Thursday, November 02, 2006

A Ton of Protein # 10 - Moong aur Chane ki Dal

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Moong aur Chane ki Dal served with microwave-cooked rice (behind)

When I published my post on Shankarpali, I thought I was 'back'. I was happy that I did not have to stay away from blogging for too long. I was so wrong. And I will be wrong again, if I think that I'll find the time for blogging easily. Nope, it's not gonna be that easy. I'll have to *make* time for it. The reasons being
a) We had a very limited social circle in Germany. Which meant less time spent in socialising. Here in Pune, however, I can socialise with different people everyday and still have others complaining that we don't see each other often enough. :) No, I am not complaining. This is what we came back for. I am just stating facts.
b) Sundays often were 'stay-at-home' days in Germany. Because all shops there are closed on Sundays. Which often translated into me blogging for several hours together. Whereas here in India, Sundays can sometimes be the busiest days.
c) We get Indian newspapers here!!! When it comes to newspapers, I enjoy reading only Indian newspapers. Better still, Marathi newspapers. And if it is Sakal, then I can spend at least an hour reading it. Which I often do. :)

When do I get the time for blogging then? Well, as you can see, I haven't been getting any. But this will change. I'll have to make sure that it does. Wish me luck!

Let me come back to this post now. It's the tenth one in my series of 'A Ton of Protein'. I got the original recipe 'sent' to me in one of the newsletters from this site. (How convenient is that! :)) The recipe does not 'look' very different from the other Dal recipes that you might be having, but it gives lip-smacking results. Maybe it's the green Moong Dal, maybe it's the proportion of spices or maybe it's both. In case you want to find it out yourself, here's the recipe. :)

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'Three' ingredients...'Tenth' post...A 'Ton' of Protein

Recipe for Moong aur Chane ki Dal

Ingredients:

½ cup Moong dal with skin
1 tbsp Chana dal
½ tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp coriander seeds powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ inch ginger, chopped fine
salt to taste
2 cups water
juice from half a lime

1 tbsp Ghee or oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds

chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:

1. Pressure-cook both Dals together with 1 cup water.
2. Mix all the spice powders in ½ cup water to make thin paste.
3. Heat Ghee/oil in a pan. Once it is hot, add mustard seeds. Once they start spluttering, add the cumin seeds.
4. Add ginger. Add the paste of spice powders. Fry for a minute. Reduce heat, in case the paste jumps too high as it can cause burns.
5. Then add the Dal, salt and the remaining ½ cup water. Add more, in case you like it thin. Boil it on high heat for about five minutes or until it reaches a consistency of your choice.
6. Once you turn off the heat, add the lime juice.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. I happened to have a coil-shaped red chilli in my kitchen, so I used that as well. :)

Serve with rice or Rotis.

Note:

Lime juice added after the Dal is cooked retains all the Vitamin C in it, which helps the body absorb iron from the Dal. (That's my two cents. Just so that I don't feel guilty for reproducing the recipe exactly as I got it. :))

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I am a silent reader of your blog and like your writing style and photographs. Nice to know that you are enjoying India. Just wanted to let you know that the date and time on your recent post is incorrect, it is set to December instead of November.

Vaishali said...

Thanks, Pooja. I have corrected the typo now. That was very prompt, by the way. :)

Anupama said...

hi Vaishali,
So glad to see your Ton of Protein Series going again. I loved the pic with the nO 10 MADE WITH DAL.Don't mind if I do something similar on my blog. Not right now but I'll keep it in mind for future photos.

Anonymous said...

Wow...thats a lovely daal Vaish.

I can totally relate with your getting-busy-in-India thing. When I was in Bangalore, I was not even able to find time to click pictures. You are doing a good job. You just moved to Pune, still u manage to post. Infact I am amazed to see you back so soon. Really...I would have taken months to come back ;)

Menu Today said...

Hi Vaishali,
Nice to see you back in action..
Can I use whole green moong???
I think this will go well with "Ghee Rice".Great Pic.Thanks for sharing.

Vani said...

Nice recipe! Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Oh, this is perfect. When all the dal went up to sky-high prices, I bought up a bunch of green moong. Just made Priya's spinach moong dal, and have made some sprouts. Now I will try this. Thanks! Glad to hear your time is full of good things, too :)

Nabeela said...

Hi Vaishali, it's nice to have you "back" again :)

Shammi said...

It's GOOD to see you back! Long time to wait between posts, Vaish... but I totally understand why the delay! :)

Krithika said...

