Moongdal Stir-fry/Usli

Moongdal (small green husked beans) known as Hesaru kaalu in Kannada. We use this bean widely in our daily cooking. We make salads or kosambari where raw sprouted beans are used. This bean is also used with spinach/greens while making sambar(curry). Today I have used the whole green moongdal for making simple stir fry/Usli or Gugari.



Ingredients
Moongdal - 1 cup
Onion - 1 small, chopped (I used red onions)

Tempering
Olive oil - 1tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Garnish
Cilantro/coriander leaves-one handful
Lime juice- 1 tsp
Grated coconut - about a tbsp

1. Soak Moongdal for at least half an hour. With enough water cook them until just tender( I used pressure cooker).
2. Heat oil in a pan, when hot at mustard seeds. When mustard seeds starts to pop add chopped onions and fry until soft. To that add cooked moongdal, add salt to taste. Mix gently make sure not to make the beans mushy.
3. Finally add chopped cilantro, grated coconut and freshly squeezed lime juice. Mix well and enjoy warm.

Simple and satisfying snack or a side dish. Goes well with chapathis and rice.

I'll be sending this to My Legume Love Affair-Seventh Helping hosted by Srivalli, which first started by Susan.

Click Tomatoes

Red Grape Tomatoes

This is my entry for Click-RED (Jan 09) Hosted by Bee & Jai of Jugalbandi.

Pumpkins with chili-ginger paste

I cook with Squashes/pumpkins at least once a week. Most of the time I make the recipes which I am very familiar with, like Palya (dry curry),or Sagu (thin curry).

This week I tried something new by adding grated chili's and ginger at the very end of the dish almost like a garnish. Which makes the dish differently delicious, from the raw flavors of chili's, ginger and lime juice.

So here is the recipe.


Ingredients
Delicata squash - 1 (Any kind of pumpkin/squash can be used, potatoes will be good too)
Onion - 1 medium size
Tomato - 1 medium size

Tempering : Oil and mustard seeds - 1tsp

Spices : Green chili's - 1-2 ( I used Serrano kind) ,Fresh ginger- about 1 inch

I grated chili and ginger them with a fine grater ( you can make paste, using blender or motor and pestle or chop finely)

Garnish :Cilantro leaves - 2 tbsp chopped, Lime/lemon juice - freshly squeezed about a tablespoon.

1. First cut the squash, onion and tomato to bite size pieces.
2. Heat oil in a pan, when hot add mustard seeds. When it starts to pop add chopped veggies and cover and cook till soft about 7-10 mins.
3. Add salt and adjust to taste.
4. Add chili-ginger paste(about 1tspor more grated), mix well and adjust spicy level accordingly
5. Finally add chopped cilantro leaves and squeeze fresh lime juice and mix well.

Enjoy this Spicy curry with chapathis, rotis, dosas or rice.
I'll be sending this to Sunshinemom of Tongue Tickler for the event FIC-Yellow.

Broccoli-Channadal Stir-Fry

Broccoli belongs to cabbage family. They look very similar to cauliflower, except they are green in color. Broccolis are rich in Vitamin C and Vitamin K, has a soluble fiber which is very good for health. I have been using this vegetable for cooking for the last 2-3 years, but have known of them for much longer. More about Broccoli here.

I was introduced to Broccoli in a restaurant long back. I had ordered a Mexican dish which came with a side order of Raw Broccoli, so I said to the waiter 'No broccoli' on the side, but when I got my dish I could only see Broccoli on it, then I realized that she might have heard it as "more broccoli instead of no broccoli ". It was the first time I tried to taste it and obviously didn't like it. But I couldn't stop laughing about it :).

After that I really just didn't want to cook with it. Within the last couple of years I realized its very good for health and started to used it little by little with the vegetables curies I make. To my surprise it really tastes good. It was not broccoli I was turned off by, it was the way it was presented (big raw pieces). Now I use them on regular basis, along with its stems (I like the stems).

If you don't like to eat them raw like me, best way to use them are by steaming them or by stir frying them.

Here is the Recipe of stir-fry/dry curry .

Ingredients

• Broccoli - 1 medium head (including steams)
• Onion - 1 medium size
• Small Lentils- 1/2 cup ( i have used split Channa Dal, any quick cooking lentils can be used)

For Tempering : Oil - 1 tbs and mustard or cumin seeds - 1tsp.

Spices : Red chili Powder - 1tsp ( less or more according to desired spice level)
Garnish

• Cilantro/coriander leaves - washed and chopped about 2 tbsp
• Lemon/lime juice - 1tsp freshly squeezed
• Coconut - 1tsp grated (optional)
• Toasted sesame seeds - 1tbsp

Salt to taste.

1. Cook lentils with enough water and keep aside.
2. Chop onions and broccoli to small bit size pieces. Peel the outer layer of the broccoli stem and chop them as well.
3. Heat oil, when hot add mustard seeds when they start to pop add chopped onions and broccoli, cover with lid and cook them till just soft (takes about 7-10 Min's). Add cooked lentils and mix well.
4. Now add salt and red chili powder. Switch off and garnish with toasted sesame seeds, cilantro leaves, lime juice and fresh grated coconut. Adjust taste.

Enjoy with rice, rotis/flat breads or use to stuff bread and make sandwich's. We had this for our lunch with rice and sambar.

One more recipe with Broccoli : Broccoli-Potato cutlets.
This recipe goes to My Legume Love Affair-Seventh Helping hosted by Srivalli, which first started by Susan.

Happy 2009

I wish my Readers and Foodie Friends A very Happy, Healthy and Nutritious New year..

Cheers Everyone !

A Look Back and Best Recipes of 2008

Today is the last day of the year 2008, there is no better way to end the year, than by taking a look at the good memories I (we) had this past year, by writing and sharing with you all.

This was a very good year for me. The year stared with a resolution(as always) to make life little healthier by eating healthy and exercising at least 2-3 days a week. To keep up with it I took a online course on Fitness and Nutrition(to expand my knowledge on nutrition) and am still studying on it. And I also joined aerobic classes which I am doing pretty much regularly.

One highlight about food, this year is the boxes of Organic produce we are getting each week, which I look forward to cook with every week.

Personally it was a good year as well, first 6 months of the year I traveled a lot and stayed in India for almost 4 months, attending weddings, baby showers, festivals and welcoming a new member to our own family( my sister's baby), got to meet a few good old, long lost friends, through Orkut. Totally it was fun times with family, friends and food of course.

My little one started her Pre-school this year, its a milestone for me. When I think year goes by so fast,Life goes by even faster..I still remember my first day of school, and now I am sending my kid to school. During all this, Blogging took a back seat.

After my long vacation, it was Marathon(DK's Recipe Marathon) time. It was nice warm up for me to get back to blogging again and challenge myself to cook and post non-stop for 30 days. It was very fun. Last thing I did was, moving from Wordpress to Blogspot, due to more options and things I get to do on Blogspot.

All in all, it was a fabulous year, I will be looking forward to spend more time with family, friends and cooking healthy food in the coming year.

Thank you all Readers, foodie friends for your comments. I appreciate your time.

Here is a look at a few of the recipes from my 2008 Posts. These are all the recipes I tried for the first time and making them as healthy and wholesome as possible.

Edamame Salad

Sprouted Moongdal Dosa

Spinach & Black-eye pea Fritters

Chili Relleno

Zucchini Chutney

Purple Cabbage Stir-fry

Cornmeal Idlis

Pineapple Gojju

Palak Paneer

Pear Crumble

Off this goes to Srivalli's Best of 2008 event.