Moong Mallaika(Masoor) Dal

April 13, 2010 at 2:50 am (Lentils & Beans)

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Moong Masoor Dal

Moong Masoor Dal


Dals are the mainstays of Indian cooking and the main source of proteins for vegetarian Indians. I usually cook daal daily as a side dish for Chapatis or rice for dinner. Dals are easy to make in pressure cooker, fibrous and nutritious and an easy accompaniment to any carbohydrates

One common Dal usually cooked in North Indian kitchen is Moong-Mallaika or a mixture of yellow moong and orange masoor dal. Its is very easy to make, cooks almost instantly in the pressure cooker and is very easy to digest.

You will need
1. Half Cup Masoor dal
2. Half cup Moong dal
3. One tbsp ghee\Refined oil
4. One Red onion
5. One medium size tomato
6. Two cloves garlic,
7. One inch piece gineger
8. Cilantro for Garnish
9. From the spice box( 1\2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cumin seeds, I tsp red chill powder, a pinch of asafetida (hing), salt to taste)

Steps
1. Wash moong and masoor in 3-4 changes of water and soak for half an hour (Soaking is entirely optional but it does increases the nutritional values of dal). I usually soak dal first and then go on preparing the rest of ingredients
2. Finely chop onions and tomato. Grate or cut garlic and ginger.
3. Heat Ghee in the pressure cooker. One could use oil but ghee imparts a wonderful flavor and this one Tbsp is all the fat we use in the recipe and it gets divided in four servings.
4. Add hing, cumin seeds, ginger-garlic and onion and cook on medium flame for 4-5 minutes. Then add tomatoes and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes
5. Add red chill powder, turmeric , soaked dal and 2.5 cups water and cook to a smooth consistency in the pressure cooker.
6. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy hot with Rice or Rotis. This goes equally well with both. We had this with some spinach-methi rotis and a dollop of home made curd.

This is my entry to Jihva-dal hosted by Suma of Veggie Platter.

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Tofu Tikka

April 11, 2010 at 2:10 am (Appetizers)

What better way to start my culinary blog events with participation in something hosted by my favorite blogger and what better tribute then to cook something from her own blog.

Nupur from one hot stove is hosting Blog bites -Copy cat edition.. The rules are simple, replicate something that you have read on any other blog in your kitchen. I first read this Tandoori tofu recipe on Nupur’s blog. It sounded so simple and gave it a try for a party I hosted. Nupur was not exaggerating, This is a keeper of the recipe, so very delicious and so easy to make.

Tofu Tikka

Tofu Tikka

I made some slight tweaks to her receipe depending on ingredients I had on hand.

You will need (For 25 people)

  1. 4 blocks firm tofu (preferably organic).
  2.  4 tbsp garlic flavored olived oil
  3. Juice of 2 big limes,
  4.  Spices( 1 tbsp salt, 1 tbsp amchoor powder, 1 tbsp kitchen king masala, 1\2 tbsp turmeric powder and 1 tbsp red chilli powder.)

Steps

  1. Drain water from tofu
  2. Cut tofu in bite size pieces
  3. Marinate overnight in mixture of olive oil and spices
  4. Just before serving, heat oven to 450 and cook for 25-30  minutes
  5. Broil on High for 10 more minutes.

In a separate bowl, I also marinated one big red onion in one cup vinegar, salt and paprika.

I garnished the Tofu liberally with onion relish and loads of cilantro. Served this with a mint cilantro chutney on the side. Pure bliss, everyone loved it…………

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My favorite Food Blogs

April 10, 2010 at 8:02 pm (Musings)

This blog has moved to http://indofoodcourt.blogspot.com/
My favorite food bloggers

1.       Nupur from One Hot Stove She writes from the wonderful city of St. Louis. I love her recipes because her cooking style is close to mine. Effervescent, bubbly and quick. She uses few ingredients all of which I can find in my pantry and her recipes have always been a success. Like the broiled tofu, I made for the birthday party

Yesterday night I made a quick version of her Indianized egg salad and we loved eating it filled in soft pita packets.

2.     Indira from Mahanandi,. She writes from Houston, Tx and I love this because of the southern twist to her cooking. Her way of tempering and daals is so different from what we are used to in the North. For instance, she will always mesh her daal to a smooth consistency while we prefer to keep grains separate. Also she will always use mustard seeds for tempering while our tempering is usually limited to cumin.

I have cooked her baghara baigan, mirchi ka salan, stuffed bellpeppers and so much more. She introduced me the lovely split green peas and making peanuts based gravies.

3.       What’s for Lunch Honey….Meeta writes from Weimar, Germany, I love the way she writes and her photographs are drool worthy, Her desserts are the most elegant I have ever seen in pictures and transpose me in heaven with there beauty and lust.

Alas, I haven’t tried much of her recipes because of the different measurements in metric system and because she uses ingredients that I don’t have offhand in my pantry. But Still I love love reading her blog and oohing and aaing over her marvelous desserts

4.       Hooked on Heat: Meenakshi writes from Canada and her Indo Chinese fusion recipes are simply amazing. I have tried her Gobhi Manchurian, vegetable chowmin and pepper mushrooms and every single dish has left us licking our fingers. Her cooking style and recipes are close to mine and I use them to add a slightly new twist to my everyday food. Not to mention she writes beautifully and artistically with a short sweet version of her parent’s love marriage or about the lovely couple.

5.  Mad Tea Party: Anita writes from Delhi, India and takes me back to the city where I spent so many wonderful times. Her dialogues about Delhi’s fresh fruit and veggies transforms me into memory lanes , Not to mentions she throws fabulous parties. Her chana masala recipe is a keeper and so is the bharleli mirchi.

The list is not exhaustive, I love reading Musical from Musical’s kitchen, Trupti from spice who loved me, Shammi from Food in the main, Kalyn from kalyn kitchen , Jai and Bee from jugalbandi , Asha from Aroma and so many more. The world of food blogs is amazing; you just can’t stop reading once you have started.

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Namaste

April 10, 2010 at 3:49 am (Musings)

This blog has moved to http://indofoodcourt.blogspot.com/
Namaste and welcome to my blog. About me. I am a girl of multitude dimensions and varied interests. I love to read, Blogging is my new found passion. Topics and Blog that interest me are varied and diverse. I love to read food blogs (came across after my search for recipes few years back), personal finance blogs (got addicted when I was looking to buy our first house), deals and coupons blog and also blogs of nurses and medical professionals.

Cooking is my passion, reading food blogs my hobby and computer, my profession. So many times I thought of chronically my foodie experiences but never get to it. This is my maiden attempt. Hope I succeed.

About the name, Orange and Bronze is such a vibrant and pleasing color experience, something that soothes and satisfies you from within, the same aroma I hope my cooking will provide favorite drink, one that I relish making again and again

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