Sprouted Moong Kadhi

Kadhi is a popular North Indian gravy generally prepared using chickpea flour and yogurt.  It is served with fried chickpea flour dumplings called pakodas. It is also very common in the western parts of India like Gujarat and Rajasthan. The Gujarthi and Rajasthani kadhi is slightly runny and is on the slightly sweeter side.

Kadhi chawal (rice) is one of the famous combinations. It is something that is enjoyed in the comfort of homes and is generally not available in restaurants. Though few small eateries may serve.

My first taste of this simple comfort food was at my aunt’s house, who lives in Gujarat. So obviously I got to taste the Gujarathi version. I simply loved it and ever since have had it at various other occasions. I always wanted to prepare it myself at home, but never got around making it. Then, with days flying by, and other things and newer recipes taking precedence, kadhi faded out, but was there somewhere at the back of my mind.

The other day, when I was flipping through my favorite Chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s cookbook, I found this recipe there and wanted to try it out immediately. The result was a smooth, creamy and yummy gravy; nutritious too, due to the addition of moong sprouts rather than the pakodis. Now let’s check out the recipe.

What you’ll need

1.       Moong Sprouts – 1 cup

2.       Besan/Chickpea flour – ¼ cup

3.       Slightly sour curds – 1 cup

4.       Ginger – 1 Inch piece

5.       Green Chilly – 1 slit

6.       Jaggery – 1 tblsp

7.       Turmeric Powder – a pinch

8.       Salt to taste

For Tempering

1.       Mustard Seeds – ½  tsp

2.       Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp

3.       Fenugreek Seeds – ½ tsp

4.       Hing – a pinch

5.       Dried Red chilly – 1 broken

6.       Curry Leaves – few

Method

Cook the Moong sprouts in enough water for about 5 to 8 minutes. Strain and keep aside.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together, besan with the curds thouroghly without forming any lumps. To this add 2 cups of water and mix well. Add finely chopped ginger, slit green chilly and jaggery into this. Also add a pinch of turmeric and salt to taste. Mix well.

Heat a Kadai, and pour this mixutre into it and cook on medium flame, stirring continuously, till mixture thickens.

Now add the cooked moong and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes.

Heat oil in a small frying pan, add, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves and hing. When seeds begin to change color add the broken red chilly. Add this to the kadhi.

Sever hot with white rice or roti.

Linking this to CWS - Moong Beans hosted by Priya.


Awards Time

Sobha of Good Food has passed on this award. Thank you Sobha, you make me feel honored.

'Liebster' means favourite  or dearest in German. Rules for accepting the award :
- Thank the person who gave the award and link back to their blog.
- Copy and paste the award to your blog.
- Reveal the 5 blogs you have chosen to award and let them know by commenting on their blog.
- Hope they pass it forward by accepting and awarding it to bloggers they would like to honour.

I would like to pass it to few of my blogger friends:

Faseela - Good Food Ends with Good Talk
Suja - Kitchen Corner - Try it
Puspa - Taste as you Cook
Sangee Vijay - Spicy Treats
Vidhya - Sugar N Spice

Carrot Kheer / Carrot Payasam

There was time when the word payasam meant Paal Payasam, Nei Payasam or Semiya Payasam. One would’ve never imagined preparing a payasam out of carrots, bottle gourd, apples etc. At such a time, there was this person (who is no more now) whom I look up to. She was my mother’s Athai (Aunt), who lived in Mumbai. She was an expert cook, who at the age of 70 had the passion to learn and try out new things.

I remember a dinner she had hosted on behalf of my grandfather, for a newly married couple. I was one of the lucky ones who got to taste all the goodies that she had prepared. The menu consisted of a soup, Masala Dosa with 3 varieties of Chutenys, Vada, Vegetable pulao and this classic Carrot Kheer.

That was the first time (I was about 15 yrs old) I tasted a payasam other than the 3 mentioned above. I really fell for it. I asked my mom to immediately make note of the recipe and to this date we, me and my mom follow the same recipe.

What you’ll need

1.       Milk – 2.5 cups

2.       Carrots – 3

3.       Sugar – ½ cup

4.       Cashew nuts – 4 + few more

5.       Raisins – few

6.       Cardamom Powder – a pinch

7.       Ghee – 1 tsp

Method

1.       Soak about 4 whole cashew nuts in hot water.

2.       Wash, peel and slice carrots into thin slices. Pressure cook these carrot slices with ½ cup of milk.

3.       Once the pressure releases, grind the carrots with the cashew nuts into a smooth paste. Keep aside.

4.       Boil the milk in a heavy bottom vessel, keep stirring in between so that the milk does not overflow. Let the milk boil in low flame for about 10 minutes or till it is reduced a little.

5.       Now add the carrot paste to the milk and stir well. Let this simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes. Keep stirring in between.

6.       Now add the sugar and stir well. Simmer for another 5 to 7 minutes.

7.       Remove from heat.

8.       In a small frying pan, heat ghee, fry the cashewnuts and raisins and add it to the payasam. Also add the cardamom powder and mix well.

Yummy carrot kheer is ready. Serve it hot or cold.

Linking this to the Winter Carnival happening at Tickling Palates.

