Thotakura / Amaranth Dal

Learnt from: My Mom

Serving for: 4-5 people

Ingredients:

Amaranth / Thotakura --- 1 medium size bunch
Toor dal --- ½ cup (80 ml)
Turmeric powder --- a pinch
Green chilies --- 5
Onion --- ¼ of the big one
Tomato --- 1
Tamarind --- 5 strands
Water --- 240 ml ( 1 ½ rice cooker cup) (3 times to the dal)
Salt --- to taste

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 1 tblsn
Garlic --- 3 cloves
Urad dal --- 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds --- 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds --- ½ tsp
Dry Red Chilly --- 1 chopped
Curry Leaves --- 5-6 leaves

Process:

In a pressure cooker add ½ cup (rice cooker cup) of toordal.
Clean the dal twice with water. Add 3 times of water (1 ½ cup) to the dal.
Add a pinch of turmeric powder to the dal.



Chop 5 green chilies. Add them to the dal.


Chop ¼ of big onion. Add them to the dal.


Chop a tomato. Add them to the dal.


Take a amaranth stalk. Pluck it till it is tender.

Do all the same for all the remaining stalks.
Hold all the stalks together with you left hand. Chop them.

Clean the leaves. Add them to the dal.

Add 4 strands of tamarind to the cooker.


Cover it with the lid.
Keep it for 8 whistles.
Wait till the pressure goes off… which takes around 15-20 minutes.
Remove the lid of the pressure cooker.
Mash the dal with a big ladle or with masther.
Add enough salt to it.
In the meanwhile, Chop 3 garlic cloves. Keep them aside.
In a seasoning pan… Heat a tblsn of oil. Add and toast chopped garlic, urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chilly and curry leaves.
Add this seasoning to the dal. Mix it well.
Transfer the dal from cooker to a serving bowl.
Have it with rice or with Chapathi.

Sindhi Saibhaji

This recipe sounds new for me. I asked my husband have you ever tasted “Sindhi Saibhaji”. He said not even the name I heard. But still I dared to try it. It came out good.

This recipe is good to take to any potluck, or when to cook for a no. of people.

Learnt From:

I learnt this from Sanjeev Kapoor’s Cook Book.

Serves for: 8-10 people.

Ingredients:

Carrot --- 1
Capsicum --- 1
Cabbage --- ¼
Potato --- 1
Brinjal --- 1
Tomato --- 1
Ladyfinger / Okra --- 2
French Beans --- 100 gms or ½ cup when chopped
Palak / Spinach leaves --- ½ bunch or 1 cup
Coriander leaves --- 1 small bunch
Green gram dal / Whole Moong dal / Pesalu --- ½ cup
Channa dal --- ¼ cup
Green chilies --- 8 very small
Onion --- ¼ of big one
Garlic --- 3 cloves
Red chilly powder --- 1 ½ tsp
Coriander powder --- 2 tsp
Salt --- 1 ½ tsp
Turmeric --- ¼ tsp
Oil --- 3 tblsn
Ghee --- 1 tsp
Asafoetida (Inguva) --- big pinch

Note:

If you want you can even add Khatta (3 leaved) greens and any other leafy vegetable to it.

Process:

In a bowl … add ½ cup of green gram dal and ¼ cup of channa dal. Clean with water. Keep aside.
Clean and chop spinach leaves. Keep aside.
Except tomato chop all the vegetables (Carrot, Capsicum, Cabbage, Potato, Brinjal, Okra, French beans, green chilies, onion). Keep aside.
Chop 3 garlic cloves and coriander leaves too and keep them aside.
Heat 3 tblsn of oil in a pressure cooker.

Add the cleaned dals, chopped vegetables and spinach leaves to the cooker.
Add 3 cups of water to cooker.
Add 1 ½ tsp of salt, 1 ½ tsp of red chilly powder, 2 tsp of coriander powder, ¼ tsp of turmeric powder. Mix well.
Place whole tomato on the top of the contents. (Don’t chop tomato. If you add chopped tomato … because of that sourness the dals wont cook properly.)

