Dal Tadka (Tempered Lentils)

As I promised in my last post, today’s post is Dal Tadka. It tastes great with Green Peas Pulao. It also goes great with Jeera Rice or even Plain Boiled Basmati rice. This is my all time comfort food. I like to have it as a soup as well. Tastes amazing either way. The flavor from the Garlic added in the tempering brings life into the dish. This is one of the perfect dinner recipe served with rice. This is how I eat Dal and Rice. I add a helping of rice on my plate, dig a hole in the middle and pour dal into it. I’ve been doing this since I was little. So here’s my version of Dal Tadka. 

Ingredients:

• ½ cup Split Pigeon Peas
• ½ cup Split Green Gram (skinless)
• 4 cups water
• Salt to Taste
• ½ tbsp. Cumin Seeds
• ½ tsp. Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp. Red Chili Powder
• ¼ tsp. Asafetida (Hing)
• 4 dry Red Chilies
• 1 finely chopped Green Chili
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped Garlic
• ¼ cup finely chopped Onion
• ¼ cup finely chopped Tomato
• Chopped Coriander Leaves for Garnish
• 2 tbsp. Clarified Butter (Ghee)

Method:

• Add the Split Pigeon Peas, Split Green Gram, Water, Turmeric and Salt in a Pressure Cooker and cook for 10 minutes on high flame.
• Wait until the Pressure is completely released and the open it.
• Heat 1 tbsp. Clarified Butter in a Large Pan.
• Add the Cumin Seeds and allow it to crackle.
• Now add the Onion and Green Chili and cook until it turns golden brown.
• Add Tomatoes and cook for a minute.
• Add Red Chili Powder and Mix well.
• Now pour in the boiled lentil mixture and mix well and cook on low flame for 5 -8 minutes.
• Add more salt if needed.
• Turn off the heat.
• For the tempering, Heat 1 tbsp. Clarified Butter in a small pan.
• Add the Chopped Garlic and Dry red Chilies and let it stay on high flame for half a minute.
• Add Asafetida and put off the flame immediately.
• Give a quick mix using a spoon and Pour the tempering on top of the Lentil mixture and cover quickly. (This helps capture the aroma).
• Add chopped coriander leaves before serving.

Green Peas Pulao

Green Peas Pulao is on of the simplest rice dishes. It gets done in a jiffy but tastes amazing. Since the recipe doesn’t call for a lot of spices, the dish enhances the aroma of the Clarified Butter and Asafetida. The dish tastes great without any accompaniment, but with a cup of Dal Tadka, it’s a hit. I’ll be posting the recipe for Dal Tadka next, so that you could enjoy the two together. But if you do not want to divert the flavor, I recommend eating Peas Pulao alone.  Here’s the recipe for Green Peas Pulao.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. Clarified Butter (Ghee)
• 4 pods. Green Cardamom
• 1 inch stick Cinnamon
• 1 tsp.  Cumin Seeds
• ¼ tsp. Asafetida
• ½ cup boiled Green Peas
• 2 cups boiled Basmati Rice
• Salt to Taste
• White Pepper Powder for Seasoning
• 2 tbsp. chopped Coriander Leaves

Method:

• Heat the Clarified Butter in a Pan.
• Add Cumin Seeds and allow it to crackle.
• Add Green Cardamom and Cinnamon and wait for half a minute.
• Now add the Asafetida.
• Add the Green Peas and Rice and mix well.
• Season with salt and White Pepper powder and mix well gently.
• Let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Finally add the chopped Coriander Leaves and mix well.

Coffee Walnut Cookies

I love coffee and I also love cookies. So I decided today that I’m going to mix the two along with some walnut for some crunch and nothing sounded better. Do you find it super difficult to stop yourself from eating the cookies when they are on the cooling rack? I’ve failed each time. It’s just so hard to resist freshly baked cookies. Half the batch just disappears before you think of storing them. This is one such cookie. So here’s the recipe for my Coffee Walnut Cookies.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup Salted Butter
• ¾ cup Powered Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Essence
• 1 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1¼ cup All Purpose Flour
•  2 tsp. Instant Coffee Powder
• 1/3 cup chopped Walnuts

Method:

