Hyderabadi khatti Dal ,Khatti Dal Hyderabad style

Mention of hyderabad makes me nostalgic , today another recipe from hyderabadi cuisine that is hyderabadi khatti dal

this khatti dal is a popular lentil recipe made from split pigeon peas or arhar dal or toor dal
the word ‘khatti‘ translates to ‘sour’ in english. so the exact translation of ‘khatti dal‘ will be ‘sour lentils’.

Hyderabadi Khatti Dal is kind of like a lentil soup with a slight tangy flavor due to the addition of tamarind concentrate

this khatti dal goes well with basmati rice, jeera rice, chappati or rotis.

Ingredients

1 Cup Tuvar dal (Yellow lentils)/Masoor Dal (Red Lentils)
1 Tomato (finely chopped)
½ inch  Ginger
2 garlic crushed
1 tbsp Red chilli powder
pinch Turmeric powder

other ingredients
1 tsp coriander powder/dhania powder
2-4 green chillies finely chopped
Raw Tamarind juice (imli ka khata)/Lemon juice
1/4 tsp turmeric
Salt – to taste

For seasoning (Baghar)
4 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Black mustard seeds
6-8 Garlic Cloves smashed
2 Dried Red chilliies 
6-8 Curry Leaves
pinch hing


For Garnish

Coriander leaves (finely chopped )

Method :

1. In a pressure cooker add tuvar dal  tomato,ginger, garlic paste red chilli powder & turmeric powder.Let pressure cook for about 8-9 whistles until the lentil is tender(paste).mash the dal with a madani, wooden spoon or hand blender till smooth.

2.Then in a large saucepan at medium heat ,add the lentil paste,imli ka khata,coriander powder, green chilli,salt to taste, curry leaves along with salt.stir in the ¾ or 1 cup water .

3. keep the dal on a low flame and simmer for 8-10 minutes till the raw aroma of the tamarind goes away and the all the flavors have blended well and the dal has reached a medium consistency.cover and keep the cooked dal aside.

4.heat oil in a small frying pan. crackle the cumin seeds first.then add the garlic and fry for 4-5 seconds. add the dry red chilies, curry leaves and asafoetida.fry till the red chilies change their color and the curry leaves become crisp.pour this tempering and stir.cover and keep aside the khatti dal for 5-6 minutes for the flavors to mingle.

5 Garnish with coriander and serve with basmati rice

Moong Dal Tadka recipe,How to make hotel style moong dal with tadka

This is a basic dal recipe. It is so simple yet so comforting. It can be made in a matter of minutes and is so versatile. You can pair it with rotis and subji or ladle of rice drizzled with ghee! Tastes best anyways. . Although everyone has recipe for dal fry but each one is unique and have different taste.

 

Dal is a ready source of proteins for a balanced diet containing little or no meat

 Dal fry & dal tadka are almost similar except the method of cooking them.In dal fry first tempering is prepared then onions,tomatoes are sauted along with remaining ingredients & then cooked mashed dal is poured on tempering .Whereas in dal tadka  first dal is prepared & then a tempering (tadka) is prepared from ghee ,garlic & curry leaves,red chillies & poured on dal .
My favourite dish is dal tadka  along with fried papad ,mango pickle & steamed basmati /ambe mohor rice .

Normally i use toor dal for making dal tadka ,but today we are making it using split yellow moong dal







Ingredients

split yellow moong dal- 1 cup
 Ghee  2 tablespoons
 Onion ,finely chopped  1 medium
Garlic,finely chopped  3 cloves
 Ginger finely chopped 1 inch
 Green chillies chopped 2-3
Cumin coriander powder   1 tsp
 Red chilli powder  1/2 teaspoon
  Turmeric powder 3/4 teaspoon
  Sugar/ jaggery - 1 tsp (optional)
  Salt  to taste
  Dry mango powder (amchur)  1 teaspoon  / lemon juice

Tempering
Hing (asafoetida )
 4-5 curry leaves (optional)
 Ghee 2-3 tsp
 Cumin seeds  1 teaspoon
 3-4 garlic cloves crushed
  Red chillies 1-2 broken into 2 pieces
 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Coriander leaves for garnish


  Method  :
 
1.Wash mmong dal and soak it  for 30 minutes in water.

 2 Add soaked dal, turmeric powder, hing,salt, 1.5 cups of water in the pressure cooker & cook it for 3 whistles till its soft.Mash dal with help of masher.

 3. Heat half of the ghee in a pan. Add half of the chopped onion and garlic,ginger green chillies and sauté till golden. Add tomatoes, red chilli & cumin coriander powder & mix well .Add little water & cover with lid & cook till tomatoes are soft.


