Sambhar Dal

Tangy Toor Dal (Split pigeon peas) with a medley of vegetables.

A staple in every South Indian household with every family having their own little touch and tweak.

In my Bong kitchen too, Sambar is much loved and right or wrong, we don't know...but we pronounce this delightful tangy concoction of Dal and vegetables as Sambhar 😉😘.

Ingredients for 6 servings

Toor/Arhar Dal ...150 gm

Water to cook Dal...450 ml (3 cups)

Vegetables like Drumsticks, carrot, bhindi (okra), lauki/lau (bottle gourd), pumpkin, Brinjal....all cut into 1-1.5" lengths.

Today I used carrot, bhindi, lauki and potato ....thanks to an almost empty fridge.

Tamarind ...a lemon sized ball

Turmeric ... 1 tsp

Sambar powder (store bought) ..3- 4 tbsp

Salt to taste

Sugar...a pinch to balance excess tangyness of tamarind.

Garlic pods...5-6 (optional)...I did not use today

Curry leaves... 10 - 12

Dry Whole red chili ..2-3

Mustard seeds... 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds....1/2 tsp

Fenugreek seeds ..1/4 tsp

Red chili powder... 1/2 tsp optional

Kashmiri chili powder.. 1/2 tsp

Hing / asafoetida...1/2 tsp

Green chili..2-3

Coriander leaves...for garnishing 

Rice Bran oil / Sesame oil ....3 tbsp in total

Rice powder and a spoon of curd to marinatr and fry the okra.

Procedure:

1. Soak the Dal in hot water for a couple of hours to reduce cooking time.  Not mandatory. 

2. Soak the tamarind in hot water to make the pulp. 

3. Place the Dal,  a pinch of turmeric, salt and water in my mini presurre cooker. Cook for 3 whistles and let the pressure release naturally. 

4. While the Dal is cooking, smear the 1 cm chopped bhindi with salt, hing, Rice powder, chili powder and 2-3 drops of water. In a kadhai, heat oil and shallow fry the bhindi with a tsp of curd (to prevent) sticking.  After frying , keep the bhindi aside.

I do this as I like the bhindi in sambhar to have a crunch. You can cook it with other veggies if you have no such preference.

5. Today I steamed the other vegetables while Rice was cooking in the steamer of the Rice cooker....for about 5-7 minutes. Vegetables can also be cooked in the pressure cooker along with the Dal if there's a time crunch.

6. In the kadhai in which bhindi was being fried, add diced onion petal. No additional oil required. Remove the steamed vegetables (carrot, lauki, potato) from the steamer and add to the kadhai . Saute after adding salt, turmeric. Once the rawness of veggies are done away with,  add red chili, Kashmiri chili, sambar masala. Fry theveggies and masala well. 

7. Now pour the pressure cooked Dal into the kadhai.  Stir well to combine the Dal and veggies. Add water to adjust the consistency.  Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat, add the tamarind pulp and a pinch of sugar. Let it come to a boil. Add the fried bhindi.

8. In a small pan, heat oil and temper with whole,  dried red chilies, curry leaves, hing mustard-cumin-fenugreek seeds. Once the crackling stops, pour into the booking Dal.

9. Add a tablespoon of ghee into the Dal and garnish with chopped coriander leaves abs green chilies. 

Serve a bowl of steaming health and goodness with Rice / Idli / Sambar / Uttàpam.

Sheddho Mushirir Dal...comfort food

Boiled Red Lentil 

 

Lunch (or Dinner) can't get simpler than this....

Phyana Bhaat (soft , runny, aromatic rice), ce), Sheddho Daal (boiled dal), Dim Sheddho (boiled Egg), Alu Sheddho (boiled potato)...

It's a Bong's comfort food that transports him/her to food nirvana 😋.

Ingredients : 

Masoor Dal.... 75 -100gm

Garlic pods...8-10

Tomato...1 large...roughly diced

Green chili...as many as per heat tolerance

Butter ...2 cubes of 1cm each (can be replaced with mustard oil or ghee)

Diced Onions can also be used which I avoided today. Add diced onions if using, alongside the tomatoes.