Cover the cooker. Pressure cook for 3 whistles. Wait till the pressure goes off which takes around 15-20 minutes.
Drain the excess water in the cooker to other bowl. Keep the drained water aside.
Mash all the cooked stuff with a big ladle or with a masher.
Add the drained water to the cooker. Mix well.
In a deep pan, heat 1 tsp of ghee. Stir fry chopped garlic. Add a big pinch of asafetida and then add all the mashed stuff to the pan. Mix well. Adjust salt and red chilly powder if needed.

Keep it on medium-high heat for 10 minutes.


Add chopped coriander leaves to it. Turn off the heat. Transfer to a serving bowl. You get one more bowl of this much quantity. In picture I have taken one bowl. In comes in large quantity.


Have it with chapathis or parathas or rice.

Palak Dal

Learnt From:

My husband is specialist in making dals. I learnt from him.

Time:

Chopping & Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking time in Cooker: 15 minutes
Waiting time: 15 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

Serving for:

4 people.

Ingredients:

Toor Dal --- ½ (rice cooker) cup (80 Ml)
Water --- 1 and ½ of the (rice cooker) (240 Ml)
Turmeric powder --- a pinch
Green chilies --- 5 no.
Onions --- 1/4th of big one
Palak leaves --- 1 bunch or 750 ml chopped
Tamarind
Salt

For Seasoning:

Garlic --- 2
Urad dal --- ½ spoon
Mustard seeds --- ½ spoon
Cumin seeds --- ¼ spoon
Red chilly --- ½
Curry leaves --- 5-6 leaves

Process:

Clean dal in a pressure cooker.
Add 3 times water to the dal.
Chop green chilies, onion and palak leaves.
Add the chopped one into the pressure cooker.
Add tamarind and turmeric powder.
Keep it for 8 whistles.
Wait for 20 minutes.
Remove the lid of the pressure cooker.
Press the stuff with ladle.
Add enough salt to the dal.
Chop one garlic.
Heat 2 spoons of oil in a pan.
Fry garlic partially.
Add and fry urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chilly and curry leaves.
Add seasoning to the dal.
Mix it uniformly.
Dal Palak is ready.
Transfer the dal to a serving dish.

Mango Dal

Learnt From:

I learnt the process of making this dal from my Husband.

Ingredients:

Toor Dal --- ½ cup
Water --- 2 cups
Mango --- 1 medium size


Onions --- ¼ th of big one
Green chilies --- 4 medium size
Turmeric Powder --- a pinch

For Seasoning:

Urud dal
Mustard Seeds
Cumin Seeds
Red Chilly --- 1 full
Curry Leaves --- 5-6

Process:

Take ½ cup of dal into a pressure cooker.
Clean the dal 2 times with water.
Add 2 cups of water to the dal into the pressure cooker.
Add pinch of Turmeric powder.
Peel the mango and chop into small pieces.
Add the chopped mango into the pressure cooker.
Chop onions and green chilies…Add them into the pressure cooker.
Keep it for 8 whistles.
Wait till the pressure goes off.
Remove the lid and add salt into the dal and mix uniformly.
Transfer the dal to a serving bowl.
Heat oil in a small pan for seasoning.
Add and toast urud dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chilly and pinch of hing one by one and then curry leaves…
Add this seasoning into the serving bowl.

Mix uniformly.
Have it with rice.
Tastes good.

Gongura Dal

Learnt From: My Husband

Serving for:

This dal is to serve for 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

Fresh Gongura Leaves --- 1 bunch
Dal --- ½ cup
Water --- 1 ½ cup
Onion --- 1/4th of big one --- Chopped
Green chilies --- 3 medium size ---Chopped
Turmeric powder --- a pinch
Red chilly powder --- ½ tsp (Optional)
Salt --- to taste

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 1 tblsn
Garlic --- 3 cloves (chopped)
Urad dal --- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds ---1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds --- 1/2 tsp

Hing --- a pinch (Optional)
Red chilly --- 1 chopped
Curry leaves --- 5-6 leaves

Process:

Clean dal in pressure cooker.
Add 3 times of water to the dal.
Add a pinch of turmeric power.
Add chopped green chilies and onions.
Add cleaned gongura leaves.
Keep the pressure cooker on Medium-High flame for 10 whistles.
Wait till the pressure goes off.
Remove the lid of the pressure cooker … stir and press the stuff with a ladle.
Heat oil in pan.
Add and toast seasoning one by one like … chopped garlic, urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chilly, & curry leaves.
Again heat the pressure cooker without lid this time.
Add half a spoon of red chilly powder. If you add red chilly powder again cook for a while without keeping lid. (This step is optional.)
Transfer the spicy gongura dal to a serving bowl.
Turn off the heat and add seasoning to the dal and mix uniformly.

