This is one of the simplest and tastiest dal recipes. I usually make spinach dal with toor dal and add either tomato or tamarind to make it slightly tangy. But for this dal, I kept it simple and you can the leafy spinach and the slight sweetness of moong dal; tadka with garlic completes the dish. This is my entry Cooking For Kids-Leafy Greens being hosted on this blog. Don't forget to send in your entries before June 30th.

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Dal is something that is made almost every other day in my household. Not just my home, but that is the case in almost every Indian households. Lentils form one of the main source of protein to vegetarians. I am always looking for new ways of making the same old pappu/ dal. My everyday dals are usually very simple like this tomato pappu or this palakura pappu. But occasionally I do make kootu where dal is cooked with vegetables and coconut-peppercorn masala paste. My mom learned it from a Tamil neighbor. Today's recipe is from the cookbook, Dakshin by Chandra...

The post Vegetable Kootu Recipe appeared first on Cook's Hideout.

Saravana Bhavan sambar -- copy cat recipe of the popular South Indian restaurant sambar. The addition of ground masala with coriander and fenugreek seeds -- it adds a lot of flavor along with the sambar powder. Also the addition of fried gram dal or putnalu makes the sambar so creamy and delicious.

The post Saravana Bhavan Sambar appeared first on Cook's Hideout.

Wish you all a very Happy Christmas. I made Chocolate chip cookies, Pound cake and a special Andhra Cake (its not baked, but rather cooked cake) for Christmas this year.This is the newest help that I bought from India this time. Its a multi-function table-top grinder (Ultra pride+). Making idlis and dosas is going to be a jiffy now (its just going to more convenient than regular blender). My Ammamma used to make big fluffy Dibba rottes (literally translated into "Fat bread") in a round brass utensil (ittadi ginne). It resembles a cake in both shape and texture and hence...

The post Dibba Rotti Recipe | Minapa Rotti appeared first on Cook's Hideout.

Here we are in lockdown and its getting hard to get by each day without going out and interacting personally with loved ones.. Thank God we are still getting supply of essentials.
It is such a heartache to watch the news with casualties spiking up at insane rate.

Masala Puri - Bangalore Delight!

So Food comes to my rescue. Lately am indulging in preparing and dishing out many chatpata meaning tangy, sweet, spicy street food from India. Along with fond memories it brings in the much needed warmth and comfort around the house. And it definitely makes for a hot topic that tops the list during video meets and chats with family and friends.
Many are enjoying baking, cooking a feast for their families and some getting out of their comfort zone and trying out new things. Me am stuck with fast food  and comfort food for now :)



Masala Puri is a street food from south India. Hailed as Bangalore's delight, is loved by millions across the country and is now becoming an international fare. It is a famous south Indian fast food loaded with spicy, tangy, tart and thick sweet flavors all bundled up in one plate.

I say its Indian Nachos :) where a plateful of crushed puris is drenched in desi goodness like hot dried white peas curry followed by onion, tomatoes, green chutney, sweet chutney, sev etc ..innumerable toppings of your choice! Wait there is more, if any curry is left use it as a side dish to enjoy with your rotis.
Actually my kid pours all the deliciousness over his plate of spicy Doritos(No Kidding:)) It tastes great. Try it.

Doritos Masala :)

I have always been a Ragada pattis girl which is a street food from Mumbai. And I am actually surprised that I have not registered it on my blog yet! Point mentally noted. Have been enjoying this Masala Poori treat every now and then during our get togethers and festival meets. Finally thought of putting it up on my blog. Btw you may also check out Pav Bhaji, Vada Pav, Missal Pav too.

I am always looking for a quick, easy recipe that wont compromise on the taste and flavors. So after scanning through few recipes and trying out couple of times, came up with this combo of ingredients which screams less is more and gives out great flavors and swad that is sure to make your soul happy!


Lets get to the recipe:

Please be kind to leave message in the feedback box if you like this recipe:

Ingredients:

Curry:

• 1 cup dried white or green peas (vatana) soaked overnight or 4-6 hours atleast
• 1 med size potato peeled and cut into big 3-4 pieces
• 1 bay leaf

• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 med size onion sliced
• 1 tomato chopped chunkily
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 inch cinnamon stick 
• 3 cloves
• 3-4 pods garlic chopped roughly
• 1 inch ginger piece chopped roughly
• 4 green chillies chopped roughly [adjust as per your spice level]
• handful mint leaves [ 4-5 leaves will do too if you can]
• handful cilantro leaves along with stem will do
• big pinch turmeric pwd
• 1 tsp garam masala pwd
• 1/2 tsp chat masala pwd
• 1 tsp coriander pwd
• 1/2 tsp tamarind pulp [optional -[ if you feel your tomatoes are not sour enough]
• 1/2 tsp jaggery/sugar [optional]
• salt to taste

Toppings:

• finely chopped onion
• finely chopped tomato
• finely chopped cilantro
• date tamarind chutney [store bought]
• sev [store bought]
• Puris [store bought] - can use Doritos spicy Chips as a substitute :) 