For the Phyana Bhaat (soft runny aromatic rice), I used the traditional Gobindobhog Rice...due to an extra whistle of the pressure cooker, it wasnt as runny as I wanted...but the divine aroma enhanced with dollops of ghee made my day.

Procedure :

1. Wash the dal. 

2. In a pressure cooker, place the washed dal, garlic pods, salt, a pinch of turmeric, chopped tomatoes, diced onions (I avoided), 2-3 green chilies, 2 cubes of butter / garlic butter / 1 tsp of ghee or mustard oil 

3. Add 400ml of water. Pressure cook till 3 whistles go off.

4. Let the pressure release naturally. Open the pressure cooker and give the dal a swirl to enhance its creamy consistency. Add water if required, but this boiled dal is had a bit thicker than your normal everyday Masoor Dal (Patla mushurir dal).

5. Best served with steaming hot phyana bhaat, Alu Sheddho/Chokha , Dim Sheddho with further (optional) dollops of butter or ghee for extra indulgence.

 
This Dal tastes awesome as a Lentil Soup...warm, buttery, creamy, with or without a crisp buttered bread toast

Kolai Dal with Chingri Maachh

Roasted Urad Dal with Prawns

Ingredients:

Dry Roasted Urad Dal 200gm

Ginger Garlic paste

Tej Pata

Whole Garam Masala

Onion paste

Onion chopped

Tomato

Turmeric

 Salt

Fennel seed (mouri)

Dry Whole red chili

Procedure

1) dry roast dal and wash

2) in a pressure cooker, add whole garam masala, ginger garlic paste, Tej Pata,  Onion paste, Haldi, Salt, sugar.  Pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. 

3) In a wok, pour 3 tbsp of oil. Season with fennel seeds when hot,  followed  by chopped garlic and chopped Onion. Fry till golden.

4) add the Prawns into the woke after  smearing with Salt, haldi, chili powder. Fry till golden.

5) pour the pressure cooked Dal into the wok. Let it come to a boil. 

6) garnish with ghee, green chilies and coriander leaves (chopped)

Note: The photograph was clicked as an afterthought,  much after the dal was relished by us all and doesn't do justice to its taste 😀 

(Chicken) Meat Ball Soup

Damp, dull, wet rainy days and nights...sniffles and coughs, exam time...not exactly exciting times !! How to cheer us all up ?
Comfort food of steaming hot chicken meat balls in the lightest of soup  style with either soft steamed rice or noodles or just as it is was all it needed to lift the souls of us three women!!!

Ingredients :

For the meat balls :
Minced chicken - approx 500gm
Ginger-Garlic paste
Crushed Black Pepper
Salt to taste
Eggs - 2
Eating Soda - a pinch
Finely Chopped Onion- 2 tbsp
Chopped green chilies
Coriander leaves

For the soup :

Bay leaf
Chopped Onion
Garlic chopped
Green chilies
Mushroom
Carrots
Capsicum
or any other vegetable of choice
Crushed Pepper
Salt
Chili flakes
Green chilies
Coriander leaves
Butter



Procedure :
1. Marinate the minced chicken with all ingredients under Ingredients for Meat Balls except eggs, chopped onions & coriander leaves for an hour or so. Mine was in the fridge overnight
2. MIx 2 eggs to the marinate followed by chopped onions & finely chopped coriander leaves. Fresh leaves just before preparation gives a fresh aroma.
3. In a wok/kadhai, heat 2 tsp of butter. Add a bay leaf followed by freshly ground black pepper, chopped onions, chopped garlic and chopped green chilies. Add a pinch of sugar. Fry till onions are pinkish.
3. Add carrots, mushrooms, capsicum or the vegetable in order of their hardness. Sprinkle salt and pepper.
4. After sauteing the vegetables on medium to high flame, add 5-6 cups of water. Adjust the salt and pepper. Cover till the soup has almost come to a boil.
5. Now after lowering the flame to a minimum, make small balls (approx 1-1.5cm dia) of the minced chicken meat and add to the soup in the kadhai. Increase the flame to medium and add a dollop of butter. Cover for 5-7minutes. Check once in a while and remove the scum from the top and give the soup and the meat balls a gentle stir.
6. After the soup has boiled for 2-3 minutes, sim the flame and adjust salt, pepper, add chili flakes. Remove from flame and garnish with chopped coriander.

