Tomato Dal

We frequently make brinjal Dal and this tomato Dal at home. This tomato Dal has pleasing color and its perfect in its looks and at taste. Me and Hubby love this Dal so much. Do try if you prefer slightly tangy dal.




Thakkali paruppu

Ingredients:

Tomatoes - 4 (medium sized red ripened)
Toor Dal / Tuvar dal - 1/2 cup (100gms)
Shallots - 5
Garlic - 5 pods
Green chilly - 4
Tamarind - one small lemon sized
Turmeric powder - a pinch

For Tempering:

Ghee - 2 tsp's
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Split urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Dry red chilly - 2
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Peel the shallots and garlic. crush the garlic and slit the green chilies.  Wash the tomatoes and slit each into four pieces.

In a vessel, add the toor dal, tomato pieces, shallots, green chilly, garlic and tamarind. add 1 and half cup's of water, a drop of oil and a pinch of turmeric powder.

Add 1 cup of water to pressure cooker and place the vessel. pressure cook up to 4 whistles. switch off the flame. wait till the pressure releases. Then cool the contents in vessel.

Now using your masher, mash the dal and tomatoes well. or you can give a grind for a second in your mixie.

For tempering, heat a pan, add ghee and heat it. then add mustard and let it pop. add split urad dal, dry red chilly, curry leaves and asafoetida powder. pour the mashed tomato dal to the pan and let it come for a boil.

Switch off the flame and garnish with corriander leaves.

Serve along with potato fry and rasam.


Notes: 

You can reduce one tomato and tamarind as per your taste.

I rarely cook with this vegetable before. but after trying thuvayal, i started to cook often. chow chow kootu is the second recipe, i cook. But my personal favorite will always be this thuvayal! To know more and to find nutritional information about chayote/chow chow check here.

chow chow thuvayal

                                              Chow Chow Thuvayal / Chayote chutney



Chow Chow Recipe

Prep Time05 mins 
Cooking Time: 20 mins  
Serves2
Recipe CuisineIndian
Recipe TypeVegetable

Ingredients:



Ingredients:

Chow chow / chayote - 1
Sunflower oil - 2 tsp's
Urad dal - 2 tsp's
Dry red chilly - 3 or 4
Tamarind - a small pinch
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp's
Salt to taste
Water - 3 tsp's



for tadka:

Oil - 1/2  tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Method:

First wash the chow chow and peel its skin. then cut into half and remove its seed and white veins. chop them into chunks and set aside.

In a Pan, add 1/2 tsp of oil and heat it. once the oil is hot, add urad dal and dry red chilly. roast till the urad dal turns into golden color. remove the roasted urad dal and dry red chilly to a separate bowl and set aside.

In the same pan, add remaining oil and add in the chopped chow chow. saute them in medium flame for about 7 - 10 minutes, till it is cooked soft. add tamarind and also roast along in the last minute.

Transfer the sauteed chow chow to your chutney jar, add in the roasted urad dal, red chilly and grated coconut. add salt to taste. grind it coarsely first. then add water and grind into a thick chutney. transfer to a serving bowl.

For tadka, heat a small tadka pan, add 1/2 tsp oil, 1/2 tsp mustard and curry leaves. once the mustard splutter, add the tadka to the chutney / thuvayal.

Serve with rice and rasam combo. this chutney tastes good with dosa too.

Note:

You can skip grated coconut and make this chutney as such.


 Chow chow kootu / Chayote Dal

chow chow kootu


                                                      Chow chow kootu / Chayote Dal

Ingredients:

chow chow - 1
moong dal / paasi paruppu - 1/4 cup
turmeric powder - a pinch

to dry roast and grind:

dry red chilly - 3
cumin - 1 tsp
grated coconut - 3 tsp's

for tadka

oil - 1/2 tsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
split urad dal - 1/2 tsp
dry red chilly - 1 (broken)
asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp
curry leaves - 1 sprig

Method:

First wash the chow chow and peel its skin. then cut into half and remove its seed and white veins. chop them into small pieces and set aside.

Heat a pan and dry roast the cumin, dry red chilly and grated coconut. grind into a smooth paste with little water.

Wash and cook the moong dal  with a pinch of turmeric in 1 cup of water. when the dal is half cooked, add in the chow chow pieces to the dal and cook for another 5 minutes. chow chow and dal  has to get cooked well(the whole process may take 15 minutes).

Then add the grounded mix to the pan and let it boil for a minute and transfer the dal to a serving bowl.

For tadka, heat a tadka pan, add oil and heat it. add mustard, urad dal and dry red chilly. when the mustard splutter, add asafoetida powder and curry leaves. transfer the tadka to the dal.

Notes:

You can add 1 green chilly and crushed garlic, while cooking the dal and chow chow together. this way, you can get a different taste.

 Don't pressure cook the dal and vegetable. the texture and taste of the dal gets spoiled, when pressure cooked. so best to cook in stove top.

You can also make this with chana dal instead moong dal.




I know morning walk gives lot of energy, but i am so so lazy to wake up early. i sometimes drop my son at school and walk back home. on the way, i will be tempted to buy fresh greens and vegetables from the roadside vegetable sellers. one day these sorrel leaves/pulicha keerai/gongura/amarnath leaves caught my eye. so with gongura pappu in mind bought a bunch and came back home.


