Tomato Dal / Tomato Pappu

" Develop the winning edge; small differences in your performance can lead to large differences in your results."

Ingredients:-


Tomato - 2 (Medium-size)
Tuvar dal - 1 cup
Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Salt as per taste
Red-chilli powder (as required)
Green-chilles - 5 to 6
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1 cup

For Seasoning/tempering:-
Oil
Cumin seeds
Mustard seeds
Urad dal
Curry leaves


Method:-
1. Clean the dal. Add tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, cumin seeds, water,green-chilles and turmeric powder.Pressure cook the dal for 3 to 4 whistels or until the dal is cooked.
2. Once it is cooked, add tamarind paste, salt and red chilli powder according to your taste buds.
3. Now take a small pan for tempering. Add some oil, add all the ingredients under tempering. Once they are turning brown , add to the above dal.
4. Now cook the dal for 2 to 3 minutes on a medium heat. Serve with roti or rice of ur choice.

Note:-
1. Some people like the tempering with ghee.
2. You can avoid the tamarind paste, if the tomatoes are too tangy.

Mutton Kurma

Todays receipe is a mutton kurma.

"Always have a smile to solve the problem and silence to avoid the problem."

Ingredients
=======
Mutton - diced into medium cubes (1/2 kg)
Ginger-garlic paste - 11/2 tbsp
Onions - 2 (Medium size chopped)
Green Chillies - 5 to 6
Red chilli powder - as required
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - to garnish
Water - 1 cup
salt to taste
Oil as required.
Curd - 1/2 cup
Whole spices - 11/2 cinnamon stick, 5 cloves, 4 cardamoms, 1 bayleaf.

Method:-
1. Clean the mutton and marinate with curd, salt, ginger-garlic paste,red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, pepper powder. Keep it aside marinated for 1/2 hour.
2. Take a pressure Pan. Heat the pan. Add some oil. Add the whole spices. Once they are turning brown, add onions to it. Add ginger garlic paste and fry it for 2-3 minutes.
3.Now add the marinated mutton it and fry until the oil oozes from the mutton. Now add some water and pressure cook until 5 to 6 whistels.
4. Once it is cooled, check the mutton whether it is tender and soft, cook it for few minutes until you get desired consistency.
5. Garnish it with coriander leaves and coriander powder.

Note:-
Duration of cooking times varies. Check in between if needed you can cook for few more whistles.

Dosakaya Pappu/yellow cucumber dal/

Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get — only what you are expecting to give — which is everything. What you will receive in return varies. But it really has no connection with what you give. You give because you love and cannot help giving.

Todays receipe is yellow cucumber dal or dosakaya pappu.

Ingredients
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Dosakaya - 1 small to medium size(Skin should be peeled and chopped in to small pieces)
Green chillies - 5 to 6 (Adjust according to your spice)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp
Salt as per taste
Red chilli powder (optional)
Oil

For Seasoning/tempering
-------------------------
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Garlic - nicely chooped
Red chillies - 2 to 3
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 4 to 5

Method:-
---------
1. Take a pressure pan and wash the toor dal.To this dal add green chillies, cumin seeds, turmeric powder and ginger-garlic paste.Take a bowl and put the nicely chopped dosakaya pieces in it. Place the bowl in the center. As shown in below picture.

2.Pressure cook the dal for 3 to 4 whistles. Cook and remove the lid.
3. Mash the dal nicely. To this add salt and if required add red chilli powder. Add Tamarind paste and mix well.
4.Now Take a kadai. Add some oil. when it is hot, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds. When they start to crackle add garlic, red-chillies and curry leaves.
5. When they start to change color, add the cooked yellow cucumber/ dosakaya and fry nicely for a minute.
Now add the mash dal.
6. Boil it for a minute. Serve with roti or rice of your choice.

Note:-
1. After peeling the skin of the dosakaya, and before adding to the dal check the dosakaya pieces. When you bite, if it is sour / sweet/ tasteless its ok to add. If it is bitter it is better to avoid otherwise whole dal would taste bitter.

2. You can add tomatoes, or onions . Its upto you. No rules. In the above dal there are no tomatoes and onions.

Sambhar/Pappu charu

"Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't, I give myself reasons why I can." 

Ingredients


Toor dal - 3/4 cup (cooked and mashed)
Tamarind - Lemon size (medium)
Onions - 1 medium size (nicely chopped)
Green Chillies - 5 to 6 (adjust according to hotness)
Vegetables - Radish, Tomatoes , Drum stick (anything of your choice which is nicely chopped)
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
Coriander powder -  1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Jaggery - 1tsp (optional)
Sat as per taste
Red Chilli powder as per taste
Oil as required
Coriander leaves to garnish

For Seasoning/Tempering
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Red chilli - 3 to 4
Curry leaves - 2 strings


Method
1. Take a pressure pan. Add some oil, when it hot add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, red chillies. Once they are turning golden brown, add ginger-garlic paste and fry for 2 minutes on medium flame.
2. Now add Onions and fry for 2 minutes. Now add the chopped vegetables.Cook the vegetable with the closed lid for 4 to 5 minutes. In between try to mix them so they wont stick to the pan or dont get burn.
3. Add the coriander powder, cumin powder and mix them well. Add curry leaves and cook for a minute.
4. Meanwhile extract the pulp from tamarind. Dilute it. and add the mixture to the cooked dal and mix well.
5. Add the above made dal and tamarind solution to the pan in which the vegetables are cooking. Close the lid and pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistles. Turn off the heat and cool.
6. If you find the vegetables are nicely cooked, add salt and red chilli powder according to one's taste. If you like you can add jaggery.
7. Boil it for a minute and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve it with rice and curry of your choice.

Note:-
I have mentioned to add dal and tamarind mixture separately in the vessel. This is to check the tangyness of tamarind and see whether the dal and tamarind solutions are mixed in right proportions. Some people like tangyness some doesnt. It is upto them to decide before the sambhar is done.
Every one have their own versions of making sambhar. It is one of my version to prepare sambhar.

French Beans curry

If you don't get everything you want, think of the things you don't get that you don't want.  ~Oscar Wilde


Todays receipe is a simple one. It is French beans curry.

Ingredients

French beans - 500 gms ( nicely chopped and washed)
Onions - 1 medium
Salt as per taste
Ginger and garlic paste - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder as per taste
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves to garnish
Coconut powder - 1 tbsp
Water as required.
Oil as required

For Seasoning/Tadka

Cumin seeds
Mustard seeds
Urad dal

Method

1. Take a pressure pan. Add a tbsp of oil. Now add all the ingredients under tempering.
2. When they start to turn golden brown, now add ginger-garlic paste. Fry nicely for 2 min. Now add finely chopped onions. Fry them until they are golden brown.
3. Now add french beans. Fry them for 2 minutes. Now add coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala. Mix them well and add some water. Close the lid and pressure cook for 2 to 3 whistles.
4. Turn off the heat and cool. Remove the lid and if you see any water, cook till the water is evaporated.
5. Now add salt and red chilli powder. Cook for 2 minutes and add coconut powder. Mix it well. Turn off the  heat and garnish with coriander leaves.

Note:-
I always feel better cooking food in pressure cooker. Pressure cooker cooking is time saving, less oil consumption and easy cooking.