100 gm Moong dal

50 gm Sugar

100 ml ghee/refined oil

Few pistachios

Patty cases

1. Wash and soak dal for about 4 hours.  Drain it well and grind it coarsely with as minimum water as possible. 

2. Remove the shells of the pistachios and chop them finely. Spread out on a plate and keep it aside.

3. Grind the cardamoms in the grinder and then add the sugar.

4. Grind sugar and the cardamom powder together and sieve the mixture through a fine sieve and keep it aside

5. Heat a heavy pan and add the ghee/refined oil.  When the oil is medium hot pour the moong batter and stir well. The mixture will have a tendency to stick to the pan.  So you must keep stirring until the oil starts oozing out from the mixture. The base of the pan will look oily and you will get the smell of roasted moong.  Switch off the heat and add the powdered sugar and mix well.

6. When it cools, make small balls to fit the patty case.  Slightly touch pistachios on the plate with one side of the ball and place the same side facing downward into the patty case.  Press it firmly and then remove carefully from the mould.

Idli, channaChutney, Sambar.

Black-eyed Flan and Sprouted Moong Salad

Moong Pudding

Toor dal is known as pigeon pea or red gram in English.  It has a distinctive nutty flavour.  It is not only tasty but also rich in Protein, carbohydrate and fibre.

How to make sambar powder and tamarind puree is given at the end of the recipe.

100 gm Toor dal

50 gm Carrot

50 gm bean

1 tsp salt

• Cook the dal: Wash and pressure cook the dal with ½ tsp of salt and enough water to immerse the dal.
• After the first whistle, lower the heat and let it simmer for 2 minutes and then switch off the cooker.  Allow it to cool and then add little water to the dal and take it out from the cooker.

Cook the vegetables: 

Wash and remove strings, if any, from the beans. Wash and peel the carrots. Cut both the vegetables to the same size.  Cook them together in the pressure cooker with ¼ tsp of salt and very little water.  Switch off the cooker at the 1^st whistle.  Remove the vegetables  from the cooker carefully and keep them aside.

3 Tbsp refined oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 red dried chilli

1 Medium size onion finely chopped ( 60 gm)

1 Medium size tomato finely chopped (75 gm)

1 tsp finely chopped green chillies

1 handful of curry leaves

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 Tbsp tamarind puree**

1 Tbsp of sambar powder*

Salt to taste

1. Heat the oil in a big pan.  Reduce the heat and add mustard seeds and allow it to crackle. 
2. Add the dry red chillies and fry a little. 
3. Add onion  and sauté till transparent,  add curry leaves and fry for few more seconds.

4. Add the chopped tomatoes and ½ tsp of salt and fry for about 30 seconds.

5. The salt will help the tomato to get soft quickly.  Add the chopped green chilli if you like hot sambar.

6. When the tomatoes get little pulpy add 1 tsp of turmeric and 1Tbsp of sambar powder.

7. Fry all the spices until the aroma of the sambar powder is released. 

8. Pour the cooked dal over the fried spices. 

9. Add warm water to adjust the consistency of the dal. As dal begins to boil add the cooked vegetable.  

10. Add 1 Tbsp of the tamarind puree. Adjust the salt. 

Boil the sambar well for  2-3  minutes more.  Serve hot with idli, dosa or white rice.

1 tsp chana dal

1 tsp urad dal

2 Tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

Few fenugreek seeds/methi

2-3 Black peppercorn

1 dry red chillies

Few curry leaves

1 pinch of Asafoetida/hing optional

Tamarind puree is available in the market.  You may also make your own tamarind puree at home.

Soak a few fresh/dried tamarind in little hot water for about 10 minutes.  Crush them with your finger and strain the liquid through a sieve.

In the picture tempering is done with red dried chilly and panch phoron.( 5 different spices)

Sometimes all the above five spices are mixed together and used for tempering.  The mixture of these 5 spices are known as Panch Phoron.  It gives an unique aroma.

