Friday, February 27, 2009

cabbage dhal curry

This is a very simple curry , good for a mild lunch. I use green gram dhal for this curry, but many choose Toor dhal (Red gram) instead. Basically I prefer this kind of vegetable dominated curries to mix with the rice, so that I can reduce my rice intake:)
There is no need to temper this curry , but the choice depends on the individual. The taste will be bland as there is no tomato or tamarind, but it can be paired perfectly with a spicy fry.



Muttaikose paasi paruppu kulambu / cabbage green gram dhal curry:

Ingredients:

Cabbage - 200 gms
green gram dhal - 1/2 cup
green chilli - 2
salt - as required
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
garlic - 3 pods
ginger - 1 inch
cumin - 1/2 tsp

Directions:
Wash and soak the green gram dhal (siru paruppu / paasi paruppu in Tamil) for 30 minutes.
Start Cooking it in 2 cups of water with turmeric powder.
Finely chop the cabbage , garlic , ginger and green chilli.
After the dhal gets half cooked, add the chopped vegetables.
Cook them without closing the lid. Because green gram dhal has the property to form froth and overflow , if covered and cooked.
After the dhal is cooked to a mushy state, switch off the flame.
Add salt, cumin seeds and mash gently without crushing the cabbage.
Cabbage dhal curry is ready.
No need to temper it.

Serving diections:

The above said quantity is good for 3 people, if served like sambar on plain rice.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Ridge Gourd Peel chutney

Usually we make curries out of Ridge gourd . But many of us will not be aware of making a chutney with its peels. This is one of the signature dishes of my mom.
It pairs well with rice or chapathi.
I am sure ridge gourd is such a yummy vegetable when cooked with dhal. But have you ever noticed the resulting quantity of the curry? If we miscalculate the end product and buy the same quantity as of any other vegetable, then we will face a challenge in distributing the curry. Oh! yes, the curry will shrink a lot after losing its moisture in cooking. So if we generally buy one lb of any vegetable , then we should double the quantity while buying this ridge gourd.
How come we throw away such a succulent peel like this? So if you are planning to make ridge gourd curry next time, then don't throw away the peels. Just save them for a yummy chutney.
Here is the recipe!

Peerkankai thol chutney:



Ingredients:
Ridge gourd - 1
Dry Red chilli - 4
curry leaf - 1 sprig
tamarind - small gooseberry size
salt - to taste
urid dhal - 1 tsp
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
garlic - 1 clove



Method:
Wash and clean the ridge gourd.
Peel and save the outer skin , discarding the veins in the ridge.
Chop the skin coarsely.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai.
Add all the above ingredients except salt, garlic and cumin .
saute them till the peels become tender (or) edges turn mild brown.
Then switch off the stove and cool it completely.
Then add salt, garlic ,cumin and grind to a fine paste.
Ridge gourd chutney is ready.

Serving suggestions:

Goes fine with chapathi, dosa or any rice meal.

Chow chow Paruppu koottu and peel thogayal

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