Dhaba (Roadside Eatery) Dal

dhaba dal

If you had a chance to travel on Highway in North India, then these dhabas are inescapable. Dhaba is nothing but roadside eatery where you can enjoy hot, spicy food at nominal rates. Dhaba dal along with tandoori roti is a must try for anyone eating in roadside dhaba. Dhaba dal is a combination of 3 dals or lentils.

Recipe of dhaba dal

1/2 cup urad dal chilka (split black gram with skin)

1/4 cup rajma (red kidney beans)

1/4 cup chana dal (Bengal gram)

3 medium tomatoes- chopped

2 medium onions- chopped

5-6 garlic cloves- chopped

2-3 green chillies- chopped

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (cayenne pepper)

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

Chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) for garnish

1. Wash urad dal, chana dal and rajma. Drain and soak in enough water overnight or at least 6 hours.

2. Drain dals and pressure cook with enough water and salt for about 1/2 an hour or till tender.

3. Heat oil and butter together in a pan. Add garlic and sauté till light brown.

4. Add onion and green chillies and sauté till onion turn light brown.

5. Add red chilli powder and cumin powder and fry for 1 minute.

6. Add tomatoes and sauté till tomatoes turn soft and mushy.

7. Add dal and mix well. Add kasoori methi and coriander leaves. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve hot dhaba dal with roti or rice.

Urad Dal Pinni Recipe

urad dal pinni

Urad dal pinni is a traditional Punjabi sweet. Pinni is also made of atta or whole wheat flour but here I am sharing the recipe of pinni made of urad dal or black gram.

Recipe of urad dal pinni

1 1/4 cups dhuli urad dal (split skinless black gram)

1 1/2 tbsp besan (chickpea flour/gram flour)

1/2 tbsp atta (whole wheat flour)

2 1/2 tbsp sooji (semolina/rava)

3/4 cup khoya (mawa) - grated

1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter)

1 cup sugar

Chopped almonds (badam) and pistachios (pista)

1. Soak urad dal for 1 hour. Drain.

2. Grind urad dal to a fine paste adding minimum or no water while grinding.

3. Heat ghee in a kadhai/wok. Add besan, sooji and atta. Sauté for 5 minutes.

4. Add dal paste and sauté on low heat for about 1/2 an hour.

5. In the meantime, make syrup of 1 thread consistency by boiling sugar with 1/2 a cup of water.

6. Roast the almond pieces and set aside.

7. Add khoya to the dal mixture and cook for 5 minutes.

8. Add sugar syrup and cook till mixture dries up a little.

9. Turn off the heat leave the mixture to cool.

10. Shape the cooled down dal mixture into round or oval pinni. Garnish pinnis with almonds and pistachios.

Sprouts Sandwich

sprouts sandwich

Sprouts sandwich is a yummy way to eat sprouts. This way you can even make kids eat them. It’s rainy season here at home so it’s easy to grow sprouts hence these sprouts sandwich.

Recipe of sprouts sandwich

1 cup sprouts (sprouted dal like moong or moth)

1 onion- chopped

3 green chillies- chopped

2 potatoes- boiled, peeled and mashed

Salt to taste

Black pepper powder- to taste

Bread slices (I used brown bread)

Butter- as required

sprouts masala for sandwich

1. Pressure cook sprouts to 2 whistles with 1 tbsp water and salt.
2. In a bowl, mix sprouts, onion, green chillies and mashed potato. Add salt and black pepper powder.

3. Lightly butter bread slices on 1 side.

4. Take a buttered bread slice and place sprouts mixture on it. Cover it with another slice with buttered side down.

5. Place this in a sandwich toaster or grill them. Similarly make rest of the sprouts sandwich from remaining material.

Masala Peanuts

masala peanuts

Masala peanuts or masala moongphali are a popular snack item which is mine and hubby’s favorite. I made blog posts about microwave masala peanuts earlier but this recipe calls for deep frying.

Recipe of masala peanuts

1 cup peanuts (moongphali)

Slightly less than 1/4 cup besan (gram flour/chickpea flour)

3/4 tsp salt or to taste

1/2 tsp chaat masala

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (cayenne pepper)

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Oil to deep fry

1. Take peanuts in a strainer (chhalni) and wet them under running water. Shake off excess water.

2. In a bowl, mix besan with all the spices and salt.

3. Mix peanuts with spiced besan so that all peanuts are coated with besan.

4. Deep fry these peanuts in medium hot oil till they turn golden brown. Drain on an absorbent paper and let masala peanuts cool completely before devouring them. Store remaining masala peanuts in an airtight jar. They stay fresh for long.

masala peanuts