Dal Palak (without onion and garlic) | Palak Dal | Easy Dal Palak Recipe

Recipe for the day is this warm and yummy Dal Palak which always reminds me of our Pune days. This hot bowl of simple yet flavorful palak dal was enough for us to eat scores of phulkas and extra extra helpings of rice. Did I slightly go overboard? Maybe ;) But you get the drift right. It is healthy too. All you need is that bowl of dal and maybe a sabzi. Even if I don't get time to make a sabzi, we manage with boiled egg fry or paneer burji. I love to make this with the palak I used to buy in Pune which gives an earthly flavor to the gravy. With the Chennai palak I feel that's missing. So without much further talk, let's get to the recipe.

Recipe Source: Here

Serves: 3-4 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

I Used:

Palak	-	2 cups
Tur Dal	-	½ cup
Oil/Ghee	-	2 tbsp
Cumin seeds	-	1 tsp
Ginger	-	An inch piece - chopped
Green Chilly	-	2 nos (medium sized) - chopped
Red Chilly powder	-	½ tsp
Asafoetida	-	¼ tsp
Turmeric powder	-	½ tsp
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

1. Rinse the lentil with water for 2-3 times. Then take them in a pressure cooker and add around 2 cups of water. Add salt and turmeric powder to it. If you have time soak the dal for 15-20 minutes before cooking so that they cook faster

2. Pressure cook the dal for 5 to 6 whistles till it becomes soft and mushy

3. Now rinse the palak in water for 2-3 times. Drain them of water. Then chop finely and keep aside. Also clean and chop the ginger and green chillies and keep aside

4. In a pan heat oil/ghee. Using ghee gives a very nice aroma and flavor to the gravy. Then temper the cumin seeds 

5. Reduce the flame to low and then add the chopped ginger and fry till the raw smell goes off

6. Then add the chopped green chillies & fry for 30 seconds

7. Now add the chopped palak and saute for a minute

8. Then add the red chilly powder and asafoetida

9. Now cover the pan and cook for 6-8 minutes till the palak is cooked. Palak will release some water. So no need to add additional water at this point. Just open the lid and saute twice or thrice in between so that the palak doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan

10. Mash the cooked dal so that it is smooth. Once the palak is cooked, add the mashed dal to it

11. Add water (1-2 cups) depending on the consistency you want or the gravy and give a nice stir

12. Check salt and add if needed

13. Simmer the dal for about 5 minutes and then switch off

Serve with nice phulkas/rotis, rice & a sabzi of choice :)

Cheers,
Chitz

Ponnanganni Keerai Poriyal | Ponnangani Greens Stir Fry | Dwarf Copper Leaf Stir Fry

Here I go with yet another greens stir fry recipe. This time it is none other than the iron & calcium rich Ponnangani leaves. They come in two shades - green and red. Here I have prepared the stir fry using green leaves today. You can follow the same recipe for the red leaves as well. Ponnangani leaves has many medicinal benefits. To mention a few, it is recommended as a very good medicine for all your eye problems and for also maintaining a healthy and glowing skin. It is said to reduce body heat and is a good remedy for piles problems. And it is very effective against stomach ulcers, gut problems and also to improve your overall health. And so I guess by now you must have very well understood how great these greens are for your health, so let's go check out how to make a simple and tasty stir fry with them :)

This is how it looks :)

Serves: 4-5 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 15 mins

Cooking Time: 25 mins

I Used:

Ponnangani Keerai	-	2 cups
Sesame oil	-	1 tbsp
Mustard	-	¼ tsp
Urad Dal	-	1 tbsp
Red Chilly	-	4 nos (slit)
Onion (chopped) Asafoetida Turmeric Powder	- - -	½ cup - 1 medium sized 2 fat pinch ¼ tsp
Mung Dal	-	2 tbsp (boiled) (Take 1 tbsp raw and soak)
Grated Coconut	-	2 tbsp

The Way:

1. Take the moong dal in a bowl. Rinse well in water. Then soak the dal in ¼ cup of water for 15-20 minutes

2. Once soaked, add a little salt (not much coz we will be adding in the poriyal as well) and cook them till done. First keep the flame in high till the water boils and then simmer and cook covered till done. The dal should not turn mushy. They should be cooked and retain their shape. It should take around 8-10 minutes for them to get cooked

3. Meanwhile clean and keep the greens (keerai). Remove old or wilted or yellow coloured leaves. I use only the leaves and discard the stem

4. Rinse the greens (keerai) in water 2-3 times to remove the dirt and mud particles. Then drain the water and chop them roughly and keep aside

