Moong Dal Thoran & An Award!

The past few days have been bit hectic with few household chores and shopping household items that I barely got enough time to post anything. But it couldn't keep me from visiting all your blogs and checking out your wonderful creations and I sincerely hope I haven't missed out any! I was glad that I could sneak some time to peek into all your blogs that finally ended up in increasing my bookmarked list which I hope to try out soon.

For the moment lets enjoy this simple dish-Moong Dal Thoran. Thoran is a traditional dish of Kerala cuisine and is an important side dish with rice, curries, papads and pickles. Made with ground coconut mixture along with few spices the dish is widely popular for its simplicity and taste. You may add your own choice of veggies, the basic preparation remaining the same, and the name of the dish changes accordingly.

Protein Packed Meal with Kadala(chickpea) curry & Cheese Omelette!

Moong dal thoran is a dish packed with nutrients and forms a great combo with rice, Parippu(dal) curry, pickles and papads. Though easy to make few steps have to be followed for making a perfect moong dal thoran. The right amount of water and preparation time are the two main factors that determine the final outcome. When I first started making this thoran, I wasn't aware of the right proportions and preparation time and I can still recall few occasions when I ended up in making either a sticky thoran or a totally dry thoran in which the beans kept rolling off the plate and refused to stay in one place! Well, my experiences and trials have finally taught me in making a perfect moong dal thoran which I would like to share with everyone here.

Ingredients:

Whole green moong dal - 1 cup

Water for cooking dal in cooker - 1 1/4 cup

Salt to taste

Grind the following together:

Grated coconut - 1/3 cup

Cumin seeds - 3/4 tsp

Garlic cloves - 2

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

For tempering:

Black Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Dry red chillies - 4 broken

Coconut Oil - 1 tsp

Method:

• Grind the ingredients to be ground adding enough water to make a coarse, yet well ground paste. Keep aside.
• Add water to pressure cooker, enough salt and washed moong dal. Keep at high heat and when steams starts coming out of the nozzle put the weight on. On the first whistle, reduce heat to simmer and steam for additional 15 minutes. Open the cooker only after the pressure has been released.
• Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves and broken red chillies and saute till the leaves turn crisp and you get the aroma.
• Add the ground paste, heat at low-medium and saute for few seconds till raw smell goes. Do not allow the colour of ground paste to change. You may have to adjust the heat accordingly.
• Add the cooked dal, mix everything well and cook on low-medium heat for few minutes until the dal has fully absorbed the flavour of the added spices.
• Turn off heat and serve with rice, ghee, parippu curry, pickles & papads!

I'm very happy to receive Lovely Blog Award for the second time, this time from Ms.Sailaja of Sailaja Kitchen and Pooja of Experients in my kitchen. Thanks a lot friends. This award means so much to me. You have made my day :)

I'm sending Moong Dal Thoran to My Legume Love Affair:Twelfth Helping hosted by Apu of Annarasa & started by Susan.

Pooja.

Other Side Dishes:

Vellarikka Kichadi

'Vellarikka'(Cucumber) Kichadi is another side dish in a traditional Kerala 'sadya'(feast). As I said in my earlier post Kichadis and Pachadis are must-have dishes in sadya. Kichadi can be made with cucumber/beetroot/lady's finger(okra) in a ground coconut mixture and well beaten curd. It is a perfect combination with rice and curry. In this preparation cucumber is deskinned and cut into small pieces. It is then cooked with salt and spices and then later with ground coconut mix. Well beaten curd/yoghurt is added towards the end of preparation.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cucumber deskinned and cut into small pieces

2 green chillies split

Salt to taste

3/4 cup well beaten curd/yoghurt

1/2 tsp black mustard seeds

1 sprig curry leaves

2 broken dry red chillies

Coconut oil for cooking

Grind the following together:

1/3 cup grated fresh coconut

1-2 green chillies(adjust according your tolerance level)

1/4-1/2 tsp black mustard seeds

Method:

• Grind the ingredients to be ground adding water till it becomes a smooth paste. Keep aside.
  
• Add cucumber pieces to a small pan along with green chillies and enough salt. Cook till it becomes soft. There is no need of adding water to cook cucumber as it contains enough water.
  
• Meanwhile heat 1 tsp coconut oil in another pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves and red chillies and saute for few seconds. Keep aside.
  
• Add the ground mixture to the cooked cucumber pieces and cook for few minutes more.
  
• Add well beaten curd, mix well (with continuous stirring) and remove from heat. Do not let it cook after adding curd as it would curdle. Adjust the salt at this stage.
  
• Add the seasonings kept aside and mix well.
  
• Enjoy with rice and curry.
  

Pooja.

Other Sadya Recipes:

Pineapple Pachadi

Pineapple 'Pachadi' is one of the side dishes with rice in a traditional Kerala meal and is a 'must have' dish in a Kerala sadya(feast). The sadya is served during Onam-the state festival, on occasions like marriage, birthday etc.This is a grand vegetarian meal with rice with innumerable side dishes, curries and desserts(payasams).

The sweet form of Kichadi is called Pachadi. Kichadi is one of the traditional side dishes made with any fruit/vegetable in a ground coconut mixture and curd. This can be prepared with mangoes/ cucumbers/beetroots/pineapple along with curd/yoghurt and the name changes accordingly. In this preparation pineapple is deskinned and cut into small pieces and cooked with few spices, then with ground coconut mixture. Later curd/yoghurt is added. Finally seasonings like mustard seeds,curry leaves and dry red chilies are added but in this preparation I have made without those. You may add it if you wish.

