mention of this rice as part of a prasadam to be offered in a 'Rama Paarayan' book. To be honest, I had never heard about it before and I am still not sure if there is a standard version out there for this rice preparation. I went ahead with my own version keeping it simple and basic. I liked the rice and feel that it is a great idea when you have left over rice and looking for a quick meal option or have run out of vegetables.
 
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked rice (I used sona masuri rice.)
1 tbsp. whole black gram /  sabut urad dal
1/2 tbsp. split chick peas / chana dal
1 to 2 tbsp. grated dry coconut
3 dried red chillies
Ingredients for tadka:
2 tbsp. oil
1 tbsp. peanuts
1 tsp. split chickpeas / chana dal
1 tsp skinned and split black gram / urad dal
1 tsp. mustard seeds
10 - 12 curry leaves
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
3/4 tsp. salt or to taste
2 pinches of asafoetida powder

Method:
* Dry toast black gram, split chick peas, dry coconut and red chillies together on medium flame until the split chickpeas starts to change color to a reddish hue. Transfer the ingredients to a wide plate and let them cool. Grind the ingredients to a fine powder.
* Heat oil and add peanuts, split chickpeas, split black gram and mustard seeds in that order. When peanuts and split chickpeas turn golden brown, add curry leaves, turmeric and asafoetida and stir once. Turn off the stove and add the ground powder and salt. Stir well until the powder is coated with the oil and add the rice. Mix well until all the rice grains are coated well with the powder, breaking any rice lumps if present. 
* The rice can be served immediately. 

This goes to Blogging marathon #74, under the theme 'Bookmarked Recipes'. Check out the page to read what other marathoners are cooking.

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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.

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U for Urad Dal Khichdi

This is one of those dishes where I had zero expectations before the preparation but ended up falling in love once I tasted it. It was similar to the dry version pulagam I make and I told my husband that this is going to be made regularly here after. I enjoyed this simple, filling and nutritious dish with peanut chutney as I do with pongal / pulagam. The rice and urad dal can be cooked together or separately. Urad dal / black gram leaves dark colored liquid when cooked and so I decided to cook both separately so that the final dish still looks white.The original recipe used rice and uard dal in equal ratio but I reduced the black gram ratio when I cooked the khichdi assuming that black gram may dominate the dish. However I realized that the equal ratio would be good as well.

 Ingredients: (2 to 3 servings)
1/4 to 1/2 cup whole, black gram / sabut urad dal
1/2 cup Basmati rice
2 tsp. ghee
1 tsp. cumin seeds
3 dried red chillies, broken into bits
Salt to taste

Preparation:
* Soak black gram in water for about 4 hours. Drain and wash until the water is clear. 
* Rinse and soak basmati rice in water for about 10 minutes. This step is optional.

The cooking part:
* Pressure cooking is the best method to cook the beans faster. Add the black gram and water to a pressure cooker and cook for 4 to 5 whistles and turn off the stove. The ratio of black gram to water is 1:2, while pressure cooking. It doesn't matter if extra water is added since it can be drained later.
If cooking in a sauce pan, add black gram and water and cook it on medium flame, intermittently stirring and adding water as needed. The ratio of beans and water doesn't matter here. Cook until the beans soften but still hold a firm shape.
* Drain any extra water present and rinse the cooked black gram in a colander and keep aside.
* Similarly, drain the soaked water from the rice and pressure cook it adding a cup of water for 3 whistles. Where as if cooking rice in a sauce pan, add rice and water in the ratio of 1:2. For the above quantity of rice, bring a cup of water to a boil in a sauce pan and add the rice. Cover and cook on lowest setting of heat. Do not be tempted to stir the rice while cooking. It would be done in 15 to 20 minutes.
* Let the cooked rice sit for about 30 minutes or so, before using it in khichdi so that each grain stands separately in the final dish. If the rice is used immediately after cooking, it would clump while mixing.
* Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds and red chillies. When the cumin seeds start to turn brownish, add the drained black gram, rice and salt. Mix with a spatula to combine.
* Serve with a hot Indian style pickle and yogurt on the side. I also served some peanut chutney. 

