Zaiqa

Dal with a dollop of butter in it, with warm Parathas sounds so good for a delicious breakfast. I first had this Dal when I was a kid, and always loved it when mom would serve me this for breakfast. It is so delectable and yummy, you will enjoy your breakfast to no end.

Sabut Masoor Masala – Whole Red lentils Masala

I usually prepare this Dal with Whole/Sabut Masoor Dal and savour them along with Parathas as brunch for a weekend, a good and healthy start for the day. You can also have this as a side-dish with Khushka (Plain White Rice), or Parathas at lunch or dinner too.

I let the Dal boil just until done, a little bit softer, but not too mushy, or pasty. This dish gets ready in less than 45 minutes, or even less if you have pre-soaked the Dal.

Sabut Masoor Masala – Whole Red lentils Masala

Ingredients:

Brown lentils/Sabut Masoor Dal – 1 cup
Ripe Red Tomato – 1, chopped
Yellow Onion – 1, medium sized, thinly sliced
Ginger-Garlic paste – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Canola Oil – 2 tbsp (You can substitute oil with Butter here if you like to make it more rich)
Dried Red chillies – 2
Salt – 1 3/4 tsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Green chillies – 2, small, finely chopped

Method:

1. Wash and drain the lentils. Add salt to two cups water in a saucepan and let them boil, or you can pressure cook it to save time, till they are just soft and not mushy. Keep aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a pan, pour oil and throw in the cumin seeds. Once they start to splutter, add the dried red chillies, and the sliced onion and stir fry them till they are light brown in colour.
3. Add the sliced green chillies, chopped tomato, salt, red chilli powder, garam masala and mix well. Close the lid and let it cook for 4 minutes.
4. Mash the mixture till it is all pulpous. Taste and check if you need to add more salt, or spice to it.
5. Now add the cooked dal, mix it and let it cook uncovered for 10 minutes. If the curry becomes too dry, you can sprinkle some water.
6. Serve it hot in a bowl, and just before you serve add a dollop of butter on it and Enjoy the Very Yummy Dal.

Luv,
Mona

As good as this curry looks, it tastes wonderful. You can prepare this curry along with Mitthi Dal and Khushka(Plain White Rice) and you will never forget this incredible combo which i learnt from my Lovely Mom! I use the left over, (if any!!) in between bread as sandwiches for lunch during work time. This saucy curry has a sweet and sour flavour and gets prepared very soon.

Fresh Ripe and Red Tomatoes

Tomatoes are rich in Lycopene, a strong antioxidant, and are healthy such that they are eaten raw in salads. They are rich in anti-oxidants and help prevent the occurance of Cancer, Heart diseases, Cataracts etc. Tomatoes are healthy when eaten raw, but their nutritional value enhances when they are cooked. The best way to choose tomatoes while buying them is to find for those that are firm, red and ripe. However, if you do not intend to use them immediately, you can buy raw tomatoes and ripen them at home at room temperature to use them later on. Or you can also preserve the ripe red tomatoes in the refrigerator to freeze their ripening process.

This particular recipe of Tamatay Gosht is simple to prepare, yummy and delectable. Try it out, Here goes the recipe..

Tamatay Gosht – Meat in a Fragrant Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

• Lamb Meat – 500 gms, cut into 2 cm approx cubes
• Tomatoes – 4, large, ripe, red
• Garam Masala – 1 tsp
• Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp
• Salt – 1 3/4 tsp
• Green Chillies – 3, small, slit
• Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tsp
• Oil – 2 tsp
• Onion – 2, large
• Curry Leaves – 8
• Coriander Leaves – For Garnish

Tamatay Gosht – Meat in a Fragrant Tomato Sauce

Method:

• Wash well and then pressure cook the lamb pieces in some water in a pressure cook till they are tender. Keep aside.
• In a pan, Pour oil, and fry the sliced onions till they are browned. Add ginger-garlic paste, slit green chillies and curry leaves. Fry them all a little.
• Now add the tomatoes and the pressure cooked meat with the stock.
• Mix in red chilli powder, salt, garam masala, and let it cook covered for 5-8 minutes till the tomatoes are mushy and properly cooked.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Suggested Accompaniments: Roti and Chawal

Updated Jan 28 ’09: I am sending the picture of Tomatoes to Click Red, a food photography contest.

Luv,
Mona

Bhendi, or Okra, is one of my favourite vegetables. It is available very easily in the markets, fresh as well as frozen. I keep buying it from the market very often to cook it for everyone in my home. But, you should always be careful while buying fresh Okra. I always like to buy tender baby okra. Larger pods are tough and fibrous, so look for brightly colored pods smaller than 3 inches (9cm) long, with smooth, unblemished skin and firm texture. Refrigerate okra in a plastic bag for up to three days. Wash okra just before using it.

Bhindi – Okra

Khatta Salan/Shorba means ‘soured stew’. The sourness from the tomatoes and tamarind, a slight heat from red chilli powder and the subtle sweetness from the roasted onions along with the roasted spices impart an aromatic and delectable flavor to this okra stew. This same base is used in many other versions of the khatta shorba, which are Karele ka Khatta Shorba, Aloo-Gosht ka Khatta shorba , Arvi-Gosht ka khatta shorba etc.

When boiled, okra gives off a viscous substance that can add smooth thickness to stews or soups. It can be a bit difficult to cook as it sometimes is very slimy. In this recipe, the sourness from tamatoes and tamarind helps while cooking to get rid of the sliminess. It is an excellent sourse of vitamin-C, folate, and magnesium.

