Veggies in Mango Gravy Stew

As mentioned in my earlier post, raw mangoes have started its appearance in the local market. Although I bought these raw mangoes for pickle making, I decided to try making a dish with mango gravy and it turned out well.

You can serve this dish with rice or flat breads such as roti or dosas. I served these with Rice flour dosas.

Veggies in Mango Gravy Stew

You need:

• 200 gms beans,  chopped
• 2 large ridgegourd, peeled and diced
• 100 gms split pigeon peas (toor dal), cooked
• 1 small green, raw mango or 1/2 of a medium sized green, raw mango, diced
• 2 tbsp of cooking oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder / paprika powder
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, diced and crushed
• 1" ginger, diced and crushed
• 2 cups of filtered water

The make:
Serves 4-6 adults | Preparation Time: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: 30 minutes

1. Heat the oil in a wok on high and splutter mustard seeds.

2. Add the curry leaves and onions on medium heat.

3. Once the onions turn translucent, add the garlic and ginger and toss for about a minute.

4. Next add the coriander powder, turmeric powder and chili powder and fry until the spices leave the sides of the pan.

5. Add the beans and cover and cook. Next add the mango, ridgegourd and cooked pigeon peas and saute for about 2-3 minutes.

Bringing the gravy to a boil

6. Add salt and water as required for the gravy and bring to boil.

7. Do a seasoning taste and serve hot with rice, flatbread such as roti, chapatti or dosa. I served this with Rice flour Dosas.

Veggies in Mango Gravy served with Rice flour dosas on a cloudy, sunny morning

Tangy Three Pea (Black Eyed Peas, Cowpeas and Pigeon-Pea) in Sofrito (Spanish Tomato sauce)

It has been a while since my last post. This is because I am on vacation and also because I have been experimenting with some of my older recipes in a modern light and with a few new adventurous recipes inspired by some of my favourite popular chefs. That will follow in posts to come. I have had quite a few requests for international vegetarian cuisine. Today I have for you a Spanish inspired dish that I served with white long grained rice and brown rice. You can also accompany it with Spanish Rice.

Tangy Three Pea in Sofrito served with Rice

I chose the Black Eyed Pea, CowPea and Split Pigeon Pea as I thought it would make for a very good combination and I was right it did! Black Eyed Pea is commonly made over New Year's. It is said to ward of 'Bad Eye' and helps kick start the New Year on a clean slate!

You need:

• 2 bell peppers - finely diced
• 2 cups Homemade Tomato puree or 1 cup crushed tomatoes *Note if using commercial tomato puree, you can add just one can
• 2 cups Black Eyed Peas
• 2 cups Cowpeas or Red Lobia
• 11/2 cups Split Pigeon-Pea or Toor Dal
• 1 tbsp ground pepper 
• 1 tbsp paprika (optional - additional 1 tbsp if you like it spicy)
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 large onions diced small
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 cup vegetable stock (or beef or chicken stock. You can also add  2 cups of sliced chorizo if you are opting for the non-veg option)
• 1 bay leaf
• Optional - 1 tsp Asafoetida powder
• 1 bunch cilantro finely diced
• 1-2 dried red chilies

The make:

Preparation time: 8 hrs, Cooking Time: 1 hour, Serves 4-6 adults

Last stir in



Showing off my 3-pea magic



1. Clean and soak the Black Eyed Peas and Cowpeas overnight with at least 2-3 cups more water than the quantity of peas. Drain off before use.
2. Make a sofrito of the tomato puree, bell peppers, paprika, garlic and salt. Sofrito is a basic tomato sauce that is used commonly all over Spain. I have not mentioned this separately in another recipe as I did not make the traditional one made with crushed tomatoes this time. I basically used my Homemade Tomato Puree along with the above mentioned ingredients. To make the Sofrito, heat 1 tbsp of Olive oil and saute the onions and garlic until translucent. Add the bell peppers and saute for another 5 mins. Lower the heat to avoid the veggies from burning and add the tomato puree or crushed tomatoes. Season with salt and paprika. Saute for another 5-10 minutes. Set aside
3. Cook the peas in a deep bottomed pot or pressure cook for 10-15 minutes with Asafoetida(optional) and ground pepper.
4. Saute the dried red chilis in Olive Oil for a minute and add the sofrito. Add the cooked peas to the sofrito and top with cilantro. Serve hot with Spanish Rice or white long grain rice.

Served up!

Dal Tadka(Fry) or Fried Split Pigeon Pea

I decided to start with something simple which is cooked in most Indian households.

Split Pigeon Pea or Toor dal (its Indian name) is a rich source of protein and important amino acids. Coming from a household where healthy foods were cooked, Parippu (Dal in Malayalam) was used to make several dishes including Sambar among others. (*You will find some health titbits in my recipes as I mentioned I come from a health conscious household where my mum was from the health services department so some food types are forbidden at home esp. in mum's pantry :D  )

Dal Tadka served on rice

Having had friends and family from various cultural backgrounds, I noticed that this particular dish was always varying in palate and flavor across diverse households. My particular favourite make of this dish is cooked in South Indian brahmin families (yummm)! I am yet to get the actual recipe from someone in particular(I will share once I have it). 
Dal Tadka goes well with rice of any kind: brown rice, basmati rice  or jeera(cumin) rice being my favourite combination. It also goes well with Chapati (Indian unleavened flatbread) or Roti.
I have experimented with Toor dal in several manners but this one has gained particular applause from both my hubby darling and my 2.4 yr old daughter.



