June 30, 2019

Punjabi Chana Dal Masala


Chana dal masala is one of the delicious, comforting and easy to prepare dish which pairs perfectly with Roti or Jeera Rice. And no doubt that this curry is a nutritious and healthy dish as it is packed with proteins. The chana dal / Bengal gram is soaked and pressure cooked before adding to the masala. Though soaking of chana dal is not required in this recipe, I have done it to speed up the cooking process. I have included ginger and garlic paste in this recipe which can also be replaced with finely chopped ginger and garlic.



Sending this recipe to a lovely event Shhh Secretly cooking challenge which is happening among a group of food bloggers. For this June month, I was paired with a blogger Archana Gunjikar Potdar who blogs at The Mad Scientist's Kitchen. Her page is filled with loads of yummy recipes and yeah, if you are looking for simple and vegetarian diet then her page is the must visit one. Personally, I loved all the recipes which she has posted on her page. And coming to the challenge, she gave me Tomato and garlic as my secret ingredients for this month challenge and using those, prepared this flavourful punjabi dal masala recipe. Likewise, she prepared a delicious punjabi recipe Lauki ke Kofta using the secret ingredients given by me.


Here comes the detailed recipe for Punjabi Chana dal masala recipe...

Ingredients :

1/2 Cup Chana dal / Bengal Gram 
A pinch of Turmeric 
2 Tbsp Oil for preparing masala 
2 Tsp Oil or ghee for Tadka / Seasoning 
1/2 Tsp Cumin seeds 
2 Dry red chillies 
1 Tsp Ginger garlic paste 
1 Green chilli, sliced 
1 Onion, finely chopped 
2 Medium sized Tomatoes, finely chopped 
1 Tsp Red chilli powder 
1 Tsp Coriander powder 
1/2 Tsp Cumin powder 
1/2 Tsp Garam masala powder 
A pinch of turmeric powder
Finely chopped Coriander leaves
Salt to taste  

Method :

Soak chana dal for 1 hour. Though this process is not necessary, it helps to speed up the cooking process.

Pressure cook the soaked chana dal for 4 - 5 whistles or until soft by addling a pinch of turmeric powder and 1 1/2 cups of water.

Once done, remove from the flame and wait till the pressure gets released. Slightly mash the cooked chana dal and keep aside.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and add green chillies followed by ginger garlic paste.

Add the finely chopped onion and sauté until it turns translucent.

Now add the chopped tomatoes and cook until it turns soft and mushy.

Add all the masala powders along with the required quantity of salt and saute for a minute.

Add the cooked dal to the masala and mix well.

Let it boil for another 5 minutes and add the finely chopped coriander leaves.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a small pan and add cumin seeds followed by dry red chillies.

Fry and add it to the prepared chana dal masala.

Remove from the flame and serve hot.


Serving Options :

Serve with steamed Rice, Jeera Rice or Roti.





















June 17, 2019

Chickpea Potato Dry Sabji or Curry


Chickpea potato dry sabji is a delicious and flavourful curry which pairs perfectly with Roti and can also be used as stuffing for Dosa or Bread. This recipe is quite easy to prepare and tastes heavenly. Prepared this delicious sabji for a recipe swap challenge which is happening among bloggers.


Recipe swap challenge is an interesting event happening among bloggers where couple of bloggers are paired and have to recreate the recipe from their partner's page. I was paired with a lovely blogger Sujata Roy who owns a fabulous page batterupwithsujata.wordpress.com which is filled with loads of amazing recipes. Thanks Sujata for sharing this delicious sabji recipe. Click HERE to check out the original recipe from her page.


Ingredients :

1 Cup Chickpeas 
2 Elachi 
1/2 inch Cinnamon 
2 Cloves 
3 Potatoes, cut into small cubes
1/4 Cup Oil 
1/2 Tsp Cumin seeds / Jeera 
A pinch of Hing powder 
2 Green chillies, finely chopped 
1 Big Onion, finely chopped 
1 Tsp Ginger garlic paste 
2 Tsp Red chilli powder 
1 Tsp Cumin powder 
1 Tsp Coriander powder 
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder 
1/4 Tsp Garam masala powder 
1 Tsp Amchur powder / Dry mango powder 
1 Tsp Lemon juice 
1 Tsp Dry roasted mixed spices
Salt to taste 
Coriander leaves, finely chopped 

Mixed Spices :

2 Tbsp Cumin seeds 
2 Tbsp Coriander seeds 
3 Elachi 
1 inch Cinnamon stick 
3 Cloves 
2-3 Dry Red chillies

Method :

Dry roasted all the ingredients given in "Mixed spices" and grind into fine powder. Store it in an air tight container.

Soak chickpeas overnight and pressure cook it for 4-5 whistles along with elachi, cloves and cinnamon stick.

