1 teaspoon dhana-jeeru (spice blend of ground coriander and cumin)
½ teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon salt or taste
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, for garnish
Directions
Wash okra and dry it with paper towel. Okra should be as dry as possible otherwise it will become too slimy. Cut into ½ inch thick pieces, discarding top and ¼ inch bottom pieces.
Heat oil in a non-stick pan on a medium high heat until shimmering, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mustard seeds and let it sizzle. Add onion, garlic, green chili, all dry spices and sauté them until onion is translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Next add tomato, ginger and sauté until the mixture is almost dry, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add okra, season with salt and stir everything. Cover the pan and let okra cook until tender, 7 to 8 minutes, stirring few times. Initially okra will be slimy but as it cooks it will become less slimy.
Uncover the pan, lower the heat and let okra cook until curry is almost dry, 7 to 10 minutes.
Garnish with cilantro and serve warm with Nan or Paratha.
1 tablespoon kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves), available in Indian grocery stores
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
½ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, for garnish
Directions
Heat oil or butter in a wok or a frying pan, 2 minutes. Sauté garlic-ginger paste with spices until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add tomato sauce, kasuri methi and stir to combine everything. Season with salt and sugar. Let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add peas, paneer and stir to combine with sauce. Cover the wok or pan and let peas cook until tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add heavy cream, stir and adjust the seasoning. Let mutter paneer cook with sauce for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally so that sauce does not stick to bottom.
Garnish with cilantro and serve warm with Nan or Paratha.
Notes
If fried paneer or cubed paneer is not available, cut paneer into ¾ inch cubes. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a non-stick pan and sauté paneer until light golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes.
1 teaspoon kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves), available in Indian grocery stores
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Water as needed
Directions
Rinse and drain the kidney beans from cans and set it aside.
Heat oil in a medium soup pot or a Dutch oven on a medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add onion and sauté it until light golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, green chili, curry leaves and all the dry spices. Sauté everything until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Next add tomato paste and sauté for a minute. Add tomatoes, ginger and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add beans, lentils and ½ cup of water. Season with salt. Cover the pot and let rajma cook for 7 to 10 minutes. Uncover, add lemon juice and cook for 2 more minutes. Adjust the seasoning. If rajma is too dry, add some water.
1 teaspoon kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves), available in Indian grocery stores
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Water as needed
Directions
Pick through kidney beans and soak in 2 cups of water for 6 to 8 hours or until beans are soft. (Soaking is optional but it will speed up cooking process).
Rinse masoor dal, transfer to a small bowl and add ½ cup of water. Let it soak for at least half an hour. (Soaking is optional but it will speed up cooking process).
Set instant pot to saute setting for 30 minutes. Once hot, heat oil until shimmering. Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add onion and sauté it until light golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, green chili, curry leaves and all the dry spices. Sauté everything until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Next add tomato paste and sauté for a minute. Add tomatoes, ginger and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add beans, dal with water and potatoes. If beans are not cover with water, add more water. Season with salt. Cover the pot and set to pressure cooker setting for 45 minutes. For unsoaked beans, increase time to one hour. Once cooking time is over, release steam (you can also wait until pressure is off). Uncover pot, add lemon juice. Adjust the seasoning. If rajma is too dry, add some water and let it cook on saute setting for 3-4 minutes.
1 jalapeno or serrano chili or to taste, cut into 3-4 pieces
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon dhana-jeeru (spice blend of ground coriander and cumin)
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon chole masala
3 tablespoons canola or neutral oil
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, for garnish
Directions
In a food processor, process onion, garlic and green chili until it forms thick paste.
Heat oil in a frying pan or a wok. Once oil is shimmering, add onion mixture, turmeric, dhana-jeeru, chili powder, garam masala, and sauté it until onion is light golden brown.
Next process tomato and ginger in a food processor into a thick paste. Add little water if necessary to make it smooth. Add tomatoes and ginger mixture to pot and sauté until water from tomato evaporates.
Add chick peas and salt. If gravy looks too dry add ¼ to ½ cup water. Cover pan or wok and let it simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Uncover, add chole masala and let it simmer for another 3 to 4 minutes. Garnish with cilantro before serving. Serve warm with rice or any Indian flat bread. (Traditionally, chole are served with bhatoora (fried whole wheat flour bread).
1 jalapeno or serrano chili or to taste, cut into 3-4 pieces
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon dhana-jeeru (spice blend of ground coriander and cumin)
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon chole masala
3 tablespoons canola or neutral oil
2 teaspoons salt or to taste
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, for garnish
Directions
Pick through chickpeas and soak them in two cups of water for 5 to 6 hours or until chickpeas are soft. (Soaking is optional but it will speed up cooking process)
In a food processor, process onion, garlic and green chili until it forms thick paste.
Set instant pot to sauté setting for 30 minutes. Once it is hot, heat oil in insert until shimmering. Add onion mixture, turmeric, dhana-jeeru, chili powder, garam masala, and sauté it until onion is light golden brown.
Next process tomato and ginger in a food processor into a thick paste. Add little water if necessary to make it smooth. Add tomatoes and ginger mixture to pot and sauté until water from tomato evaporates.