Preparation:

• Use Instant pot(IP) to pressure cook the soaked dried peas. Add 3 cups of water with peas, potato, bay leaf. Pressure cook on high manual - 22 min. QPR release after 15 min or let it NPR. If using pressure Cooker, let it blow 3 whistles. Let the cooker cool down and allow pressure to release. Take out the peas and mash gently. Keep aside.
• In the mean time, take a pan, heat oil, add cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, add onion and saute for few minutes, once its translucent add ginger, garlic, green chillies, saute further for couple more minutes, add tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes more till tomatoes soften. 
• Transfer this cooled mixture in mixer along with mint and cilantro leaves. Grind to a paste- you get nice green color.
• Now in the same pan, add little oil and on low medium add turmeric, garam masala, chat masala, coriander pwd and quickly stir. Pour the ground paste and mix everything. 
• Now add the cooked dried peas give it a nice stir, add water as required consistency then add salt.
• This curry thickens as we have potato in it. Consistency should be on the med thinner side- pourable consistency over the puris.

Serving: 

• First lay out roughly crushed puris on a plate. Pour the warm vatana (peas) curry over it. Then add tbsp chopped onions, 1 tbsp tomatoes, 1 tbsp sev, little cilantro, date chutney[sweet], cilantro  chutney and start relishing it! I promise you will wipe out in no time... :)
• Please add any amount and kind of topping of your choice!! You are the King of your own tastebuds :)

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Dalimbi  or Val, also known as butter beans or Bitter Beans and some call it field beans is a very staple pulse in Maharashtra state, Gujarat state etc. Its funny that in most of my posts I have to mention various names of 1 ingredient - such is the culture and global influence we live in today! It can be cooked as a nice dry Usal or as a nice slurpy Rassa. Some even make it with full fledge ground coconut masala called Birde. This is basically my Mother In Laws recipe, which she makes fondly for her ladla beta ..yes.. you heard me right :) Intentional or not the biaseness oozes out in one form or the other hehe.. Well thats how most moms are. Who knows I may turn out the same way, only time will tell :)

Dalimbi Rassa

Frankly at my home while growing up this dish was not cooked very often but I had tasted it at my neighbors home and I simply love anything that is slurpicious with exquisite red color along with that oil floating on top of the curry. I will never say NO to that, cross my heart. After I married, and as my husband loved it so much, I started getting a bag of split Val or whole Val at home. Usually I get split one. But right now beggars are not choosers applies to us because of lockdowns in most of the states. Just grabbing whatever is found :) in the aisle or in shopping cart online.

Veg Thali

 Coming to the recipe, I have already posted Dalimbi dry Usal on my blog. You can take a look if interested. I like Curry style with more Rassa any day. This particular beans has a nice soft bitter taste to it which has to be complimented with sweet so the usage of gud/jaggery is important and as well as sourness, so kokum water is used in this recipe to give that particular unique flavor to the curry. Use of ginger/chillies and goda masala are few other ingredients that bring out a lovely taste to it.

Lets take a look at the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup val (or butter beans)- soaked and sprouted preferably- yields approx  2 cups
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp jaggery 
• 4-5 kokum petals - washed and soaked in 1/2 cup of warm water for 10 min
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• 1 tsp chopped ginger
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• big pinch turmeric powder
• 1 1/2 tsp goda masala (or onion masala or garam masala pwd)
• handful cilantro finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh coconut for garnish (optional)
• salt to taste

Boiled Butter  Beans

Kokum Petals

Chopped other ingredients

Preparation:

• Soak the val beans in the water overnight or for 8 hours. If you want to make sprouted val beans  (which is more nutritious) then drain the water and keep it to sprout for 8 hours in a muslin cloth tied up. 
• In a saucepan add enough water till val beans is immersed and on med heat cook for 15-20 minutes. Keep a close eye after 15 minutes. It must be just soft. ( It gets mushy quickly and we don't want that). Switch off the gas and drain the water out. Keep cooked val beans dal aside.
• During this time also soak kokum in half cup water and keep aside for 10 min.
• In a pan, heat oil , add cumin seeds-  once it starts to splutter add curry leaves, then add hing and then chopped ginger - saute for couple of min on med flame. 
• Add chopped onion, saute onion till light brown, then add the powders, red chili pwd, turmeric, goda masala - stir quickly on a low flame. 
• Transfer the cooked butter beans to this mixture, add kokum water and discard the kokum leaves, add jaggery, salt to taste.
• Now add 1 cup + more water as per your required consistency and let the curry simmer for few minutes where you will see a nice red color and some oil floating on top! 
• Add cilantro and grated coconut(optional) Your curry is done, serve hot with rice or rotis.

Health Benefits:

Val or Lima beans (butter beans), like any other beans, are rich in dietary fiber. It is a slow burning complex carbohydrate. Val Beans gives you much energy to burn while stabilizing blood sugar. Also, has a good amount of Iron which is very crucial for the body. It is a power packed protein. A good source of manganese and folate along with potassium and has low sodium content.