green beans paruppusili

Paruppusili is a side-dish that has lentils added in a certain specific form to veggies of choice. Green beans paruppusili is the most popular at home, but, I also make capsicum paruppusili, snake beans paruppusili sometimes.

If making paruppurundai kozhambu, save some of the steamed lentil balls for this recipe. I usually make a largish batch of lentil balls, steam them, and freeze some for later use. Thaw in microwave when needed.

Ingredients:
4 2"-diameter steamed lentil balls, if handy
OR
(1 cup toor dal
2 dry red chilies
some water)
------------
salt to taste
1 package french cut frozen green beans (or fresh green beans cut into desired size/shape, or capsicum...)
2 Tbsp oil
tempering: 1 tsp mustard seeds

Preparation:

1. to make lentil balls: soak the toor dal and dry red chilies in water for about an hour; drain, grind it to a thick paste; shape into 2" diameter balls; steam them and set aside


2. steam the green beans till almost done; set aside


3. heat oil in a non-stick pan; add the tempering: when mustard seeds pop and die down, crumble the lentil balls and add them to the pan; stir fry till it gets slightly crispy and golden


4. add the steamed green beans to the pan, stir till well incorporated; adjust salt to taste


5. serve warm with roti, or, rice and rasam

Adai Dosai

Adai is a thick pan cake made of fermented dal (lentils) batter usually, and some times made just out of rice ("verum arisi adai"). Dosai is usually thinner crepe type dish made with rice and urad dal. Adai-Dosai is sort of a combination of the two - uses dals like for adai, but is a thinner batter and hence ends up more like a dosai.

My wee one started liking dosai a lot since she turned one. So, I try to make dosai or adai-dosai batter once a week; this way she gets enough protein and fiber. The fermented batter from this recipe is usually about 1.5-2 gallons in volume and lasts a whole week for me. I save the unused batter in the fridge and use it on and off over the course of the week.

I try to make different shapes of adai-dosai rather than the traditional round form just to entertain my little one - picture above shows my attempt at a bear :-) It was quite rewarding to hear Ms.Little Tiny saying, "Doh-say- bay" (dosai bear) when I set the above plate in front of her this morning.

This recipe here is sort of made up - I wanted to incorporate as many ingredients as I have handy and I feel is healthy. Each time I make the batter, I vary the proportions a bit just to get a slightly different mix.

Also, in winter, I prefer to use yeast to make the batter rise and ferment well overnight; alternately, the batter can be left for a few days to gather the natural yeast from its environment and take its own sweet time to ferment...

Ingredients:
1 cup urad dal
1 cup whole green moong dal
1 cup chana dal
1 cup par-boiled rice(puzhungal arisi, or idlee arisi)
2 cups toor dal
3 Tbsp fenugreek seeds
3 Tbsp flax seeds
3 Tbsp poppy seeds - optional
6-8 dry red chilies
1 tsp rapid rise yeast
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some water
some oil
salt to taste
1 medium onion diced finely (optional)

Preparation:

1. soak all the above adai batter ingredients, except yeast, in enough water for 4-6 hours; grind into a fine batter; add the yeast and leave it in a warm place to rise overnight or up to 16 hrs.
2. the batter usually gets fluffy and rises well as in picture above
3. scoop 4-6 ladleful of the fermented batter into a bowl, add the onions, some salt, and a little water at a time to make a pourble batter of sorts - like the consistency of a medium-thin pancake batter
4. heat a non-stick pan or griddle; use a touch of oil to ensure that the adai-dosai lifts off the pan without struggle
5. scoop a ladleful of the prepared batter and spread/draw it into desired shape on the hot pan; or just spread them into simple circular form
6. leave pan in uniform medium-high heat; when underside seems done, flip carefully and cook the other side
7. serve warm with mint chutney or ridge gourd peel chutney or sambar or paruppurundai kozhambu
8. traditionally, my mom used to serve this with sugar & ghee, or jaggery or both:)

Fermented Adai batter is quite a sight - and smell - a pleasant sour smell when perfect, can turn to putrid if left too long :)

Paruppu Urundai Kozhambu

This is a kozhambu (kuzhambu) aka stew my mom makes when she runs out of fresh seasonal veggies to make sambar with and needs to make something healthy.

Paruppu=Lentils; Urundai = round/ball.

Kuzhambu is a spicy sauce-dish from South India which can be made with practically any of the lentils, grams and vegetables common to the region, and is typically served with plain hot rice.

So, instead of veggies, this kuzhambu has lentil balls. Toor dal is soaked and ground to a fine paste, shaped into balls, steamed and boiled in kozhambu spices to make this delicious dish, usually had with plain rice.

I reserve some of the steamed lentil balls for another dish called 'paruppusili' which can be made with veggies like snake beans, bunch beans, capsicum etc.



