Tag Archives: Dal

Garden fresh – warm salad of rhubarb chard and black eyed beans

This is the first time I have grown rhubarb chard in our garden and Shiv and I were pleasantly surprised at how beautiful it tasted.  It tasted similar to Amaranth, a red spinach like leaf that is considered a super food and is grown and eaten widely in India.  After the first time we cooked it, Shiv and I decided that we had a winner and rhubarb chard is going to be a regular yearly feature in our veggie patch. The recipe we used is normally made with amaranth and jackfruit seeds.  We adapted this and swapped the amaranth and jackfruit seeds with rhubarb chard and black eyed beans.  The dish was delicious and I would like to share the recipe with you.

Rhubarb chard  Rhubarb chard and black eyed beans

What do I need to make it?

  • 1 bunch of rhubarb chard leaves washed and finely chopped
  • 1 cup of black eyed beans pre soaked and pressure cooked till soft yet firm
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 tbsps coconut oil
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp split urad dhal
  • 1/2 tsp channa dhal
  • 3-4 dried red chillies broken to pieces (can be reduced or increased to suit tastes)
  • 4 tbsps freshly grated coconut
  • Salt to taste

How much will I make?

Serves 4

How do I make it?

Heat coconut oil in a skillet or wok.  Add the mustard seeds.  When the mustard seeds splutter add the urad dhal, channa dhal and broken pieces of dried red chilli.  Fry for a minute or so till the dhals are golden brown and then add the chopped rhubarb chard and the turmeric powder.  The rhubarb chard should cook in its own moisture.  When the chard is cooked, season with salt, garnish with freshly grated coconut and remove from heat.  Serve hot  as a side with rice or roti of choice.

Garden fresh – fenugreek leaves with coconut and dhal (methi molagootal)

One of my best friends from school Simeen, who subsists on a largely non vegetarian diet has been hankering for South Indian vegetarian food these days and keeps pestering me for some of my vegetarian recipes.  She lives in Scotland and is an avid follower of our blog.  I have promised her that I would post lots of our family favourites so that she can cook them herself.  This one is for her. Though I have made this with fenugreek leaves from our garden, it can be substituted with any spinach.  fenugreek or methi as it is popularly known is widely available with most Asian green grocers in the UK.

 100_7373  100_7374

What do I need to make it?

  • 1 bunch of methi leaves stripped from the stems and washed
  • ¾ cup tuar dhal washed and pressure cooked till soft and mushy
  • A small pinch of ground turmeric
  • 1 cup freshly grated coconut
  • 1 tsp urad dhal
  • 2 to 3 dried red chillies (depends on personal tastes)
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • ¼ tsp mustard seeds
  • Few curry leaves
  • Salt to taste

How much will I make?

Enough to feed four

How do I make it?

Roast the urad dhal and the dried red chillies in a little bit of coconut oil till the urad dhal is golden brown.  Add this to the coconut and cumin seeds a little bit of water and grind to a fine paste.  Set this paste aside.  In a heavy bottomed vessel boil the methi leaves with water, salt and a pinch of ground turmeric.  When the leaves are cooked, add the cooked dhal and the coconut paste.  Mix well and let it come to a boil.  Simmer gently for about ten minutes and adjust seasoning.  Now for the tempering, in a skillet heat the remaining coconut oil and add the mustard seeds.  When the mustard begins to splutter, add the curry leaves and take it off the flame.  Add the tempering to the methi and dhal mixture.  Give it one final stir before taking off the flame.  Serve hot with rice.