Dal Torka or Torkar dal

Whatever the name, the rose smells just as sweet. 

Or, as here, the dal tastes just as good; as it did in my childhood. 

The highways in Odisha and Bengal are dotted with numerous Punjabi dhabas .... the perfect pit stop for tired and hungry travelers on long journeys. 
One of the excitements of our travels to Dadur bari / maternal grandfather's house was the stops on the highways for food.
Just as were the other trips to different places. One thing was guaranteed .... we will get to eat at a dhaba. 

Around noon, Bapi would turn the car into a bylane and halt in front of a dhaba. He always knew which one serves  the best food. We would stretch our legs. 
There would be at least one or two huge trees, usually the Neem or Banyan, with a shade all around. 
There would be charpais or woven cots underneath. 
Bapi would immediately lie down on one of them and close his eyes and rest in the gentle breeze. 
Ma would sit down and ask for a glass of lassi. 

I would sit at the end of the charpai .... I hated when I sat on it and the ropes sagged in, making it difficult for me to stand up again without struggling .... and watch all around. 

It seemed like a small haven , away from the highway in the blazing sun with vehicles speeding past. 

Bapi would  order the food first, since it took time to prepare .... especially the chicken. 
The dal torka was a major attraction .... dark, thick, earthy in taste with while blobs of scrambles eggs in it. Bapi always said that the secret to a great dal torka was the addition of some jhol from the mutton curry ... on the sly. 
He would always ask for a country chicken curry and Ma would ask for rice with it. 
Then there would be a hot omelette for me. With hot roti ... white, thin and all puffed up ... straight from the wood fired stove .... smelling of dry wheat and  wood smoke. 
And some fresh onions cut into largish pieces. 
Simple, fresh food, hot off the fire. 

Back on the road, I would promptly go off to sleep. 
Now I wonder how Bapi drove for the rest of the journey, without dozing. 

I had some soaked green moong dal and was waiting for them to sprout. 
Had some eggs at home too . 
And so made this Torkar dal for dinner. 
And was swamped with memories as I cooked it. 

Note : 
This dal is usually made with the whole black Urad dal / the Biulir dal / Kolai dal. 
When I do not have it at home, I make do with the green moong dal. 

Need : 

Whole green moong dal  - soaked at least for 8 - 10 hours

Eggs 

Onions - chopped 
Green chillies - chopped
Ginger - grated 

Ginger garlic paste 

Turmeric powder 

Red chilli powder 
Garam masala powder ( I use my homemade one )

Kasoori methi - crushed 

Jeera / Cumin seeds 

Ghee 

How to : 

Cook the dal with a little turmeric powder, the grated ginger and salt, in a pressure cooker for two whistles on low heat. 
Cool.

Heat ghee in a kadahi or a pan. 

Add jeera and the onions. Fry till slightly brown. 
Add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and fry well. 

Add the dal and bring to a boil. 
Adjust water and salt and add the garam masala and the kasoori methi. 
Cover and simmer. 

In a different pan, scramble the eggs with a little salt and  add them to the dal. 

Give a good mix, add a dollop of ghee or butter and cover. 
Remove from heat and let it stand for at least 10 minutes. 

Serve hot. 

To complete the memory, I made some maida rotis to go with them ... just as they made in dhabas. 

I do not have a wooden stove though .... so missed the dusting the hot ash off the rotis part. 
But we did devour them just like I did back then. 

How I wish to live those days again. With Bapi's presence around me. 

Warm. Safe. Secure. Loved. 

Laccha paratha and Egg curry ... with Punjabi dhaba like flavours

I had made this meal quite a long time back. Maybe a few months. I did post on Instagram but wanted to make a post here too. 

Given that I do not cook rich food regularly, I had wanted to keep a track of this recipe. 

And more so because I cook as I go .... I never ever follow a recipe. I just can't. 

I cook as my heart guides me.

Whatever it calls out for, I add to the food.

And so, more often than not, I forget my own recipes.

I have trying to increase the protein content of B's food intake. He is a vegetarian but can eat eggs once in a while. That  too only omelettes. 

So I decided , for a change , to cook some Egg curry for him. 

And disguise the flavours of boiled egg in a rich, spicy gravy that would be fragrant with spices too. 

And since I have a decent variety of punjabi flavoured masalas and spices in my kitchen, I decided to make a punjabi styled gravy. 