I was very clear to refer Mahanandi for recipe. I love her way of telling the recipe, it will be a detailed recipe told in way, just as our mom or grand mom tell's us. I adapted the recipe little bit and my dal turned out perfect.


minced garlic, green chillies, shallots, toor dal and gongura ready  to get started.



meal with gongura pappu, vendakkai poriyal and curd



                                                 Gongura pappu / Pulicha keerai masiyal




serves - 2
prep and cooking time - less than 30 mins
recipe adapted from The Mahanandi

Ingredients:

  • Gongura leaves - 1 bunch
  • Toor dal - 1/2 cup
  • Shallots / small onions - 15
  • Green chilli - 4
  • Garlic - 4
  • Turmeric powder - a pinch
  • Oil - 1 tsp
  • Asafoetida / perungayam / hing - 1/4 tsp
  • Water - 1 cup
  • Salt to taste
for tempering
  • Ghee - 1 tsp
  • Mustard - 1 tsp
  • Split urad dal - 1 tsp
  • Dry red chilli - 2


Method:

  1. Remove the gongura leaves from the stem and wash the gongura leaves twice or thrice thoroughly. chop or tear the leaves into three pieces. 

  2. Wash the toor dal in a bowl to be kept in pressure cooker and strain away the water. add the chopped gongura leaves to toor dal. then add minced garlic, slitted green chilli, 1 tsp oil and small onions. add water, turmeric powder and hing. mix well. Pressure cook for upto 5 whistles. 

  3. Cool down the pressure cooked dal with gongura for at least 10 minutes. then transfer the pressure cooked contents to the mixie jar and use your pulse button to give one or two pulse shot. add salt to taste and give another mix. once the dal mixes well with gongura, onions and other ingredients, remove the gongura pappu to a serving bowl.

  4. In a small tempering pan, add 1 tsp of ghee and add mustard, split urad dal and dry red chilli. add the tempering to the dal / gongura pappu.

  5. Serve along hot rice along with appalam.

Note:

I added just 2 green chillies and found sourness dominated, so add more chillies 4 or 5 depending on your spice need.




We at home love Dal very much, and I prepare it for chapathis quite often. Two weeks back I watched this Dal Tadka recipe in a cookery show. I tried and had Dal Tadka with Missi roti, it was such an excellent combination and from then the dal taste is still lingering. You can see the cookery shows in you tube.  i am linking one of her show.


Ingredients:           
                   
Masoor Dal / Split Red Lentil – ½  cup
Moong Dal  - ½ cup
Onion – 1 (finely chopped)
Tomato – 1 (chopped)
Green Chilli – 2 (slitted)
Garlic – 3 cloves (crushed)
Ginger – 1 inch (finely chopped)
Corriander Leaves – 2 tbsp (To garnish)
Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp
Asafoetida powder – ¼ tsp    
Oil – 2 tsp’s
                                                          
For Tadka:

Ghee / Coconut Oil – 2 tsp
Mustard – ¼ tsp
Cumin / Jeera – ¼ tsp
Nigella Seeds / Kalonji – ¼ tsp
Curry Leaves – 1 sprig
Dry Red Chilli – 2 (broken)


Method:

1.   Wash both the Masoor & moong dals. Pressure cook the dals with ¾ cup water, chopped ginger, crushed garlic, a pinch of turmeric powder, a tsp of oil and a pinch of asafoetida powder. Pressure cook for upto 4 whistles, till the dals are cooked till mashy.

2.    Heat a pan, add a tsp of oil, add chopped onion, slitted green chilli’s and saute till the onions turn light brown.

3.      Now add cooked and mashed dal to the pan and mix well. Then add the chopped tomatoes and give a mix. add salt to taste and little water, so that you get your desired consistency of the dal.

4.       For Tadka, heat a small pan, add ghee or coconut oil, once the oil heats up, add mustard and let it pop, add kalonji, cumin, curry leaves and broken red chilli’s.  Pour the Hot Tadka over the dal. Garnish with chopped corriander leaves.

Serve the Dal with Roti or Chapathi.


Notes:

       1. If you want dal to accompany Rice dish, prepare dal with Toor dal.
       2. Always do the Tadka either with Ghee or Coconut Oil for the strong Flavor.
       3. Nigella seeds is Onion seeds. Its also called as kalonji seeds. This is a must in the dal.



I very rarely buy or cook, Podalangai / Snake gourd. But after trying out Podalangai Kootu, it has become frequent at home. Its Such a simple recipe to try out. it tastes great too. Normally Podalankaai Kootu is cooked with Chana dal. But this kootu is with Moong Dal.

DSC00273

Ingredients:

Moong Dal / Pasi Paruppu - 1 cup
Snake Gourd / Podalankai - 2 (medium sized)
Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup
Cumin - 1 tsp
Pepper - 1 tsp
Dry Red Chilli - 2
Turmeric Powder - a pinch
Oil - 1 tbsp

Snake Gourd Dal

Method:

Dry Roast the Moong Dal for 3 minutes. and Pressure Cook the dal with half cup of water for upto 3 or 4 whistles.

Wash, de-seed and Chop the Snake Gourd finely.

In a Kadaai, dry roast the cumin seeds, red chilli's and pepper. Grind the roasted ingredients along with grated coconut and little water.

Heat a Pan, and add a tbsp of oil, add cumin seeds, curry leaves and fry the chopped snake gourd, till they are fully cooked, it may take upto 4 minutes to cook. after the podalankaai / snake gourd is cooked add the cooked dal and mix well. and add the grinded coconut mix , a pinch turmeric powder, salt to taste and a cup of water and let the mix boil for few minutes.

Podalangai Kootu

Switch off the flame and serve hot for Rice.