Serve the steaming hot chicken meat ball soup and welcome to a world of deliciousness!!

The kids had it with 2-3 tbsps of steamed rice. And the next day had the remaining soup with some noodles.
I had it just as soup...Chicken Meat Ball Soup with mushrooms and vegetables

Cream of Broccoli Almond Soup

Some left over broccoli which had turned yellowish and hence didnt want to use it for normal stir fry or in mix veggie dish preparation. So soup it was to cater to the kiddo tummies in the evening..

Ingredients :
Broccoli - I used 3/4 of a medium sized broccoli cut into medium sized florets
6-10 Garlic cloves chopped roughly
1 tej pata
Almonds - a handful...about 10-15..blanched, to ease the removal of skin
Salt
Rocksalt
Pepper corns ...freshly crushed
black Pepper powder
Chili flakes (optional)
grated Cheddar cheese
Milk - 3 cups
butter

Procedure :
1. Pressure cook the broccoli, chopped garlic with tej pata and a pinch of salt.
2. After blanching the almond in hot water, peel off the skin and saute the almonds in butter till golden brown
3. Now in a blender, make a paste of the pressure cooked broccoli-garlic and sauted almonds.
4. Heat butter and add crushed peppercorns to the heated butter. Fry for a few seconds and add the blended broccoli-garlic-almond. Cook on high heat till the raw flavour is eliminated.
5. Add milk and milk cream (malai/দুধের সব্র ). till it is of creamy & soupy consistency. Mix on high heat and lower the heat, cover and bring to a boil.
6. Adjust the salt by adding rock salt.
7. Sprinkle pepper powder, chili flakes (optional). Take it off the flame.
8. After pouring into soup bowls, garnish with grated cheddar cheese.

Serve this bowful of healthy goodness ....steaming hot...it's a meal by itself!

A bowl of Soup to calm a cold-cough-fever ridden cranky toddler

Chicken with Veggies & Egg Soup

A cranky toddler down with cold-cough-fever, holed up indoors for 4 long days....just needed to be perked up with something she loved....SOUP! So a bowlful of hearty wholesome soup it was.....

I did not have chicken stock...I more often than not, dont. But that hardly matters.....There's always an alternative and a pressure cooker....

So here it is...any vegetable can be used. I used the ones I had....

Ingredients
2 boneless chicken leg pieces or 1 large chicken breast - chopped into small pieces

1 Carrot cut into tiny cubes

3-4 french beans chopped into tiny pieces

A handful of corn kernels (I used frozen)

A handful of fresh peas 

1/2 Capiscum chopped 

Chopped onions - 1

5-6 cloves of garlic-sliced

fresh ginger - 1/2 inch - cut into thin strips

pepper corns-freshly crushed : 4-5
Black Pepper powder
Tej Pata - 1 or 2
Salt to taste
Butter - 1 tbsp
Sesame Oil - 1 tbsp
Eggs - 2

Got the idea to add the beaten eggs to the soup and to use sesame Oil , from Soma's Egg Drop Soup. 

Procedure :
1. In a large pressure cooker, heat butter. Add the Tej Pata, sliced ginger & garlic, crushed pepper corns and finally the chopped onions. Stir till the onions turns translucent.
2. Add the bit sized chicken pieces. Stir around on high heat till slightly browned. Add the fresh peas
3. Add 2 mugs full of water. And pressure cook till 2 whistles go off. If you have chicken stock, add only 1/2 mug of water and pressure cook the chicken and them add the chicken stock and again bring to a boil.
4. While the pressure cooking is on, heat a tawa without oil and dry roast the chopped capsicum. Dont overcook..just to remove the moistness/rawness of capsicum and to give it a smoky flavour.
5.After release of the pressure, take off the lid of the cooker, raise the heat and again bring to boil. When boiling, add all vegetables except capsicum/bell pepper and boil for a minute or less. The vegetables should retain their crunch and not turn soggy. Add the dry roasted capsicum.
6.Adjust the salt and pepper. Add a drizzle of sesame oil into the boiling soup.
7. Beat 2 eggs. Lower the heat and add the beaten eggs slowly in a thin stream while stirring (with a fork) the simmering soup in one direction as described in Soma's Egg Drop Soup. My egg ribbons/strands were not as fine and delicate as hers ..but tasted smooth and silky!

