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What's Cooking? Indian recipes
P.S. Lakshmi Rao, a retired banker, has a passion for cooking. Her friends and family enjoy her culinary delights. Lakshmi is a long time Atlanta resident.

<<What's Cooking? Main


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NRI Pulse Food columnist P.S Lakshmi Rao is seeking Diwali/Dusshera recipes from readers for our upcoming Festival issue. Please email your favorite Diwali or Dusshera recipe to nripulse@gmail.com. Recipes selected by Lakshmi Rao will be featured, along with your name, in the October edition of 'What's Cooking?'.
The editorial deadline is October 1st, so hurry! Email your favorite Diwali/Dusshera recipe to nripulse@gmail.com.


Winter Melon Koot

2 teaspoons oil
3 teaspoons urad dal
4 red dry chilies
½ cup fresh or frozen shredded coconut
1 long green chili cut in to four pieces
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander leaves 

In a small pan heat oil and fry urad dal and chilies until dal becomes light brown. Put this mixture and the coconut with half a cup of water in a blender and blend it to a smooth paste. Set aside. 

2 pounds winter melon piece peeled and cubed in to 2 inch pieces
1 cup chana dal
4 cups water

1 teaspoon salt or to taste
¼ teaspoon turmeric (haldi)

Cook winter melon pieces in 2 cups of water in a three quart sauce pan for seven or eight minutes making sure not to over cook the vegetable. Transfer them in to a glass bowl. In the same pan cook chena dal with the remaining 2 cups of water until dal becomes little soft (adding little more water if needed). Mix vegetables with chena dal. Add salt, turmeric, green chilies, fresh coriander leaves and urad dal paste to the vegetables and chena dal mixture. Cook in medium low heat mixing often for three minutes. Fry popu and add this to the koot. 

Tadka

2 teaspoons oil
½ teaspoon home made ghee (optional)
1 teaspoon red small mustard seeds
1 teaspoon urad dal
2 stems curry leaves
1/8-teaspoon asafetida (hing) 
1 tablespoon fresh or frozen shredded coconut
1 table spoons chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro or kothimeeri)

Heat oil and ghee (if using) in a small dish. Add mustard seeds and urad dal. Fry until mustard seeds start to splatter and urad dal becomes light brown. Add curry leaves, asafetida, and coconut and fry for half a minutes. Add this to koot. Cook for three minutes longer. Transfer koot in to a serving dish and sprinkle fresh coconut and coriander leaves. You can eat this with rice, chepathies, and papads.

Toor Dal Chutney (Kandi Pappu Pachadi)

1 cup toor dal (kandi pappu)
8 dried red chilies (more for extra hot taste)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt or to taste
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/8 teaspoon asafetida (hing)
1 ½ cups water

Fry toor dal and red chilies in an 8-inch frying pan in medium heat until dal becomes light brown, and let it cool.
Place dal, chilies, salt, cumin seeds, asafetida, and water in blender and blend in to a coarse paste. Chutney tastes good when mixed with rice. Raw onion pieces can add to the flavor. Chutney can also be used as sandwich spread.

Variations: If you are a garlic lover fry few pieces of garlic cloves in a teaspoon of oil and mix it with chutney.
Some people fry some urad dal, one red chili, and ½ teaspoon cumin seeds in a teaspoon of oil and mix with chutney. 
If there is some chutney left over you can mix some water and spread the batter on a greased grill like pancake; sprinkle little cumin seeds and little oil. Roast on both sides. Tastes good with rice or plain.

Note: This is a very quick and simple chutney.




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