Payatham Parupu/Moong Dal Payasam

I made Moong Dal Payasam on valentines day, a sweet treat for my loved ones.

Ingredients:

Pasipayaru (Moong Dal) - 1 cup
Jaggery / Vellam             - 1/2 to 3/4 cup
                                           (Depending on the sweetness of the vellam)
Milk                                - 4 cups
Cardomom powder         - 1 tsp
Cashews                         -  few
Ghee                               - 2 tbs
Coconut pieces               -  few

Method :

Dry roast  moong dal until you get a nice aroma. Make sure not to burn the dal. Meanwhile melt the jaggery in little water, filter any impurities and keep it aside. Pressure cook the dal in 3 cups of water for one whistle. If the dal is still aldente, cook in simmer with the lid open. Gently mash it with the back of the laddle and add the melted jaggery to the dal. Give a nice stir . Reduce the flame and add the milk slowly. Let it cook for some time. Add cardomom powder and garnish with the ghee roasted cashews and tiny coconut pieces for the crunch.

Kaaramani (Yard long Bean/Chori) Parupu Usili

Ingredients

Yard long Beans - 1 bunch (2-3 cups chopped)
Channa dhal - 1/2 cup or mixed dhals(channa:toor)soaked
Red Chili - 2
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt

To Temper

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad Dhal - 1 tsp
Broken Red Chili - 1
Hing - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - few




Method
Coarsely grind channa dhal and red chili with little salt. Microwave the ground mixture for 1-2 minutes or you can steam it in idli cooker. Once it cools down, give few pulses in the mixer to crumble. Add turmeric and salt to the beans and cook with sprinkles of water and keep it aside. Take oil in a pan and temper mustard seeds, urad dhal, hing and curry leaves. Add cooked beans to the pan and give a nice stir. Finally add the crumbled dhal , stir well and cook in simmer for few minutes.

Serve with hot rice and sambar.

Bottle Gourd- Yellow Moong Stir Fry ( Sorakai Payatham Parupu Poriyal)

I tasted this dish at my friend's place and since then, I am hooked. It's very simple to make if you omit the methi.

Ingredients

Bottle Gourd - 1 (medium size- makes about 2-1/2 cups)
Yellow Moong Dhal- 1/2 cup (soaked in water for 1/2 hr)
Green Chili - 3-4(Slit Lengthwise)
Methi Leaves - 1 Bunch (optional)- Triple cleaned and chopped
Coconut - 3 tbs
Onion - 1 Chopped
Salt
Mustard Seeds
Curry Leaves
Hing
Oil


Method :-



First parboiled the moong beans and keep it aside. Heat oil in a pan and temper mustard seeds, cumin, curry leaves and hing. Add the slit green chilies, chopped onions and sauté it for a minute. Add the diced bottle gourd pieces to the pan. Cover and cook till the vegetable is half done. Sprinkle water if necessary. Add parboiled moong, turmeric, chopped methi and salt. Cook for few more minutes. Add freshly grated coconut to the vegetables and give a nice stir. Switch off the heat and serve.

Garlic Pickle (Poondu Uroogai)

I have stopped doing grocery shopping since November because of my lower back pains. Mr.B is now doing those errands for me. He buys a minimum of two rolls of garlic every time, though it's not in the list to buy. Last week when I checked my pantry there were several rolls of garlic, some started sprouting. I wanted to make something with garlic before the rest of the rolls turn to garlic greens. I ended up making garlic pickle which came out really nice.



Ingredients

Garlic - 2 heaped cups (peeled and cut lengthwise)
Coriander
Seeds - 1/4 cup
Chili powder - 3 tbs
Gingelly oil - 1/2 cup
Mustard Seeds - 1 tbs
Fenugreek - 1 tbs
Asafetida - 1 tsp
Lemon Juice - juice from 3 lemons
Salt - 1 tbs
Gud - 1 small piece

Method

Dry roast coriander seeds. Make a powder of the roasted seeds in a mixer. Dry roast fenugreek and mustard seeds one after another and pound them coarsely. Heat oil in a pan. Add the garlic pieces and let it cook till it become soft (~5 min). Then add coriander powder, chili powder, gud and salt. Add lemon juice to the garlic and let it cook in simmer for another 5 minutes. When oil starts to oozes out to the pan, add the coarse mixture (fenugreek & mustard) and hing to the pan and switch off the stove.




Once it cools down, store it in a clean glass container.


~ A perfect combination with yogurt rice