Ingredients:

Pineapple cut into small thin strips-1 cup

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Sugar- 2 tsp

Grated coconut- 1/3 cup

Mustard seeds- 1 tsp

Green chillies- 2(adjust according your level of tolerance)

Salt to taste

Fresh ginger- small piece(3/4" long approx) chopped

Thick curd/Yoghurt- 1 cup

Method:

• Cook pineapple strips in a small pan along with turmeric powder, sugar and salt. Water isn't required but if it starts to stick to the pan you may add about 1 tsp of water.
• Meanwhile grind grated coconut along with green chillies, mustard seeds and ginger adding water till it becomes a smooth paste.
• When the pineapple pieces are cooked add the ground mixture and cook for few minutes until the raw smell goes.
• Beat curd/yoghurt well until it turns smooth and add it to the above, mix well and remove from heat. Do not allow it to cook after adding curd.
• You may season mustard seeds(1/2 tsp), curry leaves(1 sprig), 2 broken dry red chillies in 1 tsp coconut oil and add it.
• Enjoy with warm rice.

Pooja.

Other Sadya Recipes:

Broccoli Thoran(Stir Fry with coconut)

I have never liked the taste of Broccoli-or does it have any taste?! After reading about the innumerable nutritional values of this vegetable I tried many ways in incorporating this into our diet but didn't work. I tried steaming and cooking this with other Indian spices but all these hardly helped in satisfying our taste buds. I guess some of you reading this would be able to identify yourselves with this situation. Well our aversion took a plunge for good after a visit to one of our friends' house where we were served a traditional Kerala meal with rice, curry and various varieties of thoran(a vegetable stir fry with ground coconut mixture). Among these was Broccoli thoran and for the first time I started liking Broccoli. Hence this became a frequent side dish from then on.

To make this dish cut each broccoli floret into smaller florets and continue this process until you reach the smallest floret so that the whole broccoli when cut gives a minced appearance. This is then later on added to sauteed onions and ground coconut as explained below. The use of small onions(shallots) rather than big onions gives an added taste to this dish.

Ingredients:

3 large broccoli florets

9 shallots(small onions) chopped

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 sprig curry leaves

2 dry red chillies broken into halves

Salt to taste

Coconut oil for cooking

To be ground together:

1/4-1/3 rd cup grated coconut

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2 garlic cloves

3/4 tsp cumin seeds

Method:

• Cut each broccoli floret into small florets and continue this process till each broccoli has been cut into tiny pieces. Keep aside.
• Grind the ingredients to be ground as mentioned above adding water to a smooth paste. Keep aside.
• In a pan heat 1 tbsp oil at medium heat and splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves and chillies and saute for few seconds.
• Add chopped onions and saute till it turns medium brown.
• Add chopped broccoli and saute for few seconds.
• Add ground mixture, salt and mix well.
• Reduce heat to low and cook with a closed lid.

Pooja.

Other Side Dishes:

Brinjal Mezhukkupuratti/Fried Eggplant with Onions

'Brinjal Mezhukkupuratti'(Eggplant Fry) is another side dish we have with rice. I love to have brinjals when they are deep fried because deep frying brinjals removes the slight bitter taste and the salt marination allows it to absorb less oil. Being health conscious I do not usually make fried foods at home. But at times when I do not feel guilty of deep frying I prepare this dish by deep frying brinjals rather than my usual way of stir fry. Also I prefer small sized brinjals rather than the big ones as they are more tastier. This recipe is a mix of 'thoran'(that is made with coconut) and mezhukkupuratti(stir fry made without coconut). The brinjal pieces are first marinated and kept for a few minutes. The marinated brinjals are then deep fried in oil and later sauteed with onions and ground coconut mixture. This goes well with steamed rice as well as other Indian breads like Chapati and Roti.

Ingredients:

7 Indian eggplants(small sized)

1 big red onion sliced thin

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 sprig curry leaves

1 dry red chilly halved

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup grated coconut

3/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp chilly powder

1/2 tsp ground pepper

3/4 tsp cumin seeds

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Method:

• Cut each brinjal into round, thin pieces.
• Marinate with chilly powder, turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt. Keep aside for about 10 minutes.
• Deep fry in oil until it turns light brown. Drain excess oil on paper towels and keep aside.
• Grind coconut with cumin seeds and garlic adding water till it becomes a paste.
• Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan at medium heat and splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves and red chilly and saute for few seconds.
• Add sliced onion and cook till it turns brown.
• Add enough salt and add the ground mixture. Saute till raw smell goes.
• Add the fried brinjal slices, mix well and cook for a few minutes before turning off heat.

Pooja.

Other Side Dishes:

Beetroot Mezhukkupuratti/Beetroot Stir Fry

In my previous post I mentioned about vegetarian side dishes that we have for lunch.Beetroot Mezhukkupuratti/Beetroot Stir Fry is one among them.We make two types of vegetarian side dishes-one with grated coconut , called 'thoran' and the other one without coconut called 'Mezhukkupuratti' or Stir Fry. The skin of beetroot is removed first and then it is cut into thin strips and later stir fried with onions. Beets are rich in vitamins and has high iron content. It is also a good source of dietary fiber and has blood cleansing power. Due to the nutritional value of beets my mom used to prepare this often at home.

Ingredients:

1 big beetroot/3 small beets

1 red onion chopped

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 sprigs curry leaves

1 dried red chilly halved

3/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp ground pepper

Salt to taste

Oil for cooking

Method:

• Remove beetroot skin and cut into 1" long thin strips. Keep aside.
• In a pan heat 1 tbsp oil at medium heat and splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves and red chilly. Saute for few seconds.
• Add chopped onion and saute till it turns brown.
• Add beetroot strips and mix well. Add turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt. Stir to mix well and cook for about 2 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low and cook with a closed lid until beetroot pieces are cooked well and turns soft.
• Enjoy with hot rice.

Pooja.

Other Side Dishes: