Cooking with Shail

Hey all!! We gujratis love our food, even if it is simplest of the dish we love to add various elements to our dish. A visually filled dish fills our stomach first. This is one such lunch platter and all the items are without onion and garlic, made using simplest of the ingredients easily available. It is an humble lunch plate but full of different flavors and easy to make dishes. This platter consists of moong-matki ki sabji (green gram dal and moth bean), thepla, gujrati kadhi and rice. Moong-matki combination is normally used for maing sprouts, this sabji is dry with no gravy and we have not sprouted it. Since it is a dry sabji we make gujrati kadhi with it which is basically made using gram flour and buttermilk. Thepla is another classic gujrati dish which can be had in breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is a type of masala roti and goes really well with this sabji. Simple yet flavorful platter, lets get cooking!

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I) For moong-matki sabji:

Ingredients:

Moong dal- 1/2 cup

Matki – 1/2 cup

Water for soaking – 2 cups

Water for cooking – 2 cups

Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp

Oil – 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds/Jeera – 1 tsp

Haldi/turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp

Cumin- Coriander powder – 1 tbsp

Sugar – 1 tsp

Lemon juice – 1 tbsp

Coriander leaves (finely chopped) – 1/4 cup

Salt as per taste

Method:

1) Soak the moong-matki in lukewarm water overnight.

2) In a wok take the oil. Once it is warm add the asafoetida and cumin seeds, once they crackle add in the soaked and drained moong-matki. Add the water, haldi powder, red chilli powder, cumin-coriander powder, salt and sugar and cover and let it cook on medium flame for around 20 minutes.

3) Once it is done finally add the lemon juice and coriander leaves and mix it well. Serve hot.

II) Gujrati kadhi:

Ingredients:

Besan (Gram flour) – 1 cup

Buttermilk (sour)- 2 cups

Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp

Ghee – 1 tbsp

Cloves – 3-4

Cinnamon – 1/2 inch

Cumin seeds/Jeera – 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp

Jaggery – 2 tbsp

Ginger (grated) – 1 tbsp

Lemon juice- 1 tsp (not required if buttermilk is sour)

Salt as per taste

Coriander leaves (finely chopped) – 1/4 cup

Curry leaves – 4 -5

Red chilly (whole) – 2 pieces

Green chilly (roughly chopped) – 2 pieces

Water – 1 cup

Method:

1) Mix together the gram flour and buttermilk till there are no lumps. Add the water to this and keep aside.

2) In a deep bottomed pan take the ghee. Let it become warm on low flame, once warm add the asafoetida, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon, curry leaves, green chilly and red chilly. Once the seeds crackle add the grated ginger. This is the tempering.

3) Add the gram flour and buttermilk mixture to this tempering and add the jaggery and salt and let it boil for 8-10 minutes on medium flame and keep stirring it, till it becomes little thick. If required now, add the lemon juice. Finally add the chopped coriander leaves and switch off the gas. Serve hot.

III) Thepla:

Ingredients:

Wheat flour – 2 cups

Haldi powder – 1 tsp

Red chilly powder – 2 tsp

Cumin-coriander powder – 1 tsp

Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp

Oil – 1 tbsp

Oil for greasing

Salt as per taste

Water for kneading

Method:

1) In a bowl sieve the wheat flour and add haldi powder, red chilly powder, cumin-coriander powder, asafoetida, oil (1 tbsp) and salt and mix it all well.

2) Now slowly add the water and knead it into a soft dough. Let it rest for 10 minutes.

3) After 10 minutes make small balls out of this dough (approx. 20 balls) and roll them into small discs or rotis.

4) Take a lodhi/tawa and heat the tawa on a medium heat.

5) Place rolled thepla on hot tawa. Let it cook for few seconds on the lower side. Flip on the other side with help of a spatula and let it cook a bit, grease it will oil from all sides and press it lightly with a spatula and cook until bottom side is cooked. Again flip it and apply some oil and cook again by pressing until cooked.

6) Prepare all theplas this way.

IV) Rice:

Ingredients:

Basmati rice – 1 cup

Water for soaking – 2 cups

Water for cooking – 2 cups

Method:

1) Wash and soak the rice for about an hour. Then drain the rice.

2) Take a deep bottomed vessel and take remaining 2 cups of water and let it become warm. In that add the soaked rice and let it cook on medium flame for about 10 minutes, after 10 minutes switch off the gas and let the rice be in the water for another 2 to 3 minutes, then drain it. Serve hot.

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