Good to see you blogging again. That's a nice recipe. You are busy but still manage to take creative pics .

Anonymous said...

Love all your TP recipes. My fav is Garlic Amti and make it quite often.
This one is a different combo - Channa & Moong, A must-Try one for me.

Anonymous said...

Vaishali - good to know that you are settling well... the moong and chane ki dall is one combo I haven't tried as yet. Will do now :)

Vaishali said...

Sure, Anupama, but please do not forget to send me the royalty cheque. ;-)

Shilpa, I'd call myself an achiever when I start posting daily, like you do. :)

MT, yes, I too think that it will go well with Ghee Rice. Thanks for suggesting that. As far as whole green Moong is concerned, I think it should work. Maybe you want to try it and let me know?

Thanks for stopping by, Vani.

Linda, please let me know how this Dal turned out with sprouted Moong. I am sure it will be healthier than the recipe here.

Nabeela and Shammi, it's not easy to stay away from blogging once you get into it, is it? :)

Thanks for the nice words, Krithika.

Hey, you make Garlic Aamti often, Priya? Great! Good for your health too. :)

Thanks for stopping by, Mandira. :)

Meena Kandlakuti said...

nice presentaion..today i wonder who ever's blog iam visiting all of them presentaion is soo good..really I think my fellow bloggers are not only good cooks but good presentators too:-)..thanks for sharing vaishali

FH said...

Hello!! Remember me??!!

Mouthwatering dish, Vaishali and good photography too.Welcome back, oh! I have already said that on Diwali in your post:D:D

Anonymous said...

Vaishali, glad to see you back with the ton of protein, do these dal dishes taste better now that in India, they always feel that way to me, though most of the dals we purchase outside of India come from there anyway.

Anonymous said...

You sound so relaxed and laid back vaishali, thhat it makes me want to come back. I like the red chilli rolled up that way...

Anonymous said...

Picture perfect daal...i'll surely give it a try...Thanks vaishali

Anonymous said...

Nice recipie,I tried it with Gobi parathas today and it tasted wow ! But I did some moderations like I ommitted the ginger sticks.....other than that I guess it almost similar to what you have posted !Keep blogging..Thx

Latha said...

Hi Vaishali,

Sounds like a yummy recipe. Will definitely go on my list of "recipes to be tried" :-)
I envy u all the fun u're having in Pune! Have a blast. Only people who have lived abroad know the things that are special about India!
Cheers
Latha

Anonymous said...

Interesting combination Vaishali.... thanks for sharing. :)

Anonymous said...

Different combination! I should try this too..I love lentils...in any form,thanks for the recipe. Nice to have you back to blogging, I have been a fan of your blog for quite some time now.

Cheers,Trupti

Lakshmi said...

nice combo of the dals.

Revathi said...

Vaishali ,
Could you make a non-food posts on your personal experiences (pros and cons) of having moved back for good !!

It would be helpful for people like us who wnat to go back !!

Anonymous said...

it is a treat to read your blogs even if they are not as frequent as earlier
-TRA

Vaishali said...

Meena, thank you so much for those nice words. And I agree with you. Our fellow bloggers are indeed good presentators. All of us can give some of the leading cookbook authors a good run for their money. What say?

Asha? Asha...Asha...hmmmm...hmmm...that name sounds familiar. I think I'll get back to you once I remember you fully, ok? ;-) ;-)

Indo, I don't know about the Dals, but the vegetables certainly taste different here in India. I have always felt that. I don't know whether it's the soil or the climate or both, but they do taste different.

You bet I am relaxed, Shankari. :)

Do let me know, in case you try it out, Annita. I am sure, you'll like it.

With Gobi Parathas? Thanks for suggesting a great combination, Anon. I've gotta try it out.

That is so true, Latha. You appreciate your country more when you have lived abroad.

Thanks for stopping by, Rooma.

Great to see another lentil lover, Trupti. Let me go check out your blog now.

Hey Lakshmi, great to see you around. It's been ages since I visited your blog. Time to do it now, I guess.

You are thinking of coming back, Revathi? Sure, I'll try and write something. I cannot really promise it, but I'll definitely try.

Hey, thanks, TRA. So nice of you.

Anonymous said...

Sundays usually experienced been 'stay-at-home' timesRS Gold in Germany. generally because all stores you can uncover closed on Sundays. Which usually translated into me running a blog for a lot of an lengthy time together. Cheap Runescape GoldWhereas right here in India, Sundays can at intervals be the busiest days.

Sangeetha said...

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