Masoor Dal with Bok Choy

I love my Dal, not the “Dal Dal pe Chiriya baithe…” kind of Dal but “Meri Ma ki Dal ki kasam” kind of Dal :-). This reminds me, does anyone know how to make Ma ki Dal , like if I make your recipe of “Ma ki Dal” won’t it be “Tumhari Ma ki Dal” when I serve it and vice versa , is there a global one, like “Sab ki Ma ki Dal” ? Ok, that's it. Enough PJ’s on a dull day and let’s move on to my daily dose of dal.

Ok, so let me reiterate I simply love Dal, maybe not all kinds but most kinds. I think every region in India have their own choice of Dal, like in the Northern Region, Arhar Dal or Tur Dal is very common as a regular dal for everyday dal-chawal, in the Southern Region Arhar still holds strong being the Dal for Sambhar (correct me if I am wrong). In Bengal, the most popular Dals are Red Masoor, Yellow Moong and Chana Dal or Cholar Dal. Everyone eats the other kinds of course but I am talking about what you would cook everyday. Check out this site to know about all these dals or lentils in detail.

For me, I simply love Red Masoor Dal or Musuri’r Dal as I would say. Now Masoor Dal is generally made on its own and not cooked with veggies or greens in a Bengali home, it’s the yellow moong dal which is allowed to socialize with the veggie family.

Some years back I think I had first seen Sanjeev Kapoor cook Red Masoor Dal with Green Spinach or Palak and when I tried it, it turned out to be pretty good indeed. It was also a nice way for me & my family to get our daily dose of greens. My little one who is not exactly a veggie fan, eats this unaware and I am satisfied.

With the recent Spinach scare, I thought of an alternative and tried out Bok Choy the green much loved by the Chinese. I don’t know if it was the healthy benefits of Bok-Choy or the fact that “eating Bok-Choy keeps Chinese women thin” theory of mine which egged me into trying this rich green leafy vegetable.

So I made Masoor Dal with Bok Choy (as an alternative to Spinach) and I tell you it is very very good.

What You Need

Red Masoor Dal ~ 1 & 1/2 cup of dal washed
Onion ~ 1 small finely chopped
Tomato ~ 1 medium chopped
Garlic ~ 1 clove finely chopped
Ginger ~ grated about 1 tbsp
Bok Choy ~ I used 3 bunches of small Bok Choy nicely chopped
You can use spinach instead and it tastes as good, even better.
Green Chillies ~ 3/4 your choice, chopped. I didn't use any because this was also my daughter's dinner

Turmeric powder
Jeera or Whole Cumin Seeds ~ for tempering
Salt

How I Do It

Pressure cook the Red Masoor Dal with Tomatoes and a pinch of turmeric.
Since I have separators in my pressure cooker, I cook dal in one and the chopped bok-choy in the other. You can also pressure cook them together
Heat oil in Kadai/Frying Pan
Temper with the whole jeera.
When it starts sputtering add the chopped garlic.
As soon as you get the fragrant smell of garlic rising add the onions. Take care so that the garlic does not burn.
Saute the onions with a little sugar added until they turn a nice pink with a hint of brown
If you have steamed the dal and greens separately add the greens now, not the water only the greens and sauté else jump to next step
Mix the cooked dal (if it has the greens in it fine) well with a whisk so that the dal is all nicely mashed up and you don’t see the individual entities i.e. the dal grains. Now add it to the Kadai/Frying pan
Add the freshly grated ginger
After you have cooked them for a few minutes, add water to get your desired consistency.
Add Salt and allow the dal to come to a rolling boil.
I don’t like this dal to be very thick, but not very watery like say Rasam either. When your dal has reached the consistency you want, you are done.



Friday night this was our simple dinner, rice, masoor dal with bok choy and Cajun catfish baked with tomatoes. The Cajun Catfish was cat fish in Cajun marinade bought from the super store. I browned the catfish a little in a frying pan and then simply baked it with olive oil and tomatoes.

All this Bok-Choy compels me to discuss an author of Chinese origin I have grown to love. She is Amy Tan and her first book I read was "The Joy Luck Club". I loved it because of the interplay between immigrant Chinese mothers and daugter. Recently I bought "The Kitchen God's Wife" from our library book sale for a mere 5oCents and I liked this one too, albeit "The Joy Luck..." I liked better. Maybe because I am an immigrant mom with a little daughter, I could foresee the feelings, the tension I would face when she is growing up.

Trivia: Masoor Dal is considered as aamish or non-vegetarian in a traditional Bengali household. It is never offered during Pujas, whereas yellow Moong Dal is popular as offerings or as an ingredient for the prasad prepared during Pujas. Would love to know a plausible reason.

Kumro-Chingri Botti...

…or Pumpkin with Shrimps!!! With Halloween just gone by, can pumpkins be far behind? And I tell you there are much better ways to put a pumpkin to use than making a jack-o-lantern out of it, at least every Bong thinks so.
Pumpkin is a much loved vegetable in Bengal, and there are a variety of dishes with equally unique names made with this unassuming plump orange vegetable. We have Kumro’r Chakka (a dish made with potatoes, parwal, Pumpkin and chana), Kumro’r chechki ( pumpkin cooked with hing & methi), Kumro’r por bhaja(pumpkin slices fried in batter), Kumro in chachari(mixed vegetable with pumpkin) and even Kumro bhaate (plain boiled pumpkin, mashed and mixed with little mustard oil ). Kumro ful or flowers of the pumpkin plant are also fried in a batter and is a delicacy, so much so that last year I had a pumpkin patch in my backyard to get the flowers which are not available in this foreign land.
On the aside, all this “dear Pumpkin” reminds me of Pumpkin in “Memoirs of a Geisha”, a wonderfully written book, go ahead and read it if you haven’t. Haven't seen the movie but the book is beautiful.



