I have been preparing very simple dishes for last couple of months. Occasionally I make something new, but it is almost impossible to click pictures these days. If at all I manage to click some, I don’t get time to post. Anyway, today I was determined to post something. So here it goes.
This recipe is from my friend Subhashini. She is like a walking encyclopedia. Every time we go to their home, I come back with a full tummy, few recipes of the dishes she served that day and lots of information about various things. I sometimes wonder how she manages to know so much. She has a 8 year old and a 2 year old. I asked her to give me some day to day recipes. She mentioned that she makes this paste with garlic, cumin, shallot and coconut and freezes them in small batches. Whenever required, she takes one batch out and uses it in dals/side dishes. Same day I tried this dish. I used moong dal as it cooks very fast. This dish was delicious. I will be making a lot more dishes with this paste in future.
Ingredients: 1 cup moong dal (or any other dal) 1/4 cup tomato 1 tea spn chilli powder A pinch turmeric powder 1 tea spn ghee 1 tea spn mustard seeds A pinch asafoetida 4-5 curry leaves 1 red chilli cut into pieces 2 tbl spn chopped coriander leaves Salt
Spice Paste (Make a paste): 2 tbl spn fresh/frozen coconut 1 tea spn chopped garlic 1/2 tea spn cumin seeds 2 shallots(or sambar onions)
Method: Cook dal with turmeric and tomato. I cooked on stove top as moong dal cooks very fast. Then add salt, spice paste, chilli powder and cook for few minutes. Add coriander leaves. Heat ghee and add mustard seeds, when they start popping, add curry leaves, chilli, asafoetida. Pour the seasoning on the dal.
Serves : 3-4 Preparation time : 30mins
Pictorial:
One of the most popular chips available in market these days are these potato chips (or potato wafers as they are called here). We make chips from raw jackfruit , plantain/banana , breadfruit etc. Since these are readily available in market, I make these very rarely. Many of you requested for this recipe, so I thought of posting the recipe here.
For these chips, you have to select big sized potatoes to get chips of larger diameter. Use a mandoline slicer to get uniform pieces. In order to make them stiff, we generally put them in ice and water for about ten minutes before frying.
Ingredients: Potatoes Ice cubes and water Salt Oil Chilly powder (optional) Turmeric powder
Method: In a bowl, mix a tea spn salt with half cup water and a pinch of turmeric powder. Keep it aside. Wash the potatoes well. Do not peel off the skin. Using a slicer, make thin slices. Place them in a bowl with ice cubes(7-8) and water for about ten minutes. Spread them over a paper or cloth for about 20 – 30 minutes till they get dried up. Deep fry them in hot oil. I generally use coconut oil for frying. Any oil can be used. When the chips are almost done, add salted water in the frying pan(Be very careful as the oil splashes when water is added). When the bubbling sound disappears, remove the chips from the frying pan. Spread them on a paper so that much of the oil is absorbed by the paper. Red chilly powder may be sprinkled over the chips when they are hot.You can store them in an airtight container when they are cooled to room temperature.
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