Lau Mung/ lauki in mung daal

Lauki/ lau or bottle gourd is a vegetable that blends very well with all types of daals. Bottle gourd juice is extremely beneficial for the body because of its high nutritional value. Due to its high water content, bottle gourd has digestive benefits and can help in the treatment of urinary disorders. Lau in mung daal is a popular bengali recipe.

Preparation Time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking Time: 35-40 minutes

Ingredients
Lauki/lau/ bottle gourd- The bottle gourd is first cut into very thin circular pieces and then the thin circular pieces are further cut into smaller pieces. Make sure not to cut very thick circular pieces and also do not finely chop the pieces
Panch Foron
Tej patta(bay leaves)- 1-2
Dried red chillies
Mung Daal- 1 cup roasted in 2-3 drops of mustard oil
Jeera powder
Dhania powder
Turmeric powder
Green chillies-3-4
Ginger paste
Coriander leaves-finely chopped
Mustard oil
Water
Salt to taste

Method

Take the mung daal and slightly roast it in 2-3 drops of oil. Do not roast it too much because then the daal not become soft on boiling.Then cook the daal in a pressure cooker. Keep it aside. Take a kadhai and add a small amount of mustard oil into it. Add dried red chillies, panch foron and tej patta into it. Then add the lauki and stir it in oil. Then add one by one the jeera powder, dhania powder, turmeric powder and salt. Then add a small amount of ginger paste and mix nicely.

Finally add the daal to the lauki in the kadhai and mix nicely. Add the chopped coriander leaves from above. Let the daal and the lauki simmer for sometime and mix nicely. Add a teaspoon of ghee.

Serve hot with rice.

Raw Banana in Mustard Paste

This is a very simple and easy dish. Raw banana is an extremely healthy vegetable due to its high iron content. Bengalis are very fond of sorsho bata (mustard paste). This is a dish of raw banana in mustard paste.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
Raw bananas- 2 cut into longitudinal pieces
Potatoes-2 cut into longitudinal pieces
Mustard paste- mustard seeds grinded with 2-3 green chillies and a pinch of salt
Dried red chillies
Green chillies- 2-3 slitted
Panch foron
Turmeric powder
Mustard oil
Salt to taste

Method

Take some mustard oil in a kadhai. Once the oil get heated up then add some panch foron and dried red chillies. Once the panch foron starts spluttering then add the raw banana and the potato pieces. Saute the vegetables very nicely in the oil. Once they become brownish then add the mustard paste, stir it nicely till it is well cooked. Then add small amount of water and let it simmer. Let it simmer till it attains a dry consistency. Add some slitted green chillies for garnishing.

Serve with hot rice.

Coconut Flavoured Gajar Ka Halwa

This sweet dish is a slight variation from the normal gajar ka halwa we usually eat. This recipe is a very popular Indian sweet dish recipe and is very easy to cook.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Carrots- 4-5 (grated)
Sugar- 4-5 cups
Coconut milk powder- 4 tablespoon
Cardamom: finely powdered
Cashew nuts: cut into small pieces
Almonds: Cut into small pieces
Pistachios: Cut into small pieces
Ghee/refined oil
Milk- 500ml
Milk powder-5 tablespoon
Khoya kheer-150gms

Method

Heat a small amount of ghee in a kadhai and then add the grated carrots to it. Keep stirring the grated carrots till it becomes soft and then add the milk, milk powder and khoya kheer to the grated carrot. Keep stirring so that it mixes uniformly. Let the carrots boil in the milk and become soft. Mash the carrots in the milk and then add the coconut powder, dry fruits and cardamom to the kadhai. Add the sugar and keep stirring till your gajar ka halwa attains a thick consistency. Once it is done remove from flame , cool it and then freeze it in the refrigerator.

Serve cold.

Dimer Bhapa (Steamed Egg Dish)

Dimer bhapa is a steamed egg dish. It is an unique egg recipe and quite appealing to the palate. It is a variation from the usual egg curries.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Eggs-5-6

Green Chilly Paste

Ginger paste

Onion paste

Garlic paste

Tomato puree

Cumin Powder

Garam Masala powder

Red chilly powder

Panch Foron ( a mix of fenugreek seed, mustard seed, cumin seed, fennel seed and nigella seed)

Bay leaves-1-2

Potatoes- Cut into big pieces, boiled and fried.

