Simple Dal Palak

This is a comfort food and am sure will be enjoyed by all.  This goes very well as a main component with rice or as an accompaniment with sambar rice.  Enjoyed by one and all as a side dish for rotis or chappathis.  It is good to have spinach daily to have healthy hemoglobin level.  There are many interesting recipes with spinach and the below mentioned is one of the tastiest.

Ingredients:

Spinach (Palak) 2 bunches
Tuvar dal - 1 cup cooked
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Tomato - 1 big finely chopped
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Red chillies (whole) - 2 to 3
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Hing - a pinch

REmove stems from palak and wash the leaves well under running water.  Once washed well, boil it with salt and turmeric powder.  Once cooked, mash it coarsely and keep aside.  In a small kadai, pour two tablespoon of oil, add mustard seeds.  When it splutters, add jeera, hing and the red chillies.  Now, add the finely chopped tomatoes and cook it till it leaves oil on the sides of the kadai. 

Add the cooked tuvar dal to the coarsely ground palak mix.  Mix well and place the vessel in low heat. Let it boil.  Once the heat is turned off, mix the tomato and stir.

Yummy dal palak is ready to devour.

Our very own favourite - the humble samosa

Nobody can ever say NO to the humble samosa.  Be it the simple potato  or the multiple veggies  or the non vegetarian filling, this has its own space in the cooking domain.  As such, there is no standard recipe or measurement for this filling. No two samosas tastes alike. A little tweak with the masalas or veggies bings about a new flavour and an altogethere new taste.

Here, I pen down my version of samosa which is always a hit with my family and friends.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour
Potatoes - 2 to 3 big
Carrots - 1 medium size
String beans - few
Peas
Green chillies - according to taste
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves 1/4 cup finely chopped
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Prepare a nice dough with all purpose flour adding  little salt to it. Keep it aside

Boil potatoes and mash well. Finely chop carrots, beans, peas and boil with some salt.  Now in a bowl, add the mashed potatoes, cooked carrots peas and beans. Add some salt to this mix, be careful while adding it as salt has also been added to the veggies while cooking.. In a small pan, heat a little oil and add turmeric, red chilly powder and coriander powder.  Ensure, the powders retain the original color. Once they are blended in oil, remove pan from fire and pour the contents to the mashed mix of potatoes and veggies. Now add the finely chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Check for taste.

Make small balls of the dough. Keep the filling and fold and make a  triangle shaped  pocket. My pics above would give  you an idea. Once the samosas are prepared, deep fry in oil and let it cook on all sides.  It is better to prepare samosas simultaneously and fry them immediately.

The end product goes well with ketchup, tomato sauce, chilly sauce, coriander chutney.

I can feel you drool after reading and visualisng this. Either rush into the kitchen to make some or off to the restaurant to buy some, I know you cannot resisit.

'My body is a temple where junk food goes to worship' - Unknown