Dal Thadka

Dal Tadka, which is a North Indian side dish served with Rotis, is the one simple dish that you can make within minutes. You need not spend a lot of time sauteing different ingredients one by one. So I prefer to make it often when i find the hungry tummies at home asking for a quick delicious meal.

Ingredients

•  Toor Dal- 1/2 a cup
• Masoor Dal- 1/2 a cup
• Green chillies- 2 nos
• Onion - 1 large
• Tomatoes- 2 small
• Ginger - 1/2 inch
• Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
• Garam Masala - a pinch or two
• Asafoetida- a pinch or more
• Water - 2 cups
• Cream- 1 1/2 tbsp
• Kasurimethi- 1 tsp (Optional)
• Coriander leavers- 2 tsp (Optional)
• Salt
• Oil

For Tadka

• Ghee- 1 tsp
• Red chillies- 3 or 4
• Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
• Red chilly powder- 1 tsp
• Asafoetida- 1/4 tsp

Method

• Take a pressure cooker
• Add the lentils(Masoor dal and toor dal) to it after washing well
• To this add finely chopped onions, green chillies, tomatoes and ginger
• Add sufficient water 
• Now add in the turmeric powder and asafoetida. Mix with a spatula
• Switch on flame and cook for 10 min
• Open the pressure cooker after 10 min and mash the lentils with a spatula gently
• You may add kasuri methi and corriander leaves along with the right quantity of salt
• Pour in a serving bowl and keep aside

Tadka

• Take a frying pan
• Add ghee to it and heat it
• Now in goes the cumin seeds. Let it splutter
• Add the red chillies (here i have made use of dried ones)
• Mix well with a spatula
• Add the red chilly powder to the pan
• Mix well
• Now switch off the flame and pour the hot tadka to the cooked dal
• Serve hot with rotis
• Enjoy!!

Ginger Rasam or Inchi Rasam

Ginger is said to have many therapeutic values. It is mostly consumed for curing digestive problems. Rasam is a favorite rice accompaniment that usually makes rice more tasty and tangy. Ginger rasam is a great combination for rice and curries, moreover it also helps in digestion of food the proper way. You can even consume rasam as a soup after food for enhancing proper digestion.

Ingredients

• Ginger- 2 inch length
• Toor Dal- 4 tbsp
• Red chilly powder- 1 tsp
• Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric- 1/4 tsp
• Fenugreek powder - 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
• Garlic cloves- 2 nos
• Tamarind - 1 1/2 lemon size
• Tomatoes - 2 nos
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves

Method

Step 1

• Heat a pan
• Dry roast Toor dal and keep aside
• In a mixer jar, add toor dal and ginger and grind to a paste by adding a little bit of water
• Keep the paste aside

Step 2

• Grind Garlic and shallots and keep aside

Step 3

• Grind the tomatoes 
• Keep them aside

Step 4

• Take a bowl with 1 cup of water
• Add tamarind to it 
• Make a paste 
• Strain this paste and keep aside

Step 5

• Heat a Kadai
• Pour sufficient oil
• Add in mustard seeds to the oil and pop them
• Add the ground shallots and garlic to the kadai and saute for 2 minutes
• Now add the toor dal and ginger paste to the kadai and saute 
• Add fenugreek powder, asafoetida, turmeric and pepper powder. Saute well

• Add the tomato paste to the kadai and saute well

• Now pour 2 cups of water and allow the water to boil. This is to make sure that the toor dal gets cooked up.
• You may may simmer the flame to add the tamarind mix to it
• Add sufficient water to give it a loose consistency
• Add salt and switch off the flame after 2 minutes
• Pour the rasam in a serving bowl
• Serve with rice or pour it to a glass and have a sip whenever you want.