Moogadali Usli

Moongdali Usli

Ingredients :

Moongdal - 3/4 cup
Green chillies - 2 (slit lengthwise)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 spring
Oil - 1.5 tsp
Ginger - 1.5 tsp finely chopped
Fresh coconut - 3 tbsp
Water for boiling

Procedure :

Wash the moongdal with running water.

In a kadai heat oil and add mustard seeds and green chillies.

When mustard seeds splitters add curry leaves and saute it.

Add washed moongdal, salt. Add water just to cover the moongdal. Don't add too much water else the final outcome will be mushy.

When the moongdal is half cooked add coconut and ginger and cook until the moongdal is cooked.

Moongdal usli is ready to be served :)

Moongdal Chaklis / Moogadali Chakkuli

Moongdal Chaklis

Ingredients :

All purpose flour / Maida – 1.5 cups

Split skinless greegram / Moongdal – 1/2 cup

Red chilli powder – To taste

Black (or white) sesame seeds – 1tsp

Cumin seeds / Jeera – 1tsp

Salt – To taste

Oil – For deep frying

Procedure :

Take all purpose flour in a cotton cloth and tie it tightly so that it is closed from all sides.

Now steam the all purpose flour or maida (in cloth) for 15 minutes.

Once done allow it to cool for few minutes. It looks like a solid mass which can be broken with bare hands after steaming.

Once the flour is warm, it becomes easy to handle. Start breaking the lumps using your hand (because once it cools down completely, it hardens and hence more effort is required to break the lumps).

Then sieve it to get a lump free flour. Set it aside.

Now wash the moongdal and cook it in a pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles so that it turns mushy (don't add too much water). Once cooked transfer it to a bowl and mix it.

Then add red chilli powder, cumin seeds, sesame seeds and salt.

Finally add the prepared all purpose flour (maida) to this mixture. Mix it well without adding water to get a non sticky, soft dough.

Now keep the oil for heating on a medium-high. Now take the chakli making press. I used the mould plate having one hole.

Now divide the dough into two parts. Keep one part of the mixture closed (to avoid drying) and the other part in the mould. Now start rotating it in clockwise direction and make small/big chakli (the free end of the chakli should be sealed. otherwise there are chances of  it opening up).

You can make chaklis on a parchment paper or banana leaf (as required for one batch. Don't make too much of them in advance. It will dry and fall apart while frying). I made 4-5 per batch . 

Then transfer it to hot oil carefully. 

Fry them evenly on both sides, until they turn light brown (another indication of the end point is the bubbles stop forming). Take it out and drain the excess oil on a paper towel.

Moogadali Chakkuli is ready!!

Allow it to cool then the store them in an air tight container.

Jeera Gobhi

Jeera Gobhi

Ingredients :

Gobi florets washed – 1 cup

To Temper :

Green chillies chopped  - 2

Curry leaves – 1 spring
Asafoetida pdr(hing) –  1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds (jeera) – 1.5 tsps
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
Oil – 1tbsp

Chopped coriander leaves
Lime juice – 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method :

Boil the gobi florets with little water for 5-7 mins. You can microwave the gobi florets too.

In a kadai take oil and put all the ingredients mentioned under To temper one by one and add the boiled gobi, salt to taste and saute for 5 mins.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and a dash of lime juice.

Pineapple Murabba

Pineapple Murabba

Ingredients :

Pineapple – 1 cup

Sugar – 1.5 cups (adjust the sweetness accordingly. Pineapple used by me was not too sweet here)

Elaichi powder – ½ tsp

Method :

Make cubes of pineapple of ½ inch size. Pressure cook the cubes for 1 whistle. Do not add any water to pineapple while cooking.

In a pan add cooked pineapples + sugar and heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves and coats well with the pineapple cubes. Heat the mixture until 1 string consistency.

Add elaichi powder to this mixture and cool it to room temperature.

After the mixture is cooled transfer the contents to an air tight container and  store in refrigerator. Murabba can be stored for 6 months or more. The older the murabba the tastier it is JJ This can be served with dosas like neerdosa, chapatis, rotis etc. Kids will love this JJ

  

Steamed Cabbage Idlis (Cabbage sanna idlis)

Cabbage Sanna Idlis

Ingredients :

Cabbage – ½ cup chopped

Onion – 2 finely chopped

Rice rawa – 1 cup

Fresh coconut – 1/4^th of a coconut shell

Roasted red chillies – 7 to 8 (as per taste)

Tamarind – gooseberry size

Asafoteida (Hing) –  1/4^th tsp

Salt

Method :

Grind together coconut, red chillies, tamarind, hing to a paste ( need not be very smooth).

In a bowl add rice rawa + ground paste along with chopped cabbage and chopped onions. Add salt to this mixture and mix well. Keep the mixture aside for 30mins.

Grease the idli plates with little oil and fill 3/4^th of the plate with the mixture. Steam it for 25mins.

Hot cabbage idlis are ready. Serve the idlis with oil brushed on it J J

Jalebi

Jalebis

Ingredients :

Maida / All purpose flour – 1 cup

Corn flour – 2 tblsp

Thick curds – 3/4 cup (approx.)

Cooking soda – pinch

Ghee – 2 tblsp

Food colour (yellow preferably) – pinch

Ghee – for deep frying

For sugar syrup :

Sugar – 1 cup

Water – 1 cup

Lemon juice – 1 tsp

Food colour (yellow) pinch

Elaichi powder – Optional

Method :

Take a bowl and mix maida, corn flour, cooking soda, ghee and yellow food colour.  Add curds and make a thick batter by adding some more water. Consistency here should be like vada batter. Keep it in a warm place overnight for fermentation. Next day mix well with a ladle. It should be sticky thick batter of dropping consistency.

In a pan add sugar with water, food colour and boil this mixture until one string consistency (approx. 15 mins in medium high flame). Then add lemon juice, elaichi and boil in lowest heat possible.

In a flat bottomed pan heat ghee. Level of ghee should be very low just to cover the jalebis. Take a cloth with smallest hole in the middle or a durable Ziploc bag with hole in the middle. I have used the tomato ketchup bottle used in restaurants here (shown in pic below) since it’s easy to handle JJ

Fill in the batter and draw circles in medium heat. Ghee should never fume. Also it should be enough to fry the jalebis porous and crisp. So adjust the heat accordingly. Make 3-4 circles per piece and end the circle by overlapping the tip when you end, otherwise the shape won’t be good.

Fry on both sides till crisp and drain it and add it to the hot sugar syrup immediately. Let it be dunk in the syrup for atleast 2 mins. Drain of the jalebis from the syrup and arrange it as needed.

Crispy and yummy jalebis are ready to be served J J

Paneer do Pyaza

Paneer do Pyaza

Ingredients :

200gms paneer cubes

1/4 cup diced onions

1/4 cup diced green capsicum

3/4 cup tomato puree

1/2 tsp pepper powder

1/2 tsp corriander powder

2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp kasuri methi

21/2 tsp ginger garlic paste

Oil

chopped corriander leaves for garnishing

Method :

In a pan add oil and add onions and fry untill it turns transparent. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2 mins.

 Add pepper+corriander+red chilli powders along with tomato puree and fry untill the oil leaves the sides.

Now add capsicum to the mixture and cook for 3 mins. Add paneer cubes, salt and kasuri methi with 1/4 cup of water. Boil for 5 minutes. 

Garnish with corriander leaves. Serve with rotis or chapatis.