Shepuchi bhaji is a well known Maharashtrian dish. Very popular food amongst villagers and farmers. It falls under the category of either you Love it or Hate it, more or less like Karela (bitter gourd). It has a cult followers of its own if you ask me heheh and I am one of them. I can polish off my plate when I get served these cult vegetable curries like karela, shepu(dill), bitter beans etc. My husband is just the opposite, he doesn't like it at all. One other reason I look forward to make it as I make it once in a while :)
It is used as a herb in western countries. Dill has been used for culinary and medicinal purposes for hundreds of years.Apart from giving a strong, tangy, appetizing flavor and taste, it possesses plenty of medicinal properties. It is very good for health and has a pretty green color on it. Used these days for garnish, flavoring and for styling food plates to present on Internet handles, it is has multipurpose value- so Dill ain't going anywhere soon :)
I have enjoyed it so much while growing up- eating it with jowar bhakri or rice bhakri elevates its taste 10 folds more. I sill get all nostalgic when I visit my hometown in Belgaum and step into our family friends home, that aroma always lingers in their house. Have you ever experienced that? Every house has its own typical aroma and energy around it.
Anyways coming back to Shepu- my moms fav dish is shepu Idlis...well that is one thing which I am not a great fan of maybe because we add loads of jaggery in it... my tastebuds go crazy where ever it finds spice. Even now when I visit home there is a list of things that I want from my moms kitchen and Shepuchi, methichi bhajis are one of them. I am actually drooling as I am writing this as its dinner time and I cant wait to get my hands on it :)
Lets check the simple recipe:
Ingredients:
2 bunch of Dill leaves (about 21/2 cups of chopped dill)
4-5 garlic pods chopped (large in size)
3 green chillies slit
1 onion med size chopped
1/4th cup toor dal soaked for 30 mins (or split yellow moong dal)
1 tbsp grated coconut for garnish
1/4th tsp jaggery
3 tbsp oil
salt to taste
Preparation:
Clean and wash Dill leaves for a couple of times. It is usually muddy by the roots, so clean it nicely.
Chop the leaves and keep aside.
Soak the toor dal in little water for about 30 minutes and drain the water.
Heat oil in a pan, then add garlic, saute for a few seconds. Add onions and chillies, saute and let it cook till onions are translucent.
Add toor dal and mix it well, add 2 tbsp water and cook it covered for 5-6 minutes.
Now add the dill leaves, salt, jaggery and mix everything nicely. Close the lid and let it cook for another 5-6 minutes. Do not add water. It gets cooked in the steam that gets generated. If need be then add very little water.
Garnish with grated coconut and serve hot with roti, yogurt, rice etc
Njoy cooKing!
Health Benefits:
Dill is packed with micronutrients that provide health benefits. It is a good vitamin A intake that helps you to maintain healthy vision, skin, immune function, growth, and reproductive health. You'll also get a significant boost of vitamin C, an important antioxidant that helps your body to resist infection. Dill is also a good source of fiber, folate (important for cell division and production of DNA), calcium for healthy bones, riboflavin for cell function and development, manganese, and iron.
Dill has been used for centuries in traditional Asian and Ayurvedic medicine. Currently, people use dill for certain medicinal purposes, including: Gastrointestinal disorders Loss of appetite, Kidney disease, Flatulence, Fever and colds, Cough, Bronchitis, Urinary tract disorders, Hemorrhoids, Insomnia and other sleep disorders.
Dal Fry is a popular Indian lentil recipe. This recipe uses Toor dal, which is also known as Arhar or Toovar dal. The dal is seasoned with variety of spices and it tastes delicious. This is something you often find served at Indian restaurants.
Preparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 15 minutes
Serve 4.
Ingredients:
1 cup toor dal, arahar dal
2-1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Seasoning
3 tablespoons clarified butter or ghee
1 cup tomatoes chopped I used 3 medium size tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)
1/8 teaspoon asafetida (hing)
2 whole dry red chili
2 bay leaf
1 tablespoon green chili finely chopped adjust to taste
Wash and soak toor dal in approx. 3 cups of water, for at least one hours. Dal will be double in volume after soaking. Drain the water.
Put dal with 2-1/2 cups water into a pressure cooker and add salt, turmeric, Cook on medium high heat.
When the pressure cooker starts to steam, turn the heat down to medium and cook for five minutes.
Turn off the heat and wait until all the steam has escaped before opening the pressure cooker. Dal should be soft. If needed add more water, dal should be consistency of thick soup.
Seasoning
Heat the ghee in a saucepan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil; if it cracks right away, ghee is ready. Add cumin seeds, and mustard seeds, asafetida, whole red chili. After the seeds crack, add bay leaves, green chili, ginger and chili powder. Stir for a few seconds.
Add tomatoes, salt and sugar stir and cook until tomatoes are tender and mushy.
Add cilantro, mango powder, and garam masala cook for about one minute.
Pour the seasoning over dal mix it well and cook for another minute.
Dal fry is ready, serve this as a main dish with Indian flat bread or I prefer with plain rice.
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Ingredients: