Roma's Space

Moong Dal Chaat

The moong dal cooked by the method described below is usually used in filling pani puris. We enjoy this chaat at least once a week for breakfast.

Ingredients :

• 2 cups of whole green moong dal
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 green chillie
• 1 onion
• 1/2 teaspoon Jeera powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Chaat masala
• Few curry leaves

Procedure :

1. Soak 1 cup of moong dal overnight.
2. Once soaked, microwave it in water for about 20 mins. If you dont have a microwave you can boil the dal in a vessel till its tender.
3. Strain water out of the dal and set aside.
4. Heat oil, add cumin seeds, slit green chilly, onions and curry leaves.
5. Add moong dal to this tempering. Add jeera powder, chaat masala and salt. Saute well.
6. Garnish with finely cut onions and coriander leaves.
7. Serve moong dal with curds and sweet ‘n sour tamarind chutney.

Please NOTE :

1. Care needs to be taken not to soak moong dal for too long as it may sprout.
2. Do not try to pressure cook the dal as it gets mashed up and then doesnt taste like chaat anymore.

Tamarind Chutney

This is a sweet and sour chutney made out of tamarind pulp usually served with chaats, pakodas and other short eats. This chutney has a long shelf life and is handy when you suddenly want a dip to go with a snack.

Ingredients :

• 1 cup Tamarind juice
• 1/2 cup jaggery (or more depending on your taste)
• Few saunf or fennel seeds
• Jeera powder
• A Pinch of white and black salt
• A Pinch of red chillie powder
• One teaspoon sugar

Procedure :

1. Bring the tamarind juice to a boil.
2. Add jaggey, sugar, white and black salt, jeera powder, red chillie powder and boil till the mixture thickens.
3. Add saunf seeds and continue to boil for few more minutes.
4. Cool and serve with chaats or snacks.

Please NOTE :

In case you are short of time you can use tamarind paste readily available in the market. However, one thing needs to be kept in mind. These pastes are usually very concentrated. Hence, start with mixing 1/2 teaspoon of tamarind paste in one cup of water and increase the quantity of tamarind juice later, if required.

Tangy Mixed Vegetable Curry (Sindhi Kadhi)

This hot and sour vegetable curry is a rare combination of being delicious, nutritious and easy to make, all at the same time. Excellent to be eaten on those cold wintry days when you want something hot without having to wait too much to get it. This is commonly known as ‘Sindhi kadhi’. Unlike other ‘Kadhis’ this does not have curd in it.

Ingredients :

• 5 Beans
• 1 Carrot
• 1 Drumstick
• 5 Cauliflower florets
• 1 Potato
• 1 Tablespoon Gram Flour
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 2  red chillies
• Pinch of hing
• Few curry leaves
• 1 cup tamarind juice
• Pinch of Turmeric/Haldi powder

Procedure :

1. Chop carrot, beans, potato and drumsticks into finger like pieces.
2. Mix the gram flour into tamarind juice and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add mustard seeds, red chillies, hing and curry leaves. Mix in beans, carrot, drumsticks, cauliflower florets and potato pieces.
4. Finally add tamarind paste and turmeric powder. Close the cooker and allow it to whistle twice (ensure it doesnt get mashed).
5. Once done, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with plain rice.

Mirchi – do – pyaaza

This is a dish I whisk up every time I have little or no time to make a sabzi. Back in school, I had a Maharashtrian friend whose mom used to make it with only onions and gram flour. Was one of the most delicious dishes I have had. I used to wait for veggies to exhaust at her home so I would get the besan onion delight.

Lore has come up with an excellent idea of hosting and event of original recipes. This one is one of my very own creations and I would like to send it as an entry to the Original Recipe event. Thanks Lore, I think its a great concept!

Ingredients :

• 10 Big chillies
• 1 Big onion
• 1/2 teaspoon Jeera
• 1/4 teaspoon ajwain
• 1/2 teaspoon dhania seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon saunf seeds
• 3 tablespoons of Besan or Gram flour
• Amchur or dry mango powder

Procedure :

1. The Chillies are basically the big light green pakoda chillies. You need to cut off the head of the chillie. Then slit it in the side and cut it into 2 halves.
2. Separately dry roast the besan till it turns brown.
3. Heat the oil. Add jeera, ajwain, dhania, saunf seeds. When seeds begin to crackle, add the sliced onions.
4. Once onions turn glossy, add the chillies and salt. Cook till chillies are done.
5. Add roasted besan, amchur and continue to cook till besan coats the chillies.

Please NOTE :

1. The good part about this dish is that it takes less time to cook, so if you want you can substitute the chillies with capsicum or anything else which has cooking time equal to chillies/onions.
2. Amchur should be added towards the end else it delays the process of cooking.

Pav Bhaji

This Maharashtrian delight needs some more time and effort to make as compared to other breakfasts but once its done its worth the effort you put into it. To make it nutritious you can replace potatoes with other vegetables like cabbage and beans. You can also skip the extra dollops of butter that are added to toss the fat out of the dish. This kind of a bhaji when eaten with a brown bread pav can completely change this dish into a very healthy option for calorie conscious people.

Right now I am presenting to you the original style in which it is made :

Ingredients :

• 1 Potato
• 4 Tomatoes
• 2 Onions
• 1 Capsicum
• 1/2 cup Peas
• a few florets of Cauliflower
• 2 teaspoons Ginger garlic paste
• 3 tablespoons Pav Bhaji masala
• 1 lemon
• Pav bread

Procedure :

1. Boil Cauliflower, peas and potato. Mash once done and set aside.
2. Heat a kadai. Take some oil and fry the onions. Once they discolor add ginger garlic paste and Pav bhaji masala. After a few minutes add finely cut tomatoes, capsicum, salt, 2 large dollops of butter and fry till the oil leaves the sides of the pan.
3. Now add the mashed vegetable and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Once done, squeeze the juice of a fresh lime into it.
4. Garnish the bhaji with coriander leaves. Heat the pavs on a pan with some butter.
5. Serve Pav Bhaji with finely chopped onions and small pieces of fresh lime.

Please NOTE:

1. If you like a thick gravy in the bhaji you can add some cornflour paste to the bhaji eventually and cook for a few minutes. For this, you need to dissolve 2 tablespoons of cornflour in 1/2 cup cold water and stir to obtain a paste.
2. I personally don’t like food color, although most people do add reds and oranges to their Bhaji.