When I eat at a restaurant, I oftentimes wonder if I can replicate the same dish at home: keep the richness of the flavour, but cut out that cloyingly heavy feeling you get by eating that cream-and-butter-laden restaurant dish.

If you’re like me, you will like this recipe for Dal Makhani, which I made yesterday. “Makhan” refers to homemade white butter. This recipe contains no butter, but tastes just as good.

Ingredients: (all measurements are approximate. Feel free to add or subtract to suit your discretion)

• One cup whole masoor dal (also known as whole red lentil. If you live outside the Indian subcontinent, you will find it in any Indian or middle eastern grocery store)
• Half cup rajma (red kidney bean)
• One onion, finely chopped
• Few garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 green chillies, sliced lengthwise
• 3 tomatoes, finely chopped
• One fistful of cashew nuts
• Spices: Salt, dhania (Coriander) powder, jeera (Cumin) powder, haldi (turmeric) powder and optionally some pounded cinnamon, elaichi (cardamom). If you want it light on spices, skip the cinnamon and elaichi.

Method: 

• Soak the rajma in warm water for a hour. Soak the cashews in warm water separately for an hour.
• Cook the masoor dal and rajma in a cooker and ensure they are well cooked, but not too gooey. Mash them with a hand masher so you can still see pieces of the lentil, but they’re soft and mixed together
• In a kadai (wide saute pan), heat some groundnut oil, add the onions, garlic, green chillies. Saute until the onions are lightly brown, then add the tomatoes; reduce the flame, put a lid on and cook until the tomatoes turn soft
• Now add the mashed dal, salt and other spices and let it simmer a few minutes. (I prefer to add the spices at this time, and not while sauteing the onions as this preserves their flavour and aroma)
• Grind the soaked cashews into a fine, slightly runny paste. Add most of it into the dal and mix it up.
• Pour into a bowl to serve, drizzle the rest of the cashew paste on top, add a few sprigs of coriander leaves to garnish.
• Eat with hot rotis

This is an amazing comfort food during the rainy season. If there is any of it left over, just warm it up and eat it as a snack. Do try it out and let me know how it was.

The following day, Dwadasi, in Tamilian families, they cook a special rasam, called Dwadasi Rasam. The main difference between regular rasam and this rasam is that moong dal is used instead of toor dal. Reason being that coming out of fasting, one should be eating food that is easy to digest. The traditional tamarind and tomatoes are also skipped, and lemon juice is used instead.

I have seen several recipes of dwadasi rasam include toor dal as well. As with the diversity of our country, one can expect many variations in this as well.

Try this dwadasi rasam. Tell us what you think, and please add your variations to the comments section as well.

Ingredients:

• Moong Dal (Split) – ¼ cup
• Turmeric Powder ½ tsp.
• Water 2 cups.
• Grated Ginger 1 tbsp
• Chopped curry leaves – a few
• Lemon Juice 2 tbsp.
• Salt to taste.

Roast and Powder coarsely

• Urad dal (Split) ¾ tsp.
• Chana dal ½ tsp.
• Black Pepper 1 tbsp.
• Jeera  1 tsp.
• Red Chilies  2 no.
• Curry Leaves

FOR TADKA:

• Oil 1 tbsp (cold pressed groundnut oil or sesame oil works great. Adds a nice aroma) .
• Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves a little
• Crushed red chilies 2 no.
• Asafoetida (Hing) a pinch
• Chopped Coriander leaves for garnish

Method:

• Pressure cook the dal with turmeric powder. Mash the dal and add 2 cup of water and dilute it. Transfer into the big vessel.
• Add salt, turmeric powder, ginger, curry leaves and Hing and bring to boil on low fire.
• In mean time, roast above ingredients (except jeera) and powder it coarsely along with jeera.
• Add ground powder and boil , while rasam froths up, remove from the fire.
• With one tablespoon oil, fry the mustard seeds ,when they burst add curry leaves crushed red chilies and Hing to it and pour them to the Rasam.
• Add freshly squeezed lemon juice and mix well.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Note: Lemon juice gives the sourness and pepper gives the taste and strong aroma for the rasam.

