The story of lentil would not be complete without mention of the eponymous “Kichdi”, the Indian rice and lentil combinations. I am sure there will be as many recipes of this preparation as the number of home cooks which clearly means that people love this easy to digest and easy to prepare recipe.

The writings of 15^th century suggest its origin in India when there were also the recipes containing meat as is found in offerings during the prayers of Goddess Kali. One of the varieties containing prawns is also very popular in Western India. Kichdi is also the source of inspiration of popular variation called “Kedgerre” which contains haddock and boiled egg and is found all across UK. Kichdi of the summer season are less thick than that of winter which contains more vegetables also to provide richness to counter the extremely cold nights.

Kichdi – the regional variations

Though it is popular both in India and Pakistan and in some parts of the world, it is worthwhile to look at some of the popular variations found elsewhere in different Indian states. The one served in Bengal is accompanied with Chokha (Potato hash), Begun Bhaja (Aubergine fry), chutney, papad and pickle. The gruel itself contains the seasonal vegetables like cauliflower, potato, green peas, spinach, spring onion etc. which make the entire preparation full of nutrition and taste. While it is rich delicacy found in the region of West Bengal and even fit to be offered during all the important occasions including festivals, in other parts of India it reincarnate itself as the food of the invalids and sick. Rice and lentil are cooked together until completely amalgamated and mushy and seasoned to appear as a very bland and ordinary cousin of the rich and suave Bengali delicacy.

Kichdi on its own as a main course is a very good source of carbohydrate, protein and vitamins if prepared with vegetables and essential minerals and at the same time very easy to digest.

Bengali Kechudi

Preparation time: 30minutes

Cooking time: 30minutes

Serves- 4-6

Ingredients

Tags: curries, chana, tandoori, tandoor, kulfi, dosa, handi, vindaloo, palak, indian curry

The word “keoti” means a medley of lentils here and hope is a recipe of interest for the readers
of sonzyskitchen blog. One of the cousins of this lentil recipe is called Hyderabadi Saat Nizami
which is a blend of seven lentils and host of tempering. The difficulty of this lentil has forced me
to think of its inclusion in the recipe section but if some of you reading the sonzyskitchen blog
are really interested, I will definitely send it across.
With its typical Hyderabadi flavor and mix of four lentils, dal keoti is a complex blend of lentils
where they complement each other rather than standing out. You can chose the lentil as per
your convenience and personal preference but we do outline the followings in the recipe
below.
Ingredients
¼ cup arhar dal (yellow lentil)
¼ cup masoor dal (red lentil)
¼ cup moong lentil (moong lentil without skin)
½ cup chana dal (Bengal gram)
2 medium red onion, sliced
1tsp ginger-garlic paste
¼ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp hot spice powder
2 fresh green chili, cut into four
2 tbsp lemon juice (dry mango powder as alternative)
2tbsp refined oil
Tempering
2 tbsp ghee
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
2 dry red chili
10-15 curry leaves
2-3 garlic, crushed
Method:
1. Soak the lentils separately for half an hour, boil chana dal for 10minutes or pressure
cook in enough water for 3-4minutes (2whistles).
2. Add rest of the lentils, add turmeric and salt and cook with enough water until tender.
Mash the lentil lightly.
3. Heat oil in a pan, sauté onions until light brown, 5-8minutes; add ginger-garlic paste and
sauté until raw aroma disappears. Next add lentil and some water if they are too thick.
4. Add hot spice powder and green chili and simmer for another 3-4minutes. Season with
salt and lemon juice and remove from heat.
5. For the tempering, heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, red chili,
curry leaves and garlic. When seeds start splattering and chili & garlic has become
aromatic, pour it onto the lentils and cover the container with a lid to trap the aroma
inside.
6. Serve hot with the Indian bread or rice of your choice.

