Mizo Dhal #Mizocuisine

For this month's Sshhh.... secretly cooking , we are cooking from Mizoram . I was paired with  Sujata Shukla who blogs at Pepper on Pizza . She gave me onion and tomato as my secret ingredients. Do visit her site for more interesting recipes.....

 I decided to make this mizo dhal . Mizoram cuisine consists of fewer vegetarian options. In this mizo dhal too they will be adding whole boiled eggs. I skipped adding the eggs, the recipe is even called as Dal and eggs . I referred this recipe from here and here.

Requirements:

Moong Dhal - 1/4 cup
Toor Dhal - 1/4 cup
Afar Dal (Urad Dal ) - 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Garlic crushed - 2 pods
Green chillies - 2 nos
Mustard oil - 1 tbs
Salt to taste
Hard boiled Egg - 4 ( If adding )

Method: 

Peel and Chop the onion. Puree the de-skinned tomato .

Crush garlic and green chillies.

Wash and soak the three dhal together . Pressure cook with turmeric  and enough water.

Heat the oil in a shallow pan , fry onion and tomato paste.

Add the crushed garlic and green chilli , give a quick stir.

Add the whole hard boiled eggs in the pan if adding and fry till onion turns brown . I didn't add egg.

Add half cup of water  and let it boil for ten minutes.

Add in the cooked dhal and required salt.

Mizo Dhal is ready to serve.

Serve hot with steamed rice. 

Shengdanyachi Amti- Maharastrian Peanut curry

    This Shengdanyachi Amti is a Maharastrian Peanut  curry. This is a fasting curry as there was no onion or garlic. I followed Tarla Dalal's recipe to make this curry. Another version of this curry uses kokum which gives a light brown colour and tanginess to curry.

  This authentic Maharastrian amti was delicious and goes well with plain rice. It was a easy and quick recipe to make if you had the ingredients required.

 For this month's Ssshhh secretly cooking , we are making dish from Maharastra . My partner Priya Suresh of Priya's Versatile Recipes gave me Peanuts and coconut as my secret ingredients.

Requirements : 

  1 cup Peanut 

 One and half  tbs grated coconut 

 Two Green chilli

 one piece of cinnamom 

 One Clove

 Salt to taste

A pinch of Sugar

 To Temper : 

  Two tbs Ghee

   One Dry chilli

  A pinch of Hing 

  One tsp Cumin seeds

 A sprig of curry leaf

Coriander Leaves For garnish

Method : 

 Dry Roast the peanut and let it cool.

Grind the Peanut , green chilli , clove and cinnamon along with half cup of water to a fine paste.

Heat Ghee in a pan , add cumin seeds , hing , dry chilli broken and let them fry.

Add in the curry leaf and ground paste and cook for few minutes. The Paste will turn colour and thicken slightly .

Add one and half cup of water , salt and sugar . Let it boil for ten minutes. 

Take off flame and sprinkle chopped coriander leaves. 

Shengdanyachi Amti is ready to serve.

  

Gujarati Kadhi - A curd based besan curry

Kadhi is an authentic curd based curry made in the state of Gujarat. For this month's SShhhh secretly cooking , we are cooking from Gujarat. Mayuri Patel of gave me sour curd and coriander leaves. I decided to make this kadhi with the secret ingredients.

  If we have sour curd in our home , should try this delicious curry. Adding curd to gravies gives a distinct taste.

Requirements : 

1 cup sour curd
2 tbs chickpea flour / Besan
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1/2 tsp green chilli paste
3 cup water 
1 tbs sugar 
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste

For Tempering :

2 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds 
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
2 sprig curry leaves
Asafoetida / Hing
1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds
5 Dry chillies

Method: 

  In a bowl , whisk together Besan flour , curd , salt , ginger paste , green chilli paste , turmeric powder , sugar and water. Make sure to mix without any lumps.

Heat a pan and add the oil .

Add in the mustard seeds and let it crackle.

Now , add the cumin seeds , fenugreek seeds , curry leaves , hing and dry chillies. Add the besan mixture and let it boil for five minutes along with required salt  and then simmer for ten minutes.

Take off from flame and add the chopped coriander leaves.

Serve the kadhi with steamed rice or roti.

Feijoada - Goan Black Eyed Peas Curry

--> For this February  , We are making Goan recipes for Ssshhh cooking secretly. I was paired with Poonam Bhachva of Annapurna. She gave me Black eyed peas and coconut.I made this delicious creamy goan black eyed peas curry known locally as Feijoada.

  This curry was similar to our Thattaipayaru ( Black eyed peas ) Kulambu but it uses coconut. we Won't use coconut.

 This was simple yet delicious curry goes well with roti or rice.

  Goan cuisine has the influence of portuguese because of it being a Portuguese colony. This Feijoada is a portuguese stew made with beans and meat. It can be made without meat and can use any bean of your choice. 

Requirements : 
2 cup black eyed peas 
2 onion 
6 garlic cloves 
4 Tomato 
1 inch piece of ginger 
1 tsp coriander powder 
1 tsp Chilli powder 
1 tsp cumin powder 
1/2 tsp turmeric powder 
Salt to taste 
1 cup coconut milk 
1 tsp Jaggery 
1 tsp Tamarind paste 
2 tbs oil 
1 tsp Lemon Juice
Coriander Leaves 
Method : 

Wash and soak the black eyed peas overnight.
Next day , drain the water and wash again.
Add the peas to a pressure cooker with enough water and cook for three whistles. 
Chop the onion , garlic and ginger. 
Puree the tomatoes into a smooth mixture.
Heat a large pan and add oil .
add in the sliced onion and saute till the onion turns golden brown.
Add the ginger and garlic , saute for a minute. 
Add the chilli powder , coriander powder , cumin powder and turmeric and give a quick stir.
Add the tomato puree and keep stirring for five to ten minutes or till the oil oozes on top. 