Fresh yoghurt

Refined oil

Method

Take a closed container which closes tightly. Beat the eggs and add a small amount of salt, turmeric powder, green chillies paste, red chilly powder to it. Beat the eggs nicely to mix all the ingredients. Take the container, grease it nicely with oil/ghee and then add the eggs to it. Close the container tightly. Take a wide vessel containing water and boil the water. Then place the closed container in the vessel and let it cook on steam for about 15-20 minutes. You can also place the closed container inside a pressure cooker containing required amount of water and then allow 1-2 whistles. After about 20 minutes take out the closed container, let it cool. Open the container, It is found that the eggs are baked. Since the container had been greased so the baked eggs should come out easily. Cut it into small cubical pieces.

Take a kadhai and add some refined oil, Fry the cubical pieces till they become yellow brown. Keep them aside. Then add some more oil, heat it and add the panch foron and bay leaves to it. Then gradually add 1 teaspoon each of ginger paste, garlic paste, onion paste, green chilly paste one by one. Add 1 tablespoon of tomato puree and keep stirring. Then add the whisked yoghurt, cumin powder, turmeric powder, red chilly powder , garam masala powder to it. Keep stirring, once the spices are well cooked the oil will release on the sides. Then add the potatoes which had already been boiled, fried and kept aside. Add the cubical steamed egg pieces to the gravy and mix thoroughly. Once the gravy reaches a thick consistency switch off the flame. Add some ghee to the gravy.

Serve with hot rice, roti or parantha.

Tomator Chutney

Tomato chutney is an absolute essential after having a proper Bengali lunch. It is served at the end of the meal before serving any other sweet dish. This typical bengali chutney is also served during the durga pujas along with the 'bhog'. The sweet, tangy, spicy taste is simply awesome.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

Tomatoes- 4-5 chopped nicely
Dried red chillies-2-3
Mustard seeds
Bay leaves-1-2
Turmeric Powder
Ginger paste
Salt to taste
Sugar/Jaggery
Cashew nuts- 4-5 chopped
Raisins
Tamarind Pulp (optional, can be added if the tomatoes are not very sour)
Mustard oil

Method

Take a kadhai and add 1 tablespoon oil into it. Let the oil get heated up. Once it gets heated up add bay leaves, slitted dried red chillies and mustard seeds to the oil. Let the mustard seeds crackle and then add the chopped tomatoes to the oil. Stir nicely for 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes become tender. Then add a very small amount of ginger paste to the tomatoes. Stir for sometime and then add a very small amount of turmeric powder and salt. Then slowly keep adding sugar/jaggery depending on how sweet you want your chutney to taste. Mix the sugar nicely and gradually your chutney develops a dark red colour due to the sugar. Finally add the cashew nuts and raisins. You can add tamarind pulp to increase the sourness. Do not add any water to the tomato chutney as it dilutes the taste. Let the chutney simmer for sometime and then remove from flame. Cool it before serving. Finally your tangy, sweet tomato chutney is ready to serve.

Serve it at the end of a typical Bengali meal.

Sattu ka Parantha/ Chatur Parantha

Sattu is an extremely healthy breakfast food. It contains all the essential nutrients and has digestive properties as well due to its high fibre content. Sattu paranthas are tasty and at the same time extremely nutritious and healthy.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30-35 minutes

Ingredients


Sattu- 1 cup
Mustard oil
Onion- 1 (finely chopped)
Garlic- 1 teaspoon (chopped)
Ginger-1 teaspoon (chopped)
Green chillies-2-3 (chopped)
Roasted cumin powder
Garam masala powder
Red chilly powder
Dried mango powder (amchur powder)
Whole wheat flour- 4 cups
Refined oil
Salt to taste

Method


For the Filling


Take the sattu in a bowl, add 1 teaspoon of mustard oil to it, add the chopped onion, garlic, ginger and green chillies to it. Then add a small amount of roasted cumin powder, garam masala powder, dried mango powder and red chilly powder to it. Mix all the ingredients very nicely with the sattu and then add some water to make a smooth and thick paste of  it.

For the Dough

Take the whole wheat flour, add some oil and then knead it properly by adding water. Make a smooth dough and keep it aside in a bowl covered with a wet cloth for some time.

Divide the dough into equal sized balls. Take a ball, make a hollow in the center and add the sattu filling in between. Close the ends properly and then roll out the balls to make your parantha. Add some oil in a tawa and cook the paranthas uniformly on both the sides.

