Hello 2022!

Welcoming the New Year on a royal note with a Nawabi style dal / lentil stew which is rich and so delicious.

Sultani dal is a specialty of Awadhi cuisine, which belongs to the Northern part of India, Uttar Pradesh. The first time I tried Sultani dal was a few years back at a restaurant in Hyderabad, and then later at a friend’s party after which I got totally hooked into it. This is not your ordinary lentil curry if you are wondering, it is a royal dish which was served to Nawabs in palaces, ages ago.

A bowl of piping hot dal along with basmati rice is totally a food heaven. The recipe is fairly simple being mild on spices but using ingredients like ghee, milk, yogurt, and cream, making it rich and creamy. The consistency of the dal is smooth velvety and the ghee tadka with cumin, ginger and garlic totally elevates the taste all together. Plus, lentils are healthy and a great way to add vegetarian protein to your diet.

If this is the first time you are preparing this dish, then cooking dal with milk might feel a bit skeptical, but trust me, it is beyond delicious. We love Sultani dal so much that it has become a part of our weekly menu and my son enjoys every spoonful of it.

Sultani Dal

Serve it alongside with basmati rice, jeera rice, paratha, naan or roti. Enjoy!

Interested in other dal recipes? Check these out:

• Sambar
• Kale and Zucchini dal

Happy Cooking…!

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Sultani Dal

Sultani Dal / Lentil stew - A Rich n Creamy Royal Dish from the Nawabi Cuisine! 

Servings 4

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• 1 cup toor dal / yellow pigeon peas
• Pinch of turmeric
• Salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• ¼ cup yogurt
• ½ cup cream

Tempering/Tadka

• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp cumin seeds / jeera
• 2 dry red chilies
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• ½ inch sized ginger (minced)
• 2 green chilies (slit)
• 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
• Cilantro leaves (for garnish)

Instructions

• Pressure cook dal along with water, milk, turmeric powder and salt, for 2 whistles. Switch off the flame and allow it to cool until all the pressure has been released.
• Remove the lid from the cooker and turn on the heat to a medium flame.
• Add yogurt and milk cream, mix well and allow it cook until it forms a thick dal consistency.
• Prepare the tadka by heating ghee in another pan, add cumin seeds, dry red chilies and sauté for 1 min. Add ginger, garlic, green chilies, and sauté until the raw smell subsides. Add onion, sauté for 3 minutes until onions turn translucent.
• Pour the prepared tadka over the dal, mix everything together and check for the seasoning.
• Top with cilantro leaves and switch off the flame. Serve hot along with rice, paratha, naan or roti.

The post Sultani Dal / Lentil Stew appeared first on Pepper Delight.

Are you a kale lover?

Well, I wasn’t until a year ago when I made this Kale Smoothie with Mango & Banana recipe, a Healthy Green Drink! From then on, I’ve lost my inhibition to this leafy vegetable and started exploring various dishes made with it across restaurants; be it in salads, soups, and so on. Slowly my taste buds started liking it and considering the endless goodness of Kale and its health benefits, I’ve decided to incorporate it in our daily diet focusing on staple foods like dal curry/lentil curry which is an integral part of Indian cuisine.

After quite some experimentation and trial-n-error with Kale, I finally have my perfect recipe by combining it with split pigeon peas (toor dal / tuvara parippu) and zucchini. This recipe is quite similar to Spinach lentil curry in its preparation, but it does taste different. Usually, grated coconut is not common in dal curries but I’ve added it to mine…Well, my Kerala roots are to blame for that I guess, right?

Dal to us all Indians is a Comfort Meal Heaven! You would be astonished by the countless number of dal recipes in every State in India! In fact, just a bowl of dal with hot steamed rice/roti is enough to bring a smile on any Indian’s face, and the perfect meal to satisfy your cravings on a chilly rainy day! This Kale and Zucchini dal recipe is a great way of adding greens and plant-based proteins to your diet. It’s easy, flavorful, power packed with all the goodness, and an insanely satisfying comfort meal.

Enjoy, Happy Cooking…!

Follow me on Instagram, try out the recipes and tag #pepperdelightblog to all your pictures of Pepper Delight recipes you prepare. Rate us if you love it!

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Kale and Zucchini Dal/Lentil Curry

Hearty, Vegan and Healthy - Kale and Zucchini Dal… made with Yellow Lentils and Coconut! The Perfect Comfort Food Heaven…!!  

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Keyword dal, indian, kale dal

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• 1 cup split pigeon peas / toor dal / tuvara parippu
• 3 strands of kale (almost 2 cups; stem removed, chopped)
• 1 zucchini (skin removed, cubed)
• 2 to matoes (chopped)
• ½ cup grated coconut
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 green chilly
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 dry red chilies
• 1 tbsp oil
• Water (as required)
• Salt (as required)

Instructions

• Pressure cook dal/lentils with water (just enough to cover the dal) and a little salt, for 3 whistles. Keep aside.
• Grind grated coconut along with garlic, green chilly, cumin seeds and turmeric, to a smooth paste.
• Add the chopped kale and zucchini along with the grinded coconut mixture into the pressure cooker and cook on a medium flame. Add ½ cup water if the dal/lentil mixture is too thick.
• In a separate pan, add oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add dry red chilies and chopped tomatoes, sauté on a medium flame until it becomes mushy. Add this to the boiling dal mix in the cooker.
• Reduce the heat of the cooker to a low and allow it to cook for another 5-10 minutes or until it starts turning thick. Check for the seasoning.
• Serve warm with hot steamed rice/roti/naan. Enjoy.

