PREP TADKA MAARKE!!!!!

Hello!!!! I am very much alive...... It was my comp which ditched me & kept me away from catching up with the happenings around, for sometime..... I had to (oops! sorry, My hubby! No credits taken).... My hubby had to get few things changed in it, to get it back fixed & working.... He feels really bad & hurt, to see me without my Computer..... as I start drooping around, not knowing what to do..... ;-)

Now that it is back & since I had no challenges I was desperate to attempt, for my Craft blog, I thought it was time I posted here to save my nose..... ;-) Seriously, I felt ashamed looking at the archive, which showed just one post each for the months of April & May.... I really felt... "Chullu bhar paani mein dhoob maroon"..... I am sorry.... I know I am being unfaithful to this blog & all my supporters, who have made me grow till date... with my preps for consumption & postings too..... I thought at least to face myself, I had to post today......

So here I am with preps I thought would make an entry (last minute again! Shame! Shame!) to the Dal Event @ Veggie Platter....... I was looking forward to post since many days for this event, but it kinda got piled up... So here I am with Three Dal preps....... TODAY!!!!!


DAL TADKA!

This is a popular prep at my in-laws...... Very simple yet divine...... Goes well with both rice as well as rotis......

Ingredients :

Toor dal + Masoor dal - 1/2 cup ( I keep a mix of both)
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to Taste

For Tempering -

Green Chilli - 2, finely chopped
Onion - 1/2, finely chopped
Tomato - 1 medium, finely chopped
Oil/Ghee - 2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch

Method :

Cook the dal with the above ingredients as usual/ pressure cook..... Whip it lightly & keep aside...
Heat oil in a wok & add the cumin seeds...Allow it to splutter & add the green chilli, onion & tomato.... Stir fry till the onion turns pink..... Add asafoetida & stir for half a minute... Now add the whipped dal into the tadka..... Mix well & allow it to cook further for 5 minutes, covered.... Depending on the required consistency, add water...... Usually dal fry has a thicker consistency..... Now serve it hot with your rice or roti accompanied by any other dry sabzi......

Well I served it with Bhindi Bhoonjiya for the dry sabzi that day...... prepared similar to the Aloo Bhindi Bhoonjiya minus the Aloo (Potato). Savor!!!!!

Mango Dal!

I just wanted to try something different from the usual, hence added few pieces of raw totapuri mango, with the dal.......

Ingredients :

Toor dal + Masoor dal - 1/2 cup
Raw mango - 10 chunks (optionally peeled)
Onion - 1 medium (finely sliced)
Green Chilli - 2 small (slit lengthwise)
Garlic - 3 cloves (minced)
Tomato - 1/2 chopped
Methi Seeds - 4 to5
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to Taste

For tempering -

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 twig
Asafoetida - a pinch
Oil - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1/4 tsp
Dry Red Chilli - 2 broken

Method :

Pressure cook dal with all the above ingredients & once done, lightly whip the prep with a whisk & keep aside...... Now heat oil for tempering in a wok & add all the ingredients in the order from mustard seeds, curry leaves, dry red chilli, asafoetida, & the masala powders..... Stir fry for a minute & add in the whipped dal mixture....... Let it boil for 2 minutes & then savor it hot with rice..........

Few months back, my gardener did the garden.... Changing the soil, adding manure & sprayed pesticide..... And just recently I saw, few tomato plants in few of my pots along with the flowers in them, which were the original inhabitants of the pot........... I was like WOW!!!! There were quite a handful, which were raw.... I called Kuku & we both marked them together...... But later, we forgot......

One morning as my maid left, I went behind her to close the door & saw her leaving with two tomatoes...... I asked her "from where?" & she replied "from your garden" & I was like "What???" My tomatoes I forgot about & my maid was happily savoring them... I asked her to spare them for a minute at least, to let them pose for few captures as a memory of my garden tomatoes..... And willingly she did & left one for me too..... So here are the captures.....

Are they not cute & glossy..... I felt so proud to see them grow in my pots.......

And after that day, whenever she found one in the garden, she plucked them for me..... I felt good.... One tomato, I sliced into rounds for a simple salad & the other I used in my regular dal....

U can see the bits & pieces of my garden tomato in this simple regular dal, which I prepare for my daily lunch.......

Hmmm.... So that's a lot of Dal stuff...... These are my last minute entry to the Dal Event @ Veggie Platter.......

That is it for now...... I would be back soon, & I see to it that I keep up to my schedule this time.....

UNTIL NEXT, KEEP THE FAITH!!!!