Moong Dal, Uttar Pradesh style

This is very simple and healthy, nothing is fried. A tasty accompaniment to chapathi and rice. Moong dal swells up during cooking, so if you are just cooking for 2 people, reduce quantity, 200 gms comes up to a lot. Reduce water accordingly.

Ingredients

200 gms Yellow Moong Dal (This is the green moong dal shelled)
2 Large Tomatoes, chopped
2, Green Chillies, chopped
2.5 cms (1 inch) square piece of fresh ginger, chopped
3 plump garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt
1 tablespoon coriander leaves, chopped
about 8 curry leaves
1 tablespoon butter/ghee/oil

Procedure

Wash the dal well. Soak for 15 mins.

Bring 1 litre water to the boil in a cooking pot. A small cooker in which you can directly cook stuff is good for this.

Add the dal with the tomatoes, chillies, ginger, two thirds of the garlic, and the turmeric powder.

Return to the boil, then add salt to taste.

Cook for around 30 mins. (If you are in a hurry, cover cooker and cook for 1 whistle. But this dal cooks real fast, not really required. Cover and cook, so it will be faster. Keep an eye on it, it will boil up in the beginning, so leave lid open a bit in the beginning)

Remove from the heat and whisk gently with the egg beater, until the grains are completely mashed. (I did not do this, because I wanted the dal to be thick, not watery.)

Add the coriander and curry leaves and cook for 5 mins.

Heat the butter/ghee/oil in a ladle, add the remaining garlic and fry until golden. Pour into the dal, which is now ready to serve. The consistency should be like a creamy soup.

From: '50 Great Curries of India', Camellia Punjabi, Rupa Books (2006)

Potatoes with fenugreek leaves and dill, from Punjab and Sindh

This is aloo methi with dill. Lots of green leaves, very healthy. If you want to shorten cooking process, boil potatoes in cooker first and then add. There is very little chilli in this, so it doesn't kill the taste of the other ingredients. Goes very well with chapathis, also with rice.

You can make this dry subji, the moong dal recipe I posted above this, and make chapthis and/or rice, probably some curds too - and you have a complete meal.

Ingredients

250 gms, potatoes, preferably new (you can use those baby potatoes too for this)
3/4 cup fenugreek leaves (methi leaves)
salt
3 tablespoons oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder
4 stalks of fresh dill, chopped (sabbajgi, those thin needle-like leaves)
1 tablespoon chopped coriander

Procedure

If not using new potatoes, peel and cut into bite-sized pieces. New potatoes can be left whole with the skins on.

Soak the fenugreek leaves in a bowl of water with a pinch of salt for 30 mins. This will remove the slightly bitter taste. Then drain and chop.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add the garlic and chilli. After a few seconds add the fenugreek leaves and fry for a minute.

Add the potatoes, turmeric powder and salt to taste and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the dill and coriander leaves.

Cover, reduce the heat to very low and leave to cook for 15 mins or until the potatoes are done. If necessary sprinkle just a little water.

From: '50 Great Curries of India', Camellia Punjabi, Rupa Books (2006)