Tags: chettinad, handi, chana, palak, gosht, idli, curries, roti, balti, dal

One of the most prominent lentil preparations which one can come across in any restaurant in India and abroad. Tadka is a generic term meaning tempering the lentil with the spices and herbs cooked in ghee or oil. The tempering also differ from place to place but the purpose remains the same, to impart the interesting twist to the otherwise mundane lentil stew. Some of the popular tempering ingredients are onion, garlic, tomato, green chili, red chili, spices like turmeric, coriander, kasoori methi, cumin etc. The rule of the thumb is to drop the ingredients in hot oil to allow the smoke to surface for a while and then the ingredient is stirred into the lentil which then covered with a lid immediately to prevent the aroma from escaping. If using fresh herbs, add it at the last moment just before serving.

The lentils used for this recipe also vary as some of them would prefer arhar (yellow lentil) or some would prefer massor (red lentil) and moong dal (split skinned moong).

Ingredients
1 cup arhar dal
2 ½ Water
Turmeric - a pinch
Salt - to taste

Tadka (tempering)
2 tsps Ghee
Hing - a pinch
1 tsp Jeera seeds (Cumin seeds) -
1 medium sized onion, finely diced
1/2 tsp Garlic paste
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1 medium tomato, chopped evenly
½ tsp Garam Masala
3 or 4 Green chilies (optional)
Fresh Coriander chopped

If using pressure cooker, cook the dal with water and turmeric for 5 minutes (2-3 whistles), allow the pressure to escape completely before opening the lid, and remove the dal from cooker and place in a serving container. If using a vessel to cook the dal, cook in a suitably large container on medium heat for 10-12minutes, checking in between to ensure that they have cooked well.

In a pan heat ghee, add hing (asafoetida) diluted with 1 tsp of water. At the stroke of the first aroma from hing, add cumin and allow crackling. Next add onion and fry until it starts to colour, 3-4minutes. Stir in ginger-garlic paste and cook for another 2-3minutes until raw aroma of the paste has disappeared.
Add the diced tomatoes and cook until oil start to separate and appear on the sides. Add green chilli, garam masala and the dal. Bring to simmer and cook on a low heat for another 5minutes. Check seasoning. Serve hot, garnished with chopped coriander, with your favourite Indian bread or rice

Kuntal.

Tags: balti, desi, karahi, roti, idli, sambhar, bhatura, murgh, dosa, naan

CHANA DAL (CHOLAR DAL IN BENGAL)

Made from split black/ horse gram, this dal will, more often than not, will be found on special occasions and festivals in West Bengal. In Bengal sugar is added to this recipe contrary to the natives of Bangladesh where it is equally famous. As this dal is heavy, asafetida is added to counter flatulence and heaviness.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cup chana dal
1tbsp ghee/ clarified butter
1 tbsp golden raisin
Salt to taste
Small cinnamon
1 bay leaf
½ tsp cumin seed
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small knob ginger, scraped and chopped
2 green chili (optional), chopped
2 red chili dry
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tomato (optional), chopped
½ tsp sugar (optional)
Pinch asafetida
½ cup chopped coriander leaves
Coconut slivers for garnish

Method:

Wash the dal until water runs almost clear. Soak for about 30minutes.
In a suitably large ladle heat ghee and fry raisins until puffed, drain on kitchen towel reserving the ghee.

If using pressure cooker, cook the dal with water and turmeric for 5 minutes (3-4 whistles), allow the pressure to escape completely before opening the lid, and remove the dal from cooker and place in a serving container. If using a vessel to cook the dal, cook in a suitably large container on medium heat for 20-25minutes until soft, checking in between to ensure that they have cooked well.

Heat the reserved ghee in a pan and sauté asafetida diluted with 1tsp water, cinnamon and bayleaf (they leave their aroma very well to the hot oil), cumin, garlic, ginger and green chili. After a couple of minutes add red chili and turmeric powder and cook for a minute. Next add tomato and cook for 2-3minutes.

Add this mixture to the boiled dal with sugar and bring to boil. Simmer for another 5-8minutes until dal is completely cooked and thickened. Serve hot garnished with chopped coriander, fried raisin and coconut sliver.