Ingredients:

Ingredients

For the dal:

• 1 cup of toor dal(Split Pigeon Pea)
• 21/2 cups of water
• 1/2 tsp tumeric powder
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder

For Seasoning:

• 1 tbsp of vegetable oil or sunflower oil or 1/2 tbsp of ghee* (*a form of clarified butter that originated in South Asia(namely: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal) and is popularly used in South Asian cuisine. We normally do not use ghee except rarely for dishes consumed by children as it has a high level of cholestrol per tsp.)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp black cumin seeds(jeera)
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• *  Garam Masala(Hot mixture literally translated) powder- Grind the following to a dry powder: 2-3 cloves, 1” piece cinnamon, 2-3 pepper corns, 1 tsp black cumin seeds (jeera), 1-2 piece of dry red chilies. Tip: You can make this dry mix ahead of time and store for 3-4 weeks in room temperature.

Coriander leaves

• 1 sprig of finely cut coriander leaves(cilantro) (Tip: if you taste the stem of the coriander leaves once washed, and then taste the leaf, you would find most of the flavour lies in the stem. In India, I notice they sell the coriander leaves with the root whereas in UAE the root is removed before sale even in the vegetable market. Make sure before washing when you take off the root, you leave most of the stem as shown in the picture below. Once clean finely dice the coriander leaves from the stem upwards)

• 2 medium sized onions or 1 big onion - diced finely (basically run your knife vertically and then horizontally)

Traditional grinding stone (belongsto my grandma)

To grind: my grandma used to use the below traditional grinding stone(it is the actual stone she used - got my Dad to send me the picture). Tip: It brings out the best flavor in grinding both dry and wet spices - ah alas technology:) The below mixture would be excellent if ground on a stone as shown in the image below. These days you get one in a handy size(mortar and pestle) or as part of a table top.

• 2 small green chillies chopped
• 1 piece ginger chopped
• 7-8 cloves of garlic diced(*yes we love garlic and its a great source to lower cholestrol and coupled with asafoetida acts as an antiflatulence agent when consuming legumes and pulses;-) )
• 1 tsp pepper powder (optional: for those who like a bit more of spice in their food - I find it good when taking more garlic - does something well to the spice mix)
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• 3-4 small onions(shallots) as shown to the right
• 2 tsp coriander seeds (powdered earlier or you can use the ones from off the shelf. Remember to grind it separately or it will not get ground properly with this mix. We get ours freshly ground at the mill when in India. However when I was in UAE, I always bought the ones off the shelf)
• ½ tsp dry mango powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water

The Make:


Cooking Time: 20-25 mins | Preparation Time: 10 minutes|Serves 4 adults

Once you have all your ingredients in place. Start with the dal..

The Dal:
Place the dal in a pressure cooker with the water and the ingredients that goes with it as explained above. Ensure you do not add any salt at this stage as it slow or disables the cooking of the dal. Allow for 2 whistles on high flame and 1 whistle on low flame and turn off the flame. You can start on the seasoning at this stage and come back to the dal once de-pressurised. Once de-pressurised, hand-beat the dal mix with a wooden spoon for a few seconds and set aside.

The Seasoning:

The finshing touches to the Dal Tadka

• Heat a wok (traditionally we use the clay pot which again has properties to bring out the flavour in your dal - same goes with fish or chicken which I will explain in my other recipes) or a non-stick pan. Add the oil or ghee as preferred. 
• Once the oil is slightly warm, lower the heat to medium then add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter, add the cumin seeds and curry leaves to follow. After about 10 seconds, add the sliced onions and the dry spice powder(Garam Masala). Toss it around for half a minute. Ensure it does not burn. 
• Then add the ground wet spice mix and  simmer on a low flame.  Once the masala gets a cooked smell (usually takes about 8-10 minutes on a low flame), add the chopped coriander leaves and mix.  Leave for about 8-10 seconds only so as not to dampen the effect of the coriander leaves.

The Finale

Add the cooked dal mix to the seasoning (usually mum does it the other way around adding the seasoning to the dal but its a pain to clean the masala off my pressure cooker:D ) and let it run to a boil and turn off the flame . If you find your dal too thick for your liking, add some hot water (usually 1/2 a cup does the trick or it turns out to be too watery).

Dal Tadka served over rice

Serve warm with rice or flatbread as per your choice. It also goes well with methi (fenugreek leaves) flatbread and is a healthier choice:) (I will try and add the methi leaves chapati recipe soon)

Hope you enjoy this recipe and do not forget to add your comments or suggestions with this post! Happy Tasting all! Bon Appetit..