Recipes so far in A - Z Rice Dishes,  
A for Achaari Chole Pulao
B for Bhuna Khichuri
C for Chintapandu Pulihora
D for Dindigul Thalapakatti Veg Biryani
E for Ellorai / Ellotharai  
F for Fodnicha Bhaat 
G for Gongura Pulihora 
H for Hare Moong ki Chaaswaali Khichdi 
I for Iyengar Style Kadambam 
J for Jodhpuri Vegetable Pulao 
K for Kaju - Karivepaku Annam 
L for Lilva Khichdi
M for Mamidikaaya - Kobbari Pulihora 
N for Narali Bhaat
O for Oliya 
P for Peas Pulao 
Q for Qabooli Biryani 
R for Ram Pulao / Rajasthani Gatte Ka Pulao
S for Spinach layered Biryani
T for Tawa Pulao 

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 68.
An InLinkz Link-up

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Flax Seed Laddu

I happened to see these flax seeds based laddus on a Telugu cook show a couple of days ago, when I was leisurely browsing the television. The laddus made with a medley of healthy ingredients sounded and looked so tempting that I had to prepare them immediately. The original recipe used about 2 cups flax seeds and 1/4 cup each of whole black gram / urad dal and roasted chickpeas aka the chutney dal. I didn't bother to toast and grind the flax seeds as I had a big bottle of flax meal sitting in my pantry and so used it instead. I reduced the flax meal quantity and added some peanuts. Even though urad dal is added in small quantity, these laddus tasted almost similar to sunnundalu, earthy and delicious. Another reason for me to fall in love with these laddus as sunnundalu are a favorite of mine.
 
Ingredients: (Yield 16 - 18)
1 cup flax seeds / flax meal
1/4 cup skinned whole urad dal / black gram
1/4 cup roasted chickpeas / chutney dal
1/2 cup toasted and skinned peanuts
3/4 to 1 cup powdered jaggery
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tbsp. ghee
1 tbsp. cashews
Lukewarm milk as needed

Method:
* Toast the cashews in ghee until golden brown and keep it aside.
* If using flax seeds, toast them in a pan on low flame until they start to splutter. Transfer them onto a wide plate to let cool.
* To the same pan add urad dal and toast, stirring constantly on medium flame until they change lightly brown or until you start to feel the aroma. Let the toasted ingredients cool down.
* Grind urad dal slightly coarse and transfer to a wide bowl.
* Next grind flax seeds, chutney dal and peanuts together finely and add the powder to the urad dal flour bowl. Add jaggery, cardamom and toasted cashews along with the ghee used to toast, to the bowl and combine the mixture well using hand.
* Add milk, starting with a tbsp. or so to the mixture and combine to see whether the mixture holds together to shape. If not, add milk in 1 tsp. increments until the desired consistency is reached.
* Fist a lime sized portion of the mixture and shape into a smooth ball using your dominant hand. Repeat the step with the remaining mixture.  

Note:
1.  The laddus can be made without using milk and by increasing the ghee quantity to shape them. Using milk will reduce their shelf life and need to be refrigerated.
2. If by any chance the mixture becomes too wet, add some ground chutney dal or peanut powder so that laddus can be shaped.
 
This goes to blogging marathon #57 under the theme 'Bookmarked Posts' and check here to find out what other marathoners are cooking today.

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Sunnundalu - The Two Versions and Poha Pongal

For the past one month, I was going through a 'No interest in blogging' phase. And also my busy life kept me away from blogging and blog hopping. I would like to thank all of you who kept visiting my blog. Hopefully, I would be blogging again as usual and visiting my blogger friends.

