Foodie's Hope

After that unusual relentless snow fall for 12 hrs here last weekend, I wanted to make something spicy to eat like South Indian style Kurma, dal and Parathas! Blame the bitter cold weather these days, it's making me crazy to cook with more spices than usual but I have successfully avoided the deep fried snacks like Pakoras so far the past few months, don't know how long it will last. Very hard to resist fried snacks on cold and cloudy days, believe me, since I LOVE to munch on crunchy snacks! :D

Note to event hosts: If any dish I post here suits your event, let me know. I will gladly send it to you as I don't have the current info of all the events going on. Unfortunately, I can't post any of the event logos as I am reaching my limit of photos I can post at blogger, I will have to pay for more space once I go over that limit, probably very soon. As you can see I post too many photos of my own in every post already!

Hurulikalu/Horsegram Kurma:
Here is some information about Horsegram. This is my favorite legume, also called Kollu, Kulthi, Muthira, Kulith, Uluvalu and also Hurulikalu in Kannada, rich in iron and fiber. It's not available in any regular grocery store but usually packs are available in Indian stores. For this Kurma, you can use any kind of beans, canned or dry and soaked like Blackeyed beans, Crowder beans, whole Moong, dry green peas etc. with the same masala paste. You can increase the nutritious value by sprouting the beans as well.
For sprouting, you soak the dry beans overnight, drain the water, tie it up in a cheese cloth, put it in a pan and cover it overnight. Beans will sprout in 12 to 24hrs and then cook the beans with water.
Sending Horsegram Kurma to Susan and Rachel's "MLLA #20" event. Thank you to both of you for organizing and hosting.

For Kurma:
Take 1 cup dry Hurulikalu/Horsegram, soak in water overnight, drain the water and cook with 1 1/2 cups of water in a pressure cooker along with 1 tsp ghee, 1/2 tsp Turmeric and 1/4 tsp salt. Do not overcook the beans until it's a mush.

Saute all these separately until light color and grind to a smooth paste adding 1/2 tsp thick Tamarind paste:
3 tbsp dry or fresh Coconut,
1" ginger, chopped,
1 tbsp Poppy seeds,
1 tsp Fennel seeds,
1/2-1 tsp Methi seeds,
1 small onion, chopped,
1 1/2 tbsp Coriander seeds,
2 tsp cumin seeds,
2-3 dry red chillies,
2-3 cloves,
1" Cinnamon stick.

To make Kurma:
1. Heat 1 tbsp oil, add ground masala to the pan, stir for a minute. Add cooked Horsegram with it's water and simmer for 10-15mins.
2. Adjust the salt and spices, cook until sauce thickens a bit. Garnish with 2 tbsp chopped Cilantro and serve with a slice of Lemon.

Another look of Hurulikalu Kurma:
Here are more side dishes recipes I have posted before. I know it's hard to find dishes in both of my blogs because I post multiple recipes in one post, so I will make it a bit easier to find them for you in every post from now on! :)
If you have a big pack of dry Kulith, you can soak the Beans overnight, sprout if you want, cook with little salt, divide into desired portions just enough for your family and freeze the cooked beans in zip-lock bags to use next time. All you have to do is take out the frozen bag, keep it in the fridge overnight and use it with any masala next day. Easy!

Sending this Kurma to Indira's and Siri's "JFI-Fennel" event, my thanks to both you.
Also sending Kurma to Priya's and Denufood's event "Cooking with seeds-Fenugreek", thanks girls.

Laccha Parathas:
Laccha or layered Parathas are soft and layered because of how we fold and roll the Paratha dough, there are so many ways you can fold them as well. Once cooked, push the sides of the Paratha to release the layers and serve them right after cooking for the best taste. Or cool them before you store them in an airtight box until needed. You can reheat again on the griddle or in the microwave.

How to fold and make layers for Laccha Parathas:
Mix 2 cups Whole wheat flour, 1 tsp salt and tbsp oil with enough hot water, knead well to firm dough, brush oil on top, cover and rest it for 20mins. Divide into equal size portions, roll out to circle, brush some oil and sprinkle some flour on the surface. Following the photos below, make pleats, stretch and wind around itself and roll out again gently. Cook both sides until golden and brush with some butter if you like on one side.
Here is a list of different Rotis, Parathas, Bhaturas and Naan recipes list I have posted in my blogs so far.

Pickle/Achar Masala Dal:
After I made Parathas stuffed with Flax seed chutney powder, I was curious as to what other kind of powder I can add to make more dishes. I had planned to make the usual dal , didn't have the time to make masala powder. Then I saw SWAD brand Pickle masala in the fridge, looked bright red and smelled good. So I added 1-2tsp to the cooked dal. It tasted so good, I thought of taking a photo of dal to post here. If you don't have pickle masala, you can also add 1 tbsp of Lemon pickle or Mango pickle from the jar (I like Raji brand lemon pickle best) too. I have plans to make Parathas layered with Pickle masala too, would be wonderful. Typical Pickle masala powder is usually has chilli powder, Mustard seeds, Fenugreek seeds, turmeric, salt.
Here and here are more dals, Kadhis, Pickles etc from my previous posts.