Ingredients

for lentil balls:
1 cup toor dal
3 dry red chilies
3 cups water

tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp urad dal
2-3 curry leaves chopped
1 Tbsp canola oil

for kozhambu:
4 Tbsp tamarind concentrate
4 cups water
1/2 tsp asafoetida (optional)
1 Tbsp oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp coriander powder
1 Tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp cornstarch (for thickening)
salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Lentil balls: soak the toor dal and dry red chilies in water for 30 mins; drain well; grind to a thick fine paste so as to be able to shape them into balls; add some salt to taste; shape them into balls about 2 inches in diameter; steam them till they are firm and cooked; set aside
2. heat oil in a pot, add the onions, asafoetida, pinch of salt and coriander+cumin powders; sauté well
3. add water, tamarind paste and brown sugar and let it come to a boil; lower the heat, add the steamed lentil balls one by one - as many as you'd like in the stew - gently into the pot and let them simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes or so
   
4. if it seems too watery, thicken with cornstarch: dissolve the cornstarch in a few Tbsp of water and slowly add it to the simmering pot and stir well till thickened; adjust salt to taste
5. in a small ladle or pan, get the tempering ready: heat oil in a pan, when the oils shimmers, add the urad dal, when they turn golden brown, add the mustard seeds, and when they pop and die down add the cumin seeds and curry leaves, off heat, set aside
6. when lentil balls seem to have absorbed the flavorful spices and feel like a loaded sponge, off heat, garnish with tempering, serve warm with basmati rice
   

chayote squash koottu

Chayote squash is generally bland and watery and doesn't seem to have much of a strong flavor of its own. So, to me, it is ideal for using in several different dishes combined with different spices. I like its texture when cooked.

I grew up calling it chou-chou and loved the various dishes my mom made with it - like chou-chou more-kozhambu(aka more-kali), more-koottaan, chou-chou koottu, even chou-chou sambar.

The koottu recipe here is adapted from one of my favorite cook books for south indian foods: Dakshin by Chandra Padmanaban. This book is a gift from my husband and I treasure it because when the recipes are followed closely, they come out pretty tasty - sort of like how my mom makes them.



Koottu, to me, sort of refers to the gravy in the dish which is made with specific ingredients: if it has lentils and certain ingredients which i list below, then it is a Koottu :-) The vegetable in the koottu can be substituted for other seasonal vegetables - for instance, chayote squash in this recipe can be substituted with say, ridge gourd or ash gourd or yam or snake gourd and still have a delicious koottu.

Ingredients
for the spice paste:
2/3 cup dry(or fresh) grated coconut
7-8 dry red chilies (less, if you prefer)
1 Tbsp urad dal
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
2 Tbsp par-boiled rice (puzhungal arisi)

2 cups cooked toor dal
3-4 cups diced chayote squash (or any other vegetable in season)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp brown sugar (optional)
salt to taste
2 Tbsp canola oil
some water
6-8 curry leaves*

tempering:
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp mustard seeds

Preparation

1. dry roast the spice paste ingredients and when cool enough to handle grind them to a fine paste with just a tad bit of water to get them all together; set aside
2. heat oil in a pan, add the tempering: chana dal first, when it turns golden brown, 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
   
3. when mustard seeds splutter and die down, add the diced chayote squash, turmeric powder, curry leaves, some salt and some water; cover and let the chayote squash cook till soft
4. add the spice paste from step 1, and the cooked toor dal, brown sugar; stir well and let it simmer for about 5-8 mins till the flavors meld; add a little water if the gravy seems too thick; adjust salt to taste
   
5. off heat garnish with curry leaves; serve warm with rice or roti or naan.

* Curry Leaves are sort of special and I love to incorporate them into my cooking. When I was growing up in India, I noticed many of my friends and family sort of pick it out of their food and throw it away. What a waste. I have not found any substitute for the wonderful flavor they impart, and they are certainly not equivalent to bay leaves. Curry leaf chutney or thohayal is one of my favorite ways of getting all its goodness.

rava onion dosai

Traditional dosai batter requires soaking, grinding, fermenting; but, this rava onion dosai batter is sort of quick to make and keeps for a day or two in the fridge.

Ingredients
2 cups sooji rava, dry roasted to a light brown color
1 cup rice flour
1 cup all purpose flour (or, maida)
1 cup finely minced onions
4 Tbsp chopped curry leaves and cilantro (optional)
3 green chilies finely chopped (optional)
salt to taste (say about 1 Tbsp, more or less)
3 cups water (more or less)
oil as needed

tempering (optional) :
heat 1 Tbsp oil in a pan, add 1 tsp mustard seeds and 1/2 tsp cumin seeds; when mustard seeds spatter, remove from heat and add it to the rava onion dosai batter, stir well.

Preparation

1. combine all the ingredients, except water, in a bowl
2. add a little water at a time and start kneading into a dough; gradually add more water and stir or knead well till there are no lumps and a fairly thin batter is formed
3. heat a non-stick pan on medium, pour about 1/2 cup of batter and swirl it around till it forms a thin layer
4. when bottom side is cooked, flip and cook the other side of the dosai
5. brush the pan with oil as needed to ensure dosai lifts off the pan without struggle
6. rava onion dosai is a soft crepe type dish, it usually does not get very crisp and is best eaten hot
7. serve warm with mint chutney, or coconut chutney, or even 'dosai milagai podi' (a versatile lentil+spices powder)

Green Tomato Dal (Koottu)

With the cold setting in, our vegetable garden is withering, so, we had to harvest all the green tomatoes. I have not found green tomatoes sold in stores (tomatillos aplenty, of course), but, maybe I haven't been looking in the right stores...