Note:

1) If you have Cooker Vessels you can cook dal and rest of the things separately. Then you can keep it for 3 whistles.

I dont have cooker vessels ... So, I cook all together.

2) If it is Pulla Gongura dont add tamarind to it. I think in US only tht is available. If it is white gongura you need to add tamarind to it.

Tomato Dal

Learnt From:

I learnt this method of preparing tomato dal from my husband.

Ingredients:

Toor Dal --- ½ (rice cooker) cup
Water --- 1 & ½ (rice cooker) cup
Turmeric Powder --- a pinch
Green Chilies --- 5
Onions --- 1/4th of big one
Tomatoes --- 2 Large

For Seasoning:

Garlic --- 1 or 1&1/2
Urad dal --- ½ spoon
Mustard seeds --- ½ spoon
Cumin seeds --- 1/4th spoon
Red chilly --- ½
Curry leaves --- 4-6 no.
Oil --- 2 spoons

Process:

Clean half a cup of toor dal in a pressure cooker directly.
Add one and half cup of water into the dal.
Add a pinch of turmeric powder.
Chop 4-5 green chilies and add them to the cooker.
Chop 1/4th of big onion and add them to the cooker.
Chop 2 large or 3 medium tomatoes and them to the cooker.
Cover the pressure cooker with whistle.
Keep it for 8 whistles.
Wait for 10-20 minutes to leave the pressure from the cooker.
Open the lid and mix the stuff with a ladle.
Add salt as per the taste.
Chop 1 and ½ garlic.
Heat 2 spoons of oil in a pan.
Fry chopped garlic, urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, half red chilly and curry leaves.



Add the seasoning or the fried one to the dal and mix it uniformly.
Transfer the tomato dal to a serving bowl.
Garnish it with coriander leaves.

Cabbage Tomato Dal

Short story about this Dal:

Earlier I never used to eat this dal. Once when was small I got fever. My parents were very stright at diet. My mom used to give only liquids and idly. Actually I want to eat much more. My tongue becomes tasteless and needs some spicyness to it. When nobody was in kitchen I went and saw the dishes... I found this one. I have tasted it. I felt that was good only. From that time onwards I started eating this dal.

Learnt From:

I know this dal from my mom. But a made a minor changes to it according to my taste.

Serving:

This is to serve for 2-4 people.

Ingredients:

Dal --- ½ Cup
Water --- 1 ½ cups
Cabbage --- ¼ large cabbage (Chopped)
Tomatoes --- 2 medium size (Chopped)
Onion --- ¼ large onion (Chopped)
Green Chilies --- 3 medium size (Chopped)
Turmeric powder --- a pinch
Tamarind --- 5-6 cloves
Cilantro / Coriander Leaves
Salt --- as per taste



For Seasoning:

Oil --- 2 tea spoons
Garlic --- 2
Urud dal --- 1 tea spoon
Mustard seeds --- 1 tea spoon
Cumin seeds --- ½ tea spoon
Dry Red chilly --- ½
Curry Leaves --- 5-6

Process:

Take a pressure cooker.
Clean dal twice with water.
Add 3 times of water to the dal.
Add pinch of Turmeric powder.
Chop green chilies, tomato, onion & cabbage.
Add chopped green chilies, onion, tomato & cabbage.
Add Tamarind 5-6 pieces.
Mix all of them with bear hand.
Keep it on Medium-High for 8 whistles.
Wait for 15 minutes.
In the meanwhile, chop garlic into pieces.
Open the cooker and mix uniformly by pressing the dal.
Add salt as per taste.
Heat oil in a pan.
Fry chopped Garlic.
Add all the seasoning one by one like … urud dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chilly.
Add all the seasoning and garlic into the cooker.
Again keep the cooker on the stove for 7-8 minutes.
Remove the cooker from heat.
Add Cilantro and mix uniformly.
Transfer the cabbage dal into serving dish.