Sabut or Chilkewali Masoor ki dal / Tempered brown lentils

 

This post has been on the making for the last three days. But could not be posted for lack of anything to write.
I could not write. Not only because of a block but also because I could not type.
Because I was petrified.
Literally.
My mind was numb. I did not know what I was doing. Or thinking. Or saying.
Not for the last one week, at least.
I was too busy staying scared stiff.
Ever since the day my dentist had prescribed a RCT.
Every morning I woke up with a sense of doom. And my heart beat went from faster to fastest.
I would hurry through the day ... trying to keep myself so busy that I couldn't think of anything else.
But no.
The human mind will, always will, wander to places that it should stay away from. 
The best way to keep thinking of something is to tell yourself not to think of it; ever.

Coming to my plight, this sense of doom and uncertainity continued till today.
The final two days to deadline saw me cook  food for at least four days. And some semi solid stuff , for me, like some payesh, khichuri and some boiled aloo ready.
Lots of milk and curd in the fridge too.
I had no idea how much pain I was to bear. I had no idea if I could stand in the kitchen and work.
And so on.
All this even after seeing B having a rct just a few months back.

Anyway, I am just back from the procedure, which went smoothly.
According to my dentist, I have been good and did not interrupt the whole process even once.
But then, what does he know.
I had kept my eyes tightly shut all through the twenty minutes of ordeal, after that first glimpse of the syringe looming right in front of my eyes. 
And desperately tried to shut out the noise of the drill inside my head with the Gayatri mantra.

Which apparently worked because I am back home now, whole. 
Except for a huge hole in one of my teeth, that has been temporarily packed with medicines.
Another sitting and I will be one complete piece.

For now, my left cheek is numb and the muscles refuse to work.
And I am pain free.
For the next three hours or so.
Hence writing down a post quickly; before the pain starts and I slip into my self wallowing mode again.

Now, coming to food, I suddenly realised one day that I have hardly made any posts on the dals that I cook everyday. Yes, everyday.
 I have never been a fan of dals. But after marraige, realised that the menu for a meal in my husband's home will always be dal,roti,sabzi.
And that started my initiation to dals.
After that, I have been cooking dals everyday ... sometimes twice a day.
But have never clicked a snap or made a post out of them.
Except for the occassional Cholar dal or the Dal Panchmela. 

So decided that hence forth all the recipes for our daily dal will see the light of the day on Kitchen-e- Kichu Khonn.

And last Sunday, in one of our conversations with Mummy, when she mentioned that she had made saboot masoor ki dal for lunch, I asked her how.
And she gave me this recipe.
Earlier I used to make this with just a tempering of hing and jeera and some green chillies. But this time, she added that one small thing that turned this plain dal to something absolutely divine.
The black cardamom!

If you a regular reader or have tried my Rajma, which again is Mummy's recipe, you will know about the magic this little spice makes.
The ingredients are so little that you will laugh.
But that is what I love about daily food.
Simple ingredients, simple way of cooking, awesome in taste and flavours.

So here goes the recipe for this simple chilke wali Masoor ki dal ( unskinned red lentils), that I made last Sunday.

You will need :

Saboot Masoor dal / unskinned red lentils / brown lentils - 1 cup, washed well
(I do not soak the dal.)

Water - 2 and ½ cups ( use the same cup as above )
Onion - 1 medium sized, chopped
Fresh green chilli - 1, broken
Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Black cardamom - 2, broken
Cooking oil - 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

How to :

 Heat the oil + ghee in a pressure cooker.

Add the jeera + green chillies + black cardamom.

When you get the aroma of the cardamom frying, add the onions.

Fry till they turn translucent but do not brown.

Now add the dal and stir well.

Add the water and salt.

Put on the cover and cook on low heat till your hear 2 full whistles.

Remove from heat and let the cooker cool down.

Open the lid and check the consistency of the dal.
Like all well cooked lentils, this dal too will have a tendency to thicken quickly.
So check accordingly.

Here is a closeup of the actual consistency. 
If it is too thick, add some cold water and put it on heat to simmer for five minutes.

Serve hot.

Here is a look of our lunch plate .
I had made a sabzi of Aloo and Baingan ... which is coming up next.
And a salad of sprouts, tomatoes, onions, green chillies dressed with lime juice, salt and black pepper.
Stay tuned.

And enjoy!!

Enchor er tarkari / Kathal ki sabzi

A few days back, I had asked my followers on facebook as to what kind of recipes would they like in the next few posts on the blog.
Most of them replied that some light, vegetarian food for summer would be good.
Now, I believe most of my recipes are way too light already. And hence perfect for summer.
All my recipes for fish as well as chicken ( which I do not post very regularly but do make for dinner on most week days ) are really simple with minimum of ingredients or masalas.
As are the vegetarian ones ... which I believe are even more lighter.

