Basic Kadhi

Kadhi is a simple common everyday recipe in India. It is one of those recipes where every family has their own version. This recipe is a Maharashtrian version, the way my mother made it. It is warm and comforting on a cold winter day. It is also an easy way to use up yogurt. I had a lot of fresh and sour yogurt that I needed to finish. So I made it on a hot summer day. I usually make this Kadhi with khichadi and papad. Today I made it with poli and a vegetable side. You cannot go wrong. It works with most Indian recipes.

Weekend summer lunches can be challenging. I like to go out and hang out with my daughter but that takes time away from cooking elaborate meals. The only way out is to cook first thing in the morning. In any case the cats don't let me sleep in, they need attention at the same time everyday. The best part of cooking early morning is everything is done before it gets too hot. We get to go out and come back to freshly cooked lunch.

You will need (4-5 servings)
2 cups yogurt
2 tbsp. besan
1/4 tsp. red chili pepper powder, adjust to taste
1 tsp. sugar
salt to taste

For the tempering
1 tbsp. oil, I used olive oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
a pinch turmeric powder
1 serrano pepper, chopped into 1 inch pieces
4-5 curry leaves

Whisk together besan and yogurt in a mixing bowl. Add red chili pepper powder, sugar and salt to the yogurt mixture. Transfer to a pan with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. The liquid should be pouring consistency.

In a smaller pan heat the oil then turn off the heat. Add the cumin seeds and when they change color add the turmeric powder, curry leaves and chopped serrano pepper. Add the oil to the yogurt, stir and turn off heat.

Serve hot as it tastes best when hot. Store leftovers in the refrigerator and warm on the stove top before serving.

Enjoy!

Mugachi Usal / Sprouted Mung Usal

Sprouted beans are considered healthier than regular beans as they are more bio available. Sprouts can be eaten raw in salads but this Maharashtrian recipe is very popular in my house. It is a simple preparation and cooks up quickly.

We had this usal for dinner with poli but it tastes really good with yogurt and rice too. This is one of my childhood favorites and because it is a recipe with very few ingredients the proportions of the sweet, sour and savory need to be just right. Make sure you adjust them as per your taste.

You will need (4 servings)
2 cup dry mung beans
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1/4 tsp. asafoetda
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. garam masala or coriander/cumin powder
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. amchur powder or lemon juice
1 tsp. red chilli powder or to taste
salt to taste

Soak the mung overnight. In the morning wrap the mung in a wet cloth and leave it aside for a day. In summer you could drain the water and leave the mung in the same pan they were soaked in. You will not need to wrap in a cloth.

Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle add the asafoetida and turmeric powder. Next add the sprouted mung. Add a few tablespoons of water if needed. Cover and let it cook on medium low heat for 3-4 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well together.

Cover and allow to steam/cook a couple more times. Turn off the heat.

Enjoy!

This is my entry for week four, day three of BM #64 for the theme Mega BM List. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#64.

Methi Gola Bhaji / Methi Dal

Waking up at 5 in the morning to cook is hard in winter but waking up to cook in a cold kitchen is way worse. So why is my kitchen so cold? Let me start at the beginning. This winter so far has been cold or wet but not both at the same time. Two weeks back everything changed. We got our first winter storm with ice, freezing rain and thunder sleet (yes there is such a thing). A day after the ice melted we had another winter storm with more sleet. And a day later a third one brought 3 inches of snow over 6 hours. It was like mother nature was trying to catch up for lost time. And right in the middle of the snow storm out furnace blew. To  add to our woes that day my daughter forgot to close the garage door on the way home. That helped the temperature on the first floor to drop overnight to the low 50s. That was of course on a Friday with the weekend ahead of us. Luckily the second floor furnace is working so we can all huddle upstairs. But the kitchen is on the first floor and hence cooking has been a challenge.

I have found that once the food is on the stove the kitchen does warm up. And this recipe is perfect to heat up the kitchen. It takes a little time to get to the right consistency. Methi gola bhaji is a pithala like dish made with toor dal. It can be made with any green leaves, I used methi. It has simple ingredients and makes a nice variation for dal and is a handy side dish. Given my cold kitchen, my family got this bhaji and poli (chapati) for dinner. And in case you are wondering today we are heading for warmer temperatures. We will be in the 60s. Tomorrow there will be sleet but we all enjoyed the moderately warm, very gloomy, cloudy and foggy day that was today.

You will need
1 cup toor dal
one bunch fresh methi
1 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1/4 tsp. asafoetida
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp. jaggery
1/2 tbsp. tamarind juice/paste
1 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt to taste

Cook the toor dal in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes (or 3 whistles). Let the pressure drop before opening the pressure cooker. Meanwhile separate the methi leaves from the stems and wash thoroughly. Chop the methi leaves and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle add the asafeotida and turmeric powder. Then add the methi leaves. Let them cook on low heat until they wilt but are not mushy. Now add the jaggery, tamarind, the coriander cumin powder, garam masala and cayenne powder. Combine well with the cooked methi leaves.

Now add the cooked dal and if need 1/4 cup water. Let it mixture cook on medium heat until it thickens. Continue cooking until the water is all gone and the bhaji can be served with a spoon and not a ladle. Turn off heat.

Enjoy with poli and pickle.

Panchmel Daliche Waran (Five Dal Waran)

Ambti and Waran are two common preparations of dal. I have made ambti before. This time I thought I would made waran. When dal is cooked and tempered oil is added to it, it is called phodnicha (tempered) waran or just waran. Sada waran is cooked dal without anything added to it.

While waran can be make with just tur dal I decided to make it with a mixture of five dals.

You will need
1/2 cups of a mixture of five dals (tur, channa, mung, urad and masoor)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1/4 tsp. asafoetida

Pressure cook the dals until completely cooked. When the pressure subsides transfer the contents to a pan and bring to a boil. Add a little water if the dal is too thick.

Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds. When they crackle turn off the heat. Add the cumin seeds, asafoetida and turmeric powder. Pour the oil over the dal carefully.

Combine well together and turn off heat.

Serve hot.