Regards, Kuntal

Tags: bhatura, curries, kebab, indian curry, paneer, naan, desi, handi, balti, idli

Dal Makhani is a King of Lentils and a favourite of restaurateurs and gourmets to the extent that the menus would not be complete without its inclusion. The recipe also varies from region to region and restaurant to restaurant. This type of dal is cooked very slowly on low heat for hours before the flavor burst and develops into intricate blend of taste coming from lentil, tomatoes and butter. They also, surprisingly taste a lot better on the second day as the flavor keeps on developing.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup whole urad (whole black lentils)
3 tbsp rajma (kidney beans)
Salt
1tbsp ginger-garlic paste of equal ginger and garlic
½ cup tomato puree (tinned)
1 tsp red chili powder
½ cup white unsalted butter
½ cup cream

Method:
Thoroughly wash black lentil and kidney bean separately until the water runs clear. Soak overnight preferably or 5-6 hours to facilitate even cooking of each individual grain. If you are pressure cooking lentils, cook them for 3-4 whistles on medium heat. Alternatively, put the drained lentil and kidney bean in a suitably large steel pan, add approximately 7 cups of water. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer until the grains are cooked and 2/3 rd of water is used up. Crush the lentils with the back of a wooden spoon.

In a pan heat half the butter, add ginger-garlic paste and cook until raw aroma has subsided. Add tomato puree and cook for another 5minutes on medium heat until the colour of the tomato has darkened to pronounced red. Add chili powder and cook for another minute.

Add this mixture to lentil along with rest of the butter until mixed well and cook for another 10-15 minutes until lentil has thickened and colour has become light brown. Finally add the cream and stir for another 2-3minutes. Check seasoning and serve hot with butter naan or rice.

- Kuntal

Tags: chettinad, idli, tandoori, chana, lentil, indian food, indian curry, sambhar, kebab, bhatura

Indian is truly blessed to have so many preparation attributed to lentil. Even all regions of India do boast of several of the lentil preparations on its own or as in part with other ingredients. Also known as “Dal” or “Dahl”in Hindi, it is a bushy annual plant of the legume family and grows from a foot to a small tree and grows in pod. They stand up very well to dry conditions and after harvesting also keeps up well for a very long time without significant loss of nutrients or taste. India is the largest producer and consumer of all varieties of lentil just because of the simple reason of its availability and low price.
Lentil has been the excellent source of vegetarian protein since time immemorial and plays an important dietary role. It is not only easy to digest but also can be very interesting in taste and texture when prepared variedly and correctly. Used both with and without skin, they legume family boast of so many varieties from red to green, white to black, yellow to pink. There are also the split varieties which find their way into traditional recipes especially in India.

Some of the popular lentils found in Indian cuisine are as follows:
Urad Dal (Black lentil)- without skin whole and split (white colour) whole with skin
Chana Dal (Bengal Gram)- comes from black gram which is skinned and split to obtain yellow grain.
Moong Dal (Moong lentil)- whole comes in green, without skin in yellow colour. Essential ingredient for kichdi, a food for the invalids.
Arhar dal (Yellow lentil) also known as tur dal in the western part of India and very popular menu items in Indian restaurants.
Masoor dal (Red  lentil), the whole lentil with skin is similar to beluga or puy lentil, the skinned is known as masoor dal which is the inspiration of so many lentil preparation.
These are the traditional lentil and the other being choole (chickpea), kala chana (black/horse gram) etc and I am sure that there are so many across the world along with their recipes.

The skinned grains have short cooking time when compared to the whole one and are generally boiled into stew and tempered as per the choice. They can wither be boiled in a suitably large vessel or pressure cooked to save on time. The grain bursts open during the cooking process and thickens the preparation, but if required they can be thinned with hot water.

Apart from being a very good source of protein, they also contain carbohydrate, dietary fiber and also a good source of iron and vitamin B1. The blogs to follow will be dedicated to some of the lentil which we have listed above and their recipes.

Tags: gosht, sambhar, chettinad, handi, balti, chana, tikka masala, lentil, karahi, curries

Indian Cuisine - The Nutritional aspects by Kuntal Kumar

Traditionally India has never been so conscious about the nutritional breakdown but with general awareness level going up, most of the Indian dishes are coming under nutritional scrutiny. There has been effort by the Indian chefs to provide even the calorific breakdown of the Indian dishes in some of the restaurants. The meals have become not only light but also far more adaptable keeping in mind the preference of the diners who demand no less than the customized preparations of the dishes they order.

