Methi Dal | fresh fenugreek leaves cooked with pigeon peas

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Methi Dal

Dec is always the season of celebration. It starts a bit early for me as its also my bday in Dec:) As you can imagine I ate out a lot of times, ate in excess and a lot of sugary stuff. Now its time to work it off with some healthy and comfort food. After all homemade food is the best, here is the recipe for a very tasty and healthy dish - methi dal. Fresh fenugreek leaves are cooked along with split yellow pigeon peas. It tastes heavenly when served with  steaming rice and a spoonful of ghee.

Ingredients:

Yellow pigeon peas/ Toor dal : 1 cup
Fresh fenugreek leaves: 2 cups
Sliced Onion: 1/2 cup
Green chilies:6-7
Chopped Garlic : 1 tbsp
Chopped ginger: 1 tbsp
Clarified butter/ghee :1 tbsp
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida: 1 big pinch

Coriander powder: 1 tbsp
Cumin powder: 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala powder : 1/4 tsp (Optional)
Lemon juice : 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash and soak toor dal in enough water for 15 mins and pressure cook with a pinch of turmeric powder and a drop of oil.

2. Clean and wash the methi leaves, roughly chop and sprinkle a little salt and keep for 10 mins. Squeeze and remove the excess water from leaves.

3. Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds, when it splutters add asafoetida/hing and stir. Add in chopped ginger and garlic and sauté until the raw smell disappears

4. Mix in sliced onion and green chilies and cook until the onions are translucent.

5. Quickly mix the spices - turmeric powder, coriander and cumin powder and stir it.

6. Add the methi leaves and cook until the leaves wilt - about 2-3 mins.

7. Add cooked dal and salt and bring to boil. Continue to boil for 5-7 minutes .

8. Add garam a Masala powder if using and mix well. Finally add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and turn off the flame.

9. Keep covered for 5-10 mins so that all the flavors blend well. Serve it hot with steaming rice and a dollop of ghee.

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Sabbasige bele palya | Dill leaves cooked with lentils

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Dill leaves Palya reminds me of my school holidays when my mother used to be busy cooking lunch. There was this warm aroma of garlic and some thing thats a bit sweetish, a bit like fennel seeds and celery that spreads to the living room.

The aroma was from this humble dish that's made with dill leaves and soaked yellow pigeon peas (Toor Daal) with onion and garlic tempering. My mother never failed to tell us how healthy and nutritious is dill leaves and paired with toor daal for protein it's a perfect recipe for building immunity. It goes extremely well with Jawar roti and chapathis. Here is the recipe from my mother.

Ingredients:

Dill leaves: 2 packed cups
Chopped medium Onion : 2
Chopped Green Chillies: 4-5
Chopped Garlic : 2 tbsp
Oil: 2 Tbsp
Cumin Seeds: 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds: 1/2 tsp
Toor Dal : 1/4 cup
Salt to taste

Method: 
1. Soak toor dal in warm water for 1 hour, finely chop dill leaves and keep aside.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, when it splutters and cumin seeds and fry for 30 seconds.

3. Add chopped green chillies and garlic and fry until the garlic changes the color slightly.

4. Add onions and saute until translucent, add soaked dal and salt and cook until the dal is soft. It will not be mashed up but soft enough to bite.

5. Add chopped dill leaves and mix well, cover and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the leaves are well cooked. Turn off the flame and serve hot dill palya with chapathi or jawar roti. It also tastes great with rice and rasam. 

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Badane Koddel | Green Brinjal Sambar

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Koddel Means Sambar in Tulu. My mother's Badane or bendekayi koddel (Brinjal or lady's finger Sambar) is my all time favorite. This sweet, sour and spicy dal preparation is a simple and comfort food that brings back fond memories from my childhood.  Most of the evenings after school me and my brother used to fight over comic books.  I always got 2nd turn to read those stories and I wasted no time and mostly ended up reading it while eating dinner. The super delicious koddel and super exciting stories from comic books were a crazy combination those days :) Those crazy, funny and carefree moments I try to relive through food:))

Here is how to make this easy and comfort food.

Ingredients: 
Togaribele /Toor Dal: 1 cup
Green slender brinjal : 2
Thick Tamarind Juice : 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Jaggery : 1 -1.5 tbsp
Saru/Rasam Powder: 2 tsp
Slit Green chillies: 2
Coconut oil/Ghee : 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Hing/Asafoetida: 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves: 1 sprig
Broken dry red chilli: 1
Coriander leaves for garnish
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash and soak dal in enough water for 15 minutes, add a pinch of turmeric and few drops of oil and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles.

2. Put Tamarind juice, Jaggery, Turmeric powder, Green chillies and 1 cup water in a pot and bring to boil.

3. Chop Brinjal into small pieces and add to the boiling tamarind mixture and cook for 5-8 minutes or until the brinjal turns tender.

4. Mash the cooked dal and add to the pot, add salt and rasam powder and water if needed to adjust the consistency and boil it for 10-15 minutes.

5. Heat oil/Ghee in a tempering pan and add mustard seeds, when it splutters add cumin seeds, broken dry red chilli, Hing and Curry leaves and saute for 30 seconds. Pour the tempring on the koddel and close the lid. Let it boil on low flame for 1-2 minutes and turn off the flame.

6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with rice and ghee.

Click here for Home Made Sarina pudi /Rasam powder recipe. 

Notes:
1. Simply replace Brinjal with Lady's finger to make Bendekayi koddel.

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