Having said that, I must mention that dhaba food, for me , has always been the Dimer torka ( another recipe that I have always wanted to make a post on ) and country chicken curry with fresh, handmade rotis . 

On our travels all over Odisha, the highlight would be when Bapi would decide to stop for a meal. 

Once we pulled over at the selected dhaba beside the highway, we would sit on the charpais  / rope cots laid out under a huge, old tree .... sometimes the banyan, neem or at other times the peepal or mango. 

We never needed a menu. 

Bapi would ask for fresh chicken curry. And Dimer torka.

And I would always ask for an omelette. 

I loved tearing off a piece of the super hot roti, loaded with dry flour, dust it off and tear a piece of the omelette, dip it in the torka and eat it. 

There was something about the  heavy, afternoon breeze under the trees, the smoking hot fresh food in front of us and Bapi lying on the charpai, looking up at the sky, that makes it one of my best childhood memories. And it wasn't any wonder I never remembered the rest of our journey ever, after that kind of a meal. I would always fall asleep. ☺☺

Coming back to my meal and recipe, I made Laccha parathas to go with the egg curry. 

I have tried making Laccha parathas earlier too ... but this time the layers were better and so good enough for me to make a post. 

I have recently learnt a new technique and will be posting it soon. 


For the Laccha Parathas : 

Need : 

Maida / APF 
Oil - for kneading and frying 
Salt 
Curd 
Water 

How to : 

Mix everything together, except water. 
Use the water, a little at a time and knead a smooth dough. 
Cover and keep aside for at least an hour. 

Cut medium sized balls out of the  dough. 

Roll out a thin roti. 

Apply oil and some dry flour all over. 

Roll it up like a pipe. 

Roll it up again sideways to make a ball. 

Flatten it and roll out a roti again. Do not apply too much pressure. 

Fry on a hot tawa till brown and crisp on both sides. 

 
For the Egg curry 

I cooked the masala twice ... a technique I do not use much. But the gravy comes out very smooth and is perfect for occasional times.

Need : 

Boiled eggs  - 4, shelled and fried in a little oil with turmeric powder

Onions - sliced - 1 medium

Garlic cloves  -  6 to 8 

Black cardamom - 1 
Green cardamom - 1 

Onions chopped - 1 

Tomatoes - 3 medium 

Mustard oil - 2 tbsp 

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp 

Red chillies - 3 , broken 
Everest Kitchen King powder - 1 tsp 

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp 

Kasuri methi - a little 

Salt - to taste 

Sugar - to taste 

Ghee - 1 tbsp

How to : 

Heat mustard oil. 

Add  cumin seeds, red chilli, sliced onions, garlic cloves,  black cardamom and tomatoes with some salt.
Cover and cook till soft and done.

Cool and blend smooth in a mixie.

Heat oil in another kadahi.

Add green cardamom, jeera and chopped onions. 

Fry  till the onions turned soft and pink.

Add the blended paste, kitchen king powder, red chilli powder, a little sugar, salt and kasuri methi and a little water.

Simmer, add the eggs and cover.

Let it cook for some more time and the flavours to get together. 

Top with a spoonful of ghee before removing from heat. 

Done ✅ 

Enjoy!! 

Hope you have taken part in my giveaway of this fabulous book. 

Hurry!!

Egg stuffed sandwich

 Or not.
Technically, I mean.
A proper egg sandwich will have boiled eggs. With or without spices.
Like my Ma makes.
But not me. I make my egg sandwiches with already cooked eggs.
And sometimes I stuff parathas with them too. Complete with whatever I want in them ... vegetables, spices, etc. etc.
And then again, there is the real Dim porota or Egg parathas.

But these sandwiches I make are to bring back those days when I was very new in the kitchen.
We had just moved into our flat after our marraige and the lady staying in the flat in front of us was a half Parsi.
She would make all kinds of good food and share with me.
Most days, we would have breakfast and lunch together. Lunch would be leftovers ... both of us would clean out our fridge.
But breakfasts on some days, we would make together.
Some days she would make the eggs and I would have bread and vice versa.
The tea, some days she would make and on some days I. 
And we would sit out on our big terraces and enjoy the food as well as each other's company.

