Olan (white pumpkin in coconut milk)

Submitted by: Mala D

This famous recipe from Kerala could easily pass off as a Bong dish were it not for the use of coconut oil & curry patta! Chal kumro is also a very popular vegetable among the South Indians, and though most people outside south India would turn up their nose at the mention of coconut oil (maybe childhood memory of greasy hair!), let me tell you that vegan groups are ardently promoting the use of natural, unprocessed coconut oil in all their recipes! In any case; you can always substitute it with the regular refined oil. This recipe evokes Shukto in it's simplicity & flavourfulness.

Ingredients:
White pumpkin: 250 gms
Black-eyed peas(chowli): 100-150 gms
Coconut milk: 200 ml
Coconut oil/refined oil: 2 tbsp
Ginger: 3 inches
Green chillies: 4-5
Curry leaves: 12
Salt: to taste

Method:
Soak the beans overnite & boil them with 1 cup water & little salt in the pressure cooker till one whistle. Drain the water (you may use the water in dal/curry). Peel,wash & coarsely grate the chal kumro.

Slice the ginger in thin, long strips. Slice the green chillies. Heat oil, temper with mustard seeds & add ginger, chillies & curry patta. Toss a while. Then add the grated chal kumro. Fry a bit, add salt, cover & cook till 3/4 done. Now add the drained beans. Mix well. When done, pour the coconut milk & cook on sim for 1-2 minutes. Close flame. Garnish with fried curry leaves & few drops of coconut oil. Serve hot with rice.

Note: coconut milk is commercially available but you can make it at home. Soak 150 gms of grated coconut in hot water for about 10 minutes & then grind in the same water. Pass thru a muslin cloth, pressing hard. It will ooze thick, creamy milk. Discard the coconut.

Moong dal narkol diye (split moong lentil with coconut)

Posted by: Mala D

Usually when a Bong mentions dal with coconut, people assume it must be Bengal gram (cholar dal), but moong dal also has a tasty recipe with coconut. This is prepared mostly during religious ceremony as moong is supposed to be very light compared to other protein-heavy lentils. It can also be had on a normal day as preparing it doesn't take long.

Ingredients:
Split moong dal: 100 gms
Grated coconut: 150 gms
Green chillies: 3-4
Dry red chilles: 2 nos
Bayleaf: 2
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Clarified butter(desi ghee)/refined oil: 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
Salt: to taste
Sugar: 1 tsp
Water

Method:
Wash the moong dal once & pressure cook it with half glass of water, salt & turmeric powder. When done,cool & whisk it well & add 1-1/2 glass of hot water.
Heat oil/ghee in a deep & wide pan & add cumin seeds, bayleaf & dry red chilli. Add the grated coconut & fry on low flame till it slightly changes colour. Add chopped green chillies & pour the dal over it. Mix well & check the salt. Add sugar & bring the dal to a boil. The consistency should be medium. You can also garnish it with lots of raw grated coconut. Serve hot with rice.

Amer Daal (Dal with green mango)

Posted by: Chitra D


Bengalees, especially bangal's like me love daal, I remember nemontonno's where there will be three four types of daal - titar daal, toker daal, macher matha diye daal etc. This one, with green mango is popular in summer. Unlike today, every season had its own vegetables and fruits, and summer belonged to mangoes.


Ingredients:


Masoor Dal: 1 cup
Fresh green mango: 1
Green Chilli: 3, slit in the biddle
Oil: 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Dried red chilli: 2
Haldi: 1 tsp
Salt: to taste
Sugar: 1 tsp




Method:
1. Peel the mango and cut into long slices, about an inch thick. I don't add the seed, but some people do
2. Pressure cook the daal with two cups of water, 1 whistle
3. Once the daal cools, blend it with a hand daal whisk (Daler Kanta)
4. Steam the mango in a cup of water with a pinch of salt and sugar. I microwave it for a minute and half
5. In a saucepan, heat one tbsp of oil, and add the mustard seeds and sukno lonka (red chilli)
6. As the seeds and chilli starts spluttering, add the daal, mango with its water, haldi, salt and green chillis
7. Boil for 2 - 3 minutes, add sugar and stir. (Make sure the consistency of the daal is not too thick. Add water if needed.)


Enjoy with or without rice.

