Palak Masoor Dal

My mom seldom used to make Masoor dal. For that matter we never used to eat dal at a regular basis in our house. But lately I have been making many dishes with masoor dal and I like it.
           Today, I asked my D what she wants to eat for dinner and she said "dal Roti". And instead of making any plain old dal I made masoor dal with Spinach. It is yummy and healthy and the kids ate it too without any fuss. So here is the recipe

Palak Masoor Dal (Red lentils with Spinach)

Palak Masoor Dal

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup masoor dal dry roasted
2. 3/4 cup loosely packed frozen spinach thawed or about 2 cups fresh spinach
3. 1 medium tomato chopped
4. 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
5. 1 big or 2 small green chillies chopped
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of ginger-garlic paste, cumin, mustard seeds, salt, turmeric, asofetida
7. 1 tablespoons lemon juice (optional)
8. 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
9. 1 tablespoon oil

In a pressure cooker add the dal, spinach, tomato and turmeric with about 2 cups of water and cook fo 3 -4 whistles. In a pan heat the oil and add the cumin and mustard seeds and let them splatter. Add the onions and fry till they start becoming brown. Add green chillies, ginger-garlic paste and asofetida and fry for a minute. Add the dal and the rest of the ingredients and add about 1/2 cup water if it gets too thick. Simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot Roghni Roti 

Pan fried chicken thighs with Silky Carrot Masoor dal

My mom used to make the most amazing chicken fry. In India, atleast in the olden days i.e before the giant super and hyper markets invaded , we could go to the butcher and get fresh chicken and ask him to cut it the way we want it. So we would get the whole chicken cut up into pieces and she would pan fry it in a very easy and amazing chicken fry. This fry is great with boneless, skinless pieces too, but today I made it with chicken thighs and they were thick so I had to finish them off in the oven

                     To go with it I made a silky carrot masoor dal which turned out amazing. I served it as soup to my li'l boy and as a side dish with the chicken and rice for others.

Pan fried Chicken thighs (Marinated chicken thighs fried with Onions)

Pan fried chicken thighs





Ingredients:

1. 6 chicken thighs or drumsticks or 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into medium chunks
2. 1 big onion or 2 medium onions sliced thin
3. 2 tablespoons cashew pieces
4. 3-4 tablespoons oil
5. 3 cloves, 1 inch cinamon stick, 1 cardamom pounded roughly

Ingredients for marinade:

1. 1 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, ginger-garlic paste
2. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Marinade the chicken with the ingredients for atleast 2 hours.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan till it gets very hot. Carefully place the chicken pieces into it and fry till the pieces get a nice golden crust. Drain and set aside. Add the onions to the same pan and fry till they start changing color. Add cashew and pounded garam masala and fry for a few more minutes. Add the chicken back to the pan, reduce heat and cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked*.

*If you have thick pieces like I did today, place them in a oven safe sheet and bake further at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Top it with the fried onions and serve

Silky Carrot Masoor Dal (Red lentils with carrot and spices)

Silky carrot masoor dal

Ingredients:

1. 1 large carrot
2. 1 cup masoor dal
3. 2 heaped teaspoons dried mango powder (amchur powder)
4. 3/4 teaspoon each of salt, coriander powder
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, cumin, grated garlic,
6. 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
7. 1 green chilly chopped
8. 1 table spoon oil or ghee
9. 2 bay leaves
10. Coriander for garnishing

Pressure cook the masoor dal with carrot and grind them to a smooth paste.

In a pan heat the ghee or oil and fry the cumin and bay leaves till they start to splutter. Add onions and green chillies and garlic and fry till the onions become soft. Take the bay leaves out and add all the spices and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the ground dal paste and 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve as soup or as a side dish with rice or roti