Still, that set me thinking.
Of late, I have been posting less vegetarian dishes.
Why?
I don't know. As simple as that.
So when I saw these pictures of the Jackfruit / Kathal ki sabzi in my folders, waiting for god knows how long to see the light of the day, I decided to make a post on it pronto.
And promptly got stuck when it came to writing the recipe.

I hunted amongst all my folders but could not find the recipe.
I was sure I had written it somewhere. But still could not find it.
Checked my scribble pad in the kitchen. Nope. No recipe.
The reason I was hunting for the recipe is that I hardly follow any measurements or one single recipe when I am cooking something.
Every time I use different things, with different measurements.
I cannot call them measurements too ... I just eyeball everything and throw in a pinch of this and a spoonful of that.
Yes, that is the way I cook. Most of the time.
Which makes it absolutely necessary to write down a recipe the same time I am making it.
Else, within a day I forget it.
And when I eventually sit down to make a post, I am completely lost.
Just like today.

I actually have some ingredients written down for a masala and marked it as "for god knows what!".
Get the picture?

I could not remember if I had used onions or garlic.
Or tomatoes.
Or what masalas.
Feeling lost, I gave up. And went to make myself a cup of tea.
Evening was setting in and the sky had turned into a riot of colours. After a whole day of dark clouds hovering and a slightly muggy weather, the sun had burst through with a wonderfully, surreal golden light that slowly turned a purplish pink before letting the dark grey take over.
And there was a beautifully cool breeze too.

I sat with my cup in my hands and wondered about the recipe. Where was it?
And then it struck me!
It was right there, in front of me, all the while.
And I could not recognise it!

The thing is, I often write down a lot of reminders and other things on the white tiles on my kitchen wall.
And the recipe was right there! In front of me!
But in jumbled words, small pieces and broken sentences.
Slanted lines going all the way up on my right. Breaking at the joints of the tiles.
Up and down and towards the corner.
But nowhere was it written what the recipe was for.

Finally, it was one hurried line that saved me. "Remember to apply plenty of oil in yours hands before cutting it".
Only,  there was no mention of what 'it' was!
Sigh! 

So here goes the recipe.
Light, summery. Perfect for lunch or dinner.

Need :

Kathal / Enchor /  Raw Jackfruit - 2 cups full, cut into medium sized cubes and soaked in salt water
(Remember to apply plenty of vegetable oil in your hands before cutting the Jackfruit )

Potato - 1 medium sized, cut into cubes
Onion - 1 medium sized, sliced
Tomatoes - 2 big sized, grated or pureed 

Bay leaf  - 1
Whole red chillies - 2, broken into two
Green cardamom - 1, split
Jeera / Cumin powder - 1 tbsp
Dhania / Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Mirchi / Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp

Cooking oil - 2 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 1 tsp or to taste
Water

How to :

Cook the cut kathal pieces with some salt and water in a pressure cooker .... 2 whistles on low heat will do the job.

Remove from heat and open cooker once it has completely cooled down.
Drain the kathal pieces and keep aside.

Heat oil in a kadahi / wok.

Add the bay leaf, green cardamom and the whole red chillies.
Add the onion slices quickly and fry till they turn pink.

Add the potatoes and fry covered till they are half cooked.  

Add the tomato and keep frying on high heat. 

Now add the masala powders and salt, stirring all the while.
Add some water if needed.
It should not turn dry ... the dry masalas will burn otherwise.

Now add the kathal pieces and fry for a while.

Add enough water to cover the pieces.
Add salt and sugar.
Cover and let it cook till the potatoes are well done and the kathal / enchor has soaked up all the masalas well.

Do check for water in between Add some if necessary.

After the gravy has reached desired consistency, sprinkle the ghee and the garam masala powder and cover.

Let it simmer for around five minutes.

Remove from heat.

Serve hot.
Goes great with rotis, parathas or dal and rice.

Enjoy!!


Do check out my Instant Kathal Biryani made with left over kathal curry.

Chingri Begun / Shrimps with Brinjals

 

I have a sudden feeling of not doing enough these days. The whole day rushes by and when evening sets in, I am left wondering as to what did I actually do?
Which one work was really, really good enough?
Well, I do not know the reason behind this self doubt. Maybe a case of fingers in too many pies, I guess.
Yes, from morning to afternoon, all I do is chores.
And cook.
And have taken up to painting all the covers of the glass bottles in the kitchen to a bright, fluroscent green ( my current obsession ) and yellow and some cherry red.