Now , add the cooked black eyed peas along with the water and stir well .

Add the jaggery , tamarind ,salt and coconut milk. Cook on simmer with covering for 10 minutes  with occasional stirring. 

Take off from flame and add the lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves.

Feijoada is ready to serve.

Serve this coconut flavoured curry with rice / Roti.

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2. Add in the grated jaggery, tamarind paste and stir well. Simmer the Feijoada stew for another 5-6 minutes, taking care not to allow it to boil vigorously.
3. Top it up with lemon juice and chopped coriander and serve hot.
4. Serve the Feijoada (Spicy Goan Black-eyed Peas Stew) along with rotis or rice or even a slice of bread. Combine it with a hearty salad and make it as a whole meal in itself.

I

Aloor Dom – Spicy Potato Curry - আলুর দম

  Aloor Dom is the spicy potato curry which is similar to Indian Dum Aloo . The difference between the two is in this Aloor dom they won’t use yogurt.

Requirements :

15 baby potatoes / 6 large potatoes cubed

1 large onion chopped

3 tomatoes chopped

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp chilli powder

½ tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

Seasoning :

2 tbs mustard oil / vegetable oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp cumin seeds

1 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick

2 cardamon

2 cup water

Method :

Boil potato , when cools peel off the skin.

If using large potatoes cube it.

In a blender , add onion , ginger- garlic  paste, tomato , cumin , chilli powder , garam masala and salt.

Heat mustard oil in a wok , add in mustard seeds and let it splutter.

Add in cumin seeds , cinnamon , cardamom and bay leaf , fry for two minutes.

Add in the grounded paste and cook till oil separates on top.

Add the water and when the gravy boils , add the boiled potatoes and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve hot with roti / rice.

Qorma – E – Lubia - Afghan Bean Curry

      This is easy and quick vegetarian curry made with kidney beans or black eyed pea. It tastes similar to indian curry.

   They usually have this curry with naan bread or with plain rice . we had it with plain rice and chapatti.

Ingredients :

Red kidney bean /  Black eyed pea – 1 cup

Onion – 1

Coriander powder – 1 tbsp

Garlic – 3 cloves

Ground red chilli pepper – ½ tbsp

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Dry mint leaves – few

Oil – 2 tbs

Tomato sauce – 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Preparation :

Soak the beans overnight and discard the water . pressure cook with enough water , retain the  bean cooked water to use in gravy.

 If using fresh red pepper , just ground and use. If using  dry red chilli , Soak  in hot water and grind.

For dry mint leaves , dry the mint leaves in shade , not in direct sunlight.

Chop onion and mince garlic cloves.

Method :

Heat oil in a pan , add the minced garlic and sauté till nice aroma comes out.

 Add the chopped onion and sauté till they are golden brown.

Add the cooked beans , cumin powder , pepper paste , coriander powder , turmeric powder , tomato sauce , retained bean cooked water and mix well.

Let it cook till the raw smell of masala goes off it may take about 15 minutes in medium flame.

Add in the required salt and mix well.

Take off from flame and add the dry mint leaves.

Qorma – E – Lubia is ready to serve.

Serve with steamed rice , naan or chapatti.

Capsicum in Spicy Peanut Gravy / Shimla mirch ka salan

 Capsicum is called in India as Shimla Mirch , whereas in west it is know as peppers / Bellpeppers.

 I like this vegetable a lot for its unique flavor and mild heat ie ; spice level.

 Capsicum is widely used veggie around the world. There are green , red and yellow peppers. Check out my post on Multicolour capsicum Pulov.

 This gravy with the combination of flavorful capsicum pieces in the creamy peanut sauce will be best combo with plain rice / roti.

 The ingredients list may seems long , well the recipe was simple and quick to make. This recipe was some what similar to Hyderabadhi Mirchi ka salan. Well , we can call it as shimla mirchi ka salan. Salan means gravy / curry.

The crunch of the capsicum pieces in the gravy was a notable one.

Requirements :

Capsicum –  1

Cummin seeds –  ½ tsp

Oil – 2  tbs

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Onion – 1

Tomato – 2

Salt as required

For masala :

Ginger – 1” piece

Garlic – 5 – 6 cloves

Red chilli – 4

Sesame seeds – 2 tbs

Peanut / Groundnut – ¼ cup

Coriander powder – 1 ½ tbsp

Urad dhal / Blackgram dhal – 1 tsp

Cummin – ½ tsp

Grated coconut – 2 tbs

Pepper corns – 5

Tamarind – marble size

Method :

For masala :

Heat a spoon of oil , add the cummin , pepper , sesame seeds ,urad dhal and saute till it crackles.

Add in the dry chilli , peanut and roast.
Now , add the coconut and toss once. Let it cool.

Grind it along with ginger , garlic , tamarind  and with little water to a fine paste.

Making of salan :

In the same pan , add the remaining oil , add the chopped onion and saute till it becomes translucent.

Then , add the chopped tomato and saute well.

Add the capsicum pieces and saute once.

Now , add the grounded masala and saute for two minutes.

Add about two cup of water and required salt. Let it boil for five minutes or till the gravy thickens.

Take off from flame and serve.

Capsicum in spicy peanut sauce is ready to serve.

Serve with roti , phulka or plain Rice.

Note :

 Don’t overcook the capsicum . It can be sauteed separately and added at the last.