Serve Hot!!!
To see the kiddo's eyes light up with joy as she slurped the steaming bowl of soup was an immense relief after a long day of seeing her being ill and moody!

Mushroom & (Pan) Roasted Broccoli Soup

Realised (seeing the date of my last post) that I'm posting after a year! Most of the times, the urge of posting has been pushed to the backburner, was due to lack of photographs! Several posts are gathering dust in the drafts for want of pictures ...

Managed to click a few quick pics and hence this post happened....and hopefully a few more will follow too!

Ingredients (yielded 4 soup bowls of soup)

Broccoli - 1 small - cut into small florets

White button mushrooms - 250 gms

Milk - 750 ml - boiled and lukewarm

Onion - 1/2 , finely chopped 

garlic cloves - 2-3, chopped.

Bay leaaf - 1 (optional)

Butter / Oil

grated processed cheddar for garnishing

Salt  & Pepper

Chili flakes - optional

crushed dried oregano leaves - optional

salt - I used rock/black salt (beet noon/kaala namak)

Procedure :

1. In a thick bottomed wok/kadai, pan roast (I used butter) the broccoli florets alternating between medium-to-high heat. Season with rock salt and freshly crushed pepper. Roast till the brocolli has a nice brownish speckles all over. Keep aside and let it cool.

2. Again in the wok,  heat butter / oil, and add the cleaned and halved mushroom and cook till water starts oozing out. sprinkle (black)salt and pepper while cooking. Take it off the gas before the water dries off.

3. Blend the roasted broccoli & fried mushrooms.

4. Again in the wok, add a tbsp of butter, add the bay leaf, some chopped onion and garlic and crushed pepper and a pinch of sugar for caramelisation (that's the bong in me!!) fry till the onions are golden brown. 

5. Add the blended broc-mush paste. Stir well. Check for salt and add if needed. 

6. Now to liquefy, on low heat, add the milk while stirring continuously till you get the desired thickness of your soup. Cover and bring to a boil.

7. Sprinkle chili flakes and crushed dried oregano leaves .

8. Serve after garnishing with grated cheese.

Yummy on a damp rainy evening!!

This is linked to Let’s Cook #18 ~ Starters / Appetizers

Soupy affair 2 - Spinach-Almond Soup

Though it's an ideal winter evening pre-dinner appetizer, if fresh spinach is available, a wet monsoon evening is also 'just right' for this soup. That is exactly what happened. Picked up bunches of fresh spinach. Spinach as it is, is not exactly my elder one's (AD) favourite....hence have to resort to 'soupy' tricks !!
So here goes the recipe....

Ingredients :

Spinach - 6-7 bunches washed and roughly chopped
Almonds - 10-12 - blanched to remove the skin
Onion - 1 small, chopped
Garlic - 2-3 cloves - chopped (Optional)
Pepper corns - freshly ground - to taste
Milk - 600  ml
Cream - optional - 1 tbsp
Grated cheese - depends....cheese always tastes great
salt - to taste & sugar - a pinch
red chili flakes - 1 tsp - optional
Ghee/Butter/Olive Oil - 2 tsp

Procedure :

1. In a wok, heat butter/ghee/oil and add the chopped onions, garlic, almond and a pinch of sugar. And fry till the almonds & onions are golden brown.
2. Add the washed & chopped spinach. Stir it around a bit and continue cooking till the water evaporates.
3. After cooling, grind the fried/sauted almond-onion-garlic-spinach into a smooth paste
4. Transfer back to the wok and slowly add warm milk and keep stirring to ensure no lump forms. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Now add the salt. Let it simmer for a minute more
5. Take it off the flame and serve after garnishing with freshly ground pepper & grated cheese.