• Pre-heat Oven at 170°C
• Add Butter and Sugar in a Mixing bowl and mix using a hand beater.
• Add the Egg, Vanilla essence, Baking Powder and Coffee Powder and mix further.
• Add All Purpose Flour and fold it in using a spatula, until everything is mixed properly.
• Now add in the Walnuts and mix again gently with the spatula.
• Place a Butter Paper or Cookie Mat on a baking tray.
• Form Lime size balls out of the cookie dough and place it at equal distance on the tray. (Make sure they are at least 2 inches away from each other).
• Give a gentle press to each of the balls to flatten it a bit and Press the top of each of them with a fork.
• Transfer the tray into the oven and bake for 14-15 minutes.
• Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and enjoy your cookies once they’ve cooled.

Chickpea Masala (Chana Masala)

This is one of the recipes one has to master if living in a Punjabi Family. It is one of the most popular Punjabi Dishes and one of my favorites. It’s not as difficult as it appears, but the end result is just splendid. The thickness of the gravy can be changed according to our preference and can be achieved just by adjusting the amount of water you add to the dish. I usually keep the gravy a bit runny if I’m gonna eat it with rice and thicker if it has to be eaten with Bhatura or Rotis. Furthermore if you have any difficulty finding Chana Masala, you can replace it by using Garam Masala and Dry Mango Powder, it tastes the same at the end. Here’s the Recipe for Chana Masala.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Boiled Chickpeas
• 1 inch piece Ginger cut into juliennes
• 1 tsp. Ginger Paste
• 1 cup finely chopped Onion
• 1 cup Tomato Puree
• ½ cup Water
• 2 tbsp. Butter
• 1 tsp. Cumin Seeds
• 1 Green Chili finely Chopped
• 1 tsp. Red Chili Powder
• ¼ tsp. Turmeric Powder
• 3 tsp. Chana Masala Powder (Substitute: 2 tsp. Garam Masala Powder + 1 tsp. Dry Mango Powder)
• Salt to Taste
• Chopped Coriander Leaves for Garnish

Method:

• Heat Butter in a Pan.
• Add Cumin Seed and allow it to Crackle.
• Add Ginger and Green Chili and toss for half a minute.
• Add the chopped Onion and cook until golden brown.
• Add Ginger Paste and cook for a minute.
• Now add Red Chili Powder, Turmeric Powder, Chana Masala Powder and Salt and mix well.
• Add the Tomato Puree and water and cover and cook for 5 minutes.
• Then add the Chickpeas and cook for 10 minutes in low heat.
• Mash a few Chickpeas with the help of a spatula. This will make the Gravy thicker.
• Cook further for 4-5 minutes in low heat.
• Garnish with Chopped Coriander Leaves.

Apple Potato and Chickpea Salad

This is one of my favorite salads. All the 3 main ingredients are white and then you pour the yellow dressing and top and the green Basil leaves for the color just looks wonderful and it tastes even better. That’s the reason why I peel the apple before using it. The real test however for a salad for me, is serving it to by father-in-law, he likes it, it’s good to go and this recipe has passed the father-in-law test. So here’s the recipe for the Salad.

Ingredients:

• 1 Apple peeled and chopped into small cubes
• ½ cup potato peeled, boiled and cut into small cubes
• ½ cup boiled Chickpeas
• ¼ cup finely chopped Onion
• 3-4 Basil Leaves
• 2 tbsp. Honey
• 1 tbsp. Mustard
• ½ tbsp. Lime Juice
• 3 tbsp. Mayonnaise
• Salt and Pepper for Seasoning

Method:

• In a small bowl, add the Mustard, Honey, Lime Juice and Mayonnaise and mix well.
• Add the Chickpeas, Potato and Apple in another bowl.
• Add the finely chopped Onion.
• Tear the Basil leaves and add it in as well.
• Now add the Dressing and toss well gently.
• Season with salt and Pepper.

 

Cashew Macaroons

I’ve never come across Cashew Macaroons anywhere else other than in Mangalore. As a kid I used to love them. Mangalore is quite famous for it’s cashews and probably that’s why cashew macaroons are so famous. It’s super crunchy and light. It’s nowhere close to the traditional macaroons. It’s basically Meringue with chopped cashews in them. But the combination of the two just works perfect. I was thinking about them and thought of making it today and it turned out just right.

