Sambhar

SAMBHAR (Masoor Dal)

A lentil preparation from the South of India. Traditionally, it's made with Tuvar Dal which needs to be cooked in a pressure cooker. I have substituted it for 'Masoor Dal' which if soaked for an hour or more, cooks in a pan in under 20 minutes. Perfect recipe for one pot cooking.
Delicious wih rice or dosa or idlis.
Or on a winter evening, as a soup.
I have posted pictures of Masoor Dal and Sambhar .

Ingredients:

1.  Masoor Dal              1 cup
2.  Onion                       1 medium chopped
3.  Tomato                     1 large      chopped
4.  Mustard seeds           1/4 tsp. 
5.  Methi seeds                1/4 tsp
6. Turmeric powder        1/2 tsp
7. Vegetable oil              2 Tbsp
8. Sambhar Powder        2  tsp. (more if you like spicy)
9.  Curry leaves             4 -5    (optional)
10.  Dry red chilly            1         (optional)     
11.  Hing (Asafoetida)      a pinch (optional)
12. Coriander leaves         2 Tbsp  (optional)
13. Salt to taste           
14.  Lemon juice as desired       

Method:

1. Wash the masoor dal . Add enough water to cover the dal and let it soak for an hour or more. (I tend to soak them the previous night )
2. In a medium size pot, add the oil. 
3. On a low to medium heat, add the mustard seeds,methi seeds and dry red chilly.   Wait till the seeds crackle or turn colour.  (I like to keep the heat low ,or else if the heat is high,the tempering splatters out of the pot and the last thing I want to do is clean the stove and the area around. I tend to cover the pot with a lid ) 
4. Add hing and curry leaves. Stir quickly.
5. Add onions. Stir. Cover and cook for 3 minutes.
6. Add turmeric. Stir.
7. Add Sambhar powder. Stir.
8. Add tomatoes. Mix well. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
9. Drain off the water and add the dal. Mix well.
10. Add 3 cups of water.
11. Increase the heat and bring it to a boil.
12. Turn down the heat .Cover and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
13. Stir and add some more water if required. Cover and cook further for 5-10 minutes till the lentil is cooked.
14. Add salt to taste.
15. Add coriander.
16. Add lemon juice as desired.

White Sauce 

This is the simplest white sauce you can ever make. 

And it is with no butter or oil . So for those who are health conscious, its a great way to enjoy vegetables and pasta minus the fat.

1. 800 ml milk (low fat or fat free)
2. 4 heaped tablespoon white all purpose flour
3. Oregano
4. Pili Pili
5. Black pepper powder
6. Nutmeg Powder
7. Salt to taste

• In a large pan, blend together with a hand mixer. 
• Keep whisking for few minutes on a low/medium heat
• The mixture will soon become thick
• add oregano, pili pili flakes, salt to taste ,black pepper powder and nutmeg powder.
• whisk for further few minutes.

Add your choice of steamed or sauteed vegetables .

And /or

Cooked,drained pasta

Dahi Bhaat

Dahi Bhaat or Curd Rice

If you like yoghurt, you will definitely enjoy dahi bhaath.

Cold or Warm !

Whenever you are making rice, just always make it a point to make extra to come in handy for just one more meal. 1 cup rice needs 2 cups water to cook. Refer to the Plain Rice recipe on the blog.

Cold Dahi Bhaat  

Serves 1 person

• Leftover rice  
• Yoghurt
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp oil
• Green chillies (chopped fine or slit in half, optional)
• Curry leaves (a few, optional)
• Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp.
• Split white udad dal  1/2 tsp (optional)
• Coriander leaves ,chopped , 1 tsp.(optional)

1. Add and mix enough yoghurt into the rice to get a consistency of your liking.
2. Add salt 
3. In a pan, heat oil on a low temperature. Add mustard,green chillies and udad dal . (They splutter ,so cover quickly or else you have to clean the stove!)
4. Uncover and add curry leaves and stir in.
5. Pour over the rice and yoghurt mix and stir in.
6. sprinkle coriander.

Warm Dahi Bhaat

1.           Heat a bowl of rice in the microwave oven.
2.           Add yoghurt according to your liking. 
3.           Add salt.
4.           Add cumin powder.
5.           Mix well.
6.           Add ghee if you want to.
7.           Just eat!

I'll add more variations to this post soon....

CORN MAKHANWALA

It was one of those evenings when my husband brought a guest along for dinner . I had to make an additional vegetable in a jiffy and it had to be 'Jain' i.e;without any root vegetables. That's how I made this for the first time and it turned out del-i-cious! Soon, it became a hit amongst the children and their friends.

Its a very easy recipe with most ingredients as 'optional'! Don't hesitate to try...it will be yummy anyways!
In my recipes, optional means if you have it ,use it, if you don't, the recipe can do without it.


INGREDIENTS:

1 can of corn / if you prefer frozen, its fine too

1/2 to 1 packet tomato puree (standard 1 packet is 500 gms.)

2 tbsp vegetable/olive oil

1 tsp cumin/jeera seeds

few fresh/frozen or dry curry leaves(limda) (optional)

1 green chilli, washed,slit lengthwise (optional)

a pinch of asafoetida (hing) powder (optional)

1/4 tsp turmeric powder


1/4 tsp red chilli powder ( less or more according to how spicy you like)


green coriander washed and chopped finely.(optional)

salt to taste

2 tablespoon cream or soya cream ( soya cream tastes the same as cream, is cholesterol free /saturated fat free)


METHOD:

1. Open the can. Rinse the corn in a colander.

2. In a pan, add the oil. on low heat, let it warm up. Add the cumin.Let it crackle or change colour.

3. Add green chilli and curry leaves

4. Add asafoetida and turmeric.

5. Add the corn and stir well

6. Add the chilly powder and coriander+cumin (dhana-jeeru) powder. mix well.

7. Add the tomato puree ( 1/2 to 1 pack depending upon how much gravy you would like)

8. Add salt and coriander leaves. Stir well.

9. Add cream and mix very well.

10. You can eat this with any indian bread , pita bread or rice.
Regular sliced bread is fine too.


VARIATIONS:



If desired , you can add some frozen peas
and/or
frozen spinach
and/or
capsicum (cut into cubes) after step 4