Dal Palak Curry (With Coconut)

This recipe is an experiment which turned out to be good, so thought of sharing :-)

Ingredients:

1. Moong dal : 1/2 cup
2. Tur dal - 1 tb
3. Spinach - A bunch
4. Coconut 1/4 cup
5. Jeera - 1/4 tsp
6.Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
7. Garlic - 2 cloves (medium)
8. Green Chilly - 1
9. Green leaves - 1-2
10. Mustard seeds- a pinch
11. Salt
12. Oil

Preparation:

1. Cook the dal's along with a pinch of turmeric powder, in a pressure cooker for about 3-4 whistles, dal  - water ratio should be 1:2.75, ie: for 1 cup of dal add 2.75 cup of water in cooker.
2. Wash spinach in salt water for 2-3 times, and chop off the thick stem and roots.
3. Grind the ingredients from 3-9, in a mixer, till it becomes paste.
4. Heat a Kadai, add mustard seeds, let it splutter, add cooked dal (add water if required). To this add the finely chopped spinach leaves. Keep the Kadai in low flame for 5 minutes.
6. To this add the paste from step -3 and mix well.
7. Keep it in low flame for 10-15 minutes, stir it in between.
8. Make sure that dal palak curry has enough water, otherwise it will get burnt while cooking.
10.This step is optional, add 1/4 tsp of ghee, after switching off the gas. Close the Kadai with a lid and keep it for 2-3 minutes.

11. The dish tastes best with white rice.

Ulli Thandu Thoran(Spring Onions)

Every time I saw a bunch of fresh spring onions, I felt it called me :-). I was waiting to try out this recipe for a long time. Ulli thandu thoran is very healthy and easy to make.

Ingredients:

1. Ulli thandu (Spring Onion) - 1 bunch
2. Garlic - 2 cloves
3. Jeera - 1/4 tsp
4.Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
5. Coconut (grated) - 1/2 cup (of asmall tea glass)
6.Green chilies - 1small
7. Mustard seeds - a pinch
8. Red chillies - 1
9. Oil
10. Salt


Preparation :
1. Wash spring onion greens  in salt water, and then chop them in to small round pieces (This will make you cry like anything- the smell and weeping effect is similar to that of cutting an onion).
2.Grind ingredients 2 and 6 in mixer, and to this, mix the ingredients 3,4,5 with hand or with a pulse of mixer.
3.Heat a Kadai, add oil, add mustard seeds and let the seeds spultter, then add broken red chilly.
4. Add chopped onion greens,salt and mix well, add little bit of water in between till the greens get cooked. Keep it in high flame initillay for some time and then cook in low flame.
5. When you keep in low flame add the grated ingredients in step 2 and keep it till the onion greens get cooked.

Ulli thandu thoran

Paneer Puree

Ingredients :

1. Paneer (Cottage cheese) - 3/4 bowl
2. Onion - 1 medium
2. Tomato - 3 medium
3. Ginger - 1/2 tsp
4. Garlic - 1/2 tsp.
5. Cumin seeds - 1/3 tsp
6. Coriander powder - 1-1/2 tb
7.Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
8.Chilli powder 1 tsp
9. Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
10. Oil - 1 tb
11.Salt as per taste.
12. Water - as needed for gravy, min 1/2 cup(small)

Preparation:
1. Slice onion and 1 tomato in to thin strips.
2. Heat a pan, add oil, cumin seeds, sliced onion and saute till the onion turns brown.
3. Add tomato and saute, add ingredients 3,4,5,6,7,8 and saute well.Keep in low flame for 5 mins.
4. Make a tomato puree by grinding two tomato's in mixer, and add this to the pan. Add salt, mix well and keep in low flame.
5.Meanwhile cut the paneer in to thick fingers(rectangular shape), and add it to the mixture, add water (1/2 cup). Cook for 10 mins in low flame.
6. Add garam masala, mix well, keep for another 3-4mins.

Tip: Tasty paneer puree is little sweet and tangy and goes well with chappathi or white rice.

