Signature Moong Dal

A whole blog. For how many years? And no dal?  
At all? Really, at all?
And so this post shall be dedicated to the dal - to the dish that can go from humble to jewel of the menu at the blink of an eye. For any Indian meal be it simple or fancy, a dal is a must-have. Like the ubiquitous clutch or the little black dress, a good dal recipe is a given for any cook aspiring to master the essentials of Indian cooking. And the author would know, since she collects fashion as she hordes her recipes and ingredients.

The dal  is one of those dishes that can be used in almost any meal or any course. Looking for a quick morning breakfast or light dinner - dal and roti with little bit of aloo sabzi. A healthy lunch - dal with steamed rice and baingan bharta. The dal can also be converted into a soup and had with toast [trust me, it is delicious]. You can used it so many permutations and combinations that it is handy to perfect your own recipe and make it your signature. My grandmother prefers arhar dal and she has turned it into one of the hallmarks of her culinary repertoire. My cousin actually asks her to pack him a lunchbox whenever he has to return back to the city so that he can have more of this dal. So, go on ahead, find your choice of dal, your own tadka and  perfect your recipe. Once you do, people will keep coming back for more.

Ingredients:
2/3rd cup of moong dal
Water[twice the amount of the dal]
2tsp turmeric
2tsp salt
Water as required later
For the tadka
4 cloves of garlic chopped
1 green chilly slitted
1tsp cumin seeds
1tsp mustard seeds
2 dried red chillies
1 bay leaf
Oil
1/2 cup of coriander leaves chopped

Method:
Put the dal, the water, turmeric and salt in the pressure cooker. Cook for three whistles. The dal should be a thick consistency when you open the pressure cooker.
Heat oil in a wok. When it is hot, add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, dried red chillies and bay leaf. Fry till the room is full of spicy aromas. Add the garlic and cook for a minute.
Add the dal and a cup full of water. Stir and then simmer for five minutes. Adjust salt if required. Add the slitted green chilly and the coriander leaves. Simmer for two more minutes and serve with your meal of choice.

Egg Curry

So, writing the blog for how many months now and no proper egg curry as yet. I mean, yes, there was the curry toofani but that was more of a throwing together of ingredients. This egg curry is a systematic thought of buying ingredients and then going through the right steps. I have grown up with egg curry on the Wednesdays or Fridays served with hot rice, dal, salad and gobi pakoras. It is so delicious and for me the gateway to a complete lunch. The recipe has been one of my mainstays for a long while now.

This egg curry is ideal for a centerpiece for a casual lunch or late night dinner. While you make the curry you can throw in some moong dal into the pressure cooker to be whistled away. The curry is very versatile and can be served with any recipe that you want. If you are adventurous, you can make some omelets and add to the curry for another twist on this dish. The egg is such a blank canvas, ready for any dish that you can set your mind to and for me egg curry is a classic comfort - a remembrance of all those memories from childhood.

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 medium onions
1 inch ginger
5 cloves garlic
4 dried red chillies broken
1tsp cumin seeds
1 cinnamon
1 bay leaf
1tsp red chili powder
1tsp turmeric
1tsp coriander powder
1tsp kitchen king powder
1tsp garam masala
3tbsp tomato puree
salt to taste
1/2 cup water
1 bunch coriander leaves
3-4tbsp oil

Method:
Fill a saucepan with water and add eggs. Put in on the stove to cook. Remember the proper boiled egg needs only 10-12 minutes. After that it has that grey tint over the yolk which is not very nice.
While the eggs boil, slice the onions and mince ginger and garlic. Heat oil in a wok.
Splutter the whole spices till they release the aromas. Add the onions with a dash of red chili powder and fry. This should around six-eight minutes.
The eggs will be done by now. Remove from saucepan and put it in a bowl.
Add the ginger and garlic to the browned onions. Cook for two minutes. Add tomato puree and a pinch of salt. Fold the ingredients together and then add the red chili powder, turmeric, coriander and kitchen king powder. Fry. Finally add the water and simmer. This should take eight to ten minutes in order for the flavors of the curry to cook itself.
Peel the eggs. Chop the coriander leaves.
Add the eggs to the curry along with the garam masala. Put the curry over the eggs so as to allow the gravy to seep into the eggs. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve with hot rice and enjoy.

One Tandoori chicken kebab

The place is located on the cross roads of Himayat Nagar right before the turning to KFC Lane. The first look - shady. Second look - definitely shady. But, the family section is all right if not a little cramped. And the staff is very quick. The moment you sit down you have plates set down in front of you. The menu is already placed on the table for your perusal. The choice here is actually simple. We ordered a plate of  Tandoori chicken and Chicken biryani. The biryani is a hit and miss. They get it right most of the time but sometimes there is a cardamom overload.

But their piece de resistance is their kebabs. Mouthshut.com actually has awarded their kebabs for the I was here awards in 2013. And with reason. The Tandoori chicken is spiced well, with just the right amount of char on both sides of the pieces. The best thing about this dish - well apart from the flavor - is the color. It is probably the only kebab that employs a certain usage of the food color. And you need to add the color - just a dash of red so as to get that right blend of color and black. The meat is tender, flakes right under your fingers. You dip it into the mint chutney - the classic combination for the kebab. This chutney is one of the better ones in Hyderabad. The one other place that comes close if not better is the one from Shadab and perhaps Paradise.