Sprouted Moong and Corn Salad

Salads and I are poles apart. I don’t know why I have this aversion towards salads. I do eat them once in a while but I can never relish what I am eating. It is not something that I crave for. I really don’t know how some people manage to live on just fruits and vegetables. One of my mom’s cousin lives on vegetable and fruit salads for 5 days of the week and only on the weekends she has any cooked food. Maybe that is the secret of her youthful skin. She must be above 55, but when my daughter met her for the first time she decided to call her Akka. Can you beat that!

So now I am also trying to incorporate salads in my diet whether I like it or not. I eat only fruits and vegetables for a day in a week. I have been doing it now for about 3 to 4 weeks and believe me it does feel good. It has curbed my cravings for sweets and other refined bakery items a lot. I hope I can continue this regime and make it a part of my lifestyle. Not that I want to be called akka at 50, but it does leave me feeling very happy that I could disciple my mind and tongue for at least a day.

So as part of those days, I prepare this salad, which I have grown to like. It is quite a filling and refreshing salad. And here is how I make it.

What you’ll need

1.       Sprouted Green Moong – ½ cup

2.       Boiled Sweet Corn kernels – ½ cup

3.       Carrot grated – 1 small

4.       Apple – ½ cut into small cubes

5.       Cucumber – ½ peeled and cut into small cubes

6.       Green Chillies – 1

7.       Juice of ½ a lemon

8.       Salt to taste

Method

In a large mixing bowl, add the sprouted moong, sweet corn, grated carrots, cubed apple, cubed cucumber and finely chopped chilly. Mix well.

Now add the lemon juice and salt to taste. Give it a good mix. Set aside for atleast 10 minutes before serving so that the flavors are well absorbed.

That’s it healthy and delicious salad is ready.

Note:

1.       Feel free to add other vegetables like tomatoes, onions, capsicum etc

2.       Also you could add fruits like pear, or pomegranate or segmented sweet lime, oranges etc.

3.       If you do not like to have raw sprouts, steam them just for about 3 to 4 minutes and then use.
4.   While making it for kids, avoid green chillies and use black pepper powder instead.

LLinking this salad to Priya's CWS - Moong Beans

Re posting two other recipes of mine for Priya's CWS - Moong Beans Event

Green Moong Sabzi with Dates

Green Moong and Mixed Veggie Pulao

Capsicum Zunka | A Tribute to a Fellow Blogger

I am at a loss of words while writing this post. The news of Jayashree’s passing away left me in shock for almost one full day. Though I knew her only through her blog, but still there was some unknown bonding, which I always felt towards her; the reason could be the fact that both of us belonged to Palakkad. I pray to God, to give her family, especially her kids, the strength to carry on. Jayashree will continue to live forever in our memories through her lovely blog.

Jayashree’s space Experiments in Kailas Kitchen, has such a wide variety of recipes. I spent quite some time browsing through her huge collection of recipes. Finally I tried out this simple yet very tasty side dish that can be had as an accompaniment with rotis.

Serves: 2

What you’ll need

1.       Capsicum - 2 nos, big

2.       Onion – 1 big

3.       Besan/Kadalamavu - 2 tbsp

4.       Oil - 2 tblspn

5.       Cumin - 1 tspn

6.       Turmeric - 1/4 tspn

7.       Red chilli powder - 1/4 tspn

8.       Salt to taste

Method

1.       Wash deseed and dice capsicum.

2.       Heat a pan, dry roast the besan till a nice aroma comes out.

3.       Heat the same pan with oil, add cumin seeds and sauté. Next add the sliced onions and sauté till the onions turn translucent.

4.       Next add the diced capsicum and sauté.

5.       When the capsicum is almost done, add turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt. Mix well and sauté for a minute.

6.       Now add the besan little by little and keep stirring so that it does not form any lumps.

7.       Sprinkle a just a handful of water and cook covered for about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir well.

That’s it yummy capsicum zunka is ready to be served with roti.

Pumpkin Apple Soup

When I was going through the recipes on my blog, I was quite surprised that I had not posted a single soup recipe so far. Though I am not a lover of soups and salads, but still I like a few of them and keep making them quite often on the pretext of eating healthy; my favorite one being Pumpkin apple soup. Though I have my method of making this soup, I decided to try out Nayna’s version for this week’s blog hop. It turned out very similar to what I usually make, without the calories from the butter which I use for sautéing onions, so this one is all the more healthier. So here comes my first soup recipe.

Original Recipe here

Serves: 4

What you’ll need:

1.       Pumpkin – 250 gms

2.       Apple – 1

3.       Bay Leaf – 1

4.       Juice of half a lemon

5.       Black pepper powder – ½ tsp

6.       Salt to taste

7.       Sugar a pinch

8.       Fresh Coriander leaves

Method

1.       Wash, peel and chop the pumpkin into cubes. Also chop the apples.

2.       Add enough water and cook the pumpkin and apples with the bay leaf till soft. Allow to cool.

3.       Remove the bay leaf and blend the cooked pumpkin and apples into a puree.

4.       Add this puree to another vessel, season with salt pepper and sugar. Adjust consistency by adding water or stock at this stage. Allow to simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes.

5.       Remove from heat and add the juice of lemon. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Yummy soup is ready.

Note:

You can add a little milk instead of water or stock while adjusting the consistency.

If you are not very calorie conscious feel free to saute a sliced onion in some butter and then add the pumpkin and apple pieces.

Linking this the Winter Carnival happening at Tickling Palates