Pindi Chana

The weather is such an important component of any inane conversation in this country. Any meeting with my boss starts with a ten minute monologue about the weather interspersed with tentative interjections from the rest of us. Yes, I know its raining, you know it’s raining, and is an admission of the same going to change anything?

Anyhow, so it has been raining and with not much to do during this weekend, it might be a great time to make something hearty and spicy. Here is a recipe of Pindi Chana which I made a while ago. I like it with a rich bread like puri or naan. I personally like my Pindi Chana without onion, tomato, and garlic – and a dash of ghee at the end. I like to use dried pomegranate seeds and dried mango to flavor the Chana. I like to use whole spices and I use ginger. What I love about this dish is the taste of ghee and spices, with no garlic and onion to obliterate this taste. It is rich and tastes like something you would find at a sweet shop and not a restaurant. Not to imply that the dish is sweet, the flavors are mild and the absence of onion and garlic imparts a very clean flavor.

1 ½ cup Kabuli Chana- soak overnight and pressure cook with a tea bag.
2 green chilies - slit
1” inch ginger piece julienned
1 Tbsp ghee
Pinch of asfoetida

Whole Masala

• 1 bay leaf
• 1 black cardamom
• 2 green cardamoms
• 1 tspn cumin seeds
• 5 black peppercorns
• 1 small piece of cinnamon

Powder Masala

• Coriander powder
• Turmeric
• Salt
• Red chilly powder
• Dried Mango powder
• Dried Pomegranate seeds



1. Take some ghee in a pan. Add the asfoetida and whole maslala. Wait till it splutters.
2. Mix the powder in some water. Add to the mixture. Roast for a while.
3. Add the chana, ginger, and green chilies.
4. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, adjusting some water to prevent burning.
5. When done garnish with chopped coriander and 1 tbsp ghee.

I like to garnish it with fresh mint leaves as well. You could substitute the dried mango powder with tamarind if you like; this will also give the dish a sweet edge.You can also add boiled potatoes to the mix.

Bengal Gram Curry

And India won today at cricket on 24the March. We beat the Australians, ending their world cup hegemony. I was so pleased that I told my partner to try me as nothing would upset me, although, he was also reminded not to push his luck. I am looking forward to the semi-final, the India Pakistan game, or the third world war. I was in high spirits and I decided to end the day with some nice spicy lentil curry. My pantry always has dried beans, and as long as you have tomatoes and spices, you can always whip up something hearty. Chickpeas are very versatile legumes. You have the Bengal gram which I refer to as “Kala Channa,” garbanzo beans which I refer to as “Kabuli Chana,” and the yellow split legume known as “Chana dal,” It is easy to find garbanzo beans in a tinned or dry form; however, the other two are only available at Indian grocery stores. Garbanzo beans can be made in various ways; the two most popular versions being “Cholay”or “Chana Masala,” with gravy, and “Pindi Chana,” which is dry and does not include the ubiquitous combination of onions and tomatoes. Bengal Gram or Kala Chana can also be made dry and goes well with “Puris.” However, this recipe is spicy and has gravy, and works well with rice and yoghurt. I personally like the beans with heavy spices; the beans are quite robust on their own the meatiness of the beans contrasts very well with a spicy gravy or dry spices. I made this curry yesterday, and I quite liked the balance of flavors as compared to my previous efforts.

! ½ cup of Bengal Gram soaked over night
2 cloves garlic
1” piece ginger
2 green chilies
2 tspn Chana masala
1 tspn coriander
½ tspn turmeric
1 large onion
Cumin seeds
Two tomatoes
salt

1.
2. Blend the following - tomatoes, green chilies, ginger, and garlic.
3. Chop the onions finely. Heat the oil, add the cumin seeds, when they splutter add the onions. Fry the onions till they are brown. This is important for the color and depth of the dish.
4. Add the tomato blend. Keep sautéing. When the mixture is almost a paste add the spices.
5. Now add some water and the Bengal Gram.
6. Let the mixture simmer for 15 minutes. Adjust water and salt.

Daal Makhani

I must admit, it took me a while to making this daal. I was always intimidated by the copious amounts of butter the recipe required. After improvising, substituting and experimenting, I concluded that there was no substitute to the butter. Either swallow the bullet and make the daal the way it should be, or just make a tepid version but then don’t call it daal makhani. I do however try to get maximum bang for my buck by adding the butter at the very end. This requires less butter than actually using it when you cook the ginger, garlic and tomatoes.
The quantity of tomatoes makes all the difference. This recipe calls for five tomatoes and the result is a creamy tangy reddish daal. However, you can get a meatier taste if you ease on tomatoes but that would be a different daal all together.


