cookbypassion

Black udad dal is the lentil which has the highest protein content and is very nutritious. These lentils are used to make papad and Dal Makhni a very popular North Indians dish. The most popular Tirupati Vada is also made with these lentils but they are fried in ghee / clarifies butter instead of oil. This dish goes to week 4, day 3 of Blogging Marathon 110 under the theme " Make April Special Festival Food". Ingredients: Minumulu / Black gram / Black udad dal  2 cups Black pepper powder 1 tbsp Cumin seeds 1 tbsp Salt to taste Oil for deep frying Preparation: Wash and soak dal for 7-8 hours. Drain water and grind it along with cumin seeds, if required add 1 to 2 spoons water not more than that. Transfer to mixing bowl, add salt and black pepper powder, mix well. Heat oil in deep frying pan. Take a greased  zip lock bag or a wet cloth. Take small amount of batter/ dough and place it on the wet cloth. Gently flatten the dough using your fingers which are also greased with oil.

Chitranna or Lemon rice is popular dish prepared in South India. It is prepared by mixing cooked rice with special seasoning which includes Mustard seeds, chana dal,  cashew nuts, peanuts, reg and green chili, curry leaves, lemon juice, turmeric powder and salt to taste. I try to make this dish definitely for Ugadi ( Telugu New Year ) along with Ugadi pachadi which is made of all the flavors like spicy, bitter, salty,sweet and tanginess. Chitranna is also on the similar lines it has the flavors of spiciness from chilies,  tanginess from Lemon and crunchiness from the nuts.  This recipe goes to week 4, day 2 of Blogging Marathon 110 under the theme " Make April Special Festival Food". Ingredients: Raw Rice 2 cups Lemon juice 1/2 cup Slit green chilies 6 Cashew nuts 10 Peanuts as required  Curry leaves 6 Red chili 1 Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp Chana dal 1 tbsp Chopped ginger 1 tbsp Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp Salt to taste Oil 2 tbsp Preparation: Wash rice thoroughly and cook along with

Poornalu,  boorelu or poornam burelu  is a traditional Andhra sweet made during  festivals and weddings. It is made of jaggery and dal mixture dipped in rice and udad dal  batter. Often served with hot ghee on top. Poornalu is also called as suyyam, seeyam,sukhiyan,sugeelu or sugunta in other parts of South India. This recipe goes to week 4, day 1 of Blogging Marathon 110 under the theme " Make April Special Festival Food". Ingredients: Chana dal 1 cup Udad dal 1/4  cup Rice 1 cup Jaggery 3/4 cup Cardamom powder 1/2 tsp Oil  Preparation for filling : Wash and soak chana dal for 2-3 hours. Presser cook chana dal with very little water. If any excess water is left after cooking dal strain it to remove the excess water. Mash the dal completely add jaggery and cook in a non stick pan on low to medium flame until the mixture stiff dough. Make small lemon size balls out of the chana dal dough and set aside. Preparing batter: Wash and soak udad dal and rice together for 8-9 hours. G

Spicy puffed rice is a simple and spicy snack that is made by frying puffed rice along with some spices. Additionally you can also add peanuts, almonds, roasted chana dal or dried coconut pieces for extra crunch. But today I will keep this dish simple with just peanuts and curry leaves. Perfect snack to go with tea or coffee or a healthy snack for your kids lunch boxes. This recipe goes to week 3, day 2 of Blogging Marathon 110 under the theme " Anything you can snack on". Ingredients: Puffed rice 2 cups Peanuts 1/4 cup Curry leaves 15 Oil 1 tbsp Chili powder 1/2 tbsp Garam masala 1/2 tsp Salt to taste Preparation: In a deep pan add oil, peanutsand curry leaves. On medium to low flame fry the peanuts turn nice and crisp. Now add chili powder, salt and garam masala. Saute for few seconds and add puffed rice. Mix everything well so that the spices are nicely coated to the puffed rice. On medium flame saute till the puffed rice turn crispy. Turn off flame, let it cool to transfe