The western concept of segmenting the food as three main macronutrients as carbohydrate, protein and fat have ever present in the Indian meal known as Thali without much realization or analysis.

Indian Thali

India has a long tradition of regional “Thalis” which is like a combo platter (made of either, silver, stainless steel or iron) with small bowls which contain small amounts of various local dishes. Let’s do a close evaluation of an Indian Thali and see how it performs vis-s-vis western approach.

Carbohydrate- Most of the Indian Thalis comprises of Indian bread such as rotis, chapati, poori etc. and rice preparation like steamed rice, lemon rice, jeera (cumin) rice etc. and the meal is centered around them.

Protein- You may find around two to three preparation along with dal (Indian lentil preparation) which provides the bulk of vegetable protein. Some of the thalis may also contain meat or fish as well.

Fat: Some of the vegetables also contain fat apart from the cooking medium used for various delicacies for the Thali. Most of the Indian sweets also contain good amount of fat.

Besides, adequate fiber, vitamins and minerals are also present; hence tomorrow we can be sure of the nutritional balance of the Indian meal provided they are prepared in a healthy manner.

Tags: kebab, lentil, tikka masala, bhatura, vindaloo, balti, gosht, kulfi, dal, dosa

Bhatura is a fried indian bread made from refined wheat flour, typically served with chickpea curry.

Ingredients

• 1 Kg. Maida flour
• Sooji flour (Rava) 100 Grams
• 1 Spoon Baking Powder
• 2 Tbsp. Fat or Ghee
• 1 Cup Curd
• Salt To Taste
• Oil for Deep Frying

Method
Mix all the Ingredients.
After Mixing, make a dough out of it.
Leave the Dough so that it can ferment(because of Baking Powder and Curd) for 6-7 hours.
Make Pedas (small round balls )out of the dough and make Oval shaped Rotis or Chapatis ready for Deep frying.
Deep fry the kneaded Rotis out of the dough.
Serve hot with Khatte Chane.

- Sonzy.

Tags: karahi, tikka masala, tandoori, indian curry, tandoor, chettinad, murgh, handi, naan, dal

Khatte Channe (Chholey, Chickpeas) is a typical Punjabi dish served with Pakwan, Matthhi, Bhatura or a Kulcha. There would be lot of variations to this, but this is the way my mom cooks for me.

Ingredients
# 250 gms. Chana Dal White
# 1/2 Cup Tamarind Pulp or Juice.
# 2 Medium Sized Onions
# 4 Tomatoes Sliced
# 3-4 Green Chillies Chopped
# 1 Ginger Chopped Fine
# Chana Masala
# Salt to Taste
# Masala : Red Chilli Powder, Roasted black Cumin Seeds, Dry Coriander fine powdered
# Oil 2 Tbsp

Method
# Wash Chana Dal and soak it overnight.
# Boil the soaked Chana Dal in a Cooker for 15 Minutes.
# Leave the Chana Dal aside and allow it to cool.
# Heat a Pan or Karahi or Cooker with 2 TbSp. Oil, Jeera(Roasted Black Cumin Seeds), Dhania (Coriander Powder),Chana Masala, Red Chilli Powder, Salt and fry for 1-2 minutes.
# Put in Adrak(Ginger) and Hari Mirch(Green Chillies) and continue frying.
# Add Imli Juice(Tamarind Juice) in the Pan and mix them well.
# Bring the Mixture to a boil.Add Chana dal to the mixture.
# Cook for 5-6 Minutes.
# Garnish with Onion, Tomato Slices, and Fresh Coriander.

(Khatte Chane is Ready.Serve with Kulchas,Bread, or Bhaturas.)

Home Improvement : Lentil Stock is good for plants !

a. Use the water used for washing dals and rice to water the plants. This water is very rich in nutrients and acts as a fertilizer.
b. Remove yellow food stains from table mats, etc., by applying a paste of detergent and water to the stained areas and keep in the sun for an hour. Wash like your other laundry.

Next time, do not throw away the Lentil Stock…