Ridge Gourd Dal (Beerakaya Pesarapappu)

This recipe is from Pedatha's book. Her book always stays in my kitchen bookshelf. I have learned many basics form it. This is a very comforting dal with rice.

Ingredients
3/4 cup green gram (husked)
2 medium ridge gourd (chopped)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 green chillies (slit length wise)
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves (chopped)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

For tempering

1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 red chillies
handful of curry leaves
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder


Preparation

Pressure cook the dal with turmeric in 3 cups of water to a soft consistency. If the cooked dal is very thick you can dilute it by adding half cup of water. Churn well and set aside.
Scrape and chop the ridge gourd into medium sized cubes.
In a pan heat the oil for tempering and add mustard and let them pop. Lower the flame and add the rest of the tempering ingredients.
To this add the chopped gourds, cover and cook for a couple of minutes until tender.
Add the cooked gram, green chillies, coriander leaves and salt and continue to cook for a few minutes. Turn off the heat and add stir in the lemon juice.
Serve warm with rice!

Banana stem curry(dry) Aratidhoota Koora

Ingredients

2 cups Banana stem (finely chopped)
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
2 green chillies (slit length wise)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste

For tempering
2 tbsp oil
1/3 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp split black gram dal/urad dal (husked)
2-3 red chillies
handful of curry leaves
a dash of asafoetida

Preparation

It is a little difficult to clean the banana stem. I learnt it from my mom:) Remove the outer fiberous layer of the banana stem. May be 2 or more layers may be that way. Cut the banana stem in round circular slices. Then cut the slices into smaller pieces. While cutting you can make out the hard pieces to discard.
Drop the soft and crisp banana stem pieces in turmeric water so that they do not turn dark in colour.
Heat a pan, add oil and temper with the given ingredients. To the tempering add green chillies and banana stem pieces after draining the water completely.
Also add turmeric powder, salt, grated coconut and mix well.
Cover with lid and cook for 12-15 minutes on low heat. Check to see if the pieces have cooked completely. Remove from heat and serve with rice.

Chilli Cauliflower

Ingredients

2 cups Cauliflower
1 1/2 cup rice flour
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp kitchen king masala
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

Preparation

Cut the cauliflower into small florets and wash well. In a pan bring 3 cups of water to boil and add the cauliflower. Half cook the cauliflower for 2-3 minutes. Drain the water and set aside. In a bowl add rice flour, chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste, fennel seeds, salt, masala powder and mix well. To this rice flour mixture add the cauliflower florets and sprinkle some water just to wet the whole mixture. Mix well so that the rice flour paste coats all the florets. The mixture should be just as thick as pakodi mix, not watery.
Leave the mixture aside for 10 minutes.
Heat oil for deep frying in a pan. Deep fry the cauliflower florets and serve hot with chutney or ketchup!!