This is the last post for the ongoing event Know your Blogger event of KFB .
I know i am again terribly late to post this but last few weeks have been so frenzied. First the Diwali mayhem and then a bad viral struck. First me and then my little boy were so badly under the weather that I completely lost the motivation to try out new recipes and blog about it. But I am thankful to be surrounded by amazing family and friends who never fail to inspire and push me a little so that I get back to doing what I love doing.
Here I am presenting to you Indrani who owns the very popular blog Recipe Junction .
I am sure many of you already know about her and her blog as she is a veteran in this field. She has more that 200 recipes in her website and blogs with a lot of passion. She is a homemaker and mother to three lovely kids..so u can imagine that she has her hands full. But she manages everything with a lot of ease. Recently I had met her while she was doing a video shoot and I was so impressed to see how meticulously she had packed and got all the ingredients and stuffs required for the recipe. She had taken care of every little detail and I was so amazed.
Now coming to her recipes..I was spoilt for choice when I had to choose one. I was a difficult task. I however decided to try one of her everyday recipes and give it a little of my personal touch. Dal'er Bora'r Jhol ( Lentil dumplings in a gravy) is an often tried dish in many Bengali households. I have had it on many occasions and loved it. Indrani's blog has a very easy recipe of this dish here ,
the one I made is very similar with just a addition of few ingredients. This is totally a vegetarian dish and is perfect for days when you are not in a mood to make the usual onion - tomato gravy.
Ingredients:
Masoor dal/Red lentil - 1 cup (soaked in warm water for half an hour and then grinded into a smooth paste)
Chopped onion - 1 tbsp
Paanchphoron - half tsp
Cumin paste - 2 tsp
Ginger paste - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Tomato - 1 medium - chopped
Salt - to taste
Sugar - a pinch
Oil - 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Ghee - 1 dollop for garnish
Green chillies - 2-3 nos - slit
Method:
Take the dal paste , add salt to taste , a pinch of turmeric , the finely chopped onion and coriander. Mix well and keep aside.
In a non stick pan add 2 tbsp oil. Once the oil heats up drop a tbsp of the dal batter into the pan and fry the dumplings. Just like we make pakodas / fritters.
Once they turn a nice golden brown in colour , remove from oil and keep them on a tissue paper so that excess oil is drained out. You could enjoy a couple of these fritters as it is with a cup of tea , they taste awesome.
In another pan heat 1 tbsp oil and splutter tha paanchphoron. Next add the chopped tomatoes , cumin paste, ginger paste, turmeric ,red chilli powder, salt and sugar and mix well.
Fry this masala mix well adding a little water from time to time so that it doesn't burn. Once the mix starts leaving oil on the sides , add a cup of warm water and let the gravy simmer.Once the gravy comes to a boil , add the lentil fritters and let them simmer in the gravy for 2 mins. Garnish with slit green chillies and a dollop of ghee. Serve hot with plain rice.
I hope all of you will try this dish and let me know your feedback. For some great recipes,don't forget to check out Recipe Junction
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.
Tune into Arvind's Kitchen every Wednesdays and Fridays between 3 -4 pm to listen to members of Kolkata Food Bloggers share their food stories!
