Recipe added Sankat samay ni saankad Its a Gujarati idiom. Roughly translated, it would mean, something coming handy when in need. I guess it was used in context with the slogan in trains, to stop train, pull chain. At my moms place, three meals were cooked, daily. There are many households, where its still a regular practice, but lazy me, or not so fond of cooking me, I dont do it ;) Continuing with moms place, sometimes, in the evening, when we would all be chatting (not fb and whats app ;) ), watching TV, or some such thing, and would get late in making dinner, mom had some items that could be made fast without much prep. One such thing was sukhi moong dal. Especially if there was some meethi kadhi leftover from lunch, then this dal and bhakhri with some mukki maar pyaaz would have the dinner ready in no time. Yesterday, I was in the same condition. Girls were away for a sleep over. My eyes opened at 11.15 am. Khan saab comes home for lunch by 12.45 pm. Ab kya karoon? Stood sleepy eyed in front of the open fridge for 5 minutes. 11. 25 Time was running out :o And then it struck me. Fatafat soaked the dal, and rice. Then got the mix ready for kadhi. Rushed to freshen up. Came back and put dal in one pan and rice in another. Got out masalas and stuff for tadka, salad, etc. Also the leftover atta I had cling filmed the other day. Fultu multi tasking! Everything was ready and on the table in 45 minutes flat. Sukhi moong dal, meethi kadhi, bhakhri, rice, achar and salad. Strange how some simple things can transport you to another time, another place! If mom would have been watching me today, she would have had a hearty laugh :p Recipe of Sukhi moong dal 1 c moong dal, wash and soak for 15-20 minutes. (I did for 5-7 minutes only, for obvious reasons) 1/2 tsp haldi (adjust as per the quality of your haldi, should give a nice golden yellow colour. Neither too pale, nor too dark) 3/4 tsp dhania powder 1 tsp ground green chilly (adjust as per your spice tolerance, as later on we will be giving a red chilly powder tadka too) 1/2 tsp ginger paste 3/4 tsp sugar (YES, this is a must too give it the perfect taste. Dont worry, it will not add any major sweetness) Salt to taste For tadka 2 tbsp oil 1 1/2 tsp rai 1/4 tsp jeera 2-3 dry red chillies 1/2 tsp hing 1 1/2 tsp red chilly powder ( non spicy, but good colour variety) Chopped dhania for garnishing Method Drain the soaked dal. Put it in a thick bottom patila/non stick pan. Add water, measure with your index finger. The level of the water should be 1 1/4 finger cut, when you put your finger above the dal (dont insert finger inside the dal, just rest it on top). Put dal to boil on high flame. Remove the scum that will rise to the surface (might have to do a couple of times) Add haldi, dhania powder, salt, sugar, ginger and green chillies. Mix well, let the mix bubble, then cover the pan and cook on sim for 10-15 minutes. You can open the pan once or twice, stir the dal, and check whether that much water is going to be enough. The beauty of this is that you can add water in between, or if you realise the water is more and might turn the dal soggy, you can increase the flame, cook it uncovered, and evaporate the water :) So while the dal is cooking, lets get the tadka ready. Heat oil in a small pan/patila/tadka pan Put rai and let it splutter fully. Add jeera, brown Add hing. Now take the pan OFF the flame. Add dry red chillies, turn them with a spoon to get even colour. After about half a minute, add chilly powder. This will ensure that chilly powder retains colour, and will not burn and become brownish in the hot oil. Now check if dal is cooked. Take a few and press between fingers. It should be tender, yet not mushy. Each grain(?) should be separate. Once dal is done, transfer to a serving bowl, or individual servings. Pour tadka on it. Garnish with chopped dhania.
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 10:12:04 +0000