Bhindi aur Gosht Ka Khatta Salan – Okra and Lamb meat Stew
Serves – 6-8 people

Ingredients:

Canola Oil – 8 tbsp
Yellow Onion – 3, large, sliced
Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tsp
Tomatoes – 5, large, diced
Curry leaves – 2 sprigs, fresh
Salt – 2 1/2 tsp
Roasted Cumin seed powder – 1/2 tsp
Roasted Cumin seed powder – 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder – 1 tbsp
Lamb meat with bones – 650 gms
Cilantro – 3 tbsp, finely chopped
Okra/Bhendi – 700 gms, washed, dried and cut into approx 5 cm pieces with top and bottom removed
Tamarind concentrate – 2 tbsp (or) Lemon/Lime juice – 2 tbsp

Bhindi aur Gosht Ka Khatta Salan – Okra and Lamb meat Stew

Method:

• Heat oil a pressure cooker and fry the sliced onions till lightly browned. Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté it along for a minute. Add curry leaves, red chilli powder, salt, cumin and coriander seed powder and turmeric powder. Mix well. To it add the diced tomatoes and cilantro and let cook cook for 3-5 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and the oil has separated. Add meat and cook along until no longer pink. Pour water to cover the meat and pressure cook until the meat is tender.
• Once done, add tamarind concentrate or lemon/lime juice and okra and 2-3 cups water (as per your wish, depending on the consistency you desire) to the stew. Stir well and cover the lid. Let it cook on simmer until the okra is cooked. Serve warm.

Suggested Accompaniments: Naan / Afghani Roti / Basmati Chawal / Paratha

Luv,
Mona

Soya is an excellent source of Protein including all Amino Acids, being the only vegetable whose protein is complete. It is also a good source of Calcium, Vitamins, Omega-3-Fatty Acids and Dietary Fibre. Benefits of Soya include promoting heart health with LDL cholesterol (Bad Cholesterol) lowering claim for soya; preventing Cancer and alleviating menopausal synptoms. Soya are also very versatile. They can be had in the form of Soya nuggets, whole Soya beans, or processed as Soya milk, Tofu or Soya sauce. I buy and store those dried soya nuggets in air tight containers in the pantry for very long periods.

Dried Soya Nuggets ~ Soya nuggets soaked overnight in water

Note: Soak Soya nuggets in surplus fresh cool water for 1-2 hours. Later, squeeze them, drain the water and put the squeezed nuggets in a dry bowl. Add fresh cool water to it and again squeeze them, drain the water and put them in a bowl. Repeat this about 8 times, until there is no lather in the water when you squeeze them while washing them up. This is important, otherwise the lather in soya will cause severe flatulence. So, be careful there.

Recipe Source: India’s Vegetarian Cooking, by Monisha Bharadwaj

Soya Ki Subzi / Soya Nuggets in Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

Dried Soya nuggets – 300 gms – read ‘Note’ above before you start cooking
Canola Oil – 3 tbsp
Yellow Onions – 2, medium, chopped
Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Tomatoes – 2, ripe
Cumin seeds/Zeera – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder – 1/2 tsp
Salt – 2 tsp
Water – 100 ml
Green Chillies – 1, slit, for garnishing

Soya Ki Subzi – Soya Nuggets in Tomato Sauce

Method:

-Pour oil in a heavy bottomed pan and fry the onions until transparent. Add ginger garlic paste and the chopped tomatoes to it. Stir well and let it cook until it has become soft and mushy. Once cool, grind the above mixture into a paste.
-Heat the remaining oil in an another heavy bottom preferably non stick pan and fry the cumin seeds till they splutter. Now add the ground onion-tomato paste, and stir well to mix. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add the spice powders and salt. Add the squeezed soya nuggets to the pan and stir in water. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, simmer for about 5 minutes and allow the soya nuggets to absorb all the flavours and liquid from the pan mixture. Cook until the gravy is semi-dry.
-Garnish with slit green chillies and serve it hot along with Parathas.

Luv,
Mona

As usual, today I was scanning the refrigerator for ingredients to prepare a curry for the lunch. I found some frozen spinach and paneer in the deep freezer. Palak Paneer is what striked my mind and I immediately began to work my way to prepare it.

This is great with Parathas, or even along with rice. This dish can be found on the menu of most North Indian restaurants all over the world. Here, I have used Frozen spinach for my convenience, you can substitute it with equal amount of fresh spinach.

Ingredients:

• Frozen/Fresh Chopped Spinach – 500 gms
• Yellow Onion – 1, large, chopped
• Tomato – 2, large, chopped
• Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tbs
• Canola Oil – 4 tbsp
• Green Chilli – 1 tsp, chopped
• Garam masala – 1 tsp
• Salt – 2 tsp
• Red chilli flakes – 1/2 tsp
• Paneer/Cottage cheese – 250 gms, cubed
• Canola Oil for frying paneer
• Light Cream -2 tbsp

Method:

• In a pan, add a tablespoon of oil and fry the onions till very light brown.
• Add ginger-garlic paste, and green chilli paste and give it a good stir.
• After 3 minutes add, the chopped tomatoes and the spinach.
• Cover the lid of the pan and let it cook on simmer until the spinach is soft and pasty. Add a little water if needed to make the spinach soft and mushy.
• Cool and grind the above spinach mixture to a paste.
• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and deep fry the cubed paneer/cottage cheese till light browned on all sides. Remove the paneer from the oil into a bowl and keep aside.
• In a another pan pour the remaining oil and add cumin seeds, let them splutter.
• Now add the grinded paste of spinach to the pan, sprinkle in the garam masala and salt. Reduce heat and stir well.
• Add the paneer pieces and gentlymix them into the spinach paste.
• Simmer for 2-3 minutes, and take the pan off the heat. The paneer will soften in the heat.
• Serve hot, swirled with the cream.

Luv,
Mona