This particular kebab is worth all the hype that I have given in this post. You need to sit and savor the dish as it falls apart at the first bite and then you wash it down with a sip of cold drink. Tandoori chicken is the perfect starter for a dinner when you want to satisfy your meat cravings. The biryani is nice and spicy but the taste that you remember is the char grilled spicy chicken that you had earlier in the meal. And now isn't that a thing to come back to. While you are at it, you can be bold and explore the other kebabs in their repertoire. I do not think you will regret it.

Location: Himayat Nagar, In front of Kings and Cardinal Bakery 
Rating: 4/5
What to try: Tandoori chicken hands down.

Loveofmylife: Spot #12

Buttered toast[sprinkled with a dash of pepper]

 

Aloo kasa

Okay. I realize that I did promise a series of posts on Oriya cuisine but got a little side-tracked. But, it is still not too late. So I start this again and hopefully the blog will be little more diligent in this undertaking.  There was a post on a version of this dish when the blog was still minty fresh. That was more of a quick recipe done for a quick meal. This is more luscious and needs to be done the right way. And trust me, this is totally worth the effort taken. Now, Oriyas love their potatoes. They love putting them into anything and everything except sweets of course. So, you have your dalma[thick dal with pumpkin, drumsticks and potatoes], aloo posto[potatoes cooked in poppy seed paste], bharta[mashed potatoes] etc etc. Recipes will follow shortly for these dishes soon. But, onto the subject - cancel the potatoes and us Oriyas will be loss for words. And food would be so so boring.

 The trick to this recipe is the spice paste. Make it right and fry it right and half your work is done. And also because of that, you do not have to spend time making right cuts for the onions, chillies and stuff. You can just coarsely chop them and throw into the blender. It does need a little more oil than usual. But for a Sunday meal, it would be the perfect accompaniment. Aloo kasa finds itself among one of my favorite dishes. Every time I leave home, my mom or my dad would make this to be packed in a lunchbox and opened later to be eaten. It is always a reminder of home cooking and memories that come with it. So I take my time with it and make sure it reaches that taste - just the right spice and the right heat. And now it goes to you - make sure you handle with care.

  
Ingredients: Spice paste
3 medium onions
1 inch ginger
6 large cloves garlic
2 green chillies
2 medium tomatoes
Ingredients Proper:
3 medium potatoes, boiled
1tsp cumin seeds
1tsp cloves
1 bay leaf
2 dried red chillies
1 cinnamon
2 green cardamon crushed
2tbsp red chili powder
1tsp turmeric powder
1tbsp coriander powder
1tbsp cumin powder
1tbsp garam masala
salt to taste
3-4 tbsp oil
Water as needed

Method:
Coarsely chop all the ingredients from the spice paste and blend into a paste.
Heat oil. When it is smoky, throw in the spice paste. It should sizzle when it hits the oil and splatter. As you fry the paste, add the cumin, cloves, bay, dried red chillies, cinnamon and the cardamom. It should take around fifteen minutes to fry on a high heat. If the paste starts the stick add a little water.
Sprinkle the paste with the red chilli, turmeric, coriander and cumin powder. Add a little bit of salt and the potatoes. Fold the paste through the potatoes. Cook for five more minutes.
Add the garam masala, adjust the salt and add quarter of a cup of water. Simmer until the masala becomes a thick sauce for the potatoes. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve piping hot. Perfect with rotis, puris, hot rice and just about anything.

 

Quick Paneer Curry

This is a good curry for those weekend lunches when you want to throw together a meal without much effort. And, paneer  is a good choice for a vegetarian main course or a side-dish for a non-vegetarian meal. The curry is simple and a good choice to use that jar of tomato puree in the fridge. Right, now for a few basics. You do have to cut 2 small onions and slit a green chilly. And the curry serves a small group of four.  Put the rice to cook while you fry the onions and start on the making of the curry. At the same time you can boil some potatoes if you want to add them to the curry. I like potatoes so I put some on boil while the curry base is frying. It is easy and trust me very delicious with dal, rice and a couple of pakoras.

Ingredients:
1 slab of paneer
2 medium potatoes
1tsp cumin seeds
2 small onions sliced
2tbsp ginger-garlic paste
2 green chilly slitted
1tsp red chilli powder
1tsp kitchen king powder
1tsp coriander powder
1tsp garam masala
2tbsp tomato puree
salt to taste
Oil for cooking
Water as needed

Method:
Heat oil. Splutter cumin seeds. Fry the onions. This will take around ten minutes on high heat. As they brown add the ginger-garlic paste and a little bit of red chilli powder to the mix.
Add one green chilly. Mix everything together. Add the tomato puree and the spice powders barring the garam masala. Season the curry base.
At this point, add the water, paneer and potatoes. Simmer for a few minutes. Finally, add the garam masala and the green chilly. The curry should be done in about five minutes.
Serve with hot rice and make some hot crispy nuggets to go with it.