Flavours of Rajasthan - Aloo Mangodi Sabzi

Today I am talking about Rajasthan. When we think of Rajasthan we think of its colours , its vibrancy and its spicy awesome food. I have had the privilege of visiting Jaipur a couple of times and it is a food lovers paradise. If you love  spunk in your food you will love their cuisine. Think of all the tummy chaats,papdis,kachauris,parathas, and the famous bikaneri bhujiya. I love dunking some tomato ketchup in my bowl of bhujia - try it sometimes its heavenly! Traditionally its mostly vegetarian cuisine with dishes like gatte ki sabzi,dal-baati-churma,ker-sangri ki sabzi and all that but there's a certain section of Rajasthanis who love their meat. I mean we all know of the legendary 'Laal Maans' - mutton cooked in a fiery red chili gravy.It also has a version made with curd 'Safed Maans'.But today's recipe doesn't involve any meat...I have decided to share a very everyday dish of their cuisine , something that we all can rustle up in our kitchens, with ingredients easily available. Aloo Mangodi Sabzi simply put is a  side dish made with moong dal fritters.

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 2 medium (parboiled and cut into cubes)

Moong Dal ( split green gram) - 1 cup (soaked in water for 1 hour)

Saunf(fennel seeds) - 1 tsp

Amchur powder(dry mango powder) - 2 tbsp

Crushed pepper corns - 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1tsp + 1 tsp

Besan(chick pea flour) - 4 tbsp

Dried red chillies - 8-10 nos ( adjust according to your taste)

Hing(asafoetida) - a pinch

Oil - 1 tbsp + some for frying the mangodis

Jeera seeds(cumin) - 1 tsp

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp 

Method:

Our first task is to prepare the mangodis - moong dal fritters. For that strain the moong dal and transfer into a mixer jar. Add saunf,crushed pepper,1 tsp red chilli powder and salt and grind it into a paste.
Transfer the mix into a bowl , add the besan and mix well.
Add some refined oil in a nonstick pan. Once the oil heats up , drop little dumplings of the moong dal batter into the hot oil. Make little fritters in batches and drain into a kitchen towel.

Keep the mangodis aside. Now lets prepare the base of the dish.
In a pan heat 1 tbsp oil and splutter the red chillies,hing,jeera seeds
and fry a little. Add the potatoes and cook for 6-8 mins.

Next add the ginger paste and saute for another 2 mins.Lower the heat and add coriander powder,turmeric,amchur,1 tsp red chilli powder and salt. Mix well. If required add a few tbsps of water and cook the masala well.
Lastly add the mangodis and serve hot with dal and rice.

Variations:For the health conscious instead of frying the fritters one could make it in the oven too. Just line a baking tin with some parchment paper , line the moong dal batter in little roundels and bake in the oven till light brown in colour.


This recipe has been featured on Arvind's Kitchen on 94.3 Radio One #Kolkatas only 100% Retro Station.
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