Roma's Space

Palak Dal

Having spent most of his life in Hyderabad, my husband got a chance to develop a taste for a variety of dishes from the Andhra cuisine. Palak dal being among his top favorites.

Whenever we visit an Andhra joint he takes a couple of helpings of this dal and by the end of the meal the other items in the thali remain intact while the dal is long gone.

I tried my level best to make palak dal a couple of times but it never really matched up with the one we ate at the Andhra restaurants. One day, while I was going through Indira’s Mahanandi I found the recipe of ‘Palakura~Vellulli Pappu‘ which seemed like the same dal I had been looking for all along.

Today I made this dal for our Sunday lunch and it turned out quiet well. Thanks Indira for providing us with these treasured recipes. Your blog is an inspiration to all cooking enthusiasts.

Lucknowi Namoona

Namoona is a famous peas curry eaten in Lucknow. I had the opportunity of having it last week and I think its one of the tastiest curries one can have with roti.

Green peas are in abundance right now. I bought a few kilos, pealed and froze them. So now anytime I suddenly have guests over this is one vegetable I can surely prepare.

You might need a little extra time and effort as compared to other curries but its worth it when you finally get to eat something so exquisite.

Ingredients :

• Musk melon seeds, about 1 tablespoon
• Few cashew nuts or kajus
• 1 cup fresh peas
• 2 fingers of paneer
• 2 teaspoons khoya
• 2 teaspoons malai
• 1/2 teaspoon Jeera
• Pinch of Hing
• 1 Onion
• A small piece of Ginger
• 5-6 pods of Garlic
• 1/2 cup tomato puree
• 1/2 teaspoon Red chillie powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Haldi powder
• 1 teaspoon Dhania powder

Procedure :

1. Soak musk melon seeds and kajus. Once soft, grind them with paneer, khoya and malai.
2. Boil peas. Save a handful of them and grind the remaining.
3. Heat oil. Add jeera and hing. Add Paste of onion, ginger, garlic. Fry well.
4. Add tomato puree and continue to fry.
5. Add tablespoon of the previously prepared melon paste to the fried masala. Continue to cook till milk smell disappears.
6. Add boiled peas puree and mix well. Add previously saved boiled peas into it.
7. Heat oil. Add red chillie powder, haldi powder and dhania powder. Add this tempering to the curry.

Please NOTE :

Usually we use musk melon seeds but in case you cant find them you can use water melon seeds instead.

Instant Bonda

Next time the family wants to have bondas and you dont have the batter ready just try out the Instant Bonda recipe.

You can serve these bondas with rasam for breakfast. This combination is commonly known as Bonda Soup. Well, this is one soup we would all love to be in!

Ingredients :

• 1 cup Urad dal flour
• Teaspoon of Grated Ginger
• Finely chopped green chillies
• Finely chopped curry leaves
• Salt

Procedure :

1. Make a batter of flour with water. Let the consistency to be pasty (like dosa batter)
2. Mix in green chillies, curry leaves, grated ginger and salt.
3. Deep fry into balls. Serve hot with coconut chutney or rasam.

Instant Breakfast Mix

Has it ever happened to you that you are so late to work that you could not whisk up something to eat? Morning hours are always action packed at my place.
Every minute is important. However, some ready mixes make life easier. Instant Breakfast Mix is one such solution.

Once you make this mix ready it can be stored in an air-tight container for upto a month. Whenever you need to eat it just moisten it with some warm water, stir in a spoonful of ghee and mix well. Thats the maximum you need to do for a delicious breakfast. No need to even turn on the stove! Just warm 1/2 a cup of water for 20 s in a microwave. If you dont have a microwave use water from your geyser ( Ohh! JUST Kidding!! )

Different ways in which this can be eaten :

1. Simplest is as a Namkeen (Savoury mixture) with tea
2. You can add finely chopped cucumber, onion, tomato, coriander leaves and eat it like Bhel.
3. It can be moistened and eaten as a regular breakfast

Advantages of this mix :

1. Time saver – When you cant prepare breakfast in the morning rush hour
2. Any place meal – Useful while traveling with a baby and you dont want to give him outside food

In fact, thats how I came up with this recipe. I am going for a week long holiday and I dont want to give my one year old girl any train food. I am going to prepare this mix, moisten it with regular water and feed her at least one meal with this mix. You dont really have to use warm water, even normal room temperature water will work. Just that we all like to have food thats a little warm hence the recommendation.
Mixing of ghee before eating is important because while roasting we have not added any oil. That makes the masalas settle at the bottom of the poha, not mixing well into the dish. Once you add ghee the masalas will coat the poha evenly, making it tasty.

Ingredients :

• 1 cup beaten rice (poha – thin flakes)
• 2 teaspoons ground chutney dal powder
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon Channa dal
• 1/4 teaspoon white Urad dal
• Few curry leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon Red chillie powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Dry Tamarind powder
• Pinch of turmeric powder
• Pinch of hing

Procedure :

1. Heat the kadai. Add the mustard seeds, channa dal, urad dal and allow them to splutter (although there is no oil the hot kadai will crack them)
2. Add curry leaves, ground chutney dal powder and roast well.
3. Now Add poha and continue to stir till the Poha is crispy.
4. Add hing, turmeric powder, red chillie powder, dry tamarind powder and salt. Mix well.
5. Dont cook much more as the masalas will settle at the bottom of the poha and get burnt.

Variation :

If you want to improve the taste (and reduce the shelf life!) this is what you can do. To the mustard seeds and curry leaves add some roasted and ground groundnut powder. Instead of tamarind powder use Amchur / Dry Mango powder. Follow the remaining procedure in the same way. This mix will be tastier but will last for about a week.

To Store :
Store this mixture in an air tight container. Use a dry spoon while taking it out.

To Eat :
No need to turn on the stove.
Just dampen the poha mix will some warm water and add a spoonful of ghee. Mix well. Be careful not to pour water in as poha might become soggy.

Ugadi is not really one of our festivals but since we have been in South India like forever, we have been influenced by the culture to some extent. We make a Special Ugadi Lunch every year to enjoy the festive spirit that surrounds us.

Typically in Karnataka they prepare Vobattu (jaggery rotis), thondekai sabzi, beans, kosumbari / salad, sambar and payasam today. I am unable to make the entire menu but do manage to make a few items here and there to feel like we have celebrated the day.

In the picture above you can see :

• Drumsticks and Mooli Sambar
• Tamarind rice
• Plain steamed rice
• Garlic papad
• Cucumber Kosumbari
• Beans sabzi
• Rice Payasam

Happy Ugadi to you all !!