Add chick peas and salt. Cover chickpeas with water. Set instant pot to pressure cooker setting and cook for 40 minutes. For unsoaked chickpeas increase time to one hour. Once cooking time is over, release steam (you can also wait for pressure to release) and uncover pot. Add chole masala and let it simmer for another 3 to 4 minutes on sauté setting. Garnish with cilantro before serving. Serve warm with rice or any Indian flat bread. (Traditionally, chole are served with bhatoora (fried whole wheat flour bread).
For vegetarians in India, dal (legumes) is a main source of protein. Varieties of dal is available through out India and each region has a unique way of preparing dal for a meal. The most common variety of dal used all over India is toover dal (split pigeon peas). It is usually served with rice.
This sweet and sour split pigeon peas soup is part of Gujarati thali (plate) and served almost everyday. The use of jaggery in dal is more common in Gujarat than any other region in India.
Ingredients
¾ cup oily or unoily toover dal (split pigeon peas), uncooked
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
Small (golf ball size) piece of jaggary or 3 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon dhana-jeeru (spice blend of ground coriander and cumin)
1 teaspoon or to taste finely chopped or minced jalapeno or serrano chili
½ teaspoon finely minced ginger
1 medium tomato, diced
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, for garnish
For Vaghar (tempering):
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
⅛ teaspoon cumin seeds
⅛ teaspoon asafetida
5 to 6 curry leaves
1 whole dry red chili (optional)
Pinch of red chili powder (optional)
Directions
Wash split pigeon peas few times. For oily dal make sure all the oil is washed off. Soak in about 1 ½ cups of water for 1 to 2 hours or until peas are soft in a medium size soup pot. (Soaking is optional but it will reduce cooking time).
Add diced tomato. Cover with a lid and cook it with water on a medium heat until peas are very soft, about one hour. Once the dal is cooked, take off the heat.
Add ½ cup of water and mix it with a whisk or an immersion blender until it has a consistency of slightly thick soup.
Start heating the dal on medium heat. Add salt, jaggary, turmeric, dhana-jeeru, green chili and ginger. Stir dal and let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes on low heat or a simmer burner.
To cook dal in instant pot: Wash and soak dal in instant pot container. Set instant pot on pressure cook setting and cook dal for 20 minutes (for unsoaked dal increase time to 30 minutes). Once dal is cooked, release steam and follow step 3. Next, set instant pot to sauté and follow step 4. Reduce simmer time to 5 minutes.
In a separate small sauce or frying pan, heat oil on medium high heat until shimmering. Add fenugreek seeds and let them sizzle. Lower the heat, add mustard and cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add asafetida, curry leaves, red chili and chili powder. Pour oil with spices over dal. Mix it with dal, add lemon juice and let it simmer for two to three minutes. Garnish with cilantro before serving. Serve warm along with meal of Indian flat bread and vegetable, and over rice.
Notes
You can follow this same recipe for whole and split mung beans, split lentils and black-eyed peas mix with split pigeon peas. Do not use mustard and fenugreek seeds, instead, use only 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds.
This type of dal (lachko) is often served with Kathi (yogurt and chickpea flour soup) in Gujarati Thali. It is thicker than soup like dal often served with a meal.
Ingredients
¾ cup mung dal (without skin)
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
Pinch of asafetida
¾ teaspoons turmeric
½ teaspoon red chili powder
½ teaspoon salt or to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
Water as needed
Directions
Pick through mung dal and rinse it.
Heat two tablespoons of oil in a medium sized pot over medium high heat. Add ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds and let them sizzle. Add asafetida, turmeric and chili powder. Add 1 ½ cups of water, rinsed dal and season with salt. Stir everything. Partially cover the pot and let it come to boil. Once it comes to boil, uncover the pot and let dal cook until the foam on top subsides, about 7 minutes. Cover the pot and let dal cook for another two minutes or until tender.
Rinse dal and transfer to medium size soup pot. Add 1 ½ cups of water and let dal soak for 30 to 40 minutes. (Soaking is optional but it will speed up cooking).
Add tomato, cover the pot with a lid, and cook dal for about 45 minutes or until dal is cooked.
After dal is cooked, start heating dal on a medium heat. Add salt, turmeric, and dhana jeeru, green chili and ginger. Mix well. Let dal simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In a separate small sauce or frying pan, heat oil on a medium heat until shimmering. Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add garlic, onion, garam masala and sauté them until onion is light golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add whole chili and chili powder and sauté it for one minute and pour everything on top of the dal. Stir the dal and let it simmer for one minute. Add lemon juice and let it simmer for two more minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve over rice or as a soup.
To cook dal in instant pot: Follow step one. Set instant pot on sauté setting for 20 minutes. Heat oil until shimmering. Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add garlic, onion, green chili, garam masala and sauté them until onion is light golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add whole chili and chili powder and sauté it for one minute. Add tomato and ginger and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour dal over Tarka and add salt, turmeric, dhana-jeeru and lemon juice. Add ½ cup water. Set instant pot to pressure cooker setting and cook dal for 20 minutes. (for unsoaked dal increase time to 30 minutes). Release steam and set instant pot to sauté setting for 10 minutes. (Optional: Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in small frying pan or soup pot until shimmering. Add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add pinch of chili powder and pour over dal. This will enhances flavor of dal). Garnish with cilantro and serve over rice or as a soup.
