Mooli Patte Ki Subzi

Recently when I went to market, I found the leaves of White Raddish (Mooli) and bought them to give a try .It really turned out very well. Even my hubby R liked very well. So this is how I tried it:

Ingredients:

• Mooli leaves (white Raddish) – 1 small bunch
• Dhaniya powder - 1/2  tbsp
• Jeera Powder - 1/2 tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Mirchi powder/Red Chilli powder - 3 tsp
• Besan - 1 tbsp
• Garam Masala powder - 2 tsp
• Oil - 1 tbsp

Seasoning /Tadka / Popu:

• Mustard seeds/Avalu – ½ tsp
• Jeera seeds – ½ tsp
• Hing/Inguva – 1 tsp

Method:

• Wash the Mooli  leaves  cleanly with water and finely chop them .
• Take a bowl and mix Besan, dhaniya powder, jeera powder, turmeric powder, mirchi powder, and garam masala with a little amount of oil and form as a semi powder -paste.
• Take a heavy bottomed vessel and heat the oil and once the oil is hot enough add all the seasoning items and let them crackle and pop up, now put under medium flame and add the mooli leaves and little salt and mix well and close the lid, let mooli leaves gets cooked till tender soft, cook them for around 10 min.. Stir in the middle with a spatula to prevent from sticking to the vessel bottom.
• Now, Sprinkle the powder that is prepared and don’t mix it immediately, just cover it with lid and let it cook for 3-5 min.
• Let all the water in the dal get evaporated and comes closer then mix the dal well with a spatula.
• Remove from heat and take into a bowl and garnish it with fresh cilantro leaves.
• Serve Hot with Rice/Roti.

Menthikura pappu /Methi leave Dal

Ingredients:

• Frozen methi leaves/Fresh bunch of methi leaves – 1 cup
• Toor dal/kandi pappu – 1 cup
• Green chillies – 2 or 3
• Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
• Mustard seeds/Avalu – 1 tsp
• Methi seeds – 1 tsp
• Jeera – 1 tsp
• Hing – 1 tsp
• Few sprigs of curry leaves
• Few sprigs of fresh cilantro leaves (for garnishing)
• Turmeric powder – a pinch
• Tamarind extract/Chindapandu rasam – ½ tbsp
• Oil – ½ tbsp
• Salt – as per taste

 Method:

• Wash and clean the methi leaves and pat dry the leaves.
• Wash and rinse the toor dal along with methi leaves and cook till tender soft in a vessel or pressure cooker.
• Add Salt, Red chilli powder, Tamarind extract to the cooked dal and let it boil for 5 min.
• Heat little bit of oil for tadka/popu in a vessel , once the oil is hot add mustard seeds, methi seeds , jeera, hing ,turmeric powder and slit green chillies and let them crackle.
• Once they start crackling, add the seasoning to the cooked dal and add few sprigs of curry leaves and cook for another 3 min and garnish with cilantro /kothimir leaves and remove from heat.
• Serve Hot with Rice/Roti. 

Pesarapappu Kattu

Ingredients:

• Split moong dal (pesara pappu) - cup
• Cumin seeds – 1tsp
• Green chilli slit length wise - 2
• Dry red chillies – 2 (remove the seeds and  tear into pieces)
• Ginger – 1 tsp(grated)
• Curry leaves –handful 
• Turmeric  pwd -1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida (hing) – 1 big pinch 
• salt to taste
• ghee/oil – 2 tsp
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Method: 

• Pressure Cook the moong dal with 3 cups of water and after cooked mash the dal little bit.
• Heat 1 tbsp ghee/oil in a vessel. Add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle and brown.
• Now add red chillies, green chillies, curry leaves, ginger and fry for a few seconds.
• Now add the asafoetida and turmeric and immediately add the cooked dal along with the excess boiled dal water. Add salt.
• Let the dal simmer for 8-10 mts.Turn off heat.
• Just before serving add little bit of lime and serve hot with steamed rice /rotis.
• Garnish it with coriander leaves.

Spinach/Palak Pappu

When it comes to leafy vegetables, I always prefer spinach as it is one of the most nutrient-packed vegetables and its raw juice is an excellent source of chlorophyll.  It is also a superb source of vitamins A, B complex, C. The minerals in spinach are highly alkaline, making it helpful in regulating the body pH.  People who are vegetarians will get a lot of protein in this when compared to meat. I will cook weekly at least once any leafy vegetable. At this point of time I would like to mention something about dals .Normally with Dal especially with toor dal gas will be produced in the body a lot. So once my mother told me that if you fry a little bit the dal without any oil to a golden brown colour so that   the gas can be reduced. So I roasted the dal. . So Spinach / Palak pappu (dal) recipe goes like this:

Ingredients:

• Spinach/palak – 1 bunch
• Kandi pappu (Toor dal)- 1 cup
• Tomato-1 medium size
• Green Chillies-3
• Tamarind- 1 small gooseberry size
• Salt – as per taste
• Onion – 1 small (optional)
• Oil -2 tbsp

For Tempering/Tadka/Poopu:

• Mustard seeds/Avalu – 1 tsp
• Jeera – 1 tsp
• Methi seeds/Menthulu – 1tsp
• Hing -1 tsp
• Red Chillies – 1 or 2
• Curry Leaves /karivepaku – a handful
• Coriander leaves – to garnish on the top.

Method:

• Wash dal, tomatoes and spinach.
• Chop tomatoes, green chillies and spinach, onion finely.
• Cook   dal, Tomato, Green Chillies, Onion, and Spinach in 2 to 3 cups of water until dal becomes soft.
• Soak the tamarind in Luke warm water for 5 min and extract the juice.
• Add Salt and Tamarind juice to the cooked dal mixture and mix well.
• Take another small pan with oil add mustard seeds, methi seeds, jeera, hing, red chillies and let them pop up.
• Add the Tadka/poopu to the dal mixture and cook for another 3 min.
• Garnish with Coriander leaves and curry leaves.

Note: you can add crushed garlic in tadka to get a different taste. Fried onions separately can be added in the dal instead of cooking them along with dal.