Thus your sattu ka parantha is ready to eat. Serve with tamarind chutney.

Bread Pulao

An interesting pulao, a variation from the traditional pulao. This is a yummy breakfast recipe and is a rich blend of several colors.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients

Potato: 1 Boiled and chopped
Carrots: 1 finely chopped
Green peas: boiled
Tomato: 1 finely chopped
Coriander leaves: finely chopped
Asafoetida (hing): a pinch
Curry leaves: 4-5 chopped
Mustard seeds
Cumin seeds
Black pepper powder
Red chilly powder
Bread (preferably whole wheat bread): 4-5 slices cut into small pieces
Refined oil



Method


Take a kadhai and add 1 tablespoon oil. Once the oil gets heated up add a pinch of asafoetida, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. Once the mustard seeds and cumin seeds start crackling add all the vegetables and saute nicely. Once the vegetables mix nicely and become tender add a bit of salt, red chilly powder and black pepper and mix nicely. Add the bread slices and cook for about 3 minutes. Finally add the chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot.

Tok daal/ aamer daal (sour daal)

Tok daal is a popular daal specially prepared in summers. During the extreme hot weather in summers people often lose their appetite. This daal is believed to build appetite during the hot summers. This indian daal recipe is easy to prepare and very healthy too.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes


Ingredients

Masur daal - 1 cup
Raw green mangoes- 2 (chopped into slices)
Green chillies (slit and the seeds removed)
Dried red chillies- 2(slitted)
Mustard seed
Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Mustard oil
Water

Method


Take the masoor daal in a pressure cooker, add required amount of water and let it heat without putting the lid of the pressure cooker. Remove the froth from above. When the water becomes clear, add the green mango slices, add some salt and close the lid of the cooker. Allow 1 whistle and then let the vapour escape gradually.


For the tadka, take some mustard oil in the pan and add the slitted dried red chillies and mustard seeds. Let the mustard seeds splutter for sometime and then add a bit of turmeric powder, green chillies to the oil. Once the tadka is ready add it to the daal in  the pressure cooker. Let the daal simmer for sometime so that it mixes well with the tadka.


Thus your tok daal meaning sour daal is ready. Serve with hot rice.

Masur daaler bora/ Masur daal Pakora

Masur daal pakoras or 'masur daaler bora' as we call it are extremely tasty pakoras made from masur daal paste. This pakoras can be had as a snack or can be had with rice to complement the daal. This 'boras' or pakoras can also be added to vegetarian curries since they enhance the taste of the curry.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

Masur daal- 250 gms (soaked overnight)
Black onion seed (Kalonji)
Green chillies- finely chopped
Onion- finely chopped
Baking powder- a pinch
Red chilly powder
Turmeric powder
Chat masala
Salt to taste
Refined oil

Method

Take the soaked masur daal and grind it to a paste in the mixer grinder. The paste should be a thick paste and not too watery and also make sure that the paste is not very smooth.

The 'boras' are more tasty if the paste is not made very smooth. Take the paste in a bowl, add kalonji to it, then add a pinch of baking powder, finely chopped onions, green chillies, red chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt. Mix all the ingredients very nicely. Take a frying pan and add some oil to it. Once the oil get heated up add the paste in the form of small sized balls into the oil. Deep fry the balls in medium flame so that they get cooked properly from inside. Once the balls become golden brown in color remove them from the flame. Put the balls on a tissue paper to soak the excess oil. Sprinkle chat masala from above.

Finally the tasty 'daler boras' ( masur daal pakoras) are ready to serve.

Serve with mint chutney.

Masur daal with Bottle gourd and Coriander

Masoor daal is a staple daal in every Bengali household. This daal cooks very easily and has several nutritional benefits as well. The protein content in this daal is high and is good for people with digestive problems. There are several ways of cooking this daal. This is a very simple bengali daal recipe. This is the easiest out of several easy indian food recipes.

Prepartion time- 10 minutes

Cooking time- 20 minutes

Ingredients

Musur daal- 250gms
Dried Red chillies-2-3
Panch foron ( a mix of fenugreek seed, mustard seed, cumin seed, fennel seed and nigella seed)
Tej patta
Coriander leaves(finely chopped)
Green chillies- 2-3
Bottle gourd- diced into small cubical pieces
Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Mustard oil
Water

Method

Take the daal in a pressure cooker, add the required amount of water to it. Start heating it, froth appears on the top, remove the water and the froth from the top. Once the water becomes clear, add the bottle gourd pieces to the daal, close the lid of the pressure cooker and allow 1 whistle. Let the vapour escape gradually.

