Parrupu Thuvayal

Thuvayals / Thugayals are like a thicker version of chutneys. Today I'm presenting a toor dal parrupu thuvayal. Usually they add coconut to this, but on the day I did it 'B' was sick. So, I skipped the coconut. So, when you try it don't forget to add coconut.

Ingredients:
Toor dal- 1/2 cup
coconut- 2 tbsps
red chilli- 1
peppercorns- 3
garlic pods- 2
curry leaves- 3 or 4
salt- according to taste

Procedure:
Heat a tsp of oil in a pan and roast the dal, coconut, red chilli, pepper, curry leaves and garlic. Do this until the dal turns golden brown. Don't burn the dal. Switch off the gas and transfer to a plate and allow it to cool. When it has cooled down grind it with salt to a coarse- smooth paste using very little water. Serve it with steaming hot rice, sesame oil and papad.

Lemon Paruppu

The time is flying fast. I'm counting days to go to India. B'coz it it a very short time I'm spending more time in planning and less time in kitchen. So, for the next few days it's going to be simple cooking. This dish is just the basic dal but with a little twist. Lemon is what that gives this dal a special taste. I learnt this from my perima (mom's elder sister) who is a great cook. She can turn any ordinary dish into an extraordinary one. This time when I go to India I'll get a good collection of her recipes and post it for all my friends. Meanwhile, enjoy this super-fast comfort food.

Ingredients:
Toor dal- 1 cup(uncooked)
mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
urad dal- 1/4 tsp
jeera seeds- 1/2 tsp
onion- 1/2 (chopped)
red chillies- 2 or 3
garlic- 4 pods(crushed)
curry leaves- few
tomato- 1/4 piece
corriander- 2 tbsp
hing- 1/4 tsp
lemon - 1/2 (juicy one, can add more until you get the dominant taste of lemon)

Procedure:
Pressure cook dal with 2 cups of water, some turmeric and a tsp of oil. In a kadai splutter mustard seeds, urad dal and jeera seeds. Then add onion ,lemon, curry leaves,hing and red chillies. After some time add tomato and corriander leaves. cook till soft. Add cooked dal and mix well. Add required salt and lemon juice. Bring it to one boil. Add a dollop of ghee before serving.

Parrupu Urundai Kuzhambu

This is one of my favorites. It might look like a kofta curry, but this is totally different. It is toor dal balls cooked in a tangy tamarind sauce. It goes well with plain rice. There is another version called paruppu urundai mor kuzhambu. Will post about that later.Meanwhile, I just wanted to share my experiences on making this gravy.

The first time I did this curry, I dropped the dal balls directly in the boiling gravy and it came out well. But the second time it was a total flop. All the balls broke and I ended up in one single mess. After doing it frequently I have now mastered the art of doing it right. So, if you wish to give this gravy a try I strongly recommend you to steam the toor dal balls for a 10 minutes and then add to the gravy. Slowly as you gain confidence you can add the dal balls directly.

Ingredients:
Toor Dhal – 1 cup
onion- 1/2 (finely chopped)
Sambar Powder – 1 tsp
corriander leaves- 3 tbsp
Salt – 2 teaspoon
Mustard – 1 teaspoon
urad dal -1/4 tsp
small onions – 10 chopped finely
tomato- 1 small
Curry leaves – few
tamarind- 2 spoons
sambar powder- 1 heaped tbsp
coconut- 1/4 cup(grind to a paste)

Method:
Soak toor dal in water for about 2 hours. Wash the dal and drain out the water completely. Put it in a mixie and grind to a thick coarse paste (as you do for vadai). Add ½ teaspoon salt, sambar powder, a pinch of turmeric powder, chopped onions, one tablespoon coconut gratings and few curry leaves chopped to the dal paste. Mix well. Make a small lemon size balls. Set aside.

Heat oil in kadai and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal. Then add onions and curry leaves. After sometime add tomatoes and fry till soft. Add the tamarind paste and sambar powder. Add 3 cups water. Bring to boil. When it starts boiling, add two to three dhal balls and reduce to heat to medium. Allow to boil. When it starts boiling again, then add three more balls. Again wait for the Kuzhambu to start boiling. Add three more balls and finish all the balls like this.

Once you finished all the dal urundais, gently turn them with a spoon. Keep the flame to low. Add ground coconut to the boiling kuzhambu. Note: This is the authentic way of doing this gravy. If the dal balls gets cooked directly in the kuzhambu itself then the tamarind juice enters the balls and gives a special taste.

Bisebelabath

This is not a dish I make regularly. My first try was 3 years back. After having terrible experiences I gave up the idea of doing it again. Recently I saw bisebelabath in many blogs and was tempted to try it again. Luckily, it turned out good. Thanks to all my fellow bloggers who inspired me to give it another try.This is my friend's recipe which was sleeping in my cookbook for awhile . Here it is guys if you wish to try.

Ingredients:
Rice-1 1/2cup
Toordal - 3/4 cup
Vegetables - 1 cup ( carrot, beans, peas,brinjal,drumstick)
Small red onions- 1 cup
Tomato - 1 medium size
Tamarind paste- 2 tsp
Sambar powder- 1tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - To taste
Water - 4 cups

Dry roast & Grind:
coconut/copra - 2tbsp
Corriander seeds - 1tbsp
red chilli - 4
channa dal - 1tsp
jeera - 1tsp
pepper - 1tsp
Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp
khuskhus - 1/4tsp
elachi - 2
cloves - 2
cinnamon - 1" piece

Procedure:
Pressure cook dal with some turmeric,hing and a spoon of oil. Heat some oil in cooker and fry the onions until transparent. Then add brinjal and drumstick and fry for 5 mins. Now add tomatoes and the rest of the vegetables. Cook till the tomatoes are soft. Then add tamarind paste, sambar powder and the ground powder. Add required water and boil for sometime. Then add dal and washed rice. Mix well. Check for salt. Pressure cook for 4 whistles. When done, top with some ghee and mix well. Garnish with corriander leaves.

Brinjal Drumstick and Mango Sambar

Depending upon the vegetables you use Sambar gets a unique taste each time. Here I have used Brinjal, drumstick and Mango. When you use mango in the sambar always add it towards the end as it gets cooked easily. Also reduce the amount of tamarind as the mango itself will render some tangy taste. So, let's go to the recipe now.

Ingredients:
Cooked toor dal -1 cup
mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp
split urad dal- 1/4 tsp
jeera seeds- 1/4 tsp
methi seeds- 1/4 tsp
hing- 1/4 tsp
onion- 1 medium (sliced long). You can use small onions too. It add an extra flavor.
red chilli- 1 broken
brinjal- 2
drumstick- 7 pieces
mango - 1/2 (cut into big pieces)
tomato- 1 big
curry leaves- few
tamarind- 1 1/2 tsps
sambar powder- 2 tsps
water- 1 1/2 cups or more
salt- as needed
jaggary- 1/4 tsp or less (optional)
corriander leaves- 2 tbsps


Procedure:
Pressure cook toor dal with some turmeric and a tsp oil. Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, jeera seeds, methi seeds and red chilli. Then saute onions, hing and curry leaves. After sometime add brinjal, drumstick and turmeric. Saute until it's half-done. Then add tomato and cook till soft. Next add tamarind ,sambar powder and salt. Saute for 5 mins until the raw smell goes. Then add water and bring to a boil. Cook till the vegetables are almost done. Now add toor dal and corriander leaves. Mix well and boil for 5mins. Finally add jaggery and mango. Boil for another 10 mins. Serve it with hot rice and curried potato . I served mine with broad beans curry and king fish fry. It tasted like heaven on plate.