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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