1 cup black whole urad
1/3 cup rajma
1/3 cup black chana

Soak the above dals overnight. In a pressure cook, steam for 1-2 whistles with salt and water.

Blend the following together

5 tomatoes
5 fat cloves of garlic
1 “piece of ginger
Two green chillies

Take some oil in a wok. When it is hot add cumin seeds. After they splutter add the tomato paste and reduce it till it is pulpy and thick. Should take 15- 20 mins. After around 10 minutes, add red chilly powder, turmeric, and coriander powder.

Now add the daal.

Cook for another 10 minutes, adjusting for water and salt. Add ½ cup of cream and garam masala. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add ½ stick of butter and 2 tbspn kasoori methi.
Garnish with coriander
If you are serving the next day , you could take some butter in a pan and melt it. Add a pinch of red chilly powder. When the powder sizzles, pour over the daal.

Chane ki kadi

Pressure cook some black chana daal with salt. Drain out the excess water and mash coarsely.

In a container, take some yoghurt. Add some besan, dhania powder, salt, green chillies, garam masala, salt, red chilly powder.

In a pan take some ghee. Add some rai and zeera. Add the yogurt mixture and the chana. Cokk till besan loses the raw taste. Garnish with dhania.

Panchmel Daal

This is a daal more common to Rajasthan and goes well with baati. I still have to get my baati, or baked wheat dense bread right, but the daal turned out fine. The fried aamchoor or dried mango powder gives the daal, its tangy taste and golden color. I use equal portions of the split daals. I use my pressure cooker and boil these daals till the pressure cooker whistles once, and then I let the daals steam in the cooker for awhile. This is the perfect texture for me, since the daal is cooked and not mushy yet.

Take all the split daals in the pantry. I used arhar, chana, urad, mooong, masoor. Pressure cook with salt till you hear a whistle.

In a small pan take some oil. Add one bay leaf and zeera,and saute the spices till they splutter. Now add red chilli powder, coriander powder, and some aamchoor to the oil. Sauté a bit and add to the daal. Add some garam masala and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve with Baati.

cholay-

2 cups of choley soaked overnight
tamarind
2 bags of black tea
1 tomatoe
garlic
ginger
haldi
channa masala
dhania
zeera
heeng
red chilly powder
garam masala
anardana
salt

Pressure cook - garbanzo beans, tea leaves, haldi, salt, coriander
Grind the following together - half a cup of cooked garbanzo beans, ginger, garlic, tomatoe
Oil- zeera, mixture, spices, anardana, add garbanzo beans
When nearly done add imli and garam masala. Bring to a boil. Done.

Moong Palak – Mug Dal with Spinach

1. In a pressure cooker add 1 ½ cup mug dal, 5 cups of water, ½ bag of baby spinach, ½ tspn turmeric, 1 tspn coriander powder, 1 ½ tspn salt and 1 tspn red chilly powder.
2. Turn the heat on high and wait for 1 whistle.
3. Turn off pressure cooker and wait for 15 minutes.
4. In a small sauce pan, add some oil. Add 2 pinches of asafetida and 1 tspn cumin seeds to the hot oil, Wait for the seeds to splutter.
5. Add 1 tbspn dried mango powder to the oil.
6. Add the oil to the dal.
7. Add 1 tbsp garam masala to dal.
8. Bring to a boil.

Choley Palak - Garbanzo and Spinach Curry

Soak 2 cups of dried garbanzo beans overnight. If you plan to use canned beans, wash the beans very thoroughly to get rid of the sodium.
Wash and chop ½ bag of spinach. Use baby spinach if you have some handy. You can also increase the spinach to 2 cups.
Pressure cook the soaked garbanzo beans and spinach till you hear six whistles.
If you are using canned beans, just sauté the spinach for 10 minutes and add the garbanzo beans.
Blend 1 tomato, 4 cloves of garlic and a 1” piece of ginger.
Chop one onion finely.
In a pan take 2 tbspn oil. When the oil is hot, add 2 bay leaves and 1 tspn cumin seeds.
When the seeds splutter add the onions. Fry till golden brown.
Add the tomatoes. After 1 minute add 2 tspns coriander powder, ½ tspn turmeric, and 1 tspn cumin powder. Reduce the tomatoes to a paste till the mixture is deep in color and oozes out oil. You can also 1 tspn paprika if you like heat.
Add the garbanzo beans and spinach. Sauté for a minute.
Add about 2 cups water. Add salt to taste, around 1 ½ tspn should be fine.
Add 1 tbspn dried mango powder (aamchoor).
Simmer the curry for 10-15 minutes.
Adjust water and salt. Shut the flame.
Adjust the acidity. If you want a tangier flavor add more dried mango powder.
When done add 1 tspn garam masala (use the MDH brand) and 1 ½ tbspn dried fenugreek leaves (Kasoori methi). The fenugreek leaves look like weed. You should crush them between your palms and add them.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Bengali Dal

