Methi masoor dal

I love methi. Masoor dal is my favourite. We have dals for dinner every day. Enough said!

1 measure masoor dal

1/2 tsp haldi powder

1 bunch methi leaves

4 cloves garlic

1 medium onion,chopped fine

1/2 tsp jeera

1 green chilli

Salt to taste

1 tbsp mustard oil

Method:

Clean and wash the dal, and cook it in a pressure cooker with haldi powder till soft. Mash and keep aside.

Meanwhile, heat the mustard oil, splutter the jeera seeds, then saute garlic and onions till onions turn transparent.

Wash the methi, remove the leaves, and chop into fine pieces. Add to the onions, and saute till it releases water, and then dries up. 

Add the cooked dal, and more water if required. Bring to a boil, lower the flame and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes. Serve with rice or rotis

Methi carrot subji

Life is different when you have a cook. You know that she can make only a couple of dishes, and you just rotate them as best as you can. But when decide to take over cooking responsibilities, you want to innovate as often as you can. And it is fun. Specially when you come up with something your family really likes. This was one of those.

Ingredients:

Carrot- 250 gms, diced

Methi leaves- 1/2 bunch, washed, de-stemmed and chopped

Mustard oil- 1 tbsp

Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Garlic - 4 or 5 cloves

Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Haldi pwd- 1/2 tsp

Hing- a pinch

Kasoori methi- 1 tbsp

Method:

Heat the mustard oil, and when it is really hot, reduce the flame and add the jeera. When the jeera stops spluttering, add garlic and hing and fry till the raw smell goes. Add carrots, and fry on a low flame for 2-3 minutes. Add all the other ingredients, cover and let it cook till carrots are soft.

Methi kaali dal

Given the fact that we have dal almost everyday, one gets tired of the same old dals, and keeps experimenting. This was one such experiment, which didn't go down too well with the family.

1 measure saboot urad dal soaked for 4-6 hours
1/2 bunch methi leaves
1 onion chopped fine
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 tsp jeera powder
2 tsp dhania powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp kasuri methi
2 tbsp cream
Salt to taste
cooking oil

Method
Cook the soaked dal in a pressure cooker (without salt) till soft
In a kadhai, fry the onions till transparent.
Add the methi leaves (de-stemmed and chopped) and fry till the raw smell goes.
Add ginger-garlic paste and the masalas and keep cooking on a low flame till the masala seperates from the side of the kadhai.
Pour in the dal, add water to attain the desired consistency, and cook on a low flame for about 10 minutes.
Crush the kasoori methi, add the cream, stir well, and serve.

Vegetarian dhansak

My mother got this recipe from the mother of one of her classmates, and I grew up knowing this as dhansaak. After I moved to Bombay, I ordered it at Jimmy Boy and all the other Parsi restaurants, but none of them tasted quite the same. This then, is the authentic version of my mother's dhansaak, even if the jury is out on whether or not this is the "real" thing.

1 cup tur dal
1 small brinjal
1 bunch methi leaves
1 medium potato





1 onion
ghee
2 limes

For ground masala
dhania patta
6 deseeded green chillis
2 pods of garlic
1 tsp jeera
sugar
salt
haldi powder
1 tsp dhania powder
5 cloves
10 peppercorns
 

Pressure cook the dal, brinjal, methi leaves and potatoes till soft. 
Beat in mixie to get smooth consistency.
Grind together everything listed under "ground masala", and keep aside
Dice the onion and fry in ghee till brown, add ground masala, fry till rawness goes, add to the dal, cook till it boils. 
Remove from fire, add juice of 2 limes.

I serve it with Parsi brown rice. 

Methi malai muttar

I made this once in Delhi about six years back, after getting the recipe from an Aunty. Loved it, but for some strange reason, never made it again. Till I was reminded of the dish when I had it at a wedding recently. Wasn't sure if I remembered it correctly, but google helped me get it right, and here it is.

Pluck the leaves of one big bunch of methi (1 C), wash and chop into pieces. Blanche, by dropping the leaves into boiled water for 2-3 minutes; drain and let it dry.
Fry 2 small onions sliced, 1 inch piece of ginger grated, and 1 green chilli in a bit of oil till onion turns transparent. Let it cool, then blend it along with 7-8 cashewnuts till smooth.
Heat about 1 tbsp oil, throw in 1 tsp jeera, 2-3 tej patta and 1 inch piece of cinnamon. When the jeera changes colour, add the blanched methi leaves and 1 cup shelled peas, and cook on low heat till the methi leaves start releasing water. Cover, and cook till the peas are almost done. Add the onion paste, salt to taste, and fry for 2-3 minutes. Reduce the heat, add 1/2 cup cream and 1/2 cup milk, and heat with constant stirring till it starts boiling. Turn off heat, cover, and let it cook in its own steam for a few minutes.

- You can add kasuri methi, but I didn't yesterday.
- The first time I made it, I used 1 C milk, but wanted to make it with cream this time.
- Don't skip the cashewnuts, because that keeps the milk from curdling/ breaking
- tomatoes and garam masala make an appearance in some recipes, but not in this one.

Alphabet Soup

This was a particular favourite of mine when I was a kid, and long after I had grown up and moved out, my mother always made it for me at least once when I visited. I think it is based on a Gujarathi dal, but my mother called it "alphabet soup" because that was something Dennis the Menace would have (and anything he did, I had to do too), and the name's stuck.

Luckily, the kids have inherited my love for this dish, so I can indulge without feeling too guilty.


3/4 cup tur dal
1/2 tsp haldi powder

1/2 tsp methi seeds
1 tsp chilli powder
Pressure cook together till soft.

Add salt (little less than normal), 3 small tomatos chopped, lots of dhania patta (I add an entire bunch- destemed), 1 tsp amchur powder, 1 tst jeera powder, and water, and boil for 5 minutes. Ensure that the dal is very watery, because it will thicken a lot later.

While the dal is cooking, make dough with atta, salt, jeera powder and 1 cup chopped methi leaves. Roll into rotis (about as thick as a naan), and cut into diamond shaped pieces.
Drop the roti pieces into the dal, and cook for 15 minutes.

Temper with with red chilli and jeera, cover and let the tastes soak in for about 5 minutes.

Garnish with fried onion slices and butter, and serve.