Methi in Chana Dal (Chana dal & Fenugreek curry)

I am back after quite a long break from blogging. About 2 days back I was reading about the Blog Bites (BB) event that is hosted at One Hot Stove, and this month's theme had me thinking of all those lurkers in my kitchen. Just as I was reading about this blog bites event, the first thing that came to my mind was Chana Dal. This is one dal that I don't use on a regular basis and is sitting ignored in one corner of my pantry. I also have a packet of methi (fenugreek leaves) that is patiently waiting in the freezer. I have been planning to use them for quite a while now, but obviously haven't used them yet.

Mom makes this methi dal that I simply adore. It is a such simple recipe, something that I treat as a comfort food. A perfect recipe to use up the ingredients in my kitchen that have long been waiting to be used. However, is not from any other blog, so I can't send it to BB. But coincidentally, I learned of an event hosted at Suma's blog. The theme for the event is Delicious Dals from India and guess what this methi dal perfectly fits the bill :)

Dal-Methi

Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
1/2 cup chana dal
1 cup methi leaves (chopped)
Handful of raw peanuts (soaked for about 30 min)
1 tbsp gram flour
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp coconut flakes
1 tbsp jaggery (more or less as needed)
4-5 dried kokum pieces
2-3 green chillies
Salt to taste
Tempering of 2 tsp oil

1. To start with, pressure cook methi, chana dal and peanuts.

2. Mash the cooked dal with the back of a ladle and then whisk in the gram flour to the mixture.

3. In another pot, make tempering and add to it chopped green chillies, kokum, the above mixture, salt, cumin, coconut flakes and jaggery.

4. Add about a cup of water (more if needed) and bring dal to a boil.

Serve with steamed rice or chapatis. The dal tastes the best when served hot. Now, I am sending this to off to Suma for the Delicious Dals from India event .

Time out!

I have been MIA for over a month now. Last month was quite eventful. It was a last minute India trip to see my 13.5 year old ailing dog. Unfortunately he is no more. We had him right since the day he was born, and he was the baby of our house. It still feels nightmarish and I just can't get over with the fact. May his soul RIP.

I have an exam at the end of May and my studies took a back seat with the events unfolding. I was so depressed to even open my books. To add to this misery, my flight got canceled due to Iceland volcano eruption and I am stuck here in India :( I have already changed my reservation twice, and do not wish to go through this for the third time. I am looking forward to boarding the flight next week and am hoping that conditions don't deteriorate.

I really need to concentrate on my studies now and make good for the lost time. I will be gone for a while and will be back in June. Until then ciao!

Sweet Shankarpali

I am leaving for India in a couple of days and wanted to keep some snacks ready to eat for DH. One of the snacks I made is Shankarpali, because they have a long shelf life and are quite filling.

Shankarpali is a Maharashtrian snack often made for Diwali. A dough for Shankarpali is formed by boiling together milk, ghee and sugar and then adding flour to it. Small squares are then cut and deep fried. All purpose flour is often used in making shankarpali, but shankarpali made with whole wheat flour are also popular.


To make Shankarpali, simply follow these steps-
1. In a saucepan mix a cup each of milk, sugar and ghee (clarified butter) and bring to a boil. Add a quarter teaspoon of salt to the boiling mixture. You can also add oil instead of ghee, but according to me, ghee tastes much better.

2. Take the mixture off heat and add as much whole wheat flour (or all purpose flour) as needed to form a soft dough. Make sure that flour and milk mixture are properly combined. You probably would need about 3-3.5 cups of flour.

3. Let the dough cool. Once cool enough to handle, knead it well and let it rest for about 1.5-2 hours. Before making Shankarpali knead it once again.

4. To make Shankarpali, take a small ball of dough and roll it about quarter of an inch thick. Make sure that you don't roll out the dough very thin. This will make Shanarpali hard once they are fried.

Cut into squares (or diamond shape) with a traditional Shankarpali cutter (which is like a rotary cutter) or regular pizza cutter. Luckily I have a cutter that has multiple cutters attached to a rolling pin, which makes my job a lot easier. This is how it looks like -

5. Deep fry the cut squares in oil or ghee until golden brown. Let them cool. Store in an airtight container.

Appetizing Black Chana Salad

About twelve years back, I traveled to Himachal for a trek. It was a long and boring journey as the train got delayed. On one of the stations, a guy hopped in the train just as it was about to leave, with a bamboo basket hanging by his neck. We were hungry and eager to see what was in there. He was selling some chana chaat. We were a little disappointed to see that it was only chana that he had. We had not tasted it before and decided to try it. As soon as I tasted it, I was in love with it. After that we kept on buying more one after the other. I can never forget the taste of that chaat. It had cooked black chana, onions, tomatoes, lime juice and some spices. Black chana is a type of chickpeas, but is smaller than chickpeas. It has a nutty taste and is high in iron and proteins.

After that trip, I have made black chana salad numerous times using the ingredients that were in the chaat. When I made it for the first time mom and dad both loved it. 'A' too loved it when he had it for the first time and now is a big fan of this salad. I make it often in summer. I generally use sprouted chana but soaked chana is totally fine.


To make chana salad you need -
2 cups black chana (cooked)
1 cup raw onion (chopped)
1 medium tomato (chopped)
Handful of minced cilantro
2-3 green chillies (cut in rounds or finely chopped)
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp chaat masala
Salt to taste

To get chana ready for salad, soak it in water overnight. The next day pressure cook it until tender. If you want to use sprouted chana, drain the soaked chana and keep it in a sprout maker. After 6-8 hours you will have it ready. When you pressure cook chana, add some salt to it. For making salad, in a bowl mix cooked chana, onions, tomatoes, chillies, and cilantro. Add salt, chaat masala and fresh lime juice. Mix well. Salad is ready to be served. Serve it cold or at room temperature.


Just a couple more things - add green chillies according to your heat preference. Green chillies blend very well in the salad. If you cannot tolerate much heat, just add a green chilli, split open vertically, and take it out once all the ingredients are mixed well. That should give just enough kick to the salad.