Today I made Kumro-Chingri Botti, just because I loved its sound on my tongue and also because I love shrimp. This is a dish my Ma-in-law makes and is something that was never cooked by my Ma. My Ma who is a Ghoti(Bengalis originally from West Bengal) always makes Pumpkin in a strict vegetarian fashion with no onions or any other non-veg distractions. So I am not sure whether this is a Bangal(people and culture originating from east Bengal now a separete country Bangladesh) tradition. Whatever it is, it is definitely tasty and now my Ma likes it too.

What You Need
Pumpkin ~ I used 2 slices like the ones shown
Shrimp ~ I used medium sized frozen cooked shrimps
Onion ~ ½ small chopped
Green Chillies ~ 5/6 slit

PanchPuran ~ a five spice mixture
Turmeric Powder
Salt


How I Do It
Peel the hard skin of the pumpkin and cut in small cubes
Thaw the shrimp if you are using frozen and mix with little turmeric and salt. For fresh shrimp, buy the small ones, remove the shell, devein and mix with turmeric & salt
Lightly fry the shrimp
Heat oil in a Kadai/Frying pan. Mustard Oil is best.
Temper with panchpuran and green chilies or in the Bong way use panchpuran & green chillies for phoran
When the spices start crackling, add the chopped onions.
Saute till they are brown and then add the cubed pumpkin.
Add a little turmeric powder and continue frying.
Add a little water and cook covered. Intermittently remove the lid & stir to make sure the pumpkins are not getting burned and are getting cooked uniformly.
When the pumpkin turns a little soft, add the shrimp, a little salt and continue cooking
The pumpkins should turn nice and soft and a little mushy, as in the picture.
Serve hot with chapatti, paratha or luchi
Also goes well with white rice.

Edited to add on 09/13/2012: Here is a second version of the recipe with spices suggested by a reader. Instead of paanchphoron, temper the oil with Kalonji/Kalo Jeere and Green chilies. Skip the onions. Add Cumin Powder and Coriander Powder along with turmeric powder. rest is same.

Trivia: Pumpkin is so much coveted in Bengal that in the district of Bankura, pumpkin is lovingly known as “Bankura’r aapel” or “Bankura’s apple”, the apple being a foreign and expensive fruit in those areas, this is definitely an accolade for dear Pumpkin.

Egg Paratha with a Twist

Saturday Morning Breakfasts at our home are usually my husband’s affair, he is in charge, whipping up a warm breakfast different from the toast-omelets or cereal-milk kind. This does not mean that he does not lapse from his routine, after all he is a man , but even if I take 52 Saturday mornings – 12 lapses – 4 traveling Saturdays – 4 Vacation Saturdays, the answer is 32, way better than 42 (!!!).
But this Saturday was different, to add a nice twist to the breakfast for WBB#6 Breakfast with a Twist at Nandita’s Saffron Trail, I woke up bright & early and donned the chef’s hat, relegating my hubby to the position of the sous-chef.
So I started with the Original Recipe of my Mom. She used to make Dimer Paratha or Egg Paratha which was a breakfast delight in itself and still is a favorite at our home not only for breakfasts but also for evening snacks. I added a twist by making a stuffing of soy chunks for this paratha, which made the paratha look like a wrap or a roll. I also make the stuffing with Keema if I am making this as an evening snack. For my breakfast I prefer the Soya as it is lighter and a more healthy way to start the day with.



What You Need

For Paratha

All Purpose Flour/Maida ~ 2 cups
Eggs ~ 3 (you can also make do with 2)
Milk
Onions ~ ½ finely chopped
Chillies ~ 2/3 chopped
Salt

For the stuffing

Soy Chunks (Nutrela) ~ ½ cup -- you can try with soy granules too
Onion ~ ½ grind to a paste
Garlic ~ 1 small clove finely chopped
Maggi Hot & Sweet Tomato Sauce (any suitable alternative)
Salt

How I Do It

Mix together flour/maida, eggs and milk in a big bowl to make a batter. Stir till smooth. The thickness of the batter should be same as that needed for a pancake or say to make utthapam.
Add the chopped onions and chillies, and salt to this batter and mix well.
Grease your frying pan with Olive Oil.
Pour a scoop of this batter in the frying pan and spread it out (same as for cooking pancake)
Cook until golden in color and then flip and cook till golden on the other side too.
You can go ahead and eat it at this point, it's yummy


My li'l one loves to eat this with jam




For the stuffing





Soak the soy chunk in water and microwave for 2 minutes. Let them soak in the hot water for 1 more minute
Once they are soft put the chunks in the blender and mince them, so that they look as in the picture (left side).
In a frying pan heat Olive Oil.
Add the chopped garlic
Add the onion paste
Fry till they have browned and add the minced soy
Add Maggi Hot & Sweet Tomato Sauce or any suitable tangy alternative and cook till the soy is nicely cooked as in the picture (right side)
Add little salt.

To Serve

Put this stuffing in the center of the Egg Paratha, add sauce/ketchup, you can also add lettuce, tomato if you want. Roll it and serve hot.

Note: Instead of Soy you can use Keema/minced meat. Mix the keema with little yogurt, ginger paste and garlic paste and keep aside for 2/3 hours. Then cook same way as the soy.

Trivia: Nutrela soya chunks are made from fully cooked soybean and is a brand name for Textured Vegetable Protein(TVP) ,marketed by RSIL. "Meal Maker" was another brand available in India , I am not sure about it's existence in the present days.