Sujatha Ramani

Makar Sankranti, the four day harvest festival of India is here and we are ready to express our gratitude to the life giving Sun, the life bearing Earth and the bounty that we have received through them, through the year. Known by different names across the country Pongal, Lohri, Bhogali Bihu, the celebrations are diverse and specific to each region. The Sun moves into the Makar rasi or Capricorn constellation marking the end of winter and Dakshinayana and the start of spring and Uttarayana, the auspicious period.  Devotees take a dip in the holy rivers. Homes are stocked with newly reaped harvest and hearts are overflowing with thanks, joy and gratitude.

With more than half the population of the country engaged in agriculture and allied activities, the mood of celebration grips the entire nation. Preparations begin weeks in advance. City dwellers book their tickets in advance for a trip to the hometown because they know the last minute surge pricing will burn a hole in their pockets. Those who haven’t been able to go back hometowns take to rooftops and playgrounds armed with colourful kites because the breeze is inviting and the sun is nice and warm.

In every village, farmers clean and paint their homes. Old stuff is taken out and made a bonfire of, on Bhogi the first day of the festival. People dance and sing around the bonfire to keep the last of the biting cold away.  In a run up to the festival the front yard is given a cow dung water wash every morning. Rice flour kolams and colourful rangavallis decorate every threshold in the South.

‘Haridasu’ sing out their stories. ‘Gangireddu, the decorated bull who is seen as ‘Nandishwara’ dances to drum beats and music in every street. This is an ancient art form of entertainment that brings the community together. Recreational animal sports like cock fighting, jallikattu, kambalaare looked forward to. On the third day of Kanumu, the ancestors are remembered and blessings sought from elders.

Women get busy making snacks like palli laddu, sakkinalu and muruku in the South. In the North they make gajak, a popular snack. In the South, cooking Pongal in a mudpot with milk and new rice is an age old tradition. As the milk boils over, everyone calls out ‘Pongalo pongal’ to usher in prosperity into their homes.

Try out these traditional recipes and relish during Sankranti. In keeping with the spirit of gratitude to mother earth, we recommend that you choose organic and locally sourced ingredients, pour out all your love and gratitude in the making of these dishes. Nothing describes celebration more than a delicious and nourishing meal.

Ven Pongal (Also called the Savory Pongal):

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup rice
• 1/2 cup split moong dal
• Salt to taste

For Seasoning:

• 2 tbsps ghee
•  1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 inch piece of ginger
• 1 tsp black pepper, coarsely pounded
• 2 tsps cashew nuts pieces
• 1 sprig curry leaves

Preparation:

Wash the moong dal and rice and keep aside. In a pot, add a little ghee and roast the dal till the raw flavour disappears. Add five cups of water and some salt. Cook till soft. Mash the dal rice mix well with a ladle. The consistency should be somewhat loose. In a seasoning ladle, take some ghee, add cashew nut and fry till golden brown. Remove and keep aside. In the same ladle, add cumin seeds, grated ginger and curry leaves. When it is spluttering, add to the pongal and stir well. Garnish with fried cashew nuts and serve hot with coconut chutney.

Sweet Pongal:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice
• 1/4 cup chana dal
• 1-1/2 cup jaggery
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups water

For Seasoning:

• 2 tbsps ghee
• Raisins, cashews, almonds, cardamom

Preparation:

Roast the rice and chana dal separately just till they are hot, not brown. Now boil the milk and water. Once the milk starts bubbling, add the roasted rice and dal and let them cook. In a separate pan, melt the jaggery in half a cup of water till it reaches one string consistency. When the rice and dal are cooked to a porridge like consistency, add this jaggery mixture and switch off the stove. Do not light the stove and cook once you add the jaggery mixture, as the pongal will curdle. (Jaggery and milk when cooked, curdle). Mix all the contents in your vessel, till they blend. In a seasoning spoon, add ghee. Once it melts, add the cashews,almonds, raisins and elaichi. Add this seasoning to the prepared Pongal and serve hot.

You can buy organic ingredients listed in the above recipes from Amazon or BigBasket