Bassaru - Palya / Dal and Greens Stock Gravy With Stir Fried Greens

          Bassaru is a kind of gravy filled with the awesome flavors of rural part of Karnataka. "Basi" in kannada means "to strain" and "Saaru" means spiced dal water. It not only tastes finger licking good but also it is rich in nutrients from dal and greens...

Ingredients:

• Tur dal - 3/4 cup
• Greens - red spinach (dantu), Spinach (Palak), Dil (Sabsige) - 4 cups
• Red chillies - 3 to 4 
• Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Black pepper corns - 6 to 7
• Fenugreek seeds -  5
• Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
• Onion - 1 small, roughly chopped
• Tomato - 1 small, roughly chopped
• Garlic - 4 cloves
• Tamarind - 1 small marble sized, squeeze juice by soaking in 1/4 cup warm water
• Jaggery or Brown sugar - 2tsp
• Water - 3 cups
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste

For Tempering:

• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves - 10-12
• Ghee - 1 tbs

Additional Ingredients For Palya (Stir Fry):

• Onion - 1 small, finely chopped
• Red chillies - 2 to 3, broken into pieces
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida - A generous pinch
• Turmeric powder - A generous pinch
• Curry leaves - 6 to 7
• Grated coconut - 1/4 cup (optional)
• Lemon juice - 1 tbs
• Oil - 2 tbs

Method:

Preparing Bassaru:

• Soak tur dal for 30 minutes.

• Drain out the water, add chopped greens, 2 garlic cloves, 3 cups of water and pressure cook for 2 whistles. The tur dal should not get mushy and should retain its texture.
• Strain out the dal - green water into a vessel and use in making bassaru. Keep aside the cooked dal and greens for later use.

• Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan, add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black peppers, fenugreek seeds, red chillies one after the other and fry until they give nice aroma.

• Now add 2 garlic cloves (roughly chopped), roughly chopped onion, tomato and grated coconut and fry nicely. Allow to cool.

• Take the fried mixture with 2 tbs of cooked dal and greens and grind into smooth paste using little water.

• Add this paste to the strained dal-green water.

• Add in the tamarind juice, jaggery, salt mix well and boil nicely.

• Meanwhile prepare the tempering by heating the ghee. Add the mustard seeds. When they stop spluttering, lower the heat and add curry leaves, asafoetida, turmeric powder, fry and remove from heat, Allow to attain room temperature.

• Add the tempering to the boiling dal-green water mixture, mix well and let it boil for some more time and remove from heat. Bassaru is ready to be served.

Preparing Palya:

• Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, after they crackle add urad dal.

• As the urad dal starts turning brown add red chillies, curry leaves, turmeric powder and asafoetida and saute.

• Now add chopped onion and fry nicely.

• Add in the grated coconut and saute for few seconds just to remove moisture.

• Add in the cooked dal and greens mixture, salt and lemon juice, mix well and remove from heat.

• Serve Bassaru with steaming rice or ragi mudde (finger millet balls) and palya as a side dish. Palya can also be enjoyed with chapati.

Note:

• Instead of greens any other kind of vegetables can also be made use of for this preparation.

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Naan - Making Butter and Garlic Naan

          Naan is one of the famous and delicious Indian bread which can be had as butter naan with butter smeared on top or can be flavored with garlic. The simple procedure for making naan without the use of tandoor is given here...

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour -  2 1/2 cups
• Yeast - 1/2 tsp
• Sugar - 3/4 tsp
• Curd / yogurt - 4 tsp
• Milk - 1/2 cup
• Water - as required
• Garlic - Few pods, finely chopped (For garlic naan)
• Coriander leaves / cilantro - little (For garlic naan)
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Butter - A few tsp
• Salt - to taste

Method:

• Take 2 1/2 tbs water, add 1/4 tsp sugar and dissolve.

• Add active yeast to the sugar solution, mix well and allow it to sit for 10 minutes.

• If mixture turns frothy, its indication of the yeast being active.

Preparing Dough:

• Take all purpose flour, salt, 1/2 tsp sugar and mix well.

• Add curd, yeast solution, milk and mix

• Prepare dough by adding around 1/4 cup of water little by little to get the consistency of chapati dough. Do not rush in a hurry to add the water all at once, as little excess of water can make the dough soggy.

• Pour 1 tsp oil and smear it  around the surface of the dough to prevent drying. Cover with a damp cloth or place it inside an air tight container with enough space for it to raise and keep aside in a warm place for around 4 to 6 hrs, much better if kept overnight. 

• The dough becomes aerated and doubles in size due to the activity of yeast.

• Make dough balls, take one of them and dust it with the plain flour, roll it into tear drop shaped sheets thicker than normal chapati.

• Transfer it on to a hot tawa (skillet), When blisters starts appearing on the top and the bottom surface in contact with the tawa is roasted to the desired extent, flip the side.

• When the other side is roasted nicely, apply some butter on the surface and takeout the delicious butter naan off the tawa. Repeat the process with rest of the dough balls.

• For making the garlic naan, after rolling the dough ball sprinkle few chopped garlic pieces and little cilantro on it. Roll it once or twice lightly just to make them stick to the dough.

• Carry on the process of cooking as explained for the butter naan.

• Enjoy the naan with any of the curries of choice and dal. Check out the recipe for palak paneer which excellently goes well with naans...

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Thai Tofu Eggplant Stir Fry

          Tofu eggplant stir fry is another addition to the eggplant recipes . Its not only tasty but also highly nutritious. Tofu is prepared by pressing the Soy curd just like paneer. It is the best source of protein of vegetable origin. It is also rich in calcium, iron and other micro nutrients. Eggplant is an excellent source of fibre, potassium, manganese, vitamin C, K and B-complex vitamins.

Ingredients:

• Tofu (Extra firm variant), cubed - Around 1 cup
• Eggplant / Brinjal - Around 1 cup, Sliced and placed in water to avoid browning
• Bell pepper / Capsicum - 1 cup, sliced lengthwise
• Onion - 1, sliced lengthwise
• Garlic - 2 cloves, chopped or minced
• Pepper powder - 1 tsp
• Brown sugar / jaggery - 1/2 tsp
• Soy sauce - 2 tsp
• Sesame oil (any other oil) - 3 tbs
• Lemon juice - 1 tsp
• Salt - To taste
• Water - 1/2 cup

Method:

• Dry tofu by gently warping and pressing in a tissue paper and cut into cubes.

• Take 1 tbs oil in a pan, heat and add the cubed tofu and fry until the sides turn brown and take out on to a plate.

• Heat 2 tbs oil in the same pan, add garlic and fry until it turns brown. Add in the onion and fry until it sweats. Now add bell peppers, eggplant and fry for 5 to 6 minutes.

• Add water and cook until it evaporates.

• Add in the fried tofu , soy sauce, salt, pepper powder, brown sugar, lemon juice and stir nicely for few minutes.

• Enjoy with rice or use as a side dish for lunch or dinner.

Note:

• Dry red chillies can be used for hotness instead of pepper powder, where red chillies can be added soon after frying garlic and continuing with the rest of the step as it is.

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