It was she who made these sandwiches and I fell in love with them.
While she kept the eggs half cooked and with just freshly ground black pepper, I love to add vegetables and green chillies to mine.
And a dash of garam masala for the man.
These sandwiches are extra crisp and golden on the outside and soft inside.
I make them often, reminiscing the old days.
These make great snacks too on a winter evening or on a rainy day.

 Need :

Eggs
Bread
Butter
Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped Vegetables of your choice ( I used green peas, sweet corn and carrots )
Chopped Onion
Chopped Green chillies
Salt

How to :

Heat a little butter in a pan.

Add the onion + chillies. Fry till onions turn translucent.

Add the vegetables, salt and black pepper.

Add the eggs and fry well.

Remove and cool.

Take sandwich bread and apply butter on both sides.

Place them on the sandwich maker and put some of the scrambled egg in it.

Place another bread on it and close.


Toast till golden brown on the top.

Serve hot with ketchup or any dip.

If you do not have a sandwich maker, you can toast it on a flat pan too.
Keep something heavy on the sandwiches and they will easily turn crisp and golden.

Enjoy with your favourite cuppa tea or coffee or even hot chocolate!!

Dimer Porota or Dim Parota or Anda Paratha or Egg stuffed flatbreads

 

So, the man comes back from sub zero temperatures with a chest full of congestion and a suitcase full of laundry. And my days started and ended with chores and all the more chores. Not to mention tending to a sick man who turns into a five year old when it comes to illnesses.

Making soups, light food, especially those that would slide down easily a painful throat, ... like the sabudana ki kheer, khichuri, vegetarian pishpash, etc. was all that I cooked.
Thankfully, Pune's cool weather helped ... it had suddenly turned very cold for a few days ... the temperature dipped as low as 10 degrees at night .... and the dryness helped in healing the respiratory infection quickly enough.

But I lost my mojo to blog. Even though I had some pictures ready to post, I did not feel like writing. Not only did I have anything fruitful in my mind, but also the very effort to sit down and make a post was too much for me.
I would be drained by the end of the day and somehow faced the evening only because I looked forward to a little low light, some good ghazals and my knitting, that gave me company through the evenings ... before I stepped into the kitchen to make dinner.
I have started a new book too ... only it is taking time to finish as I cannot read as fast as I used to earlier ... blame it on my weak hands and shoulders and also my housework.

Thankfully, B is already on the mend and I can go back to my routine and life.
So I may be able to start posting regularly now ... fingers and toes crossed.

I had made this Dim parota one of the mornings, when B was away, for myself.
This is one filling breakfast that sustains you through half the day easily. Back home, Ma would make this for me when she did not have anything else at hand .... namely on vegetarian days.
Now, I often make it when we are going out in the weekends and it keeps us full till lunch.
Very quick to make, it is one of my favourite breakfasts.
And dinner too ... when there is nothing in the fridge or when I am too lazy to cook.
All you need is some ready atta and some eggs.

Do not confuse this with the Moghlai porota ... that is entirely different.

I love the Dim parota with ketchup and sometimes add a little kasundi to the ketchup too.
But tell you what ... if you have good quality green chillies ... the kind that hits you with a bang! and shakes the living daylights out of you, then you need no ketchup, no kasundi  .... or for that matter nothing at all.

I added some chopped coriander leaves too.
Just the well chopped onions + green chillies + coriander leaves is all that is needed.
The dough was whole wheat atta + a little maida (6:4).

This Dimer paratha needs just a few drops of white cooking oil to crisp it up. And that will be possible only when you have a well seasoned tawa or a non stick tawa.
I use my good old well seasoned cast iron tawa.

Need :

Atta + Maida - ratio 6:4 , kneaded with a little salt+cooking oil
Chopped onion
Chopped green chillies
Chopped coriander leaves
A little freshly crushed black pepper
Eggs
Salt - to taste
White cooking oil

How to :

Make small balls of the kneaded dough and roll out a roti.

Mix the rest of the ingredients, except the oil, to the eggs and beat well.

Heat a tawa and place a roti.

Turn it over after half a minute.

Now pour in a little egg mixture and fold the roti from both sides ... like in the picture.

Place a cover and cook on low heat for a minute.

Remove cover, flip it over and apply a little oil.

Press with a spatula and fry it on high heat, till golden brown on both sides.

Serve hot.
Makes for a great evening snack too.
This is a great way to use leftover rotis too. You can either fold them with the egg mixture as above, or layer one roti with the mixture and then lay another roti on the top. Cover and cook for a while and then add oil to fry.