The post Kale and Zucchini Dal/Lentil Curry appeared first on Pepper Delight.

As promised in my previous post, here is my Sambar recipe prepared in a typical Kerala style, which I know you all have been eagerly waiting for since my last post on how to make a Sambar powder. So before I deep dive into the recipe, let’s talk about Sambar! It’s a South Indian vegetable stew which is flavorful, spicy n tangy, & relished as a side with any meal of the day. Sambar is a favorite all over the country but is more of a staple food in South India, and is best savored with Dosa, Idli, or Rice.

Sambar is prepared with Yellow lentils, tamarind, spices and mixed vegetables. The tanginess which comes from the tamarind is one of the highlights of the dish, but in many versions tomato is preferred, or sometimes a mix of both. Just like any other popular dish, Sambar has been widely adapted to suit the local palate in terms of flavour, spice levels, and the available local ingredients. Within Kerala itself there are a few varieties, and this recipe is a traditional version without the use of coconut, which is how my family cooks at home. Take a look at the North Kerala version and you will sometimes find ground roasted coconut among its ingredients. Keralites prefer the non-sweet versions with a balance of spice and tanginess, whereas in other states like Karnataka & Andhra a sweeter version with sugar or jaggery is popular too.

So what are the ingredients?

1. Spice mix: You can use my Homemade Sambar powder in this recipe, or prepare it then & there from scratch with a set of spices/ingredients (See Notes).
2. Vegetables: Your options are endless and need not worry if some of them are not available locally, refer my notes.

Sambar is also one of the key dishes in a Sadya; which is Kerala’s biggest vegetarian feast served on auspicious occasions. In short, it is a one-stop shop powerhouse of healthy nutrients and proteins, perfect for a craving hungry belly. Enjoy this delicious feast, Happy Cooking!!!

Follow me on Instagram, try out the recipes and tag #pepperdelightblog to all your pictures of Pepper Delight recipes you prepare. Rate below if you love it…!

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Kerala Sambar/Mixed Vegetable Lentil Stew

Spicy & Tangy Stew with Yellow lentils, Tamarind and Mixed Vegetables! Sambar - A Hearty South Indian Delicacy…!! 

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Keyword mix vegetable curry, sambar, sambar powder

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• ½ cup toor dal (split pigeon pea / tuvara parippu)
• 1 medium sized onion (sliced into cubes)
• 2 green chilies (slit)
• 2 cups of mixed vegetables (see notes)
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp sambar powder
• tamarind extract (squeezed from a lemon sized ball)

For tempering

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2-3 dry red chillies
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 2 pearl onions (sliced)
• 1 tsp asafetida (hing / kayam)

Instructions

• Wash and slice the mixed vegetables and onion into medium sized chunks.
• Into the pressure cooker, add toor dal, mixed vegetables, onions, green chilies, salt, turmeric powder, sambar powder, along with water enough to cover the vegetables, and cook for 2 whistles.
• Switch off the flame and allow it to cool until all the pressure had been released.
• In the meantime, soak tamarind in ½ cup warm water for 5-7 minutes. Squeeze out the extract from the tamarind and keep the juice aside.
• Remove the lid from the cooker and turn on the heat to a medium flame. Add the tamarind juice and mix well, adjust the salt level as needed. Simmer on a low flame until the sambar thickens to the right consistency.
• While the sambar cooks, prepare the tempering in a separate pan. Add oil to the pan on a low/medium flame and splutter mustard seeds. Add pearl onions, curry leaves and dry red chilies, fry for a minute. Turn off the flame and add asafetida, stir to mix. Now pour the tempering into the cooker and mix the sambar well.
• Serve hot with dosa, idli or as a side dish along with rice.

Notes

1. Vegetable options : Potato, Yam, Carrot, Drumsticks, Yellow Cucumber, Snake gourd, Bottle gourd, Ivy gourd, Okra, Onions/Pearl onions.
2. The tanginess of the sambar can be adjusted by adding tamarind or tomato, or even a mix of both.
3.  If the asafetida you are using is grainy and not the powdered one, saute it for a few seconds along with the tempering ingredients.
4.  Even if you do not have sambar powder, you can still make a good sambar. In addition to the ingredients listed in the recipe, add the following to the cooker before pressure cooking:

• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1-2 tsp red chili powder
• 2 tsp asafetida (hing/kayam)
• Fenugreek powder (small pinch)

The post Kerala Sambar / Mixed Vegetable Lentil Stew appeared first on Pepper Delight.