Home Garden Swiss Chard and Zucchini Dal

Dal ('dhaal') in India stands not just for the dry split pulses/grams but also for the dishes cooked using these pulses. Moong dal ("mung beans" in Asian stores) cooked with spices and veggies is a favorite accompaniment to rotis and rice.

The first home garden zucchini was ready to be harvested one weekend.

Home-garden rainbow Swiss chard leaves were crisp and sprightly as well.

The two naturally came together to make an amazingly simple yet satisfyingly sumptuous dal.


Ingredients
1 cup dry moong dal
1 medium zucchini, cut into bite-sized chunks
10-12 rainbow chard leaves, stem included, chopped
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 medium yellow onion, diced finely
1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 jalapeño, diced
1 Tbsp curry powder
salt to taste
1 lime
1 Tbsp ghee (or coconut oil)
cilantro and scallions for garnish

Preparation

1. Pressure cook the moong dal to mush; if pressure cooker is not handy, cook in a saucepan till moong dal is soft and squishy
2. Heat oil in a pan, add the onions, ginger, jalapeño, turmeric powder and a pinch of salt, sauté
3. Add the zucchini and chard and sauté some more till zucchini is cooked 
4. Stir in the cooked mush dal, taste and adjust flavors, cover and simmer adding a splash of water as needed 
5. Off heat, squeeze the juice of half a lime, stir well, taste and add more lime juice as needed

Beets and Purple Carrot with Brown Rice, Barley, Mung Bean Cutlets

What to do with leftovers might be a troublesome prospect for some. It happens to be quite an exciting enterprise for me.

About 1½ cups of stuffing for the Stuffed Kohlrabi in Coconut Sauce was leftover (on purpose). Also, some purple carrots and beets and red cabbage were handy. That's how these loaded Beets and Purple Carrot with Brown Rice, Barley, Mung Bean Cutlets came about.

Ingredients
1½ cups Barley, Brown Rice, Mung Bean prepared as shared in Stuffed Kohlrabi recipe
1½ cups combined grated purple carrots, beets, red cabbage, lightly sauteed with salt
¼ cup coconut flour
¼ cup fine corn meal
Up to 1 cup all purpose flour (a little at a time, as needed)
salt to taste
oil as needed

2 to 3 cups of Panko seasoned bread crumbs

Preparation

1. Combine the sauteed purple carrots, red cabbage and beets with the brown rice+barley+mung-bean filling
2. Add the corn meal and coconut flour and stir till incorporated
3. Add some all purpose flour, a little at a time, to make a thick dough-like batter that can be shaped into golf ball sized spheres
4. Have the Panko breadcrumbs hand on a plate
5. Heat a pan to medium high
6. Press each dough ball into the breadcrumbs and flatten a little; also, press in breadcrumbs to the topside so that both surfaces are coated
7. Place gently on the hot pan and cook; flip and cook both sides till breadcrumbs get crisp and golden and the cutlets hold together
8. Serve warm with favorite chutneys, including Green Papaya, Green Mango, Kohlrabi Chutney

Sprouted Moong Bean Salad

I like sprouting beans and seeds - something magical about the way the shoots emerge, reaffirming the beauty of life.

Last week I sprouted some moong beans (aka green gram). Very simple method, nothing fancy - it has worked for me so far, so, I stick to it:
--Soak the whole green moong beans for an hour or so in lukewarm water.
--Drain.
--Place in a canning jar
--Cover the jar with a piece of cheesecloth (or any thin porous cotton fabric, or netting fabric) to allow breathing, and screw the ring on the jar
--Rinse once a day and leave it in a cool dark place for a few days
--Voila!


Sprouted moong beans can be refrigerated and used for about 5-7 days. I like to add a handful to salads and vegetable dishes for the crunch and nutrition.

Ingredients:
1 cup sprouted moong beans
2 cups grated carrot
1-2 green chilies chopped fine
3-4 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup diced raw green mango (optional)
salt to taste

tempering:
1 Tbsp chana dal
1 Tbsp urad dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
4-5 fresh curry leaves (optional)
1 Tbsp oil for tempering

Preparation:

1. heat oil in a smallish pan/ladle till the oil starts to shimmer; add the tempering: chana dal first, when it turns golden brown, add urad dal and when it is golden brown, add mustard seeds; keep a screen lid handy as mustard seeds will try to jump out of the pan; when mustard seeds splutter and die down, off heat add the curry leaves and set aside
2. combine all the salad ingredients; raw green mango adds a certain zing to this salad, so, if i have it handy, i just throw some in
3. adjust salt and lemon juice to taste; garnish with the tempering from step 1
4. serve cold or at room temperature, with roti or rice; or, simply enjoy it as a starter salad :-)

Alternately, just omit the carrots, sauté the sprouted moong beans and add lemon juice and salt to taste; garnish with the tempering and Ta-Da! Another healthy salad/side ready:


Sometime I just throw a handful in any of my curries or even in sambar to up the nutritional value.