Haldhi/ turmeric powder is another spice used for tempering.  Beside being used for colouring (yellow) it has its own medicinal properties.

Fresh garlic, ginger, onion and green chillies.  

Dried ones are tez patta/bay leaves and dried red chillies. 

Channa dal and urad dal are used in tempering in some South Indian savoury dishes.

Curiya patta/ curry leaves are also used during tempering. It hasa beautiful flavour.  It is used almost in all the South Indian savoury dishes. The plant grows as tall as an apple tree.

Here we are using the skinned urad dal.  It is highly nutritious.  Urad flour is available in the market. Otherwise, see how to make your own white urad dal flour at the end of the recipe.

100 gm flour

25 gm white urad flour *

1 Tbsp refined oil

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp yeast

¼ salt

125 ml water

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together.  Add the oil.  Add the water gradually to make sticky dough.

2. Cover it with a damp cloth and leave it in a warm place to double its size.

3. Turn the dough onto a floured board and knead well.  Oil a pan and bring the dough to the shape and size of the pan. With little dough, we decorated the top.

4. Cover the pan with a damp cloth for thin film and leave it in a warm place until double its size.

5. Bake in a hot oven 400 C for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  Cool it on a wire rack.  If you prefer a soft crust, cover the bread with a damp cloth while cooling.

Amongst all the dal, moong dal is the most versatile.  Its sweet and nutty flavour blends with both sweet and savoury dishes.  The beautiful colour contributes to the yellow colour of the bread. It is nutritious and easy to digest.

Moong dal flour is available in the market. Otherwise, how to make moong flour is given at the end of the recipe.

100 gm flour

30 gm moong flour*

1 Tbsp refined oil

1 tsp full yeast (3 gm)

1tsp sugar

¼ tsp salt

125 ml warm water

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Add the oil and mix until it resembles crumbs.  Mix the water gradually and work to sticky dough.

2. Cover it with a damp cloth/thin film  and leave it in a warm place to double its size.

3. Turn the dough onto a floured board and knead it well.  Turn it on to an greased pan or bake in any shape or size you desire. Cover it with a damp cloth and allow it to double in size for 1 hour.

4. Bake in a hot oven 400 C for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  Cool it on a wire rack.  If you prefer a soft crust, cover the bread with a damp cloth while cooling.

Kashmiri rajma is the small variety of red rajma. It has a beautiful red colour skin and a distinctive nutty flavour. It is easy to cook. The skin gives a lighter shade of the original colour to the bread so we named it pink bread. 

How to make rajma flour is given at the end of the recipe.

100 gm flour

30 gm Kashmiri rajma flour *

1 Tbsp refined oil

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp yeast

¼ salt

125 ml water

1. Sieve the rajma flour and all purpose flour with salt.  Add sugar and yeast to the sieved flour. Add the oil.  Add the water gradually to make sticky dough.

2. Cover it with a damp cloth and leave it in a warm place to double its size.

3. Turn the dough onto a floured board and knead well.  Oil a pan and place the dough to the shape and size you wish your bread to be.

4. Cover the pan with a damp cloth / thin film and leave it in a warm place for 1 hour to double its size

5. Bake in a hot oven 400 C a for about 15 – 20 minutes till the top is golden brown.  Cool the bread on a wire rack.  If you like soft crust then wrap the bread with a damp cloth until it cools down completely.

Over a heavy hot pan, stir the Kashmiri rajma for a few seconds. Switch off the heat. Allow the rajma to cool in the pan.  Heating improves the flavour. Cool it and grind in a grinder till fine.  Sieve through a fine sieve. Store the flour in an air tight container.

Sabut moong has a sweet nutty flavours and blends easily with both sweet and savoury dishes. The bright olive green skin in  combination with the yellow dal gives a beautiful greenish colour to the bread.  Sabut moong is packed with nourishment. 

How to make sabut moong flour is given at the end of the recipe.

