Spices and Recipes

May be thinned to make soup

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dried black beans soaked over-night
• 4 cups of water
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• ¼ pound salt pork, chopped (optional for vegetarians)
• 1 pound smoked ham hocks, cut in 1 inch pieces (optional for vegetarians. Vegetarians may add a few slices of bell-pepper and 1 tbsp of ginger paste)
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons dry roasted in a pan and then ground cumin seeds
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cups water, chicken stock
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Place black beans and water in large stock pot. Cover and boil. When the water starts boiling add the other ingredients except lemon juice. There should be enough water to just cover the beans, so if necessary add a bit or water.
2. Cover and simmer until the beans are tender, about 2 hours. Take out the hocks and remove the bones. Return the meat to the pot. Simmer long enough so beans are tender to soft and all seasonings are blended nicely.
3. Add the lime juice and garnish with cilantro.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Tur dal
• 1/3 cup Moong dal
• 1 bunch fresh spinach - washed - chopped roughly
• 1 tbsp- garlic finely chopped
• 1 small onion-finely chopped
• 1 medium sized tomato-finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ginger finely chopped
• 3 green chillies finely chopped
• 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp ghee (or oil)
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Pressure cook ( or boil ) the dals till soft with half the green chillies and turmeric.
2. In a pan, heat ghee. Add the cumin seeds, once they start popping, add garlic, ginger, remaining green chillies and onions.Fry till onions turn golden brown. Add tomato, spinach, turmeric, red chilli powder, salt. Saute the above mixture till it turns soft and golden.
3. Add the boiled dal mix to the above. Mix well, remove from flame. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
4. Serve hot with phulka rotis.

The aroma from the garlic and the green color from the spinach makes this an absolutely irresistible dish. For people who don’t relish spinach, this is a great way to eat their greens.

You can treat your guests with Lasooni Dal palak and Jeera Rice as a main course, with a cucumber raita on the side.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rava, roasted till light golden (3-4 minutes on low flame)
• 1/2 cup maida or all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup rice flour
• 2 medium onions, very finely chopped
• 2 sprigs curry leaves
• 3 green chillies, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup thick, sour buttermilk, leave it out overnight to sour it if necessary
• Upto 2 cups water (to adjust the consistency)
• Oil to cook

For tempering: 1 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 sprigs curry leaves

Method:

1. Once the roasted rava cools, take all 3 flours in a large bowl. Add all other dry ingredients. Stir well.
2. Add in the sour buttermilk and add the water carefully to make a thin batter. This will be much thinner than the regular dosai batter.
3. Oil a non-stick tava / pan. Once hot enough, pour two ladlefuls of batter and hold the pan by its handle and rotate the pan so that batter evenly coats the surface of the pan. The coating must be thin and the buttermilk-baking soda combination will give a net-like appearance on the surface.
4. Drizzle a bit of cooking oil along the edges of the dosai. On a medium flame, the first side should take 1 1/2 - 2 minutes. Carefully flip the dosai over to the other side, keep for a minute of so until it has turned golden brown and crisp and it is ready to eat. Serve hot with tomato chutney.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp gingelly oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 2 tbsp chana dal
• 4 dried red chillies
• few fenugreek seeds
• pinch of hing / asafoetida
• 4 tomatoes - quartered
• handful of coriander leaves
• salt to taste

Method:

1. In a wok, in moderately hot oil, splutter the mustard seeds.
2. Add all remaining ingredients except tomatoes and coriander and fry till the dal turns golden brown.
3. Put in the chopped tomatoes and saute for 5-7 minutes, until they soften, yet retain their shape.
4. Slide all the contents of the wok on to a plate and cool for 15 minutes.
5. Once cooled, place the contents into a mixer along with coriander leaves and salt and grind to a smooth paste.
6. Check for salt and adjust.

Ingredients:

• 100 gms. surti papdi, stringed, whole
• 100 gms. raw banana chunks unpeeled
• 100 gms. yam chunks (kand) peeled
• 100 gms. small brinjals slit
• 4-5 green chillies crushed
• 1 tsp. ginger grated
• 1/2 tsp. garlic crushed
• 1 tbsp. coriander leaves finely chopped
• 1 tsp. wheat flour
• 4 tbsp. oil
• 1/4 tsp. asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. ajwain
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tbsp. sugar
• lemon to taste

For methi ghatta:

• 100 gms. methi leaves finely chopped
• 1/2 cup gram flour (besan)
• 1 tsp. red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp. fresh ground coconut
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp. oil

For ghatta:

1. Mix all ingredients, make stiff dough.
2. Form into small oval, dumplings
3. Heat 4 tbsp. oil in a heavy large sauce pan, fry ghattas for 2 minutes.
4. Remove from oil. Keep aside.
5. Form a paste of chilli, ginger, garlic, coriander.
6. Rub the chunky veggies with oil and masala paste.
7. Marinate for 30minutes.

Method:

1. Heat oil used for frying ghattas to proceed.
2. Add all the chunky vegetables, stir well.
3. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes.
4. Add papdi, turmeric, flour, ajwain and salt.
5. Cover and cook on low till the yam is almost done.
6. Add coriander, lemon, and sprinkle some water if required.
7. Add sugar, stir.
8. Serve hot with paratha or puri.