Mag nu Shaak(moong daal vegetable)

This was my family's favorite vegetable/daal( as we Gujaratis call it! ) with meetha dhebra( sweet rotis made with jaggery(gur) ) and some fried papad! Yum! It is very hearty and so comforting and filling. My kinda favorite comfort food. My mom used to make it the best(ofcourse!) and I still need to work on getting the meetha dhebra right, similar to my mom. Once I do get it right, I will upload the recipe! :)


Ingredients:

3/4 cup small moong daal
2 cups water + 1 1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons vegetable oil OR ghee(clarified butter)
pinch of asafoetida
6-7 curry leaves
1 tomato finely chopped
2 big cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 green chilly, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander powder
1/4-1/2 teaspoon chilly powder(depending on how spicy you like it)
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste


Method:

Soak the small moong daal in about 2 cups water and let it sit for about an hour. The daal should increase in size. Pressure cook the soaked moong, along with the remaining water from soaking + an additional cup of water. Give it about 6 whistles.

In a pan, at medium heat, put in the vegetable oil, put in the cumin seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves, garlic and green chilly. Let the seeds splatter. Now add in all the spices, including chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder. Now add in the pressure cooked moong, tomatoes, sugar, lemon juice, salt to taste and let it cook for about 10 minutes till it boils.

You could eat it this with rice and yogurt, or with rotis. For eating with rotis, let the consistency be a little thick. You dont want too much water remaining in the daal. Enjoy!! :)

Daal Dhokli

Another gujarati favorite and my favorite too:) Daal dhokli, authentic gujarati comfort food! It is another family favorite, that we(my family) all love!

Ingredients:
1 cup toor daal(yellow lentils)
3 cups water
2-3 tablespoons jaggery
1 tablespoon ghee(clarified butter)
4-5 kokum pieces
10 - 15 raw peanuts
5-6 kadi patta
6 small cinnamon pieces
6 cloves
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic
2 green chillies finely ground
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon methi(fenugreek) seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
salt to taste
cilantro for garnish

For the Dhokli:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
salt to taste
2-3 tablespoon finely chopped fresh fenugreek(methi)
water to bind
1 teaspoon of vegetable oil


Method:

First combine all the dhokli ingredients minus the water, and mix it with your hand. Use water few drops at a time to bind the flour into a dough like consistency. It should not be sticky but yet NOT hard.

Wash the daal and then pressure cook it with the water, kokum and peanuts for about 7 whistles. Once the pressure cooker opens, use a hand blender to blend the daal into a paste. The kokum might break in the process as well but that is OK. It just adds to the flavors ;) I usually add the jaggery while pressure cooking it. You can jolly well eliminate it!!:)

In a saucepan, on medium heat, put the ghee till it melts. Then add the asafoetida, mustard seeds, methi seeds, kadi patta, cinnamon and cloves and let it crackle. Once that is done, add the ginger, garlic and chilli paste and saute it. Add in the turmeric and salt, and saute it for a minute. Add in the daal and mix it well. Add the garam masala, and keep heating it until it gets a nice consistency, where in it is NOT watery, NOR is it too thick.

Once the daal is heating, start making balls from the dough about an inch in size. Roll out each ball into a flat round chapati, and cut first horizontally twice, to make 3 strips. And then vertically twice to make 9 pieces in all. You should be able to make about 3 chapatis, 27 pieces in all.

Once the daal is boiling, add in the pieces slowly one by one, and let the daal boil for about 10 minutes to make sure all the dhoklis are cooked.

To serve, put some daal dhokli in a soup bowl, and add about 1/2 teaspoon ghee and cilantro for garnish! INDULGE in the COMFORT ... foodd!!

Kala chana(gujarati style)

It is Dasherra today, the day Raavan was killed ;)! So, I decided to make kala chana with rava sheera. Both came out really tasty. Ofcourse according to me! :D My mom used to make it at the end of Navratri after she was done with her fasting and I want to continue that tradition that she followed.

So here is the recipe:)



Ingredients:
1 cup kala chana(actually red in color)
1 medium sized potato
1 tablespoon chana aata(yellow gram daal flour)
5-6 kadi patta
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1 green chilli finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon sugar
salt to taste
cilantro for garnish

Method:

Firstly the kala chana has to soak overnight in a bowl, that has been covered, and also make sure there is enough water to soak it in.