And have two sets of knitting going on simultaneously .... one bright orange long muffler and another wine coloured poncho.
Those of you who know me know my love for knitting too. When my orthopedic had sadly nodded his head in a no to my simple question of "Can I at least knit?" three years back, I was devastated.
No cooking .... I couldn't take either.
No reading .... that had broken me to pieces too.

But no knitting?! How will I live?!
So , on the day I finally stepped into the kitchen again, I had brought out a pair of knitting needles too.
And a small ball of wool.
And kept them right in front of me on the mantle piece .... so that my eyes would not miss them.
They were the reason I did not give up.
They were the reason that pushed me to exercise; to continue my physiotherapy.
And mend.

And as soon as I could, I started to knit one line every day.
Just one line.
And that started to infuse that positive energy in me.
And I knew I will knit again.

Yes, today I am knitting again!
I am slow, but I am going steady. And watch with joy as my fingers move along with the needles and my beloved yarn of wool passes through my fingers to turn into something new.
There are still hitches ... my shoulders still give up at times. But I go on.
When I lay it down to take some rest, I look at it and say in mind that I will come back and pick you up soon.

Nothing gives me more happiness than knitting. And I hope I never have to give it up again.
Maybe not being able to knit fast enough is eating me ... and hence that sense of slight despair.
Maybe.

Ok, I know I am digressing.

I have also been spending way too much of time in the kitchen too.
Have started cooking on a regular basis and loving it.
The last time I was at my fishwala's, I had brought big lot of different fishes. This I usually do.
And they last me through a fortnight or more easily.
And through unexpected guests.
And morbid days.

So along with a bunch of Parshe, big sized rohu pieces ( the ones with a thick skin and a good layer of fat ... I love them ), Tyangra and some medium sized prawns, I got these little shrimps too.
I was a little hesistant but the guy said they do not need cleaning.
That was enough to tempt me.
I already had visions of chomping them just crisply fried and gave in.
Bought around 150 gms of them.

Greed, as they say, is the reason behind every downfall.
I had the good sense to post a photograph of these tiny things on FB and asked what can I do with them.
And friends came up with wonderful ideas and recipes.
But first ... "you need to clean them".
Sigh.

So, the same night, after dinner, I sat down to deal with these tiny fellows who did not look  as innocent or tempting to me anymore, by then.
I froze them a little  while I had dinner. That helped hugely while dealing with them.
I cut off the whiskers up to the eyes. And shelled the slightly big sized ones. The smaller ones I left as they were.

Among the recipes, I zeroed in on Soma's simple one with very little ingredients.
The main reason being there were no vegetables at home other than a big sized brinjal and some potatoes.
Also, there was no other prep work needed.
Just chop, fry, add water and it is done. Just the kind of cooking I love.

Soma too cooked the same thing simultaneously in her kitchen in the far away US of A.
And sent me a photo on chat, just minutes after discussing the recipe.
That is the joy of having friends who love food and are equally happy to cook and share recipes.
Makes your food all the more loved.
And makes a meal worthwhile.
You can find her post here.

I followed her simple recipe and the result was this beautiful tel jhol.

I do not have good photographs that do enough justice to it.
To know, you need to make it just once.

Need :

Very small sized shrimps - 150 gms, cleaned and washed well.
Brinjal - 1 medium sized, chopped into cubes
Kalo jeere / Nigella seeds - 1 tsp
Fresh green chillies - 3
Turmeric powder - 2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Mustard oil - 4 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Water

How to :

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy kadahi / wok.
Apply 1 tsp of turmeric, red chilli powder and salt to the cleaned shrimps.
Fry them till they lose all moisture and turn all crunchy and crispy.
Keep aside.
Ok ... you can chomp on a few. I did. :-)

Add the rest of the oil to the kadahi.
Add the kalo jeere + green chillies.

Now add the chopped brinjal pieces and fry covered till done.

In a small bowl, mix turmeric powder + red chilli powder + salt with some water.
Add that to the fried brinjal pieces.

Cover and boil for a while.
Then add the shrimps.
Cover and cook for around 5 to 10 minutes or till the gravy dries up.
Soma suggests to keep the gravy dryish, almost the consistency of a sauce.

Remove cover, sprinkle 1 more tbsp of fresh mustard oil.
Add some chopped coriander leaves and you are done!

Goes best with plain, steamed rice.
The flavour of the fresh mustard oil brings out the best in this tel jhol, so do not skimp on it.

Enjoy!!