4. Next add cooked dal ,jaggery /sugar ,salt, &  little water ( add little  water as this dal is a bit thick). Stir and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add mango powder/lemon juice and simmer for another 5  minutes.


 5.Heat the remaining ghee in another pan. Add cumin seeds. When they begin to change colour add the remaining onion and garlic and sauté till golden brown. Add hing,curry leaves & red chilli pieces,stir. switch off gas remove pan from gas add red chilli powder and mix well. Add this seasoning to the dal, simmer for two minutes and remove from heat.

 6.Garnish with coriander leaves & Serve hot.


Tips
  1. You can even use masur /tuvar dal / chana dal or  combo of three dals to prepare  this      dal .
  2. Always do the Tadka either with Ghee for the strong Flavor.
  3.You can replace ginger with garlic or with ginger garlic paste for variation  in dal tadka    first dal is prepared & then a tempering (tadka) is prepared from ghee ,garlic & curry  leaves,red chillies & poured on dal .

Dal Tadka Dhaba Style|how to cook smoked punjabi dal dhaba style

Dhabe Wali Dal is a dal which is typically served at almost all dhabas.



Simple yet full of flavors, This Punjabi Dal Fry is a common dish made throughout the homes and served in all restaurants and dhabas with their own variations. Here, I bring you the Dhaba Style of Making the Dal Tadka which is a mix of lentils cooked and tempered, then smoked.



 The smoke is the key to make the Dhaba or the Restaurant Style which is usually skipped/missing in the home cooked way.




 It is a very popular lentil dish which is generally served with Tandoori Roti or Naan. 
The word 'Dhaba' means roadside small food outlets. 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Masoor Dal
1/4 cup Arhar Dal
1/4 cup Chana Dal
1/4 cup Chilke Wali Moong Dal
2 tsp urad dal
2 Onions, chopped
1 inch ginger
2 Tomatoes, ground to paste
5-6 Garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp kashmiri Red chilly powder
1 tsp each cumin powder and garam masala
2 Green chilies, chopped
1 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Asafetida (hing)
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Whole Coriander seeds
2 Whole Red chillies
1 tbsp Dried Fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
1 tbsp amchoor powder
Salt to taste
Ghee 1 tbsp +3 tbsp Oil
Charcoal big piece




Method:
1.Wash and soak the dals about half an hour. pressure cook it with 3 cups of water ,turrmeric ,pinch salt  for 4 whistles on high, then leave for 2 minutes in medium flame.


2.Now heat a pan with 1 tbsp oil and add cumin seeds, whole coriander seeds and once they splutter add half ginger, half garlic and green chilies. Do not let it burn, Add the onions, ¼ tsp salt and cook till brown. Once starts leaving fat and is brown, add the tomato puree, salt to taste and cook for 10-12 mins or until starts leaving sides and fat.

3.Once done, add a handful of chopped coriander, cumin powder, garam masala, 1 tsp of kashmiri red chili powder, coriander powder, amchoor and kasoori methi. Mix well and cook for another 2-3 mins..
4.Add the cooked dal, and cook for 3-4 mins.. Make sure the dal is not watery, It should be very thick.
 Add ½ cup water, mix well and cook for 5 mins.. Switch off the flame


5.Now make tadka For tempering, heat ghee+2 tbsp oil in a saucepan and add cumin seeds. Allow the seeds to pop up and then add remaining chopped garlic and ginger julienne. Cook for 2 seconds and add 1 tsp kasmiri red chilli powder along with whole Kashmiri red chillies.Pour the entire tempering over cooked dal a


6.Now for the smoking step, heat charcoal until red hot over the gas burner direct flame. Place a small bowl in the center of the pan full of dal, pour 1 tbsp ghee and hing.
 The coal now give out smokey flavour, immediately cover it with a lid. Keep it covered for 5-10 minutes. When done, remove the lid and carefully remove the small bowl that contains charcoal.

7.Garnish with coriander leaves and Serve this smokey dal with roti / Naan /Kulcha. 

Tips
You can also add in a tablespoon of overnight soaked rajma/kidney beans with the dals if you wish to
Some people garnish this dal with some cream as well.
If you do not have pressure cooker then you can cook dal in a pot or in any vessel with good amount of water.
The consistency of dal tadka should not too thick or too thin, prefer to make it of slightly medium thick in consistency.
When you release the pressure, do check if the dal is cooked at the right consistency. The dal should be soft but not gooey.
You can add chopped tomatoes instead of tomato paste.
You can add or replace lentils of your choice. 