This post is off to Weekend Herb Blogging #291 started by HAALO and  hosted for the week by PAULCHEN'S FOODBLOG

Soupy Affair - Mixed Veg Soup

A bowl full of bright red on a dull grey rainy evening....Tomato-Beet-Carrot Soup

A depressingly wet grey weekday evening. When the whole week stretches and weekend is still a distant dream.....well to brighten up such an evening, go for this steaming bowl of bright red soup! And the best part is....kids love it!! 

Ingredients :

1. 4-5 big juicy ripe tomatoes
2. 1 beet root
3. 3-4 carrots
4. Butter - 1 tsp
5. Onions - finely chopped - 1 medium
6. Freshly ground black pepper
7. Bay leaf - 1
8. Salt & sugar
9. Grated cheese
10. Dalia - 1 cup (optional)

Procedure :

1. Pressure cook all the vegetables together.
2. With a hand blender puree the tomato, beetroot and carrots and strain them through a metal sieve to filter only the tomato seeds and the larger fragments of tomato skin. I like more fibre in my soup.
3. In a wok, heat the butter. Add a bay leaf and a pinch of sugar and chopped onions
4. Add the pureed vegetables and salt - sugar to taste**
5. Let it come to a boil. Check to adjust the salt & sugar.
6. Garnish with crushed peppercorns and grated cheese.

**To make it a complete meal (especially for kids), add a cup of pressure cooked and pureed dalia (broken wheat) after step 4. Switch off the gas, partly cover the wok with a lid and blend with a had blender. Continue with step 5 & 6.

Mushurir Dal

Masoor dal or Red Lentil Soup

In any Bengali household, the ubiquitous Mushurir Dal is very close to the heart. In its multitudes of variations, the change of the seasonings (Paanch Phoron/Kaalo Jeera/Methi/Jeera and Green Chillies/Whole Red Dry Chillies) gives it its different avatars. But the staple protein which the dal provides, folklore has it, that Mushurir Dal protein is more wholesome & nutritous than chicken or meat protein!!

Today's recipe has Paanch Phoron and Whole Red Dry Chillies as the seasoning.

And one of the nuances of typical family traits in cooking a particular dish....in my family, we DON'T add Holud/Haldi/Turmeric to Mushirir Dal!! Why? Frankly, I dont know....but I too follow this religiously!! ;)

Ingredients :-

-Mushurir dal aka Masoor Dal (Red lentil) : 100gm

-Whole dry red chillies : 2

-Paanch Phoron : 1 tsp

-Ginger : 3/4 tsp

-Chopped onions - 1 small onion

-Chopped Tomato : 1/2

-Green Chillies : 2-3

-Coriander Leaves for garnishing

-Salt to taste

-Mustard Oil/White Oil - 2 tbsp

Procedure :-

1. Put the washed dal in a pressure cooker. Add ginger, salt and 2 cups of water and pressure cook till 1 or 2 whistles blow.

2. Use a beater to ensure that there are no lumps.

3. Take the Oil in a wok and after it is hot season with 2 whole dry red chillies and Paanch Phoron.

4.Add the chopped onions and lightly fry.

5.Add chopped tomatoes.

6.Add the beaten Dal.

7.Check for salt and add water to make the dal of medium to light consistency (Mushurir Dal as eaten by Bengalis is of light consistency....paatla mushurir dal )

8.Bring to a boil

9.Add 2 slit green chillies and garnish with chopped Coriander Leaves.

The taste of this Dal reaches its maximum potential if eaten with hot steamed rice, with the juice of lemon squeezed and a green chilli rubbed into the dal-rice mix to give off a beautiful taste & aroma...

The speciality of this lentil recipe is that other than the Paanch Phoron (5 spice mix), it is a spice free, almost oil free dish, oozing with the goodness of Red Lentils.

This is my 2nd entry to the BLOG EVENT "LENTILS MELA" hosted by Ashwini's Spicy Cuisine. The logo for the event ..

This is also my 3rd entry to the event WYF:Cuisine. The logo for the event is..

Boiragi Dal....Mixed Lentil Soup

What has Dal (lentils) got to do with Boiragyo or spiritualism? Well, if you go by the name of this Dal…..quite a bit, I guess!