Ingredients:

• 2 Egg Whites
• ¼ cup Powered Sugar
• ¼ tsp. Cardamom Powder
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Essence
• 120 gms chopped Cashews

Method:

• Pre-heat oven at 100 °C
• Add the Egg whites in a mixing bowl and beat it with an electric hand mixer until stiff.
• Add the Powered Sugar, Vanilla Essence and Cardamom Powder and whisk again.
• The mixture should be stiff.
• Now add the chopped Cashews and fold it gently using a spatula.
• Place a butter paper on a baking tray.
• Use one spoon to gently lift the mixture and another spoon to transfer it into the baking tray.
• Don’t use small size portions of the mixture for it will bake faster and see that there’s at least 2-inch gap between each macaroon.
• Place the baking tray in the oven and allow it to bake for 1½ hour.
• Once it’s out of the oven, allow it to cool completely before serving.

Spinach and Potatoes (Aloo Palak)

Aloo Palak is an excellent side dish and goes very well with rotis and parathas. It has however two variants. The one with gravy is similar to Palak Paneer, where you just have to replace the Cottage Cheese with Potatoes. This recipe is the dry version. While following the recipe, just make sure not to over cook the spinach as it’ll lose it’s freshness. This one’s a great vegetarian dish. So, here’s the recipe for Aloo Palak.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups par-boiled cubed Potatoes
• 2 cups chopped Spinach
• ½ cup finely chopped Onion
• 4 cloves of Garlic chopped
• 2 Green Chilies slit in the middle and cut into halves
• 1 tsp. Cumin Seeds
• ¼ tsp. Asafetida Powder
• 2 tbsp. Oil
• Salt to Taste
• 1 tsp. Red Chili Powder
• 1 tsp. Cumin Powder
• 1 tsp. Coriander Powder
• ½ tsp. Turmeric Powder
• ½ tsp. Garam Masala Powder

Method:

• Heat Oil in a Pan.
• Add the Cumin Seeds and allow it to crackle.
• Add the Asafetida, Garlic and Green Chilies and cook for a minute.
• Now add the Onion and allow it to caramelize.
• Add the Par Boiled Potatoes and toss and cook for 2 minutes.
• Lower the heat and add Salt, Red Chili Powder, Turmeric Powder, Garam Masala Powder, Cumin Powder and Coriander Powder and mix well.
• Now add the chopped Spinach mix well and cover and cook for 3-4 minutes.
• Make sure you don’t over cook the Spinach, because it will lose its freshness.

Cauliflower Fritters (Gobi Pakora)

A few days back my father-in-law was telling me how Punjabis greet their guests. This is the best part of coming from another culture. You get the privilege of your in-laws telling you tons of stories of their culture; which for me is super fun. It helps to bond even more. So my father-in-law was telling me that anytime a Punjabi has a guest around, they immediately serve some hot chai and pakoras. And if you don’t the guests would probably get offended. That took me back to my childhood down South where my mom used to serve exactly chai and pakoras when we had any guests; which kept me thinking we’re not so different after all. This recipe is a vague memory I have of watching my mom cook pakoras. I feel so bad at times for I lost my mom forever and I can’t even call her up and ask her for the recipe. But I guess the time I spent with her back then watching her cook has paid off. I achieved exactly the same taste and texture of my mom’s Pakoras. So here’s the recipe for Gobi Pakoras.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Chickpea Flour (Besan)
• ½ tsp. Cumin Seeds
• ¾ cup Water
• Salt to Taste
• 1 tsp. Red Chili Powder
• ¼ tsp. Asafetida
• 15 Cauliflower Florets
• Oil for deep-frying

Method:

• In a mixing Bowl add the Chickpea Flour, cumin Seeds, Salt, Red Chili Powder and Asafetida and mix well.
• Then add the water and mix it into a smooth batter. (Make sure you get rid of all the lumps.
• Add the Cauliflower Florets into the batter, mix well and set aside for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile heat oil for deep-frying.
• Once the oil is heated, Pick the florets one by one along with the batter and drop it into the oil one at a time.
• Fry for 3-4 minutes and serve hot.