Tiffin sambar recipe, how to make hotel style tiffin sambar recipe

I love idli sambhar combination .hence i search for a variation in the idli as well as sambhar .

recipes. 

sambhar is an integral part of South Indian cuisine and there are innumberable variations with  freshly ground sambhar powder or with stored sambhar powders.

Todays recipe is hotel style tiffin sambhar which we get in the hotels.

Points to note about tiffin sambhar

1.This sambar is always made with potato ,tomato and shallots. It gives the maximum flavour, every ingredient complimenting each other. But to increase nutrition you can add Other vegetables like carrot,beans, yellow pumpkin (parangikkai), drumstick and brinjal as per avialability.

2. In many homes, tiffin sambar is made with only moong dal while few others use a combination of two to three types of dals.

3.another point to note in this sambar – one is the freshly ground sambar powder, secondly a tsp of ghee and lastly a tsp of jaggery.

4.Vegetables are not essential for tiffin sambar except for shallots,potato and tomatoes.

5.This sambar should be with less tamarind, unlike our regular sambar. The tomato will give mild tanginess that is  just perfect

 It tastes awesome with mini idlis when drizzled with hot ghee.  Your kids will relish it and so will you

Ingredients

Toor dal - 1/4 cup (heaped)

Potato pieces - 1

Shallots(small onion) - 12

veggies chopped- 1 brinjal,carrot,2-3 beans,small piece of pumpkin

Green chilli - 2

Tomato – 2

Tamarind - small marble size

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Jaggery powdered - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp

Curry leaves - Few

Coriander leaves - 1 & 1/2 tblsp

Ghee - 1 tsp

Salt - 2 tsp (approx)

To roast

Channa dal - 3/4 tbslp heaped

Coriander seeds - 1 tbslp

Red chillies - 5

Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp

raw rice - 1.5 tsp

curry leaves -5-6

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

hing - half tsp

To Temper

Mustard - 3/4 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Oil - 2 tsp

red chilli broken into pieces -2

Method

1.Pressure cook toor dal for 3-4 whistles, with 1 cup water, 2 pinches of turmeric, 2 pinches of asafoetida and few drops of oil. Mash the dal smoothly. Set aside

2.Mean while, roast the ingredients under ‘To roast’ table. You can roast everything together. But except jeera/ cumin seeds, which has to be added towards the end when the other ingredients gets the golden colour. Take care not to burn anything. Cool down and powder into a coarse powder. 

3.In a kadai, heat 1 tsp oil Add half of the asafoetida and give a quick stir. Add onions and fry till transparent.Add tomatoes, green chillies,veggies,potato pieces and fry for 1 or 2 minutes.. Now add few torn curry leaves,  salt, turmeric, ,1 cup water and bring to boil for 2 minutes

4.Add the sambar powder. Add it in a sprinkled way little by little with constant stirring to avoid any lump formation.  Then add the mashed dal. If the dal is too tight, add more water to loosen it before adding it to sambar.Now after adding the ground sambar powder and dal, the sambar tends to thicken. So you might be needed to add some 3/4 cup to 1 cup water to bring it to the right consistency.  once it starts boiling, as a final touch add the powdered jaggery and mix well.simmer for 2-3 minutes.

5.For tempering, heat ghee or oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds and allow to splutter. Add red chilis, curry leaves and asafoetida and saute for a few secs. Turn off flame and add the tempering to the simmering sambar and mix well.

6.Turn off flame, add coriander leaves or curry leaves and place lid. Do not open lid for at least 15-30 mts. serve with tiffins like idli, dosa, vada 

Tips :

• This sambar should be with less tamarind, unlike our regular sambar. The tomato will give mild tanginess that is not sharp
• You can use either tur dal or yellow moong dal or a combination of both the dals. 
• Vegetables are optional. The sambar is excellent with just shallots and tomatoes 
• Asafoetida is essential. It gives a unique flavor to the sambar.If pumpkin is not available, add more jaggery.Pumpkin adds sweetness to the sambar.
• Smells great even the next day
• Dont skip  the freshly ground sambar powder, secondly a tsp of ghee and lastly a tsp of jaggery. 

Maharashtrian Amti Recipe|How to make toor dal amti

A maharashtrian amti recipe is a comfort food for in most marathi homes. Amti is a typical Maharashtrian spicy dal which is slightly Sweet, spicy and tangy to taste. This dish is the essence of daily menu in most Maharastrian homes.It tastes simply heavenly with steamed rice & papad & a dollop of ghee.

