Chana Dal Tadka

March 30, 2009 · By Deepthi Shankar · Filed Under Dal Fare, Lunch/Dinner, News, Side Dishes · Comment

Ever since I’ve hurt my finger, I am getting showered with attention. I am enjoying this quite a bit. Getting hurt doesn’t suck so much after all

I haven’t been doing much in the kitchen lately. Shankar made this lip smacking Dal Tadka for me yesterday & he insisted that I post it. So, here I am typing with just one finger.

I was never such a big fan of Chana Dal. I barely experiment with it. I had Chana Dal Tadka for the first time at an Indian restaurant in Paris.

While we were holidaying in Paris, we were starved beyond words, & were craving for some authentic Indian stuff. For how long can you eat Croissants & Baguettes afterall? When, we found a nice little Indian restaurant & I just couldn’t wait to lay my hands on some lovely Rice & Dal Tadka. The restaurant had limited options for the vegetarians & they only served only chana dal. I had no choice but to opt for it & thought I wasn’t going to like it one bit.

When the waiter served, Dal Tadka, It looked really bland & had no traces of either onions or tomatoes or any other seasoning.
(I gave him a stare as though I am the Czarina of Indian Cuisine, implying that one can’t just whip up something in an alien country & serve it as authentic Indian Stuff. )

But I was sooo terribly wrong. The dal tasted great & had an amazing texture. It was actually more than perfect. Yes, I ate one of the best Dal Tadkas in Paris. And, I knew that I was going to recreate this at home some day.

We got together to guessing what all might have gone into the Dal & I think we got most of it.

Here’s how it was made,

You Will Need:

1 1/2 cups Chana Dal
1 red onion - chopped
2 tomatoes - chopped
2 green chillies
2 green cardamoms
2 cloves
A small stick of cinnamon
A handful of cashewnuts
A small piece of ginger
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 dry red chilli - broken
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp red chilli powder
cilantro for garnish
2 tsp oil
1 tsp desi ghee

Method:

Soak chana dal in water for about 15 minutes & pressure cook the dal until completely cooked. See to it that the dal does not get mushy & retains its shape
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan & add slit green chillies, cardamoms, cloves & cinnamon. Saute for about 20 seconds.
Add chopped onions & saute till they turn transpatent. Add turmeric, red chilli powder & tomatoes & cook until oil separates & tomatoes turn pulpy
Switch off the stove & allow it to cool. Once cool, grind this along with ginger & cashewnuts.
Heat oil in a pan & add cooked chana dal & the ground paste & bring it to a boil. Add water to get the desired consistency. Add salt as per taste.
Temper with cumin seeds & broken red chilli. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro.

This one was really close to the one we had in Paris & enjoyed it quite a bit. The spices were mild & cashews added their bit of sweetness & gave a nice creamy consistency to the dal. I loved the texture & taste of chana dal too.

All the credit goes to Shankar for patiently listening to me on how to got about the whole thing & creating some lovely comfort food.

Hope you guys are going to try this too.

NOTE: While grinding the ingredients, we let a few rustic pieces of onions & tomatoes remain, since we like biting into tiny bits of veggies. But you could grind it into a smooth paste as well.

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Ugadi Wishes !!!

March 26, 2009 · By Deepthi Shankar · Filed Under General · 1 Comment

Ugadi/Gudi Padva wishes to all !!!

May your New Year bring New Beginnings . . . And, loads of

Love & Happiness . . .

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Chettinad Vegetable Biryani

March 22, 2009 · By Deepthi Shankar · Filed Under Lunch/Dinner, Rice Dishes · Comment

As every food enthusiast would probably do, I have about 3 -4 versions of making a Biryani, the Chettinad variety being a recent additon to my ever expanding palette.

Chettinad Cuisine offers some really fiery & ultra spicy combination of spices which takes on a whole new dimension & makes you relish every bit of it. I bet, this will leave you asking for more.

I discovered this in the unlikeliest of places, Goa. Not so long ago, we were holidaying in Goa & we went to this small little restaurant by the beach. After gorging on junk food all day, I really was in mood for some rice. Not expecting too much, I ordered Chettinad Veg Biryani, thinking Goa wouldn’t be a place for Chettinad cuisine. And, Boy how wrong could I be? The Biryai looked & smelled gorgeous & tasted great. That was my first ever brush with Chettinad cuisine.

I really wasn’t into serious cooking back then, so I forgot all about it. I wanted to try this out ever since I statred this blog.

Here it is, very close to the one I had in Goa but quite not the same, nevertheless a yummy one ..

This list of ingredients is a little long, but its well worth the efforts.

Hope you guys enjoy this as much as we did

You Will Need:

Basmati Rice - 1 1/2 cups
2 red onions chopped finely
3 tomatoes - blanched & pureed
1 carrot - cut into thin sticks
1 potato - peeled & cut into thin sticks
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 green bell pepper - chopped
1/2 cup green peas - fresh/frozen
2 green chillies - slit lengthwise
2 bay leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp Garam masala
Salt as per taste
2 tbsp Desi ghee/oil
Chopped cilantro/fresh coriander - for garnish
2 tsp lemon juice

To Grind:

1 small red onion
2 tbsp grated coconut - fresh/frozen
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
4-5 dry red chillies
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds/saunf
A small stick of cinnamon
4 cloves
4-5 black peppercorns
4 green cardamoms
1 star anise

Method:

Clean Basmati rice in sevefral changes of water. Drain & keep aside for about 15 minutes. Heat a tsp of ghee in a frying pan & fry the rice till fragrant. This takes about a minute. Pressure cook rice or cook on stove top with water in the proportion of 1:1 or 1:1.25 depending on the quality of rice, such that each grain is separate. Set aside & allow it to cool completely.
Grind all the ingredients mentioned in the list into a smooth paste adding little water.
Heat Ghee in a large wok, add cumin seeds, bay leaves, turmeric powder & green chillies. allow them to sizzle & add chopped onions. Fry onions till they turn pink.
Add chopped carrots, potatoes & saute for a while. When half done add cauliflower florets, bell peppers & green peas one by one until cooked. The vegetables should retain their crunch.
Add pureed tomatoes & bring the mixture to a boil. Add lemon juice & salt as per taste.
Add rice & Garam Masala & fluff with fork & garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve with any Raita of your choice. Enjoi !!!

NOTE: You can even add store bought Chettinad Masala powder instead of grinding the ingridients. Blend onion, grated coconut & the store bought masala into a paste & you will be good to go.

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