"Dal" (dhaal) in general is a wonderful side or main dish, served with rotis or rice, or eaten as a soup by itself. Dal dishes can be made with either moong dal or toor dal, although moong is my favorite. I love the versatility and heartiness of moong dal.

"Koottu" is a south indian term referring to a certain style of making sides - while this recipe is strictly not a traditional koottu, I use the terms dal and koottu interchangeably as my method of preparation of each sort of overlap.

Instead of green tomato, any suitable vegetable can be used to make this koottu/dal: i like opo squash, chayote squash, red ripe tomatoes, ash gourd, bottle gourd, ridge gourd, or even tomatillos as alternatives.


Ingredients
2 cups dry split yellow moong dal (not the whole green moong)
2-3 medium green tomatoes,cut into chunks
1 medium yellow onion,diced
3-4 green chilies, finely chopped
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves

2 Tbsp cilantro/coriander leaves for garnish
2 Tbsp fresh or bottled lemon juice
3 Tbsp grated coconut (dry or fresh)*

1 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder (optional)
2 Tbsp oil
salt to taste
water as needed

for tempering
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp split (dehusked) urad dal - optional
*can be omitted without seriously compromising the outcome

Preparation

1. pressure cook the moong dal, or just boil 6 cups of water and add the moong dal and let it cook till it gets mushy; set aside
2. heat oil in cooking pot, when oil starts shimmering, add the tempering - urad dal first, and when it starts turning light brown, add the mustard seeds, then cumin seeds; mustard seeds will spatter, keep a screen lid handy and cover the pot, turn the heat down if needed so as not to burn the tempering
3. when spattering dies down, add the chilies, ginger and onions, a little salt, turmeric, asafoetida and sautee; the smell of ginger and onion sauteeing after the tempering is very appetizing
4. then add the green tomato chunks, a little water, cover and let it cook till green tomatoes are a little soft
5. add the cooked moong dal, coconut, more water if it is too thick or dry, adjust salt to taste and cover and simmer till green tomatoes are well done, but not mushy, and the dal has the consistency of a thick soup
6. off heat stir in lemon juice and garnish with cilantro leaves
7. serve warm with basmati rice, or roti, assorted indian achar (pickle) or pappadam
8. alternately, cook the dal with more water so it has a hearty soup consistency and just have it as a soup - makes a great filling, healthy dinner on cold winter nights

dosai : rice crepes

There are quite a few variations of dosai and i hope to be posting a few of them over the next few weeks... this is one of my favorite 'tiffin'/snack items.

This recipe here involves soaking, grinding and fermenting rice and urad dal - which is the traditional recipe i learnt from my mom. Some other recipes using other methods and ingredients like semolina are quicker - like rava dosai, maida dosai etc. and i hope to be sharing them here soon.

Ingredients
for dosai:
1 cup urad dal (de-husked, i.e., black skin removed)
4 cups parboiled rice (sometimes sold as 'puzhungal arisi' in indian stores)*
water as needed
salt to taste
oil for greasing the pan

*i've tried basmati rice, and jasmine rice instead and they do turn out alright for home-made dosai, but, i prefer puzhungal arisi whenever it is available

Preparation

1. soak urad dal and rice separately for about 4 hours; i've tried soaking for 6-8 hrs or even overnight, and didn't find a significant difference in how the dosai turned out eventually; however it might make a difference in helping the grinding process - when soaked longer, many standard blenders handle grinding better than otherwise
2. drain the water, grind urad dal in wet grinder (or heavy-duty blender) and let it get soft and fluffy (usually i let it run for about 30-35 mins in the wet grinder); set aside in a large-ish bowl
   
3. then drain and grind the rice as well, and add it to the bowl with the ground urad dal; use very little water for grinding, preferably leave the batter thick and sort of sticky
   
4. cover the bowl and leave it in a warm place for several hours or overnight till it ferments well - you can smell the sourness (sort of like sourdough smell) and notice the rise in the dough/batter; i've found that fermentation makes a difference in taste and texture of dosai
   
5. when ready to make the dosai, stir the batter thoroughly, scoop a few ladles out onto a separate bowl, add a little water at a time to get to a pouring consistency, add some salt to taste - experiment with this 'diluted' batter's consistency till you find the best one that helps spread the batter evenly and without struggle;
   
6. heat a non-stick pan or griddle, pour about half a cup of dosai batter and spread it around to form a nice round shape; when underside seems done (the sides usually start lifting from the pan), flip the dosai and cook the other side
7. i've found the need to grease the non-stick pan between dosais to help them come off the pan without much struggle; also, i save the thick fermented dough/batter as-is in the fridge for later use; i find this more convenient than diluting the whole batch of fermented dough/batter and saving it for later
   
8. serve warm dosai with mint chutney, or coconut thogayal and sambar