Tomato diye masoor dal (Red lentils with tomato)

Posted by: Priyaka A

This has been my favourite since childhood. I have tried to improvise my mom's recipe a little bit by using hing and curry leaves. Ingredients : Masoor Dal / Red Lentils -  1 cup Water - 3 to 4 cups Green Chilles - 3 ( slit through ) Tomato - 1 medium sized, cut into medium sized long slices Rai / Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tbs Curry Leaves - 8-10 leaves Refined / Mustard oil - 1 tbsp Haldi / turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp Hing - 1/4 tbsp Salt - to taste Serves - 2 people Method : Pressure cook the dal in water for 7- 10 minutes or 2 whistles, add salt. Keep aside. Tempering - Heat oil and add rai and let them pop, then add hing, haldi , curry leaves and tomato. Stir slightly without over cooking the tomato, add green chillies.  Finally add the pressure cooked dal.  Give it a good boil for at least 10 minutes. The consistency should be medium, hence you may add more water to maintain it. You may garnish it with coriander leaves and serve it with hot rice.

Teetar shuktor Dal

Recipe by: Mala D


This dal is made during the hot summer months as it's supposed to cool the body. But it's great to have it any other time or when you wish to go easy on your stomach!



Ingredients:
Split moong dal: 125 gms
Bottle gourd (lauki): 1 medium size
Bitter gourd (karela): 1 nos
Ginger: 2 inches
Bay leaf: 2 nos
Mustard(rai)seeds: 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek(methi) seeds: 1/2 tsp
Ghee/refined oil: 1-1/2 tbsp
Salt: to taste
Sugar: 1tsp
Water
Refined oil: 3-4 tsp



Method:
Wash the moong dal once & pressure cook it with 1/2 tsp salt & one glass of water. Turn off the flame just when the pressure starts building up.cool it.
Peel the lauki & chop into big chunks. Wash it & keep aside.
Cut the karela into thin half-moon shapes, wash & dry it.
In a small pan, heat a little oil 3-4 tsp & fry the karela pieces. Drain oil & keep aside.
Now smoothen the dal with a whisk, add more water & lauki pieces.
Pressure cook till one whistle. Cool it.
Peel, wash & then finely grate the ginger.
Heat ghee/oil in a deep vessel, temper with mustard & fenugreek seeds & bay leaves. Add ginger & mix well. Increase flame & pour dal over the tempering. Now add the fried karela pieces. Mix well & add more salt. Add the sugar & bring the dal to boil. The lauki pieces can now be cut into small size. The consistency should be medium - neither thick nor thin. Serve hot with rice.

Shukto (mixed vegetable curry)

Posted by: Mala D


A traditional Bengali meal always begins with a serving of Shukto or fried bitter gourd (ucche, karela) as its slightly bitter taste cleanses the tongue & enables a better sensation of various flavours. A deceptively simple dish, it's nevertheless tricky to master as it's taste depends on fresh ingredients & subtlety of flavours.

Ingredients:
Drumsticks: 4 nos
Raw/green banana: 1
Seem/pappdi (flat beans):12
Brinjal:1 medium size,abt 150gms
Carrots: 2
Radish: 1 big size
Ribbed gourd: 1 medium size
Runner beans:10
Dried dal vadis:10 (spilt black gram/red lentil/split moong dal)
Mustard seeds: 2 tsp
Ginger: 3 inches
Desi ghee (clarified butter)/refined oil: 1-1/2 tbsp
1/4 tsp each of these: cumin seeds, nigella seeds (kalonji, kalo jeere), mustard seeds, fenugreek (methi) seeds
1/2 tsp of aniseed (mouri)
Bayleaf: 2 nos
Salt: to taste
Sugar: 1 tsp

Method:
Wash & soak the mustard seeds in water for atleast 20 minutes before grinding it into a paste with chopped ginger,a little salt & little water. Consistency should be thin.
Chop all vegetables into long, rectangle pieces, trying to keep them identical in size(3-4 inches). Wash & dry them properly. Take a wide & deep pan for cooking.
Heat ghee/oil & fry the vadis & keep aside. Temper the same oil with bay leaves & add all the vegetables except runner beans (add it later as it turns soft very fast). Add salt & sweat it for a while. After 6-8 minutes,add sugar & toss a bit. Now add two glasses of water, check the salt( it should be less than perfect as mustard paste will also have salt in it).


Add the vadis & the runner beans. Cover & cook till 3/4 done.
Dry roast all the whole seeds & roughly grind them with a pestle.
Add the mustard paste & mix well. The gravy should be neither thick nor thin, just right. If needed adjust the water. Now sprinkle the ground spice powder over the curry. Close the flame. Put the lid on, so the paanch phodhon (5 spices) flavours are absorbed. Serve at room temperature with hot rice.

Note: Shukto is an accquired taste. As it's low on oil & spices & has plenty of vegetables, it's a really healthy choice. While drumsticks & radish are a must for authentic taste, other vegetables like bottle gourd, pumpkin, bitter gourd can also be added/removed as per one's choice.