Sprouted moong and coconut paste with spices is a classic dish loved by almost all in our area. Depending on the exact place where a person belongs, we all have different spices that go with this combination to make something different and tasty. This is one such recipe.
Mooga gaati is a dish with sprouted moong and coconut paste prepared in Goa. Its almost same as mooga randayi that we prepare but it has sweetish taste due to jaggery. This recipe is sent to me by Sheetal who is from Goa. There are many versions of gaati and this is one of them.
Sheetal says, “This dish is like a gravy. Not dry. Also when you let it sit in the pan you will not see any water colleting on top. So it is not too watery like dal . It is served as a side dish and it mainly prepared in almost all hindu households during Ganesh Festival as the meals are only veg”.
I loved this version too. It tastes great. I am going to try the same paste with other pulses and see how that works.
Other similar combination – Mooga randayi , Mooga randayi with pepper .
Ingredients: 1 cup sprouted moong 1/2 cup fresh/frozen coconut 5-6 curry leaves 2 green chilies 1 red chili 4-5 black pepper 1/2 tea spn coriander seeds A pinch turmeric 1/2 – 1 tea spn jaggery 2 pieces of kokum Oil A pinch asafoetida 1/2 tea spn mustard seeds Salt
Method: Wash sprouted moong to remove as many skin as possible. Cook them in enough water. Heat a little oil and add slitted green chilies. When they are fried, take out and add pepper, coriander seeds. Grind with coconut, turmeric, red and green chilies. Add the paste to cooked moong , add jaggery, kokum, salt. Cook. Heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When they start popping, add asafoetida and curry leaves. Pour the seasoning over the dish. Serve hot as a side dish with rice and dal /gravy.
Serves : 2-3 Preparation time : 30mins
Baking good bread at home has been quite a bit of challenge. I have tried my hand at it couple of times and I don’t say I had great success. Some times they turned out good and other times, total flop. But it is definitely something I always loved to learn. So here was a golden opportunity for me.
Our friend Cindy had called us for lunch few days ago. When we reached her home, out-of-the-world delicious aroma of bread baking invited us. She served us just-out-of-oven bread which was one of the tastiest breads I have ever had. I could not believe she had baked such good bread. So I asked her for the recipe.
She sent it to me and I baked it last week. When I started with it and the dough beautifully rose,I knew it was going to be a success. As expected, it was absolutely delicious. I gave it a foccacia bread shape and topped with olives. That was my personal touch, it is great as simple bread sticks too.
I made the bread with half the measurements given below, i.e. half the quantity.
Ingredients: 2 envelopes active dry yeast (1 envelope = 2 1/4 teaspoons) 2 cups warm water (100-110F) 2/3 cup olive oil 3 tbl spn sugar 4 1/2 – 5 cups all purpose flour (use the least necessary) 2 tea spn salt 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 6 cloves garlic (run through press or mince very fine) 2 tea spn dried mixed Italian seasonings 1 tsp dried basil
I used half all purpose flour and half wheat flour.
Method: Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl. Add oil, sugar, 3 and 1/2 cups flour. Mix until smooth. Let sponge rest about 20 minutes. (At this stage, the dough is very sticky) Mix down, add salt, garlic, seasonings and basil. Stir in more flour until it is easy to handle. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes by hand). Leave it overnight (I left it sit just for 1 hr instead of overnight ) and next day, take out, Shape into loaves. I made it into 4 bread sticks and 1 foccacia ( as I said, I had used half the quantity ) Place into greased baking pans or sheets. Cover with towel and let rise until doubled in size. Approx 1 hour. I sprinkled them with some parmesan cheese and olives. Also drizzled some olive oil on top. Preheat the oven at 350F for about 10mins. Bake for 30-35mins at 350F or till it is done. I served it with marinara sauce, topped it with red chili flakes while serving. But it tastes on its own too.
The quantity mentioned above, makes 2 big round loaves.
I am sending this to Mansi’s Monthly mingle – Appetizers & Hors’Doeuvres event .