I love to add some chopped sausages or ready chicken or mutton kheema to the mixture too and pair it with some soup, for a more filling meal that is perfect for hearty dinner.

Enjoy!!

Dimer jhol / Egg Curry

 

 Of late, or for quite some time, there have been no recipes using eggs on my blog.
I have eggs very minimally these days, for the last couple of years, because of a suspicion that I am allergic to them.
So I eat them on and off to maintain a track.
Also, since B does not like eggs, I stay away from making them too frequently. Too much of a hassle ... cooking for myself and then cooking for him ... which I anyway do on my non vegetarian days.

But I love to eat eggs.
And this love is not limited to only omelettes or scrambles or bhurjis.
I love to eat eggs in different kinds of curries.

This killing summer is just not the right time for a spicy curry. But Pune turns out beautifully cool these evenings and the heat does not hurt as much as it does during the day.
So I made this egg curry since I had exactly three eggs sitting in the fridge and none of us wanted omelettes  for b'fast.
Or for dinner.
 And I got my chance to make the Dimer jhol .... the good old Bengali way.

I don't have much to write today. Call it a block or brain turned sluggish in the heat.
So will leave you with the recipe. 

This jhol has garam masalas, which you can go easy on, if making it for a summer meal.

 Need :

 Eggs - 3, boiled and shelled
Potatoes - 2, peeled and cubed
Onions - 2, chopped
Tomatoes - 1, chopped
Ginger paste - 1 tbsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
 Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Tomato ketchup - 1 tbsp
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp ( I used mustard oil )
Whole garam masala - cloves + cinnamon + black cardamom, crushed
Bay leaf / Tej patta - 1
Dry red chilli - 2, broken
Fresh green chillies - 2 or 3
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp or less
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 1 tbsp

How to make the curry :

Heat the oil.
Fry the shelled eggs with a sprinkle of sugar till it changes colour.
I do it because I love the crinkle skin on them ... skip this if you do not want it.

 In the rest of the oil, add the garam masalas , dry chillies and the bay leaf.
Add the onion and fry well.

When they turn translucent, add the ginger and garlic pastes.
Add tomatoes + haldi + mirchi powder.
Fry well till tomatoes turn soft.

Add the potatoes + salt + water.
Cover and cook till the potatoes are done.

 Remove cover and add the eggs.
Add the ketchup and some fresh green chillies.

Cover and boil some more.
Add garam masala powder, cover and let it stand for 5 minutes.

Serve hot with boiled rice.

You can keep the gravy thick or runny ... as you wish.
I love to keep it slightly thick to mop up with plain rice.
Yum!!

Omelette in Tomato and Green Peas gravy

( Vegetarians can use Moong / Besan Chila in place of the Egg Omelette ).

Ok ... this is a cheater's dish. When I do not feel like cooking full meals and at the same time do not feel like ordering a takeaway ... or eating out ... I turn to eggs. Easy and fast to make ... eggs are a sure life saver. I love them anyway ... boiled too ... but my other half has a prob with "uncooked eggs" ( his way of explaining bland eggs ... as in boiled/poached/fried etc etc.) :-)

Plain omelette would have been a little too dry with parathas .... so I cubed it and dunked it into a sauce of tomato and onions. Added some fresh green peas just because I love green peas and do not think twice before adding them to any dish.

Btw ... I used my Onion chutney as the gravy here. :-)

Need : Eggs, chopped and sliced onions, chopped green chillies, chopped tomatoes ( if not using the chutney), red chilli powder, a little cooking oil, salt to taste.

How to : Beat the eggs with a little salt , chopped onions and green chilles. Heat oil in a pan and pour in the egg mixture. Cover and let it cook for some time. Flip over the omelette and cook for a whle more.

Take out the omlette in a plate and cut it into cubes.

In another pan heat a little oil. Add the sliced onions and fry.
Add the tomatoes ( if using the chutney, no need for tomatoes) and the red chilli powder. Fry till mushy. Add the green peas and salt and fry till slightly dryish.

Add the omlette cubes and serve immediately.


Great with rotis / parathas/ bread / steamed rice. :-)

Kosha Dim

Kosha literally means 'Bhuna'. Onion/ginger/garlic paste ... fried well in oil. Dim is egg. :-)

Need : Boiled eggs, onion/ginger/garlic/tomato paste, haldi powder, a pinch of sugar,red chilli powder, 2 tbsp cooking oil ( I used mustard oil), garam masala powder, salt to taste.

