Palak Dal and Rice

Palak dal is a simple dish. It’s important that green leafy vegetables are in corporate into our food at least once a week. Spinach is a rich source of vitamin A, vitamin K, folate and potassium. It also contains vitamins C, B₆ and riboflavin.

Serves: 4

Preparation time : 10 min
Cooking time: 11 min

Ingredients

1 cup moong dal

1 bunch spinach chopped
1 medium tomato chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
2 green chilly slit
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp ghee
red chilli powder and salt to taste
fresh coriander leaves to garnish.

Wash and soak the dal in water. Heat half the ghee in a pressure cooker. Sauté the green chillies, onions, garlic and ginger. Add the dal and water. Season with salt and haldi. Cook the dal. Once the dal is cooked heat oil in a pan, heat the remaining ghee and put in the cumin seeds. Stir for about 1 minute and add the tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes till the are tender and add the spinach leaves. Sauté for about 2-3 minutes. Once the tomatoes are cooked add the dal and mix gently. Serve hot with dal.

Rajma Chawal

Rajma chawal is a quintessential part of the Punjabi cuisine. For most of us, rajma chawal brings memories of a lazy Sunday lunch at home. I can picture my mom right now! Rajma is low in Saturated Fat and Sodium, and very low in Cholesterol. It contains dietary fibers that lower the bad cholesterol in the body.

Serves 3-4

Preparation time: 24 hours

Cooking time: 20 min

Ingredients

1/2 kg Basmati Rice

75 gms kidney beans /Rajma(soaked overnight in water)

150 gms Tomato

2 onions

4 Chillies

Ginger,garlic paste

Dhania,Elachi,Cloves,Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Red chilli powder

garam masala powder

Coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Wash and soak rajma overnight. Next day pressure cook the beans for at least 15 – 20 minutes. Once the beans are cooked and tender keep them aside. Do not throw away the water. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Fry onions, chilly and add ginger&garlic paste. Sauté till the ginger and garlic paste is cooked. Now add chopped tomatoes into the onions. Season with salt and garam masala powder. Cook the tomatoes till the oil in the mixture separates. Now add the rajma and bring the whole mix to a boil. Add water if necessary. The gravy has to be thick. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Garnish with coriander. Serve hot with rice or parathas.

Sindhi Kadhi and Rice

Sindhi cuisine is very nutritious with a predominant use of vegetables in each and every dish. Sindhi kadhi is one such example where all the vegetables are put in together to make a filling dish. One of the teachers at Aman Setu volunteered to teach the cook this recipe.

Serves 3-4

Preparation time: 15min

Cooking time: 40 – 45 min

Ingredients

¼ cup gavar ki phali (cluster beans)

½ cup potato, peeled and diced

¼ cup white pumpkin (lauki), peeled and diced

¼ cup bhindi (ladies finger), slit into 2 vertically

½ tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp fenugreek (methi) seeds

¼ tsp asafoetida (hing)

4 tsp bengal gram flour (besan)

2 tsp green chillies, chopped

1 tsp ginger, grated

4 to 6 curry leaves

¼ tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp chilli powder

1 to 2 tbsp tamarind pulp

3 tbsp oil

salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan.. Add asafoetida and after a few seconds, add the chopped chillies, cumin and fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. Allow the seeds to stop spluttering, then add the besan stirring continuously so that no lumps are formed. Sauté the besan till it becomes brown and looses its raw smell and becomes aromatic. Boil 4 cups of water in another pan. Add the boiling water to the besan mixture, stirring continuously to avoid forming lumps. Bring the mixture to a boil and all the vegetables except the ladies finger. Simmer and cook for about 15 – 20 minutes. Add the ladies finger, cook for about 5 minutes and the tamarind pulp. Cook for another 5 minutes and add salt. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with rice.

Curd Rice

Curd Rice is truly comfort food in the hot Indian summer. One of the directors of my previous organization would get this every day in the summer. We would all end our lunch with a spoon of curd rice. I have learnt how to make this amazing dish from her.

Serves 2

Preparation time: 20 min

Cooking time: 20 min

Ingredients:

1 cup rice

2 cups water

Salt to taste

1 cup yogurt

1 cup milk

5-6 curry leaves

1 tsp mustard seeds

3 dry red chillies

¾ cup chopped cucumber, onions and pomegranate seeds

Coriander leaves to garnish

Wash the rice and cook it with the water in a pressure cooker. Once the rice is cooked add warm milk to it and cover it. Let the rice stand for about 7-8 minutes. Next, mix in the curd and let the rice stand for about 5 minutes. Now add the finely chopped cucumber, onions and pomegranate seeds. In a pan heat 1 tbsp oil, once the oil is hot add mustard seeds , curry leaves, and red chilly. Add this mix to the rice and stir well. Season with salt & garnish with coriander. You can serve the rice warm, or in summers you can refrigerate and serve it chilled.