To me personally, the word 'sunnundalu' has the strong power to invoke memories, the pleasant memories of my grand mother. Sunnundalu are dear to me because they always remind me of maternal grand mother and her wonderful cooking. Also, they are the only sweets with a healthy tag attached to them, at our house. My mom never made them at home and we always got our supply of minapa sunni from our grand mother. Even at an old age, she painstakingly used to grind the uraddal in an old fashioned stone grinder and pack bottles of it to send them along with her children and grand children who visited her. The only thing her daughters had to do was adding jaggery and ghee to the ground uraddal whenever they felt like eating sunnundalu. She passed away a decade ago and the last bottle of minapa sunni she sent to my mom is still with her. My mom is holding on to it as a form of connection with her mother.


Sunnundalu belong exclusively to Andhra, I think. They are a power house of protein since the main ingredient used is uraddal - the black gram of India. This nutritious ball of uraddal flour coupled with jaggery and ghee, is a delightful dessert to kids and adults alike.
I am posting two versions of sunnundalu here. The first one is my grand mother's ofcourse. She used to use the uraddal with the husk.

Version 1 :
Ingredients to make around two dozens of small laddos:
Uraddal with husk - 1 cup
Jaggery powdered - 1/2 cup (or more if you prefer)
Melted ghee - 5 Tbsp

Method: Fry the husked uraddal on low-medium flame till it turns golden brown. Let it cool. Powder the urad dal into a coarse powder. It should resemble very fine sand. You can store it in a bottle and use it later too. This coarsely ground urad dal remains fresh for atleast a year (or more). Traditionally, urad dal is powdered using a stone grinder. I used my coffee grinder to achieve the required consistency.
Combine the powdered jaggery to it and mix it thoroughly. Add ghee little by little till the mixture comes together and you are able to form the balls out of it. Add more ghee if required. Take small portion at a time and make a round ball out of it using your hand. Repeat the same with the remaining mixture.

Version 2 :
Ingredients:
Whole uraddal - 1&1/2 cups
Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup (or more if you prefer)
Melted Ghee - 5 Tbsp


Fry the uraddal on low-medium flame till it turns golden brown. Let it cool. Powder the urad dal into a fine, coarse powder. Combine the powdered sugar to it and mix it thoroughly. Add ghee little by little till the mixture comes together and you are able to form the balls out of it. Add more ghee if required. Take small portion at a time and make a round ball out of it using your hand.

This goes to 'Favorite dessert / sweet' event hosted by Hima of 'Snackorama'.

POHA PONGAL
My observation and experience has led me to believe that poha can be a good substitute for rice in most of the rice based, Indian dishes. Poha bisibele bhath, poha payasam, mosaravalakki (yogurt poha) are some of the examples where rice is replaced by poha with out altering the taste or texture of the dish. I was wondering lately whether replacing rice with poha works in pongal and I did experiment to find out. As usual, here too poha mingled humbly with nutritious moongdal, the fragrant, savory ginger and the spicy pepper for an aromatic, mouthwatering poha pongal.

Ingredients:
Poha - 1 cup
Moong dal - 1/2 cup
Ginger (grated /finely chopped) - 1 tbsp
Ghee - 4 tsp
Pepper corns - 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Few curry leaves (optional)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt

Fry the moongdal on medium flame till it turns slightly red. Cook it along with the water and turmeric powder in a pressure cooker till you hear two whistles. Alternatively you can cook the moongdal in a pot adding sufficient water. Keep the dal stirring in between to avoid the moong sticking to the pot at the bottom and getting burnt.

Mean while, wash the poha twice with the water and drain all the water. Cover with poha with a lid and keep aside.

Do the tadka. Heat ghee in a small pan. Add ginger, cumin seeds, pepper corns, pepper powder, curry leaves in that order. When ginger pieces turn brown, turn off the stove.

Add this tadka mixture, poha and enough salt to the cooked moongdal and stir properly with a ladle. Again turn on the stove and let this mixture / pongal simmer on low flame for about 10 minutes so that it can absorb the flavors of the spices added and poha is cooked. Stir once again and turn off the stove.

Serve hot pongal with ginger gojju or chutney. Though it is optional, Pongal is usually served with a generous serving of ghee to make it more delicious.

This goes to 'Think Spice - Ginger', hosted by Sunita of 'Sunita's world'.

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