Take a tadka pan, add 1 table spoon of mustard oil to it. Once the oil gets totally heated up( when bubbles vanish from the oil, then you can assume that the oil is totally heated up) add the dried red chillies, panch foron and tej patta to it. Add turmeric powder and salt and then  add the tadka to the daal. Let the daal simmer for sometime so that it mixes well with the tadka. Then finally add the chopped coriander leaves and let it simmer for sometime. Thus your masur daal with bottle gourd and coriander is ready to eat.

Serve with hot steaming rice.

Mung Daal Kachori

Kachori is a very popular snack in India known by various names like kachori, kachauri, kachodi in various parts of India. We, Bengalis call it kochuri. Moong daal kochuri is a tasty snack. It is a flattened ball with a mixture stuffed into it. It is crispy and spicy and tastes awesome. This tasty snack can be had as a breakfast or with tea in the evening.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients


For the Stuffing


Mung Daal - 250 gm
Asafoetida (hing)- a pinch
Cumin seeds
Green chillies- 1-2 (finely chopped)
Roasted cumin powder
Fennel seed powder
Amchur powder(Dried Mango Powder)
Red chilly powder
Garam Masala powder
Sugar
Refined oil

For the Dough
White flour- 500gm
Refined oil or ghee
Baking powder- a pinch
Salt to taste
Sugar
Water

Method


 Preparing the Dough


 For preparing the dough we take the white flour in a bowl and add a pinch of baking powder, salt and 1 teaspoon sugar to it. Then we add oil/ghee to it and then knead it by adding required amount of water.Once the dough is prepared we keep it aside for 15 minutes and cover it with a wet cloth.

After some time divide the dough into equal sized balls.

 Preparing the filling

For preparing the mixture we slightly roast the mung daal in a pan and then boil it in a pressure cooker. Make sure not to over boil it so that it does not become too soft. After boiling the mung daal make a paste of it in the mixer grinder. Then take a frying pan and add a tablespoon of refined oil into it. Once the oil gets heated up add a pinch of asafoetida, add the cumin seeds and some finely chopped green chillies. Then  add the mung daal paste to the oil, add amchur powder, roasted cumin powder, fennel seed powder, red chilly powder, garam masala powder and a small amount of sugar. Stir all the ingredients nicely so that they mix well. When the mung daal paste does not stick to the frying pan any more , it means that our mixture is ready.


Preparing the kachoris


Take the ball and make a hollow in the middle and stuff the mixture into it. Close the ends properly and then roll the ball into a round shape. Make sure not to roll it too much so that the stuffing does not come out. Add oil in a frying pan and once the oil gets heated up fry the kachoris in medium heat. Once the kachoris become golder brown and crispy then take them out from the oil and put them on a tissue paper to soak the excess oil.

Serve hot with coriander/pudina/tamarind chutney or potato curry.

Green Mung Bean Parantha

Green mung beans are high in protein content and can be eaten in the form of sprouts. This is a healthy breakfast food. Green Mung beans parantha is a  preparation liked by children and adults alike. Unlike other paranthas this parantha has a high nutritional value as green mung beans are high in protein content.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Green mung beans- 250 gms (soaked overnight so that they become soft)
Green Chillies paste
Ginger paste
Asafoetida (hing)- a pinch
Cumin seeds(Jeera)- 1 tea spoon
Roasted cumin powder ( roast dry cumin seeds and then grind it to a powder in a mixer)
Sugar- 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Refined oil
Whole wheat flour- 4 cups
White flour- 2 cups


Method

Mix the whole wheat flour and white flour nicely , add some oil and mix nicely. After mixing nicely keep adding water and kneading at the same time to prepare a smooth dough. Keep it aside. Take the overnight soaked green mung beans and make a paste of it in the mixer grinder. Take a cooking pan, add 1 tea spoon oil, add a pinch of asafoetida, cumin seeds and let it splutter. Then add the mung bean paste and mix thoroughly. Then gradually add a bit of ginger paste, green chilly paste, roasted cumin powder, turmeric powder, sugar and salt to taste. Once the ingredients have mixed nicely keep stirring to make a smooth mixture which is neither too wet nor too dry. Keep the mixture separately and let it cool.