I am always looking at ways to vary my dal. And then I stumbled on a recipe which seasons the dal with panch phoron. Panch phoron, a spice mixture commonly used in Bengali cooking, is made by mixing equal parts of fennel seeds (saunf), mustard seeds (rai), nigella seeds (kalonji), cumin seeds (zeera), and fenugreek seeds (methi). This dal was replete with flavors I was so unaccustomed to. The fennel seeds give the dal a unique simple flavor and pairs up with the tangy dried mango powder so well.

The spice mixture is a colorful medley- black nigella, green fennel, golden fenugreek, brown cumin and mustard. The spice mixture is fried in oil to release the aroma and the seeds are allowed to pop. This spice mixture should also work with spinach, potatoes, and other lentils.


1 cup channa dal
3 cups water
1 tbspn dried mango powder
2 dried red chillies
1/2 tspn turmeric powder
1 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn salt
1 tbspn panch phoron
1 tspn fennel seeds

1. Pressure cook the channa dal with water, salt, turmeric, and coriander powder.
2. In a small pan heat some oil. Add the panch phoron and fennel seeds. Wait till they splutter.
3. Add the red chilies after breaking them open.
4. Add the fried mango powder.
5. Add the oil and spice mixture to dal.
6. Garnish with coriander.

Channs- Mountain Urad Dal

Channs or Chansoo is a popular Kumaoni dish which is very different from any other dal preparation in India. Kumaon is part of the Himalayan region of India and the cuisine is characterized by lots of green vegetables, lentils, and almost no dairy. Kumaonis typically do not use much onion but the food is garlic and chilly heavy. In certain dishes, the lentils are cooked for hours on the high mountains, and the people just use the broth and throw away the solid lentil after absorbing every ounce of teh lentil flavor. Channs does bring back old memories , and is chraracterized by roasting the lentil before grinding it into a powder. The lentil used is the ubiquitious whole black urad which is the main ingredient of daal makhani and daal pakhtooni, however is different in the channs. The problem with making Kumaoni food is that the ingredients particularly some lentils and spices are native and impossible to find elsewhere. However, this is one of the few recipes where you can find all the ingredients in your kitchen.

1 cup whole black urad dal
2 red whole dried chillies
4 pinches of asfoetida
3 cups water
3 cloves garlic
1 tspn coriander powder
4 black peppercorns
1/2 tspn turmeric
2 tspn salt ( adjust for taste)
1 tspn cumin seeds
1 tspn garam masala

Instructions

1. Dry roast the dal on a low flame till you get a light aroma. Should take 5 minutes. Make sure daal is not burnt.
2. Now blend the dal, coriander powder, peppercorn, turmeric till you get a coarse powder.
3. Heat 2 tspn oil. Add asfoetida, Cumin seeds, garlic,and red chillies.
4. Add the dal powder, saute for 2 minutes.
5. Add the water and cook for 20-25 minutes till daal is soft.
6. Add garam masala.

Arhar - Masoor Dal

This is a very simple dal and is a combination of two of the most commonly used Indian lentils- Arhar and Masoor. Masoor is basically a pink lentil with a brown skin. Here we use the split skinless version , so the lentil looks like a pink hemisphere. Arhar aka Toor aka Tuvar aka Pigeon Pea is the most commonly used lentil throughout India. Whole Arhar is a yellow lentil with a green skin, and the split skinless version looks like a yellow hemisphere. The cooking time of both the lentils varies slightly, and so this recipe is a combination of soft masoor accentuated by the wholeness of the arhar. This daal h does not even need common spices like turmeric and coriander. It is seasoned lightly and then we add acidity by using a big heap of dried mango powder or aamchoor. A tip to remember while cooking any daal is that you must bring it to a boil after adding the souring agent. This adds consistency and gets rid of the rawness of the seasoning. So boil your daal after adding tamarind or dried mango powder or kokum.

