fastindianrecipes.com

dal palak

Dal palak is a very healthy and nutritious food. It contains the benefits of both pulses and green leafy vegetable. My family enjoys dal palak as everyone finds it very delicious. Instead of using both moong dal and toor dal, you can also use any one of these dals alone with palak but what I find is that addition of both these dals enhances the flavor of this earthy dal palak.

Recipe of Dal palak

¼ cup moong dal (split green gram)
¼ cup arhar/ toor dal (split pigeon peas)
½ kg palak (spinach)
1 onion- chopped
2 tomatoes- chopped
2 green chillies- chopped
3-4 cloves garlic- chopped (optional)
1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
½ inch piece ginger- chopped
1 tsp coriander powder
¼ tsp garam masala powder
½ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
A pinch of asafetida (hing)
Salt to taste

1. Remove stems of spinach and wash thoroughly in running water. Chop finely. Wash dals in several changes of water. Drain.

2. In a pressure cooker, place dals, palak, salt, green chillies and water. Let 2 whistles come. Then cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes.

3. Turn off heat and after pressure drops, mash the dal lightly.

4. Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add hing. After few seconds, add onion and sauté till they are light brown.

5. Add garlic and ginger and cook for ½ a minute. Add coriander powder and garam masala. After 2-3 seconds, add tomatoes and cook till they are soft and pulpy.

6. Add this tempering (tadka) to the dal and cover. Simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Enjoy dal palak with roti, paratha or rice.

Healthy bytes- As far as health benefits of spinach go, you must have already heard a lot about it. Let me add a few more words. Spinach contains large quantities of Magnesium which is anti-ageing. Adequate Magnesium through diet keeps you young.

Rava Idli

Unlike rice idli, rawa idli can be made anytime. There is no need for fermentation. It’s great for breakfast, lunch, Tiffin or dinner. It can also be eaten as anytime low calorie snack. Rawa idli was first invented by MTR (a famous restaurant chain of Bangalore) during World War-2 when rice was in short supply. Rava idli is still made by many people at home by MTR instant mix.
Recipe of instant Rava idli

1 cup sooji (rava or semolina)
1 cup curd
1/2 cup water
1 tsp chana dal (Bengal gram)
1 tsp dhuli urad dal (split black gram)
1 tbsp cashew nuts broken into 4 pieces
2 green chilies- chopped
1 tbsp + 1 tsp oil
3/4 tsp Eno fruit salt
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
Salt to taste
Thin tomato slices cut into 2 pieces

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan. Roast sooji in it stirring continuously till nice aroma comes out and you can see some golden grains. Turn off heat and take rawa out of pan to prevent it from overcooking.

2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Let them splutter. Add chana dal and roast it for a minute.

3. Add urad dal and cashew pieces and roast till nice brown. Add green chilies and sauté for a minute. Turn off the heat.

4. Add this mixture to rava along with salt. Then add rava mixture to curd. Add water and mix. Let rava be soaked for about 10 minutes.

5. Just before steaming, add Eno fruit salt to the batter.

6. Grease each mould of the idli stand and put 1 tomato slice at the bottom of each mould. Put the batter in each mould taking care not to overfill it as space is needed for idlis to swell in size.

7. Put 1 inch water in a pressure cooker in which idli stand can fit and close the lid after removing the whistle.

8. After steam starts coming out, reduce heat to medium. Let it steam for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat.

9. After pressure drops, open the lid of the cooker and insert a knife in 1 idli to see if it comes out clean. If idli sticks to the knife, steam for 3-4 minutes more.

10. Take out idlis gently from the mould (after letting them cool for 2 minutes) with the help of a knife.

11. Put the tomato (embedded) side up and serve hot with sambhar.

Instant rava idli in a microwave

Ingredients and process same as given above except that you steam the idlis in a microwave safe idli steamer in place of a pressure cooker. Fill 1/2 cup water in the plate at the bottom. Fill the moulds with batter and cover with the lid given. Steam on a microwave High for 4 minutes. Take out and let it cool for 2 minutes. Then take out idlis out of the moulds with the help of a knife.

To blog about rava idlis was an easy job for me as their preparation is a regular phenomenon in my home. I make them when I want something light and low calorie and enjoy them with chutney masala.

Panchratani dal

Panchmel dal or panchratni dal comes from the colorful land of Rajasthan. As the name suggests Panch + mel, this dal is a combination of 5 different dals. It’s very nutritious and protein rich. If you have a Food Bazaar outlet (part of Big Bazaar chain) near your place, you can get premixed dal there. Combination of dals may not exactly be same but I have tried it and it tastes good.

Recipe of Panchmel dal

¼ cup chilkewali moong dal (split green gram)
¼ cup lal masoor dal (red lentils)
¼ cup arhar/ toovar dal (split pigeon peas)
¼ cup chana dal (split Bengal gram)
¼ cup dhuli urad dal (split black gram)
Salt to taste
½ tsp turmeric powder

Tadka (tempering)

½ tsp cumin seeds
A pinch of hing (asafetida)
2 green chilies- chopped
1 inch ginger- chopped
2 medium tomatoes- chopped
1 tsp coriander powder
4 laung (cloves)
2 tej patta (bay leaves)
2 moti ilaichi (big cardamoms)
1 tbsp pure ghee (clarified butter)

1. Mix all the above dals and wash them. Soak them for at least 1 hour. Drain and boil them in a pressure cooker with enough water, turmeric powder, salt and half of chopped ginger till cooked.