100 gm all purpose flour

30 gm sabut moong flour*

1 tsp full sugar

¼ tsp salt

1 Tbsp refined oil

1 tsp full yeast

125 ml water

1. Sieve all purpose flour, moong flour and salt together. Mix the flour mixture with sugar and yeast in a bowl.  Add the oil and mix it well.  Add water gradually to make sticky dough.

2. Cover the dough with a damp cloth/ thin film and leave it in a warm place to rise to double in bulk.

3. Turn the mixture onto a floured board and knead lightly for some time.  Bring the dough to the shape of a pan or in any shape you wish to bake the bread.

4. Cover the baking pan with a damp cloth and leave it for an hour to rise to double its size. 

5. Bake in a hot oven 400 degree C for about 15-20 minutes. Cool it on a wire rack.  If you want a soft crust, wrap it up with a damp cloth while cooling.

Over a heavy hot pan, stir the sabut moong for about 30 seconds and then allow it to cool on the pan.  Heating improves the flavour.

Grind and sieve through a fine sieve.  Separate the green skin by winnowing the remaining moong on a plate and add to the moong flour for a darker colour.

A handful of Sabut channa flour increases the nutrition value of the daily bread.  The dark brown skin contributes the light brown colour and the sweet nutty flavour adds to the taste of the bread.

How to make Sabut channa flour is given at the end of the recipe.

100 gm all purpose flour

30 gm Sabut channa flour *

1 Tbsp refine oil

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp of yeast

125 ml water for the dough

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Add the oil and mix it well.  Add the water gradually to make the dough sticky.

2. Cover it with a damp cloth/ thin film and leave it in a warm place to allow it to rise to double in bulk.

3. Turn the mixture onto a floured board and knead lightly for some time.  Bring the dough to the shape of a pan or any shape you wish to bake the bread. Here we made 3 balls which we elongated into 3 strings as in the picture, and plaited them together.

Transfer the shape onto a greased baking dish.  Cover it again with a damp cloth and leave it for an hour to rise to double its size.  Bake in a hot oven 400 degree C for about 15-20 minutes.

Cool it on a wire rack.  If you want a soft crust, wrap it up with a damp cloth while cooling.

Over a heavy hot pan, stir the sabut channa for about 30 seconds and then allow the channa to cool on the pan.  Heating improves the flavour.

Grind and sieve through a fine sieve.  Store the flour in an air tight container.

The nutrition of a daily bread can be improved significantly with the addition of just a handful of urad dal.  Urad contains the highest nutrition values amongst all the dals.  The dark colour skin contributes the black colour to the bread.

How to make Sabut urad flour is given at the end of the recipe.

100 gm all purpose flour

25 gm sabut urad/ Black gram flour*

1 Tbsp refine oil

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp of yeast

125 ml water to make sticky dough

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together.  Add oil to the mixture and mix it well.  Add water gradually to make a sticky dough.

2. Bring the mixture together and cover it with a damp cloth or thin film and leave it in a warm place for about 1 hour. It should be double in size.

3. Turn the dough on to a floured board and knead it well.  Shape the dough to the size of the baking pan.  Oil the pan well and drop the dough into it. 

4. Cover it with a damp cloth/ thin film and leave the pan in a warm place for another 1 hour.  Leave it to rise until it becomes double in bulk.

5. Bake in a hot oven 400 C for 15-20 minutes till the top is golden brown. Turn the loaf out of the pan and cool it on a wire rack.  If you like a soft crust, wrap it up with a damp cloth till it cools.  Serve it with jam, butter, cheese or mayonnaise.  It is delicious.

Over a heavy hot pan, toss the sabut urad/black gram for a few seconds. Switch off the heat.

Let it cool on the pan.  Little warming up improves the flavour.

Cool it and grind in a grinder till fine.  Sieve through a fine sieve.

Store the flour in an air tight container.  It will stay good for days.