Use the dough to make small equal sized balls. Take a ball and make a hollow in the middle and stuff the mixture inside. Close the ends properly then roll out the ball in the form a parantha. Make sure that you do not roll too much so that the mixture does not come out from the sides. Heat some oil in a tawa and cook the paranthas one by one. Cook both sides properly. Thus your green mung bean parantha is ready to eat. This is a healthy sunday breakfast and kids simply love these yummy paranthas.

Mung Manohar ( Mung Daal Recipe)

This recipe is a unique mung daal recipe amongst all daal recipes and is popularly known as 'mung manhohar'. 'Manohar' means one who 'steals the heart'. This indian daal recipe wins our heart through its blend of color and taste. It is an easy daal recipe and yet looks rich and colorful. Its rich color can be attributed to the unique blend of  the different vegetables and golden color of mung daal. This aromatic mouth watering daal is extremely nutritious as well.


Preparation Time : 30 minutes


Ingredients


Mung daal: 250 gms
Carrots- 2 (Finely grated)
Paneer ( Cottage cheese)- 100gms (diced into small cubical pieces)
Cauliflower ( cut into very small pieces)
Green peas
Green chillies
Ginger paste
Panch foron ( a mix of fenugreek seed, mustard seed, cumin seed, fennel seed and nigella seed)
Tej patta
Dried red chilly
Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Ghee- a tea spoon
Mustard Oil

Method


Lightly roast the mung daal till it attains a light golden brown color in a frying pan and keep aside. Make sure that you do not over roast it or else it will not become soft on boiling. Saute all the vegetables for 5-10 mins untill they become tender. Lightly fry the cottage cheese( paneer) until it becomes light golden brown and then immerse it in water so that it remains soft. Cook the mung daal in a pressure cooker. Add mustard oil in a tadka pan for the tarka. When the oil gets heated up add dried red chillies, tej patta and panch foron to it. Once the daal is cooked, remove the lid of the pressure cooker, add the tadka to it, turmeric powder, salt and 1 teaspoon of ginger paste. Then add the vegetables and the cottage cheese to the daal. Let the daal simmer for about 10 minutes.
Once the daal has mixed well with all the ingredients add a teaspoon of ghee to the daal.

Serve with hot basmati rice.

Tawa Roti

'Tawa Roti' as we lovingly call it, is an awesome breakfast food. It is healthy, tasty, does not require many ingredients and is easy to prepare.

Preparation Time- 15-20 mins.

Ingredients


Rice Flour- 4 cups
White flour (Maida) - 2 cups
Eggs- 2
Onion- 2 (Finely chopped)
Coriander Leaves- Finely chopped
Red chilly powder
Turmeric powder
Green chillies- 2-3 (finely chopped)
Baking powder- a pinch
Salt to taste
Refined oil
Water

Method


Take a bowl and add all the ingredients into it. Nicely mix all the ingredients, add water and keep beating with an egg beater to prepare a smooth batter. Make sure that the batter is neither very thick nor very light. Take a frying pan, add a table spoon of oil. When the oil gets heated up, add the batter to the pan and gradually spread it out in a round shape. Once , one side is cooked, gently lift it up and cook the other side. Cook it until it becomes crispy. Make about 10-12 tawa rotis with the batter.

Serve hot with mint chutney or tomato sauce.

Aloo Tomator Chochchori or Aloo Tomato Sabji

This recipe is the easiest aloo tomato curry recipe. This potato tomato curry requires very less time, can be cooked by any body and does not require much of cooking skills. This recipe has a tangy , spicy flavour and looks good too.

Preparation time- 10 minutes

Ingredients ( for 2 people)


Tomatoes-2 (finely chopped)
Medium sized potatoes- 4 (diced)
Dried Red chillies-2 (Slitted)
Green chillies-4 (finely chopped)
Mustard Oil
Turmeric Powder
Salt

Method


Take some mustard oil in a pressure cooker and add the finely chopped tomatoes, diced potatoes, slitted dried red chillies, green chillies, a bit of turmeric powder,salt to taste and a cup of water. Add all the ingredients all together without heating the oil. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and allow 2-3 whistles. Let the vapour escape and then open the pressure cooker. Since the mustard oil was not allowed to heat properly before adding the ingredients so the strong flavour of mustard oil remains and cannot escape. The tomatoes along with the red chillies give a nice tangy, spicy flavour to the preparation. Thus your yummy aloo tomato curry is ready to serve.

Serve with hot steaming rice or hot chappatis.