2. When pressure drops, open cooker and mash the dals with the back of a ladle (karchhi).

3. For tadka, heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add hing, cloves, bay leaves and big cardamoms. Fry for a minute.

4. Add green chilies and remaining ginger. Sauté for a few seconds. Add cumin powder, coriander powder and tomatoes. Cook till tomatoes are soft and pulpy.

5. Immediately add the tadka to the boiled dal and cover. Let the simmering spices seep through the dal. Let the dal simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish panchmel dal with fresh coriander leaves.

bread upma

I have taken whole wheat bread for this recipe to make it healthier. Bread upma is a great way to use up leftover loaf of bread. Bread upma is very quick to make and with in no time, you can serve the breakfast.

Serves 2

5 slices of bread
1 boiled, peeled and cubed potato
1 tablespoon peanuts
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 onion- chopped
2 green chilies- chopped
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon oil
1 tsp lemon juice
Chopped coriander leaves

1. Break bread into smaller pieces or alternatively you can make bread crumbs by crushing the bread in a blender. Try it both ways to know which one you prefer. I prefer bread pieces.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they crackle, add peanuts and roast.

3. Add onion and green chilies and stir-fry till onion become translucent.

4. Add potato, turmeric powder and salt. Stir-fry for 2 minutes.

5. Add bread and mix well for 3-4 minutes. Add chopped coriander to the upma and cook for 1 more minute.

6. Add lemon juice and serve bread upma hot.

Sprouts salad

Mung sprouts

1 cup sprouted moong dal (green gram/mung dal)
1 cup sprouted moth dal (black eyed beans)
1 potato- boiled, peeled and cubed
1 tomato- chopped
1 onion- chopped
1 cucumber- chopped
2-3 green chilies- chopped
Salt to taste
Juice of 1 lemon
½ tsp black pepper powder

1. Place sprouted dals with enough water in a pressure cooker. Let 2 whistles come. When pressure drops, open the lid of cooker and take out sprouts. Make sure you put just enough water in the cooker so that all water gets absorbed.

2. Add all the above ingredients and mix. Serve hot or cold.

You can also add chopped vegetables like radish, carrot to the sprouts salad to make it more nutritious.

Healthy Bytes- sprouts provide a healthy and cheap alternative to meat proteins. Sprouts are rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals and enzymes. During the process of sprouting, proteins and vitamins increase manifold whereas calories and carbohydrates decrease.

Moth sprouts

Matar paneer

Matar- paneer is a popular dish from North Indian cuisine. I have always found it in North Indian wedding buffets and parties on big and small occasions. Matar paneer is quite delicious and easy to make. You can also use paneer in this dish without shallow frying it, to cut back on calories of course.

Recipe of matar paneer

250 grams paneer (cottage cheese) - cut into cubes
1 cup shelled  matar (green peas) - fresh or frozen
2 onions
2 tomatoes- pureed
1 inch ginger piece
4-5 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves- chopped

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick pan and shallow fry the paneer pieces till golden. Take paneer out of the pan and keep aside.

2. Mince together onion, garlic and ginger in a blender.

3. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil and add cumin seeds. When they turn brown, add minced onion paste and sauté till light brown.

4. Add coriander powder, red chili powder and turmeric powder and fry for 1 minute.

5. Add tomato puree, 1 cup water and salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add matar and cook covered till peas are soft.

6. Add paneer cubes and garam masala. Simmer for 5 minutes.

7. Garnish it with coriander leaves (cilantro).

Arhar dal curry

I always enjoy a plate of dal- chawal i.e. a bowl of piping hot arhar dal accompanied by boiled rice. I also find it emotionally satisfying as it reminds me of my childhood days when my mom used to serve it. Toor dal is one of my favorite among all pulses and lentils.

Recipe of arhar dal

½ cup arhar dal (toovar dal/ toor dal/ split pigeon peas)
2 big tomatoes- chopped
1 big onion- chopped
3-4 garlic cloves- chopped
½ inch ginger- chopped finely
½ tsp rai (small mustard seeds)
A pinch of asafetida (hing)
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)
½ tsp red chili powder (cayenne pepper)
½ tsp turmeric powder

1. After washing the dal, soak for 1 hour. Drain.

2. Cook the dal with 1 1/2 cups of water, turmeric powder and salt in a pressure cooker. Let 3 whistles come. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.

3. When pressure drops, open the lid of cooker and mash the dal with a ladle (karcchi). I use a beater to mash the dal.

4. Heat ghee in a pan and add rai. When they pop, add asafetida. Fry for 2 seconds.

5. Add onion and stir- fry till they become brown. Add garlic and ginger. Sauté for 1 minute. Add red chili powder. Sauté for 2-3 seconds.

6. Add tomatoes and cook till tomatoes are soft and pulpy. I usually cover the pan with a lid to soften the tomatoes quickly, stirring in between.

7. Add this tadka (tempering) to the toor dal and mix well. Simmer the dal on low heat for 5 minutes, covered. Add chopped coriander leaves to garnish.

Toor dal