To make Pickle masala dal:

1. Cook 1/2 cup Chana dal and 1/2 cup Tuar dal with 2 cups of water, 1/2 tsp Turmeric and 1 tsp oil or ghee in a pressure cooker until soft.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil, add 1 tsp Mustard seeds, 1 tsp Cumin seeds, few curry leaves, 1-2 dry red chilles, 1 tsp grated ginger, pinch of hing, saute for a minute. Add 1/4 cup finely chopped onion, saute until soft.
3. Add cooked dal, enough salt, 1-2 tsp pickle masala pd (adding more makes it bitter because of the Fenugreek seeds) or 1 tbsp lemon pickle from the jar (chopped if lemon pieces are too big), simmer for 5 mins. Adjust the spices and garnish with Coriander leaves.
Note: If adding pickle masala powder, add a bit of tamarind paste to dal to simmer. Tamarind is not necessary if you are adding chopped lemon pickle with Lemon or mango pieces, these provide the necessary tanginess to the dal.
Sending this quick dish to Rahin for her "Semi homemade" event. Thanks Rahin.

Multi dal Adai, Peanut Chutney with ghee, a wholesome breakfast:
One of the best dosas I have ever made and tasted is Adai which is full of protein with mixed dal and brown rice with little hint of spices. Even better thing I like most about these Adais is that there is no need to ferment it like traditional dosa batter and can make them quickly if you have about 2 hrs for soaking the dals and rice. My kids like them too which is great, they don't like dosas and idlis usually! Makes a very nutritious, filling breakfast with healthier Peanut chutney topped with little ghee for kids and gives them a great start for the day in school too. Best served right off the griddle/Tava crisp and hot. Enjoy. More variety of Dosas are here.

To make mixed Dal Adai:

1. Soak 1/4 cup each of Brown rice, Tuar dal, Channa dal, Urad dal and Moong dal for 2 hrs, drain and add to a mixer.
2. Add 1 cup buttermilk, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp paprika for color, 1/4 tsp Turmeric, enough salt, grind all these into a smooth paste. No need to ferment.
3. Add more water to thin it if needed to make into a pourable batter. Heat a non-stick griddle and make dosas until golden. Serve hot with Peanut chutney and ghee.

Peanut chutney recipe is here.
Homemade ghee recipe is here.
I am sending this Adai, Peanut chutney and ghee to Srivalli's "Kids delight-Wholesome Breakfast" event. Thanks for hosting Sri! :)

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Movies:
"Enter the Dragon", a 1973 Bruce Lee last movie!! Yes, I watched that movie at last! I always heard this cult like following of martial art king Bruce Lee, never had the chance to watch it until last week. He supposed to have died 6 days before this movie released. It came on cable TV and I recorded it quickly to DVR. It's really good, HD quality makes it better to watch with clear picture and sound quality. It's a classic, loved it. WIKIPEDIA says "In 2004, Enter the Dragon was deemed "culturally significant" and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

New York, I love you:
A surprisingly good movie, funny, sad, romantic, sexy. I have never even heard of this movie before, apparently didn't run well in theaters and didn't make much money. I just rented it on a whim as nothing else good was available to watch on a cold and rainy day but I loved it. So happy to see Natalie Portman (who shaved her head completely to play a Jewish bride in this movie!) and Irfan Khan (plays a Gujarati shopkeeper) paired up together for few mins (story by Mira Nair), odd but so sweet. It's about 11 short stories of people who live in New York city and their daily lives, like reading a book with short stories. Definitely worth renting ($1+tax/night @ Redbox) to watch.

I bought a complete set of that hilarious British comedy series called "Fawlty Towers" with John Cleese and Prunella Scales. I used to watch every episode when we used to live in England. When we had cold snowy weekend here, we watched about 5 episodes with a cocktail in hand. These episodes are "laugh out loud" and enjoyed them. They never get old no matter how many times you watch the same old episodes.

Books:
I am still reading David Sedaris's "Naked", which I mentioned in my last post, didn't get much time to read last week. My son was home, so more work for me in the kitchen! ;D

Dante's "Divine Comedy":
When I was in Barnes and Noble book store on Sunday I found a big and beautiful edition of Dante's "Divine comedy; Hell..Purgatory...Paradise", translated by Henry W.Longfellow. My son read it last month in Kindle edition and loved this book, so I bought it for him for keepsake. Book is not in prose but in Canto. It's a bit intimidating to look at this book and even dare to start reading but I must try! When a 14year old can read and love the stories in Canto, I better shape up and read it myself!
On her show Oprah once said "I am scurrred! (scared!)" when she challenged her audience and herself to read a long book like Leo Tolstoy's "war and Peace" which she hadn't read before because of the volume of that book. I can say I am "scurred" too to read a book like Divine Comedy in Canto!! But what the heck....if sra can write her recipes poetically then I can read it poetically at least, right?! :D

Snow in NC! We had about 8" of snow fall overnight last weekend and freezing rain to top it all yesterday. It is absolutely beautiful to look outside, like Winter wonderland but can be very dangerous for drivers on the road. They have even canceled the schools since Friday afternoon!!