Kadala Curry(Brown Channa Curry)

Ingredients:
1. Soaked black Channa -- 1 1/2 cup
2. Onion - 1
3.Tomato - 2
4. Grated Coconut - 5 tbp
5. Ginger - 1/2 tsp
6. Green Chilli - 2 small
7. Curry leaves - 5
8. Red Chilly powder -1/2 tsp
9. Coriander powder - 1 tsp
10. Turrmeric - 1/3 tsp
11.Pepper -1 pinch
12. Garam Masala -1/2 tsp
13.Salt - as per taste
14.Oil -1 tbp
15.Musturd seeds-1 pinch
16. Red Chilly - 2
17. Water - for gravy 

Preparation:

1.Cook soaked channa in a pressure cooker. 2 whistle in high flame and one whistle in low flame is enough.
2. Take a pan,heat it, and add 1/2 tbp of oil, add  finely chopped onions, fry it for sometime, add chopped  tomato's,  and add ingredients 5,6,7,4. When the tomato's are cooked add ingredient 4, fry it for 5 mins.Add 8,9,10,11 and mix well, Fry it for 5 more mins.
3. In a mixer put the roasted mix from Step 2 and 2 tb of cooked channa, and grind well.
4. Mix the cooked channa and grinded mixture well, and add ingredient 12 and add half cup water for gravy.Add salt as per taste.Cook this for 10 - 15 mins in low flame.
5. For tadka, take a pan, heat it and add oil, add red chilles(16 th ingredient), add musturd seeds, let it splutter, and then mix it with the channa curry.

Purple Burji

Purple Burji (Purple Cabbage Burji)

Ingredients:

1. Purple cabbage - 1/2
2. Egg - 2
3. Ginger - 1/3 tsp
4. Green Chilly -1
5. Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
6. Pepper - 1/3 tsp
7. Coconut(grated) - 1/3 bowl (small)
8. Shallots - 2
9. Mustard seeds - a pinch
10.Oil - 1 tb
11. Salt - as per taste.
12.Curry leaves - 4

Preparation:

1.Chop cabbage in to fine pieces.
2.Heat a pan, for tadka - add oil, curry leaves, mustard seeds and let it splutter.
3. Add finely chopped cabbage, turmeric and salt, mix well and keep in low flame.
4. After 5-10 mins, add eggs(white and yellow) to the center of pan, sprinkle pepper over it, keep it for sometime, for it get half cooked.

5. Scramble the eggs and mix well with cabbage (keep the mixture in low flame for 3-4 mins).
6. In a mixer, add coconut along with roasted ingredients 3,4,5,8 and mix well (don't grind the coconut, just a pulse in mixer will be enough).
7. Add the mix along with cabbage and egg and keep in min flame(5 -7mins) for sometime.

Tips: Half cooked cabbage (especially purple one's) tastes better.

Palak thoran/upperi

Ingredients :

1.Palak - 1 medium sized bundle (This eventually will give only 1 normal bowl of cooked palak along with other ingredients)

2.Garlic - 3 piece
3.Red chilly - 2 (big)
4.Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
5.Salt  - 1/2 tsp(as per taste)
6.Grated coconut - 1/3 bowl(Normal bowl)
7.Oil - 1-1/2 tb

Preparation:

1.Clean and wash palak(both leaves and stem) with salt water 2-3 times, and chop them in to small pieces.
2.Keep a kadai in stove, when it is hot add coconut oil(ingredient 7), add musturd seeds, let it spluter.
3. Add the finely chopped palak.
4. Add 4 and 5 to the palak, mix well and keep in maximum flame for first 5 minutes and then keep in minimum flame.
5. Meanwhile grind the ingredients 2 and 3 in mixer, add grated coconut to it and mix well (don't grind the coconut, just a pulse in mixer will be enough)
6. Add the mixture in to palak , mix well, keep for 5-10 minutes in minimum flame.
7. Palak thoran is ready to be served with rice.