Once done, cool and grind the cooked chickpeas coarsely. ( Remove the spices before grinding )

Heat oil in a pan and add the cubed potatoes.

Fry it for couple of minutes and keep aside.

Add cumin seeds to the same pan along with hing powder, green chillies and onion.

Add ginger garlic paste and sautéed until the raw smell goes off.

Now add the ground chickpeas and mix well.

Add the fried potatoes followed by salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder.

Cover and cook until the potatoes gets cooked.

Once done, add lemon juice followed by amchur powder and mixed spices.

Remove from the flame and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot.


Serving Options :

Serve with Roti or bread or dosa.










June 16, 2019

Jeera Rice / One Pot Meal / Lunchbox Recipe


Jeera rice is a simple yet flavourful rice which tastes delicious with any varieties of gravy and dal. The cumin and ghee flavoured basmati rice gives a lovely aroma while cooking and quite easy to make. There are many ways in preparing this aromatic rice and this is one of the easy method using one pot. The basmati rice is cooked along with the spices and jeera to give a flavourful dish. This is also a perfect lunchbox recipe. 


Prepared this aromatic Jeera rice for a Recipe Swap group challenge which is happening among bloggers. The bloggers will be paired each other and we need to cook recipes from the fellow bloggers webpage. I was paired with Jayashree Trao who blogs at evergreendishes.com. Her blog has many interesting, delicious and authentic recipes. I chose this delicious rice from her page as my family loves this rice. Click HERE to view her style of preparing Jeera rice. The recipe calls for pressure cooking but I made a change in that and did a slow cooking method.

Here comes an aromatic and flavourful Jeera rice....

Ingredients :

2 Tbsp Ghee 
2 Bay leaves 
2 Cloves 
2 Elachi 
1 inch Cinnamon 
1/4 Tsp Shajeera 
1 Tsp Cumin / Jeera seeds
1 onion, finely chopped 
2 Green chillies, sliced 
Few Mint leaves 
1 Cup Basmati Rice 
2 Cups Water 
Salt to taste 

Method :

Wash and soak basmati rice before starting the cooking process.

Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan and add bay leaves followed by cloves, cinnamon, elachi, shajeera and cumin/jeera seeds.

Fry and add the finely chopped onion followed by green chillies and mint leaves.

Saute until the onion turns translucent and add the measured water along with the required quantity of salt. Let it boil.

Now drain the water from the rice and add it to the boiling water.

Simmer the flame and cover it with the lid.

Cook until the rice gets cooked.

Switch off the flame and keep it aside for 5 - 10 minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaves or mint leaves and serve.

Alternative method :

Fry some cashews and jeera in a ghee and then add it to the prepared rice.


Serving Options :

Serve with any gravy varieties and dal fry. 


                                                             Side dish Options 








































June 1, 2019

Ada Hengu Khechudi / Odia Cuisine / Ginger & Asafoetida Flavoured Rice


Ada Hengu Khechudi is a simple yet flavourful rice recipe prepared using ginger and asafoetida. Khechudi is nothing but Khichdi and this is served as prasadam / prasad in a famous temple in orissa called Puri Jaganathan. It is also commonly known as puri khichidi and Lord Jagananath's maha prasad. The preparation of this khechudi is quite easy with a minimal ingredients yet tastes flavourful. Addition of grated coconut is optional in this recipe. This flavourful rice pairs perfectly with Dalma.

Prepared this fragrant and flavourful rice for an interesting event Shhh secretly cooking challenge which is happening among group of food bloggers. For this month, I was paired with a very talented and friendly blogger Jayashree Trao who blogs at evergreendishes.com. Odia cuisine was our theme of the month and I was given ginger and salt as my secret ingredients. Using those ingredients, prepared this flavourful one pot rice recipe which turned into a huge hit among my family members.


Click HERE to check out a delicious Odia recipe prepared Jayashree using the secret ingredients given me.


Recipe Source : Here 

Ingredients :

2 Tbsp Ghee / Oil 
2 Bay leaves 
2 Tbsp Grated Ginger 
1 Tsp Asafoetida / Hing powder 
2 Green chillies, sliced 
1 Cup Rice 
2 - 3 Tbsp Moong dal 
3 Cups Water 
Salt to taste 
4 Tbsp Grated Coconut ( Optional ) 

Method :

Heat oil or ghee in a pan and add bay leaves followed by green chillies, asafoetida and grated ginger.

Saute and add the measured water along with the required quantity of salt.

Now add rice and moong dal to the boiling water.

Cover and cook on a low flame until the rice is cooked.

Add grated coconut to the cooked rice along with a tablespoon of ghee.  ( optional )

Serve hot.


Serving Options :

Serve with Dalma or any curry.