1 cup Arhar Dal
2 cups split skinless Masoor Dal ( Pink lentil also known as Malka, this dal looks brown with a skin on it)
10 cups of water
4 tspn salt
3 thai green chillies
1 large onion
1 large tomato
1 tspn cumin seeds
2 pinches asfoetida
1 1/2 tbspn dried mango powder
1 tbspn oil

Instructions

1. Soak the daals for 2 hours.
2. Boil with the salt and 9 cups of water for 25 minutes. The masoor will be mushy while the arhar will retain a slight bite.
3. In a pan, add the oil. When hot add the asfoetida and cumin seeds and let it splutter. Add onions till they are translucent.
4. Now add tomatoe ( finely diced) and the chillies.
5. Cook for 5 minutes.
6. Add to the daal. Add the dried mango powder to the daal and brong to a boil.
7. Serve , garnished with coriander leaves.

Urad ki Daal- Black Lentil Stew

Urad dal is a rather heavy dal which is the key ingredient in the favorite 'Maa ki Daal' aka 'Dal Makhani'. The primary difference between that dal and this recipe is that, 'Dal Makhani' needs more tomatoes and butter. I have not used cream or butter in this recipe, however I have added some ghee which you can see in the picture below. I have also used half and half, thereby reducing the fat content. The same recipe for Dal Makhani would have used 1/2 cup of cream and at least 3 tbspn butter. Another way to make urad dal is a dal known as "Dal Pakhtooni' , which is basically just urad dal cooked with tomatoes and cream over a low heat.Make sure that you use a low flame, so the dal simmers in the spices.
When you buy the urad make sure you buy whole urad or sabut urad.



1 cup of whole urad
1/4 cup kidney bean ( rajmah)
1/4 cup bengal gram bean ( kala channa)
2 roma tomatoes
3 green chillies ( thai)
1 small onions ( or 1 medium one)
3 cloves of garlic
1 pinch of asfoetida
1" piece of ginger
salt
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tspn cumin powder
1 tspn turmeric
2 tspn garam masala
1 tspn dried mango powder ( aamchoor)
1 tspn kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tspn dried fenugreek leaves
1 tspn cumin seeds
1/2 cup half and half

Instructions

1. Soak the lentils over night. Next day either pressure cook till about 3 whistles or boil with water with salt till done. Add 1 tspn of salt so you season the lentils, but have enough room to adjust later.
2. Blend the tomatoes amd the green chillies. Chop the onions fine. Mash the garlic and the ginger.
3. In a pan add oil. Heat. Add asfoetida. Add cumin till it splutters and is light brown. Add the onions. Add the ginger and garlic. Cook till onions are light brown.
4. Add tomato mixture. Cook for a while . When tomato and onions look like a paste add coriander powder, turmeric, cumin powder, and chilli powder. Cook for a minute. Don't let the spices burn.
5. Now add to the lentils. Add water to the lentils.
6. Coook while mashing the lentils. Cook for approximately 20-25 minutes, while adding water when it reduces.
7. Adjust for salt. Add garam masala, dried mango powder, fenugreek, and half and half.
8. Shut the flame after a minute and serve with rice or naan.

Imli wali Sukhi Mung - Dry Mung with Tamarind

Ingredients

2 cups dry split green mung - Soak overnight
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
2 tbspn tamarind paste
1 tspn coriander powder
2 tspn salt
2 thai green chillies
1/2 tspn cumin seeds
1/2 tspn garam masala
1/2 tspn turmeric
1 tbspn oil

Instructions

1. Boil the mung with minimum water, coriander powder, salt, and turmeric powder.
2. Tamarind paste- 2 tbspn tamarind with a little water. Microwave on high while removing the fibre of the tamarind. Mash with a spoon till you get a paste.
3. Heat oil, add cumin seeds, onions, diced garlic.
4. Saute onions till golden.
5. Add the mung.
6. After 5 minutes add the garam masala and tamarind.
7. Cook for another 3 minutes.
8. Serve with chapati or parantha.

Rajmah - Kidney Bean Stew

The super ball is on and I decided to make my own special stew, closest to chilli, rajma. Rajmah is a beloved north indian dish, which is popular all over India, and is a constant presence on the menu of Indian restaraunts. It is typically served with rice , or it can be served with naan and paranthas if you make a thicker stew.
I used to make Rajmah with a more tomatoes in the gravy, however now I feel like going easy on the tomatoes. The gravy should not look red - you want a shade of brown for a more earthy and meaty taste. In the past I have tried to thicken the gravy by blending some of the beans and adding it to the gravy- bad call. It leaves a weird taste and takes so much more time to blend the taste of the mashed bean with your gravy.

