Tuesday, June 12, 2007

A simple dal and a Salad with a zing!

Most of the times, it's simplest foods that are eaten more heartily. Be it, Dal, chawal/roti, sabji, or rice, rasam and poriyal or a salad - Very simple food; Very comforting... Is that why, whenever the complexities of life surround us and life just seems too busy to handle, we seek comfort in simple foods?

One such comfort food for us is a simple meal that comprises of green gram dal, rice and curd.. Sometimes a sabji accompanies this hearty fare.. sometimes a salad and sometimes just plain ol'e pickle and papad.


Simple green gram dal
Green gram dal (Green mung) - 1 cup, soaked for an hour
onion - 1, finely chopped
garlic - 1-2, finely chopped
red chillies - 1-2
curry leaves - one sprig
mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
cummin seeds - 1/2 tsp
asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
lemon juice - 1 tbsp
oil - 1 tbsp

Soak green mung dal for an hour and boil till soft. Season with the remaining stuff in the following order - Heat oil, add mustard, wait till it pops and then add cummin and asafoetida, then add the red chillies, curry leaves and onions. Saute till the onion turns translucent and add to the dal. Add in the lemon juice and serve hot with steamed rice or roti. (I served it with store bought masala vada and THE salad with a zing!)



Carrot Salad - the salad with a zing!
Fresh carrots - 4
coriander leaves - a handful, finely chopped
green chillies - 2
ginger - 1/2 to 1 inch,
for that zing!
lemon juice 2 tbsp
salt, to taste

Grate the carrots. If the carrots are tender, you can grate them directly, after washing. If not, wash them and slightly scrape the skin using a peeler and then grate the carrots. Grate the ginger and green chillies. Add the lemon juice and salt and finely chopped coriander leaves. Toss them using a wooden spoon. Let the flavors mingle for 1/2 hr and enjoy!

28 comments:

indosungod said...

Kay, that is so very true, simple foods are the lifeline. Keep us healthy and sated. Love the Pachai Payaru Paruppu.

The Zingy salad looks great, I also add a little bit of tomatoes and red onions(don't like raw onions all that much but DH likes them).

TNL said...

That does look comforting, I like that grated Carrot salad...we usually temper it with some mustard seeds and hing...but this is worth trying without the oil. thanks!

cheers, trupti

Shammi said...

I make a similar carrot salad with lemno juice - except that I add chopped tomatoes and then do a simple tadka of mustard seeds, chopped green chillies and a pinch of asafoetida. It tastes and smells divine - sweet and sour at the same time with a kick of chillies. And if you refrigerate the salad for the half hour, it's just SOOOOOOO refreshing in summer! :) Do try it, Kay!

FH said...

Hi Kay.Love the Dal and specially the Zing:))

Sig said...

the zing-y salad looks so tempting :)...
U are right, comfort food is always the simple kind! Mine is rice, curd and pickle... No cooking involved... :)

Shobana senthilkumar said...

Hi,
new to ur blog,thats 100% true.This food might be very simple to prepare but very healthy

Kay said...

Thanks guys!

IGS, if you add raw tomatoes and onions, you might also want to try maratti koshumber... very tasty and crunchy!

Trupti, Congrats again! What an accomplishment at such young age!

Shyam! I do, I do! :) I mean, I refrigerate it and eat it too... Very tasty..

I got to try it with tomatoes now.. and a tadka.. ;)

Asha and Sig, you got to try the zing.. That raw ginger is really something.. Invisible to eyes but the taste buds go beserk - wondering where that zing was from?

Sharmi said...

hey I too make that carrot salad. My hubby's favorite. I loved the look of your plate. very comforting food.
welcome back after long time!!

Kay said...

welcome priar! :) nice to have you here..

thanks sharmi! Been going on bloggy breaks for quite sometime now.. Can't seem to handle the li'l monster's ever changing 'routines'!

Sheela said...

ooh, love the carrot salad - looks yummy... i throw in some sprouted moong beans too...

indosungod said...

Kay, how is the move coming along?

Ramya said...

hi kay,
i am new to ur blog.and thats a nice combo meal u have.

DEEPA said...

dal and salad looks great ..Pics is so inviting .I wish i could have the salad....

Sharmi said...

hey Kay how are you doing? heard from shweta that you were moving so must be real busy!! take care
cheers

Kay said...

Yes Sheela, Sprouts in salads are soooo good! :)

IGS, It's crazy! Hopefully we'll be moved by tomorrow. It'll take a week or so for me to get connected (net/phone) again...

July 01, 2007 12:41 AM

Kay said...

Thanks ramya and deepa! :)

sharmi, we'ved moved - still unpacking.. the baby fell ill a week back - she's ok now. We are all recovering from her illness. :)

Raghu Ram Prasad said...

Really tastey food and i like carrot salad very much..i am trying to night thanks

Richa said...

hi kay,
thanks for your generous words on my blog, nice to "see" you around!

I like all moong preparations, urs looks tasty & quite simple to make :)

Kay said...

Raghu Ram Prasad, do tell how you liked it.

You are very welcome, Richa! :)

Jayashree said...

What you said about simple food is so true. At the end of a hectic day all that u often care for is the simplest of foods cooked at home.

Kay said...

Thanks Mona, Where in Canada do you live? We live in Toronto. If you try anything, do tell me how it went.

Hi Jayashree, you have some nice blogs too. Yeah, hectic day with simple homefood food (especially cooked by someone else!) rocks.

Anonymous said...

Looks simple and delicious. This will definitely go into my lunchbox tomorrow.

Thanks for sharing

-Shilpa

mnamma said...

A colorful, healthy salad Kay! Keep the recipes coming!

Kay said...

Thanks Shilpa and mnamma. :)

Mansi said...

I'm making this dal almost everyday right now b'coz my in-laws are having Jain Paryushan, so they can't eat any green veggies, potatoes or any underground stuff!

remya said...

Thats a nice n healthy meal...love the zing n dal....

Anonymous said...

Hi Kay, How true it is that the simple dal and salad are a treat at all times. The picture of the rice, salad and the vegetable are most appetising. And carrot salad is always welcome on most dining tables. I really like your simple introduction to comfort foods.

Khushman said...

what if I used yellow dal instead & sum sugar, it would turn bit into gujju dal offcourse.