Next day, pressure cook the chana and the potato together, for about 6 whistles. Once done, remove the peel of the potato once cooled down, and cut it into small cubes.

In a small saucepan, on medium heat, roast the chana aata for about 5-7 minutes.

In a saucepan, on medium heat, add the oil and let it heat up. Put in the kadi patta, mustard seeds, asafoetida. Once it starts crackling, add in the ginger chilli paste. Then saute it for a minute. Add the turmeric, chilli, coriander powders. Saute it for a minute. Then add in the chana potato mixture with all the water in the pressure cooker. Let it cook on medium heat. Add in the roasted chana aata. This is done to thicken the gravy of the daal. Add the sugar and salt.

Once it thickens, add in the cilantro for garnish! Eat it with puris! YUM! :)

Gujarati Daal

Another gujarati favorite and my favorite too:) The sweet gujju daal!! YES! I know that most people dont like it sweet, including my dear husband, and I DO make it separately for him by adding the jaggery right in the end for myself! The one without the jaggery tastes awesome as well. Its even better the following day!;) A great combination is the bhinda vegetable, with rotli and this daal!

The days I am craving for some real authentic gujarati food, I make the above combination and its so satisfying!! There is nothing like home made food! :)

Ingredients:
1 cup toor daal(yellow lentils)
3 cups water
2-3 tablespoons jaggery
1 tablespoon ghee(clarified butter)
4-5 kokum pieces
10 - 15 raw peanuts
5-6 kadi patta
6 small cinnamon pieces
6 cloves
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic
2 green chillies finely ground
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon methi(fenugreek) seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
salt to taste
cilantro for garnish

Method:

First wash the daal and then pressure cook it with the water, kokum and peanuts for about 7 whistles. Once the pressure cooker opens, use a hand blender to blend the daal into a paste. The kokum might break in the process as well but that is OK. It just adds to the flavors ;) I usually add the jaggery while pressure cooking it. You can jolly well eliminate it!!:)

In a saucepan, on medium heat, put the ghee till it melts. Then add the asafoetida, mustard seeds, methi seeds, kadi patta, cinnamon and cloves and let it crackle. Once that is done, add the ginger, garlic and chilli paste and saute it. Add in the turmeric and salt, and saute it for a minute. Add in the daal and mix it well. Add the garam masala, and keep heating it until it gets a nice consistency, where in it is NOT watery, NOR is it too thick. Garnish it with cilantro and be ready to indulge!!:)

Chana(Chole) masala

Chana masala is one of the most popular, all time favorites of most people!!! Its easy to make and so tasty and it tastes even better the next day, because the flavors blend in by the following day. Traditionally eaten with bature(A HUGE ROUND FRIED ROTI!) but you could eat it with rice or roti/naan, or even bread! Yumm!! My hubby's favorite too! :) I like to make my food from scratch most of the times, especially the chana masala, because it just tastes so much more flavorful and tasty.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup garbanzo beans(from a packet)
1/2 large onion finely chopped
2 teaspoon garlic ginger paste
3/4 tomato finely chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 potato
a pinch of asefoitida
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 - 1 teaspoon chilli powder(depending on your spice level!)
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 1/2 teaspoon chole masala(you can get this in a packet at any indian grocery store)1/4 cup brewed black tea
1/2 - 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander and a few finely chopped onions for garnish
salt to taste

Method:

Boil the garbanzo beans and the potato in a pressure cooker with about 3 - 4 cups water for about 6 whistles. Once done, peel the potato and cut it into medium sized cubes. Smash about 1/4 cup of boiled garbanzo beans into a pasty consistency.

In a deep saucepan, put the oil and on medium heat, let the oil warm up. Put in the asefoitida and cumin seeds, and let it crackle. Put in the onions and saute them till they are slightly brown. Put in the ginger garlic paste, and the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, and stir it till well blended. Put in the tummeric, chill powder, cumin powder, salt, and chole masala, and stir again till well blended. Put in the boiled garbanzo beans, and the potato, along with the water in the pressure cooker and stir it again. Put in the brewed black tea, this is for the chana color. Put in the smashed garbanzo beans too. Let this cook on medium heat for about 15 - 20 minutes till the water thickens a bit.

Garnish with the fresh coriander and onions. Its ready to eat! :)