Ingredients

2 cups of kidney beans - soak overnight and cook with salt till done, or pressure cook. The bean should be aldente.
2 small onions an
3 cloves of garlic
1' piece of garlic
1 medium tomato
2 thai green chillies
2 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn cumin powder
1/2 tspn turmeric
2 tspn salt
1 tspn garam masala

Instructions

1. In a mixer, puree the onions, garlic, and ginger.
2. Also puree the tomato and green chillies.
3. In a pan add oil and cumin seeds. When the seeds splutter add the onion mixture. Saute till golden
4. Add the tomato mixture till is resembles a thick paste and sweats oil.
5. Add the coriander powder, cumin, turmeric and roast for a minute.
6. Add the kidney beans cooked in their liquids.
7. Cook for 20 minutes and adjust the liquid according to the desired consistency.
8. Add salt and garam masala, when done.
9. Garnish with choppped coriander and scallions.

Khatti Arhar Daal- Pigeon Peas with Tamarind

Level of difficulty -Low

I got back from the East Coast yesterday after a white Christmas and San Francisco felt almost tropical in comparision. The year is almost over , it will be difficult to get used to writing the date with the year as 2009 till perhaps March.
Yellow lentils or Arhar Dal are the most popular lentils used all over India. There are many ways to make a comforting lentil stew. This recipe has a south indian twist to it and uses south indian ingredients like tamarind, mustard seeds, whole dried red chilli, curry leaves ( you can find these at any Indian store, you can buy a stalk and freeze the rest of the leaves, using them when needed).

Ingredients

1 cup yellow lentils (arhar dal)
4 cups of water
1 tspn corainder powder
1 1/2 tspn salt
1/2 tspn turmeric
1 tspn garam masala
1/2 tspn red chilli powder (kashmiri mirch)
2 tbspn tamarind
1/2 tspn mustard seeds
1/2 tspn cumin seeds ( zeera)
2 whole dried red chillies
2 tbspn oil or ghee
5 curry leaves
coriander leaves chopped for garnish

Instructions

1. Pressure cook dal, water, coriander powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, salt, turmeric for around 10 minutes on high flame till the 1-2 whistles of the pressure cooker.
2. Microwave the tamarind with 2 Tbspn of water for 40 seconds and fish out the seeds and fibres. The tamarind should be mashed with a spoon till it looks like a smooth paste.
3. When the steam has escaped, add the tamarind to the dal.
4. Add the oil/ghee to a small saucepan. Add the mustard seeds, whole red chillies, and cumin seeds to the hot oil/ghee till they splutter. Add the curry leaves. Now add the ghee/oil to the dal ad step back while you do that so that the hot oil does'nt hit your eyes.
5. Boil the dal for 5 minutes. Turn off the flame. Serve with chopped coriander.

Lobia Dal - Black Eyed Peas Stew

This is a simple crowd pleaser recipe and this dal appeals to a lot of fussy kids as well. Black eyed peas are all over the place- I get mine from Safeway. I am not a big fan of canned beans as you can never really get rid of the horrid after taste, not to mention the hideous amount of sodium you end up ingesting in your system. Dry beans are a safer and healtheir bet, and all you need to do is to soak the beans overnight and pressure cook them in the morning. Sometimes I just leave the ingredients in the pressure cooker the whole day and turn on my burner as soon as I get home. The beans are well soaked by then and even absorb some of the spices.
If you have a gas burner , it takes much lesser time than the electric burner. I used an electric burner for two years and I was over the top happy to have the familiar blue flame of the gas burner back.

Ingredients

In the pressure cooker
2 cups of black eyed peas/ Lobia
1/2 inch piece of ginger
1 clove of garlic
1 tspn of cumin powder
2 tspn of coriander powder
1/2 tspn of turmeric
1 tbspn of salt
2 tomatoes diced

For Saute
1 tbspn oil
a pinch of asfoetida ( hing)

Others
1 tspn garam masala
2 tspn dried mango powder (khatai)


Instructions

1. Pressure cook all the ingredients in the above which are listed under'in the pressure cooker' for 15 minutes on medium-high flame.
2. Let the dal sit in the cooker for another 15 minutes after switching off the flame.
3. In a small pan or even a large metal spoon with a heat resistant handle, heat the oil over the flame. Add the asfoetida when the oil is hot and you can hear a sizzling sound. After 7-8 seconds pour the oil in the dal.
4. Add the garam masala and dried mango powder to the dal. Bring the dal to a boil.
5. Biol the dal for around 2-3 minutes. Shut off the burner. Garnish the dal with coriander leaves.

Serve with rice.