How to : Heat a little oil first. Add the boiled eggs and fry them a little with a pinch of haldi powder and sugar. This gives a colour to the eggs and also the skin turns slightly crispy.

Remove and keep aside.

Now add the rest of the oil and the onion paste. Add the haldi powder and red chilli powder and fry well till oil seperates.

Add some water and the eggs (make a little cut in them so that the masala enters) and keep stirring till all water evaporates.

I had some boiled aloo .... completely crushed one and added it to give a little body to the gravy.

Sprinkle the garam masala and cover for some time.

Goes great with hot rotis / parathas. Also can be had with khichuri (khichdi) too.

Savoury French toast (the way I like it)

These Moong sprouts are my all time favourite .... and are omnipresent in my home. Even before I finish one batch I set the next to sprout. And these are a huge help ... not to mention the healthy part too.
Munch them raw, add them to a salad, to any dish, just saute them with butter and black pepper powder, add them to a raita, to a stir fry, a noodles dish or fried rice or to a masala muri ...... the choice is yours.
You add these, you are adding a handful of health to your dishes.

I love to munch these with a little piece of jaggery. :-)

When I made the French toasts I dunked in a few of these. As I do not like anything sweet, I often make these savoury French toasts for myself.



Need :

Eggs,
Finely chopped onion,
Finely chopped green chillies,
Bread pieces,
Oil / butter to cook,
Salt to taste.
Can add any chopped veggies or green peas too.

How to :

Beat the eggs with the rest of the ingredients except bread and oil.

Cut the bread pieces to desired size/shape.

Dip them into the egg mixture.

Heat a pan/tawa and smear some butter/oil. Place the bread peices with some mixture and fry both sides till golden brown. If needed add oil / butter.

Life is in the doldrums these days ... life ... not me. :-(
It is raining and I should be happy. I love rains. But coping with unending power cuts and the cold , damp weather ( yes ... I shiver in 20 degrees ... so go on .... laugh ) has succeeded in killing my spirit.

Inspite of having good fried stuff I hate the snaps for lack of natural light ... so don't feel like posting them.

So am spending the days hogging on calories and the printed stuff ... just read Hosseini's "The Kite Runner" ... (hubby took pity on me finally and got it from a friend). And cursing nobody in particular.

And if you think am looking for sympathy writing this boring god-knows-what .... you are right. And I know I deserve that kick. :-)

Egg Bhurji stuffed Paratha

Eggs are my favourite ... cooked any way ... poached, boiled, soft boiled ... but my fav is scrambled, with milk and slightly sweet with a dash of black pepper.... reminds me of very cold winter mornings at home. Better if sandwiched in toasted bread. Hubby can eat eggs only if made into a bhurji ... cooked and battered and spiced to the point of turning it into a sabzi. :-(

So I make the bhurjis at home ... and as usual do not leave a chance to dunk in some veggies. And on principle do not add haldi/mirchi/garam masala. I love the white, fluffy eggie(?) part of the bhurji ... and also the lovely bright coloured veggies.



It was the first day of the weekend and that means eating out for two whole days. I had some kneaded atta in the fridge that I did not want to waste ... besides which I decided that if we have a really heavy breakfast, at least we can skip eating lunch out.

So made egg bhurji stuffed parathas. They actually tasted great. And the pics looked so nice that I uploaded every snap. :-)

Need :

2 eggs beaten,
1 small onion chopped,
1 green chilli chopped,
veggies of you choice( I used finely chopped carrots and tomatoes and some green peas,
salt to taste
1 tsp cooking oil.
And of course kneaded atta.

How to :

Heat oil.

Add the onions and the chillies.

Fry for a little while.

Then add the veggies and salt.
Cook till the veggies are done (but should not be brown and limp).

Now add the beaten egg and keep stirring till lumps form. Keep stirring till they break into smaller lumps and the whole thing looks about done.
Keep aside to cool.

Roll out a roti from the atta and place 2 spoonfulls of the egg mixture and fold over from both sides.
Very carefully roll out just a little, using enough dry atta.
The point is to keep the paratha from opening up.



Heat a tawa and fry parathas with a little oil till brown and crisp on both sides.



Serve hot with ketchup.