Sambhar is a staple of South Indian cuisine. It is served with variety of dishes like idali (steamed rice cakes), Dosa (crepes of dal and rice), Medu Vada (dal fritters) and Uttapam (rice and dal pancakes with vegetables).
Ingredients
1 cup toover dal (split pigeon peas)
1 medium tomato, diced
1 cup mixed vegetables like eggplant, zucchini and carrot, diced
5 to 6 pieces of sargavo (drum sticks), See Note.
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 ½ teaspoons dhana-jeeru (spice blend of ground coriander and cumin)
1 teaspoon tamarind paste or 2 tablespoons lemon juice
For Tarka:
3 tablespoons canola oil
½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
½ teaspoon asafetida
1 tablespoon urad dal (optional)
12-15 curry leaves
1 small yellow or red onion, ¼ inch diced
1-2 dry red chilies (optional)
Directions
Wash split pigeon peas few times. For oily dal make sure all the oil is washed off. Soak dal in about 2 cups of water for 1 to 2 hours or until peas are soft in a medium size soup pot. (Soaking is optional).
Add diced tomato. Cover with a lid and cook it with water on a medium heat until peas are very soft, about one hour. Once the dal is cooked, take off the heat.
Add ½ cup of water and mix it with a whisk or an immersion blender until it has a consistency of slightly thick soup.
Start heating the dal on medium heat. Add salt, turmeric, dhana-jeeru and sambhar masala. Add mixed vegetables and drum sticks. Stir dal and let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes on low heat or a simmer burner. Next, follow step 6.
To cook sambhar in instant pot: Wash split pigeon peas few times. For oily dal make sure all the oil is washed off. Soak dal in about 2 cups of water for 1 to 2 hours or until peas are soft in a medium size soup pot. (soaking is optional but it will speed up cooking process). Add diced tomatoes. Set instant pot to pressure cooker setting and cook dal for 20 minutes. (for unsoaked dal increase time to 30 minutes). Once dal is cooked, release steam and follow step 3. Next, set instant pot to sauté for 15 minutes and follow step 4. Reduce simmer time to 10 minutes. Next, follow step 6.
For Tarka: In a separate small sauce or frying pan, heat oil on medium high heat until shimmering. Add fenugreek seeds and let them sizzle. Add urad dal and sauté until light brown. Lower the heat, add mustard and cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add asafetida, curry leaves, red chili and chili powder. Pour oil with everything over sambhar. Mix it with sambhar, add lemon juice or tamarind pulp and let it simmer for two to three minutes. Garnish with cilantro before serving.
Notes
You can get sambhar masala and also mixed vegetables which includes drum sticks for making sambhar in frozen section in Indian grocery store.
In Bengal (Eastern part of Indian), Panch Poran (five spices) is widely used in recipes.The combination of five spices gives unique flavor.
Ingredients
Panch Poran: (five spice mixture)
½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
½ teaspoon nigella seeds
Dal:
¾ cup uncooked masoor dal (split red lentils)
1 medium size tomato or ¼ cup tomato puree
2 tablespoons canola oil
½ medium size yellow or red onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, finely minced
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 ½ cups of water
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro, for garnish
For Tarka (tempering):
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Directions
Rinse dal and add 1 ½ cups of water and let dal soak for 30 to 40 minutes in a mixing bowl. (Soaking is optional but it will speed up cooking).
Combine spices of panch poran in a small bowl and set aside.
Roughly cut tomato and make a puree either in food processor or with hand blender with ½ a cup of water. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Omit this step if you are using tomato puree.
Heat oil in a medium size soup pot until shimmering. Add panch poran and let seeds sizzle. Add onion and sauté until light golden brown. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add dal with water, season with salt and turmeric. Stir dal to combine with spices. Cover the pot with a lid, and cook for about 45 minutes or until dal is cooked. Stir dal occasionally so it does not boil over.
After dal is cooked, start heating dal on a medium heat. Pass fresh tomato puree through a sieve. Add fresh puree or puree to dal. Let dal simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Make tarka: In a separate small sauce or frying pan, heat oil on a medium heat until shimmering. Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Pour tarka on top of the dal. Stir the dal and let it simmer for one minute. Garnish with cilantro and serve over rice or as a soup.
To cook dal in instant pot: Follow step one to three. Set instant pot on sauté setting for 20 minutes. Heat oil until shimmering. Add panch poran and let all seeds sizzle. Add onion and sauté until onion is light golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté it for 30 seconds. Add dal along with water, season with salt and turmeric. Pass fresh tomato puree through a sieve. Add fresh puree or puree to dal. Set instant pot to pressure cooker setting and cook dal for 20 minutes. (for unsoaked dal increase time to 30 minutes). Release steam and again set instant pot to sauté setting. While dal is simmering to prepare tarka, follow step 6.