5. Chop the onions and keep aside

6. In a pan, heat sesame oil. Use sesame oil for this stir fry. It is highly recommended. If you do not have it replace with sunflower or coconut oil

7. Splutter mustard. Then reduce the flame and add the urad dal and broken red chillies. Saute them. Take care not to burn the red chilly or dal

8. Add the chopped onions and saute. The onions should turn translucent and slightly start to turn colour

9. Then add asafoetida and turmeric powder. Give a quick saute

10. Add the chopped greens and give a nice stir. Add 2-3 tbsp of water and give a quick stir. Cover and cook for 5-6 minute till the leaves wilt and get cooked. Check in between to see that they do not get stuck at the bottom and saute to avoid that

11. Once the greens are cooked, add the cooked moong dal and give a gentle stir and leave it for a minute

12. Then add the grated coconut and give a quick and gentle stir

13. Switch off flame and serve with rice and a gravy of choice

Cheers,

Chitz

Vallarai Keerai Poriyal | Brahmi Leaves Thoran | Pennywort Stir Fry

Now that we have shifted our base back to Chennai, I am able to buy and cook some native veggies and greens :) Vallarai Keerai is one such green that I have not seen even once in Pune. So last week when I saw some in the local market, I immediately grabbed a bunch. When I bought them I thought that they are used to make dosas but when I checked with my mom it turned out that the greens used for making dosa is 'Mudakkathan Keerai' and not this. And she told me the recipe to make this poriyal. She said that this Vallarai Keerai (Brahmi) is bitter and hence to make it into an appeasing poriyal you need to add some supporting ingredients like tomato, dal and coconut. 

This is how it looks :)

Generally when we make keerai (greens) poriyal we do not add any of them . Just plain saute of onions and chillies and then the spinach. And as she said, when I tasted the poriyal before adding dal and coconut it was very bitter. But once it was done, it tasted yum and there was only a very faint bitterness to it that even my little one relished it :) And also this leaves are very good for our brain, so if you get hold of some Vallarai Keerai, do buy and make them, now that you have a fool proof recipe :) Also let me know how it turned out..

My other keerai recipes are - Cheera Parippu Curry, Cheera Thalippu, Cheera Thoran, Sirukeerai Paruppu Masiyal, Chembila Mezhukkupuratti, Chembin Thandu Parippu Curry & Palak Paneer

Serves: 4-5 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 15 mins

Cooking Time: 25 mins

I Used:

Vallara Keerai (Brahmi)	-	2 cups
Sesame oil	-	1 tbsp
Mustard	-	¼ tsp
Green Chilly	-	3 nos (slit)
Asafoetida	-	¼ tsp
Onion (chopped)	-	½ cup
Tomato (chopped)	-	½ cup
Tur Dal (or Mung Dal)	-	2 tbsp
Grated Coconut	-	2 tbsp

The Way:

1. Take the tur dal (or moong dal) in a bowl. Rinse well in water. Then soak the dal in ¼  cup of water for 15-20 minutes

2. Once soaked, add a little salt (not much coz we will be adding in the poriyal as well) and cook them till done. First keep the flame in high till the water boils and then simmer and cook covered till done. The dal should not turn mushy. They should be cooked and retain their shape. It should take around 8-10 minutes for them to get cooked

3. Meanwhile clean and keep the greens (keerai). Remove old or wilted or yellow coloured leaves. The stem is edible too. If the stem is clean and tender use it as well

4. Rinse the greens (keerai) in water 2-3 times to remove the dirt and mud particles. Then drain the water and chop them finely and keep aside

5. Chop the onions and tomatoes and keep aside

6. In a pan, heat sesame oil. Use sesame oil for this stir fry. It is highly recommended. If you do not have it replace with sunflower or coconut oil

7. Splutter mustard

8. Add the chopped onions and slit green chillies and saute

9. The onions should turn translucent and slightly start to turn colour

10. Then add asafoetida and turmeric powder. give a quick saute

11. Add the chopped tomatoes and give a nice saute. Maybe you can close and cook for 2 minutes till the tomatoes slowly start to turn mushy

12. Add the chopped greens and give a nice stir. Cover and cook for 5-6 minute till the leaves wilt and get cooked. Check in between to see that they do not get stuck at the bottom and saute to avoid that

13. Once the greens are cooked, add the cooked tur dal (or moong dal) and give a gentle stir and leave it for a minute

14. Then add the grated coconut and give a quick and gentle stir

15. Switch off flame and serve with rice and a gravy of choice

Cheers,

Chitz