Crispy corn is a crunchy snack made by frying corn kernels and then flavoring with chaat masala and dash of lime. This is a simple yet delicious snack to munch on anytime of the day. A great snack to pack in your lunch boxes too. I have used frozen corn kernels here, if you have fresh ones just cook them in boiling water for 5 minutes drain and use. Rice flour can be replaced with corn flour or all purpose flour.  This recipe goes to week 3, day 1 of Blogging Marathon 110 under the theme "Anything you can snack on ". Ingredients: Corn Kernels 2 cups Corn flour 1 cup All purpose flour 1/4 cup Salt to taste Black pepper powder 1 tbsp Chaat masala as required Oil for deep frying Chopped cilantro Lime juice Preparation: Thaw the corn kernels of using frozen. In a bowl add corn flour, all purpose flour, salt and pepper powder. Mix well and add to corn kernels. Toss everything well and set aside for 5 minutes. Heat oil for deep frying. Add few kernels at a time to fry till nice and

Gongura is a plant grown for its edible leaves. The leaves are sour and  rich in iron and a good source of vitamins, folic acid  and anti oxidants which are useful for human body. Gongura is popular in the Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,  Karnataka, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram. In Andhra gongura leaves are used to make dal, chutney, pulihora ( tangy rice ) and even cooked with meat. After the dish is cooked it tastes much better when consumed a day later. When in season you would definitely see people from Andhra making this delicious dal / pappu in their kitchen. Check out my other recipes with gongura .... Gongura Shrimp Gongura Mutton Gongura pulihora Gongura Pachadi Lets go and see the process to  make  this gongura pappu. This recipe goes to week 3, day 3 of Blogging Marathon 110 under the theme " Dazzling Dals ". Ingredients: Gongura leaves 2 cups Toor dal 1 cup Green chili 4 Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp Chili powder 1/2 tsp Salt to taste For tempering: Shallot 1 chopped Udad da

Mamidikaya pappu or mango dal is a dal made of toor dal and raw mango. This Andhra style dal is sweet, spicy and tangy, definitely made at least once a week during summer when the raw mangoes are in season. Staying in US for couple of years now, I don't have to wait for summer to get the raw mangoes,  we get them  all over the year.  Mamidikaya pappu goes to week 2, day 2 of Blogging Marathon 110 under the theme " Dazzling dals". Ingredients: Raw mango 1 Toor dal 1 cup Green chili 3 Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp Salt to taste For Tempering: Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp Udad dal 1 tsp Red chili 1 Curry leaves 4 Garlic cloves crushed 3 Oil 1 tbsp Preparation: Wash and presser cook dal along with green chili for 3-4 whistles. Peel the skin of mango and cut into bite size cubes. Add 1 /1 2 cup water and cook cook till the mango changes color / 1/2 cooked. Once dal is cooked mash it with masher to  make a smooth paste. Add the cooked mango along with water if anything l

Dal is a term used in Indian subcontinent for dried split pulses. Most dal recipes are very simple to prepare. The basic preparation begins with boiling a variety of dal in water with some salt and turmeric. The most common way of preparing dal is in the form of soup to which onions, tomatoes and some spices are added. Mung or moong dal which is most popular in West Bengal and Bangladesh. It is also a part of South India specially Ven Pongal.  Today using Moong dal I will be preparing a curry / dal which can be served with rice or roti. Simple and delicious dal goes to day 1, week 1 of Blogging Marathon 110 under the theme " Dazzling Dal ". Ingredients: Moong dal 1 cup Onion 1/2 cup chopped Green chili 3 slit Tomato chopped 1 cup Curry leaves 6 Ginger Garlic paste 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp Salt to taste Garam Masala 1/2 tsp Chopped cilantro 1/4 cup Oil 2 tbsp Preparation: Wash and soak moong dal for 30 minutes. In a deep pan heat oil and add chopped onions and curry lea