Bisibele Bath with Poha

My friend suggested this dish, when I was researching easy and nutritious dishes for Aman Setu. Poha Bisibelebath is a slightly different version of traditional Bisibelebath. Rice and tuvar dal are substituted with Poha and moong dal. With vegetables, dal and poha, it is very nutritive. Compared to the traditional fare I find this version lighter on the stomach.

Serves 3-4

Preparation time : 30 mins

Cooking time : 45 mins

Ingredients:

For Bisibelepath powder:

4 tbsp coriander seeds (dhania)

1 tsp bengal gram (chana dal)

½ tsp fenugreek seeds (methi)

7-8 black pepper corns

2-3 cloves (lavang)

½ inch stick cinnamon

1 tsp khus khus

2 tbsp desiccated coconut

8 red chillies

Pinch of asefoetida (hing)

For Bisibelebath:

1/2 cup moong dal (100 gms)

1 1/2 cup thick poha

1 carrot

6-8 beans

1 stick of drumstick

1 tsp tamarind paste

salt to taste

For tadka/tempering:

1 tbsp ghee

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 sprig of curry leaves

2 red chilies broken into 1 inch pieces

1 tbsp peanuts

Dry roast all the ingredients listed for bisibelepath powder and grind them. You can store this powder in an airtight container and it can last for a few months.

Cut all the veggies into 1 inch big chunks. Wash the moong dal. Cook the moong dal and the vegetables in a pressure cooker. While the dal is being cooked, wash and soak the poha and set it aside. Once the dal is cooked transfer in a large cooking pan and add the soaked poha. Mix well and add more water to maintain a thick gravy like consistency. Remember as the bisibele cools down, the dish will become thicker. Add the tamrind paste and cook for another 5 minutes. Keep adding water, if required to maintain the consistency.

While the bisibele cooks, heat a pan and add 1tbsp ghee. Put in the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. After the seeds splutter add curry leaves, hing, red chilies and peanuts. Fry them for 3-4 mins till the peanuts are roasted also put in 2tbsp of the bisibele powder. Season bisibelebath with tadka and serve hot with something crunchy like bundi or potato chips.

Pulav

Vegetable pulav is one of the easiest and possibly the most loved quick fix dish made at my home. Pulav is also very versatile. Just by changing few of the basic ingredients it can be given great flavours.

Serves 4

Preparation Time: 15 min

Cooking time: 20 min

Ingredients

3 cups of rice

½ cup onions chopped
½ cup cauliflower (Flowerettes)
½ cup carrot chunks, cut beans, shelled peas

1 cup mint and coriander leaves
1 tsp ginger and garlic finely chopped
1 green chilly

¼ cup Coriander
½ tsp garam masala

1 tsp cumin seeds
Bay leaves
1 inch stick cinnamon
Oil for cooking

Wash and soak rice . Set the rice aside. Clean and wash the mint and coriander leaves. Grind the leaves with one green chilly and a little water. Take a pressure cooker and heat a Now in a pressure cooker heat some oil. Once the oil is hot add cumin seeds. Once the cumin seeds turn light brown add the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Sauté for a minute and mix in the pudina and coriander mixture. Stir for a minute and add all the vegetables. Season the vegetables with salt and garam masala. Sauté for two minutes and mix in the rice. Gently mix all the ingredients and add water. The water should just about cover all the vegetables. Mix in the tomatoes and the ground paste. Fry for a minute and add the vegetables. Now add the rice and water. Once the rice is cooked, serve it with raitha and pickle

Lemon Rice

Another south Indian favourite, I personally love the rice for its lemony tartness, the lovely yellow colour and its light texture.

Lemons are a rich source of vitamin C. Lemon zest is rich in an antioxidant chemical called rutin, which helps in strengthening the walls and capillaries. Lemons can be substituted with lime, which is also a rich source of vitamin C. Lime is high in bioflavonoids and other antioxidants.

Serves 3

Preperation Time: 25 min

Cooking time: 10 min

Ingredients

2 cups rice
2 tbs oil
A pinch of asafoetida
2 dried red chillies
1 tbs of split black gram (urad dal)
1 tbs of split gram (chana dal)
½ tsp of fenugreek seeds (methi seeds)
½ cup of peanuts
1 tsp of mustard seeds
10-12 curry leaves
3 tbs of lemon juice
½ tsp of turmeric powder

Wash and cook rice. Heat oil in a kadai. Add a pinch of asafoetida. Add dried red chillies broken into two, urad dal, chana dal and methi seeds. Cook until dals change colour to light brown. Add peanuts and mustard seeds. Let mustard seeds crackle, then add curry leaves. Mix turmeric powder in this. Stir fry for half a minute. Add cooked rice, salt and lemon juice.