Gongura Khichdi and Gongura Chutney

I am pretty lazy when it comes to cooking separate dishes, and mixing them later. So, instead of cooking rice and the gongura dal separately, I chose the easy way out and prepared the khichdi instead. Comes close to the mixed thing. I don't add too much Masala because it takes away from the natural taste of the leaf.

Veggies:
Gongura leaves (no clue about what they are called in English): Peeled from around half a big bunch.
Onions: One large cut to medium sized slices
Masala:
Mustard seeds (rai) : 1 tsp
Zeera (cumin): 1 tsp
Haldi (turmeric) : 1/2 tsp
Hing (Asafetida) : A pinch
Groundunts (optional): 4-5
Red chilli powder: To taste
Salt: To taste

Rice: 1 cup (washed)
Tur dal: 1/4 cup (washed)
Water: 41/2 cups
Oil: 1-2 tsp

Procedure
Boil the leaves in water for 2-3 minutes. Cool and grind them to a paste.
Heat oil in the pressure cooker. Add the rai and zeera. After they stop spluttering, add the Hing and groundnuts and saute for some time. Add the onions and saute till golden brown. Add the Gongura paste and stir fry for 2 minutes stirring constantly. Add haldi, salt, red-chilli powder and stir for a minute. Add the rice, dal, and water. Cover the cooker and wait for around 7-8 whistles.
After the cooker has cooled down, remove the lid, and top the dish with ghee.
Served best with paapads and raaitha.

Gongura Chutney:
Veggies;
Gongura (half a bunch - boiled, cooled and pureed in a mixer)
Onion: 1 large cut medium sized
Green chillies: 2-3 depending on the variety
Masala:
Rai (mustard seeds): 1 tsp
zeera (cumin seeds) 1tsp
Haldi (turmeric) : 1 tsp
Hing (Asafetida): 1 pinch
Channna dal: 1 tsp
Groundnuts : 4-5
Sesame seeds: 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds: 1/4 tsp
Oil: 1 tbsp

Procedure:
Heat oil. Add the rai, and zeera, and wait till they stop spluttering. Add the methi and sesame seeds and saute for thirty seconds. Add the channa dal, and groundnuts and wait till they turn golden brown. Add the haldi and hing and saute for thirty seconds on a low flame. Add the onions and chillies. Wait till the onions turn golden brown. Add the gongura paste and stir the mixture till most of the water is gone.

Served best with rice and ghee (clarified butter)

Paalak-capsicum pulao

Had some paalak at home, and tried out this quick recipe. It was great for lunch, and was easy on my stomach.

Veggies

Small capsicum (bell pepper) : 1
Palak (spinach) : 25-30 leaves.Let the numbers not bother you. Half a bunch will do.
Tomato: 2 small tomatoes
Chillies: 2-3 (depending on your taste and the variety of the spice)
Onions: 1 big onion
Ginger: 1/2 inch finely chopped
Garlic (optional): 2-cloves

Masala:
Cumin (zeera) seeds: 1/2 tsp
Cloves: 2
Cardamom: Seeds from 1 pod, with the seeds removed.
Cinnamon: half a stick
Garam masala: half teaspoon
salt: to taste
sugar: 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric: 1/4 tsp
Kasuri methi: 1 tbsp

Rice (cleaned and washed): 1 cup
Oil: 1 tbsp
Water: 11/2 cup

Procedure:

Chop all the veggies except spinach.

Clean the spinach and boil it in water. Wash it with cold water, and add it to the mixer, along with all the veggies except onions. Grind to a fine paste.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add zeera. After it stops spluttering, add the cardamom, clove, and cinnamon. Wait for around 10 seconds, and add the onions. Saute till they turn brown. Add the palak paste, and stir for around five minutes on a medium flame. Add the turmeric, kasuri methi, salt, sugar, and garam masala and mix well. Add the rice and water. Close the cooker, and turn off the flame after 2-3 whistles.

After cooling, garnish it with cashewnuts roasted in ghee or butter (Optional).

The dish goes excelent with raaita and papad.

Anytime Dal recipe

Couldn’t think of a more innovative name.

Mom wanted me to make some quick dal yesterday, and I came up with a concoction that quite pleased here. It is simple fast, and goes pretty well with both rice and rotis. It is also ideal for the time when we have our vrat (don’t know how to define this) when we are off garlic and onions.

Ingredients:

Lentils
Tur dal – 1 cup (cooked and mashed well)

Veggies
Tomato – 2 to 3
Ginger: 1 inch approx
Coriander (Cilantro) – A few sprigs
Chillies (capsicum) – to taste
Shimla mirch/Bell pepper: 1-2 cut fine

Spices
Salt –to taste
Amchur powder (dry mango powder) – 1 tsp. You can add a dash of lemon juice in the end if you don’t have this. We need something for the sourness.
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Jeera (Cumin) powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Jeera seeds – 1 tsp
Mustard seeds (optional) – 1 tsp
Hing/Asafoetida (optional) – 1 pinch
Methi/Fenugreek seeds (optional) – 1 pinch

Vegetable oil – 1 – 2 tbsp

Procedure

Cut the bell pepper into fine pieces.
Grind tomatoes, coriander, ginger, and chillies in a blender to a fine paste.

Heat oil on a low to medium flame in a wok (kadai). Add the mustard and jeera seeds. After they stop spluttering, add the fenugreek seeds and asafetida. After ten seconds, add the capsicum and fry till they are done. Add a little salt to make the capsicum cook faster. Add the tomato paste and cook for around a minute. Add the dal, powders, and salt and cook for around three to five minutes stirring well. Add extra water if necessary. Top it off with a tablespoon of ghee (clarified butter) or just plain butter.