Moong Dal Paneer Masala

When it comes to paneer dishes, I mostly make paneer butter masala at home. But today I wanted to try something different and was going through some cookbooks. I got this interesting recipe and tried it. It was really tasting good so posting it here.

Ingredients:

1. Paneer - 200gms
2. Yellow Moong dal -1/2cup
3. Turmeric powder -1 pinch
4. Chilli powder - 1tsp
5. Coriander powder - 1/2tsp
6. Kasuri methi - 2 generous pinches
7. Onion - 1chopped
8. Tomato - 1 chopped
9. Ginger - 1/2 inch piece finely chopped
10. Green chilli - 2 slitted
11. Coriander leaves - for garnish
12. Salt - as needed

To temper:

1. Ghee - 1/2 tsp
2. Refined oil -1tsp
3. Jeera -1/2 tsp
4. Curry leaves - few

Method:

1. Pressure cook moong dal with water and turmeric powder for 2 whistles or till cooked. Add little water and mash it.Keep separate.

2. In pan heat ghee and oil, temper with jeera and curry leaves. Add green chilli, ginger chopped and saute for sometime. Add onion and saute till translucent. Then add the tomato and saute till mushy.

3. Add the chilli powder, coriander powder and stir. Add the cooked dal with little water. Mix well.

4. Add chopped paneer cubes,salt and mix well. Keep covered for 2 to 3 mins. Dry roast kasuri methi in a kadai and crumble it and add it to the gravy. Let it boil for sometime in low flame till paneer is cooked.

5. Switch off and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with roti/poori.

Ragi Adai

This is a very nutritious dish. Ragi is very healthy with plenty of iron and calcium in it. So make it a habit to include ragi in your diet atleast once in a week.

This recipe was introduced to me by my mother in law and is a much fulfilling breakfast.

          

Ingredients:

1. Ragi flour - 1 and 1/2 cups

2. Carrot - 3 small

3. Big onion - 1

4. Green chilli -1

5. Salt - as needed

6. Oil - as needed

Method:

• Chop carrot, onion and add the carrot, onion and chilli in mixie and just pulse it two times to get a coarse texture. Do not grind too much.
• Add ragi flour in a bowl. Add the coarse veg mixture, salt and add water little by little to gather a dough.
• You wont be able to get much flexible dough like chapathi dough but you can gather it into a ball. 

• Grease a plastic sheet, take a ball of dough and flatten it with your palm. You can also roll it slightly with chapti roller. Dont apply too much pressure it will lead to cracks. Make small thick adais and cook in dosa pan.
• Drizzle oil on the sides and flip and cook in low medium flame. Give 3 mins atleast for each adai as ragi flour takes some time to cook also we have added vegetables.

  

          

Notes:

1. Make sure to have it when hot. If it cools down it wont be good.

2. I served it with curry leaves chutney. Pudhina chutney also goes good with it. 

3. Along with carrot, you can add chopped beetroot too.

Gooseberry/Amla/Nelikai Rice

Gooseberry is one small ingredient which has numerous health benefits. It is rich in Vitamin C. It is ideally suited for diabetic patients and helps in lowering blood sugar levels. Taking gooseberry juice in the morning helps a lot for them. One of the things I have noticed from my personal experience is, it reduces hair loss. Also, it helps in absorption of calcium.

This rice recipe is very simple just like lemon rice. So why wait, while you can gain so many health benefits from a simple recipe.

Ingredients:

1. Rice - 1cup
2. Gooseberry/Nelikai - 1/4 cup grated(heaped)
3. Sesame oil - 1tsp
4. Salt - as needed
5. Turmeric Powder - a generous pinch

To temper:

1. Mustard -1/2tsp
2. Urad dal -1/2tsp
3. Channa dal -1/2 tsp
4. Red chilli -3
5. Curry leaves- few
6. Sesame oil -2tsp

Method:

1. Cook rice such that the grains are separated. Mix with 1tsp of sesame oil and set aside.
2. Heat pan with oil, add items under 'To temper' (Let the dals be soaked for half an hr).

3.Add the turmeric powder, grated amla and salt and saute for two to three minutes. Switch off.
4. Mix this with rice and serve with any spicy curry or papad.


Notes:

• You can also add groundnuts to the recipe for extra crunchiness.
• You can also use green chillies.
• You can add grated coconut along with amla if you prefer.