I suggest to use goda masala while making amti. if you use any other masala like garam masalathen you won’t get the same results. the reason being garam masala has a different spice blend and goda masala has an altogether different one. 

this amti recipe is slightly spiced and has both mild sour and sweet tones. the mild sour tones comes from tamarind or kokum and the light sweetness coming from jaggery. also the taste of the toor dal/pigeon pea lentils blends very well with the rest of the ingredients. in the absence of tamarind or kokum, you can use lemon juice.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Toor Dal

For Seasoning:

1 tbsp Oil

1/4 tsp Mustard seeds

1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds

1/8 tsp Asafoetida

1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
5 to 6 Curry Leaves
4 to 5 Green Chilies, Sliced lengthwise
1/4 cup grated wet Coconut
1/4 cup Cilantro, finely chopped

1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 to 1 1/2 tsp Goda Masala
1 tsp Jaggery
3 to 4 Kokum / 1 tbsp tamarind paste
Salt to taste

Method:

1) Wash and pressure cook Toor Dal for 6 to 7 whistles with a pinch of turmeric.

2) Mash cooked Toor Dal, Heat a pan, add Oil and let it heat. Then add Mustard seeds, Cumin Seeds, Asafoetida, Turmeric, curry leaves and green chilli Saute for few seconds. Add mashed Toor dal in this seasoning and stir. Also add water to adjust consistency.

3) Once Amti starts boiling, Stir and add Goda Masala,red chilli powder, Kokum/tamarind,coconut ,jaggery and salt. Let it boil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Turn off heat, cover pan with lid for 2-3 minutes to mingle all the flavors.
 4)while serving the amti dal, you can garnish with few coriander leaves if you prefer along with white rice. Drizzle little ghee to enhance the flavor.

Tips :

1. can add one chopped onion in step 2 & let it cook before adding the mashed dal.

2.Substitute kokum by using tamarind, amchur powder or lemon juice.

3. Substitute jaggery by using sugar.

4.Dont skip fresh grated coconut

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Khandeshi Takachi kadhi |Marathi style buttermilk kadhi

Whenever we are bored of eating dal or amti with rice we need something different.At that times kadhi comes to our rescue.Kadhi is a curry made using buttermilk & besan (chickpeaflour) ,few spices & then tempered.

In india kadhi is prepared in different manner in different states though the basic ingredients ie besan & dahi is common.

I have posted punjabi pakora kadhi & gujarati kadhi recipe

Todays kadhi is from khandesh region of maharashtra

In Khandesh the kadhi is made bit differently. Traditionally, ginger, garlic and green chilies are roughly ground together and mixed with ghee. 
Kadhi is made in earthen pot. And tempering is made with live coal. The ghee-masala ball is carefully put over coal and as ghee starts melting, lichen, mustard seeds and cumin seeds added. Once mustard seeds start spluttering, everything including coal is poured in boiling kadhi.


Dont skip lichen /dagadphool in above recipe as it imparts a different taste.I have followed exact recipe from VADANI KAVAL GHETA

Recipe source:http://www.vadanikavalgheta.com



Ingredients:

1 cup Yogurt (preferably sour)
3-4 tbsp Besan or Chick Pea Flour
Salt per taste
1-2 tsp Sugar
10-12 sprigs of Cilantro (chopped)

4-5 cups of water (use as needed)

Masala - 
2 Green Chilies (or per your taste)
1" Ginger Blob
3-4 Cloves of Garlic

Tempering -  
8-9 Curry Leaves
4-5 DagadFool (or edible Lichen) 
2 tbsp Ghee (solid)
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Cumin Seeds



Method:

1.grind yoghurt with besan in a mixer grinder along  salt, sugar so that no lumps remain in the mixture.Add about 2.5 cups to 3 cups of water to besan curd mixture & again grind it.


2.Now keep the this kadhi mixture on low-medium flame and keep stirring almost constantly . Do not increase the heat to make kadhi faster it can curdle. 

3.Grind green chilies, garlic and ginger into coarse paste without water. Mix  solid ghee with ginger garlic chilli paste  keep it in a plate. 

4Once kadhi/buttermilk mixture comes to boil, heat small kadhai/tadka pan,now add ghee-masala mixture to the hot kadhai. Ghee will melt with a minute then add dagadfool, curry leaves,  mustard seeds and cumin seeds. 

5.Once the mustard seeds start spluttering and ginger garlic turns golden brown, add this tempering to boiling kadhi. Let it boil just one more time and turn off the heat.



6.Garnish with coriander leaves.



Tips:
1.Don't add all the water at the same time instead check the consistency. It should be very similar to fat free milk.

2.In case you are using coal and earthen pot then boil kadhi is a steel utensil. Heat coal over and let it become completely red. Put this live coal in earthen pot, make tempering as per recipe above. Once tempering is ready, add the boiling kadhi over. 
Remove coal before serving or within half an hour.