Dhal Fry (masoor+moong) - creamy & delicious ! Masoor Dhal (pink variety) - 4 tbsp Moong dhal (yellow variety) - 1 tbsp Green chillies - 2, slit Ginger - 1 “, finely chopped Garlic - 4,5 finely chopped (optional) Salt, haldi To temper: Ghee - 1 tbsp ( or oil) Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Kalonji (onion seeds) or Jeera - ½ tsp Red chilli powder - 1tsp Onion - 1, very finely chopped Tomato - 1, very finely chopped To garnish: Chopped coriander Wash & soak the dhals together for an hour. Cook with twice the volume of water, haldi, green chilli, ginger, garlic & salt in a pressurepan till tender. Throw away the green chillies & whisk the dhal till smooth. In a kadai, temper as given in the order till well blended. Add dhals, mix & simmer to boil. Serve hot with coriander leaves. A knob of butter gives a rich taste. Goes well with rice & rotis.
Onion Paratha - specially for onion lovers Wheat flour - 1 cup Finely grated or minced onion - ½ - ¾ cup Chopped green chillies - 2 tsp Amchur powder - 1 tsp Salt Ghee - 1 tsp Oil - to make parathas Add little salt to onion & keep for 15 mts for the onion to leave water. Squeeze well, add all ingredients & ghee to make a dough, adding a little squeezed water, if necessary. Make parathas the usual way. You can also make a stuffed paratha, keeping a little filling inside. Serve with pickle & curds.
Cabbage Paratha - an everyday dish, served with any sabji. Wheat flour - 1 cup <!--?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /--> Finely minced cabbage - 1 cup Red chilli powder - 1 tsp Salt, haldi Oil - to make parathas Mix minced cabbage with a little salt & leave for 30 mtes. It will start leaving water. Squeeze well & make a dough kneading it with atta, adding chilli powder, salt & haldi. Make parathas the usual way using little oil. For a variation you can add minced green chillies & ginger also. This can be made as a stuffed arathaalso with a filling of: finely shredded cabbage+coriander leaves+green chillies+salt
Toast with Flax Seeds - Originally I used til seeds ! Brown bread - 4 slices Maida - 1 ½ tbsp Milk - 150 ml Cheese - 25 gms grated Salt Red chilli powder - ½ tsp Finely chopped coriander leaves - 2 tbsp Butter - 2 tsp Flax seeds - 1-1 ½ tsp Mix milk, flour, salt & chilli powder. Simmer to boil, remove & add grated cheese. It should be a thick sauce Butter the bread slice & spread sauce first and then a few flax seeds. Grill till light brown & serve hot. <xml id=yoombaxml></xml>
Mysore Rasam Powder - Very handy to keep ! You can use either one of the following: Fully Madras red round chillies Half above + half Bedagi chillies Half of first + half Kashmiri chillies. Red chillies - 1 ¼ cup flat & loose Dhaniya - 1 ¼ cups flat Methi seeds - 2 heaped tsp Mustard seeds - 1 heaped tsp Jeera - 1heaped tsp Peppercorns - 1 heaped tsp Curry leaves - 5-6 sprigs Roast red chillies in ¼ tsp oil till crisp. Fry the other ingredients on a dry kadai. Powder together in a mixie. To prepare Mysore Rasam, please refer to Mysore Rasam <xml id=yoombaxml></xml>
Dear Sowmi, As far as I know, we do not get Bedagi chillies in Chennai. I brought some from Bangalore. But you can buy Kashmiri chillies instead, from Nilgiris or Bombay general stores. Love, Chithra. <xml id=yoombaxml></xml>
Dear Honey, Since Nilgiris has a strong base in Bangalore, I honestly feel they pass off Bedagi chillies as Kashmiri chillies ! I could not make out any difference ! Love, Chithra. <xml id=yoombaxml></xml>