This Dal opens a floodgate of memories….of having lunch with Dadu (my paternal grandfather) during my growing up years.

A man of reticence, well-known amongst relatives for being a strict disciplinarian, with us grandchildren, Dadu was a different man altogether. Age had probably mellowed him. For me, his 'live-in' granddaughter, he was a storehouse of stories…of his growing up years, his schooling in the village pathshaala followed by his college years in Kolkata.

The sepia tinged memories of Dadu narrating his tales of a bygone era while we had lunch (on Sundays and holidays), with the 1 o'clock Bengali newscast on All India Radio in the background, are crystal clear even today, more than 20 years later.
Different stories of different phases of his life…Like when while studying engineering, he, with some friends played hookey and got caught while trying to sneak back to the hostel after a round of football match and were almost suspended by the professor. Of another occasion when the hungry youngsters, fed on measly hostel food, went uninvited, to a wedding party close to their college premises. After the host came to know they were engineering students from the hallowed institution, they were given an almost royal treatment and the boys feasted to their hearts' content. Stories of seaplanes taking off from water instead of the runway left me wide-eyed with wonder and amazement while tales of post World War II Germany and Britain, when food was rationed and life was stark gave me a first hand account of history. Myriad stories of a life spanning the entirety of the 20th century…..
To imagine that a modest dal had so many memories associated with it!!!
Well, coming back to the Dal…..peeping through the cobwebs of the past, the first time I remember having this dal, Dadu asked us whether we knew its name ….Boiragi Dal was what is was called, he said! 'Boiragi'?? I asked, taken aback by the totally out-of-context name. The Boiragis, he explained, lived on alms. And whatever they received as Bhiksha from each grihostho-baari was collected in a common container. And the Boiragi, at the end of the day, cooked this assorted Dal and hence the name Boiragi Dal.

But now as I write, a question comes to mind. Didn't the Boriagi receive any rice as alms. So that would make his day's Bhiksha a mix of Dal and Rice and hence it would become Boiragi Khuchudi!! Or did he have two separate containers for rice and dal? Explanations anyone??

Again, returning to the Dal…..the recipe :

Ingredients :

i) To be pressure cooked :-

-Any number of dal - I used 5 varieties. Masoor (Red Lentils), Toor(Pigeon Pea), Yellow Moong(Yellow lentil), Urad(White lentils), Chana(Split chickpea) : 20 gms each

-Ginger paste : 1 tsp

-Bay leaf : 2

-Salt to taste

-Sugar : a pinch

-Turmeric : 1/4 tsp

-2 glasses of water

ii) Other spices

-Oil : 2tbsp

-Dry red chillie (whole) : 2

-Panch phoron : 1 tsp

-Asafoetida (Hing) : 1 tsp

-Chopped tomatoes - 1

-green chillies : 2-3

-Ghee : 1 tsp

Procedure :-

1. Take all the dals and the other ingredients at (i) and pressure cook till the dal mix is of a creamy consistency. Mix the lentil grains well.

2. Heat oil in a wok.

3.Throw in the dry red chillies, panch phoron, hing and the chopped tomatoes and stir well

4. Pour the dal mix already prepared and kept aside.

5. Stir well and add some water if the consistency is too thick.

6. Check for salt and let it come to a boil

7. Add the slit green chillies and a dash of ghee before taking it off the stove.

8. Ready to serve with steamed white rice

*This is my entry to the BLOG EVENT 'LENTILS MELA' hosted by Ashwini's Spicy Cuisine. The event logo is....

** This is also going to the BLOG EVENT 'MY LEGUME LOVE AFFAIR-EIGHTH HELPING' hosted by The Well-Seasoned Cook. The event logo is...Bibliography :
Boiragi - From the sanskrit word Vairaagya which means Sannyasi or one who has renounced the world
Pathshaala -yesteryear's junior school in villages
Grihostho-baari - home of a family man
Bhiksha - Alms
Panch Phoron - Very commonly used seasoning in Bengali cooking. The 5 spice mix consists of Cumin (Jeera), Fenugreek (Methi), Kalonji (Kalo jeera), Radhuni, Fennel seed (Mouri/Saunf)