Tag Archives: monsoon recipe

Dal Maharani

Posted on by

Dal Maharani

Dal maharani – I don’t know the reason for this name or origins of this dal but this is one of my favorite dals. Urad dal cooked with onion, tomato, and spices. This is an in house speciality at my home. Some dishes taste best when cooked by certain people and this is surely one of them. My aunt’s signature dish which I relish with hot parathas or bajra rotis.

Dal Maharani

A very simple dal but with a difference. It does not need any trips to the grocery store but yet will pack a punch on those cold rainy nights. I enjoy this mostly on its own with a dollop of ghee.  Bajra roti or parathas are the perfect companions for this nutritious treat.

Dal Maharani

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup urad dal soaked in plenty of water for 3 hours
  • 2 inch piece of ginger
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 3 green chillies
  • 2 tbsp oil/butter
  • ¼ tsp tsp mustard seeds
  • ¼ tsp cumin seeds
  • 10-12 curry leaves
  • 2 dry red chillies
  • 1 big onion finely chopped
  • 1 big tomato finely chopped
  • ¼ tsp turmeric
  • 1tsp red chilli powder
  • ½ tsp garam masala

Recipe

Wash and soak the urad dal in plenty of water for 3 hours. Drain the water and put dal in a pressure cooker.  Add 2 cups of water and some salt and cook for two whistles or until it is cooked. The dal is cooked when it gets mushy when you mix it. Keep it aside.

Grind ginger, garlic, and green chillies coarsely.

Heat 2 tbsp butter/oil in a kadhai or a thick bottomed pan. Add mustard and cumin seeds. Once the seeds pop, add curry leaves, and dry red chillies. Add the ginger, garlic and green chilli paste and onions. Saute and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and little salt, red chilli powder, turmeric, and garam masala and mix well. Cook till oil separates and tomatoes are mushy. Add the cooked dal and mix well. Taste and adjust salt. Cook on slow gas for 7-10 minutes mixing in between. Serve hot with a dollop of butter and a squeeze of fresh lime.

Gatte ke Chawal

Posted on by

Gatte ke Chawal

Gatte ke chawal is my family’s signature monsoon dish. Gatte is type of boiled or fried gram flour dumplings used in Rajasthani cuisine. This delicious rice cooked with fried gatte, potatoes, and basic spices gets ready in a jiffy and tastes best when it is piping hot. This is one of the very few dishes which my whole family enjoys without any complains.

Gatte

You can add cashew nuts, green peas, boiled Bengal gram(kala chana) to this rice. Ours has been a no onion, no garlic home for a very long time. Most of the dishes are still made the same way without onion or garlic. You can add ginger garlic paste, chopped onions, and a dash of lime to add more taste a flavor to this dish.

Gatte ke Chawal

This rice tastes best when it is eaten hot as soon as it is made. It does not need any accompaniment but goes well with plain yogurt.

Gatte ke Chawal

Ingredients           

  • 1 cup rice
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 small potato peeled and cut into small cubes
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • ¼ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
  • 2 dry red chillies
  • 10-12 curry leaves
  • 2 tbsp ground nuts
  • 2 bay leaves (tej patta)
  • 5-6 cloves (laung)
  • ¼ tsp turmeric
  • 2-3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
  • Salt to taste

For Gatte

  • ½ cup gram flour (besan)
  • 2-3 pinches turmeric
  • ½ tsp red chilli powder
  • ¼ tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
  • 1 pinch soda
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil to fry

Recipe

For Gatte

Mix all the ingredients of gatte. Add 1 tbsp water at a time and mix till everything comes together to form a stiff dough. Divide the dough into equal portions and roll them into cylindrical rolls using your palms. Cut these rolls into approximate 1 inch pieces. Boil plenty of water in a pan and cook these gattas in boiling water for 7-8 minutes. Drain and keep aside. Heat oil and fry the gattas till they are light brown. Drain and keep aside. In the same oil, fry the cubed potatoes till they are lightly browned and keep aside.

For rice

Wash and soak the rice in 2-3 cups of water for 10 minutes.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker.  Add cumin seeds, cloves, and bay leaves. Once the seeds pop, add curry leaves, green chillies and dry red chillies. Sauté for few seconds. Add groundnuts and cook for 20-30 seconds. Add the fried gatte and potatoes. Drain water from the rice and add rice to the cooker. Mix well making sure not to break the rice. Saute for 45 seconds to a minute. Add 2 cups of water, turmeric, and salt. Mix well and close the pressure cooker and cook for 2 whistles or till the rice is done (the time differs from cooker to cooker). Once the pressure is released, open the lid, add chopped coriander and mix well. Serve hot.