Dal Dhokli is a delicious traditional Gujarati comfort food, made with many variations and known by different names in other states of India. In North India it is called Dal Pitthi. The Dhokli is made with wheat dough, then rolled into thin circles and cut into square or diamond shapes. The Dhokli is then mixed into the sweet-sour Gujarati dal and tadka with ghee and spices; and left to simmer until it gets cook properly. This recipe utilizes Jowar flour along with wheat flour to make it healthier. This one bowl meal can be prepared over the weekend, which gives a big change to our daily meal. You can use your leftover dal, and convert it into a healthy Dal Dhokli!
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Daal Baati
Daal Baati Churam is a very popular traditional Rajasthani dish. The celebrations like marriage, festival, parties and so on in Rajasthan are incomplete without this traditional dish. Daal Baati Churma is basically three items put together as a meal. I have already shared the recipe of Churma in my earlier blog and in this blog I am sharing the recipe for Daal and Baati. Baati is made from wheat flour balls with lots of deshi ghee. Traditionally, the Baati balls are backed in clay or coal based tandoor which gives a very specific smoky flavor to the recipe. However, I have made the Baati in electric oven and it really came out well. The crispy Baati with desi ghee aroma makes the dish tastes amazing. The Daal for this recipe is mixture of five kinds of daal (pulses) also known as panchmel daal. The daal is cooked with salt, water and turmeric powder however the seasoning with ghee, ginger-garlic and some gram masala brings in the real flavorful taste in Daal. Serve this recipe to your guests and I am sure they would love it.
Sambar Polenta (Cornmeal)
Polenta aka cornmeal is granules of corn available in grocery stores all around. The Polenta is cooked in many ways like it can be baked, grilled or fried. This recipe is prepared using boiled Polenta which is typically simmered in water with salt and ghee or butter. Polenta takes a little long time to cook and creamy texture.You could each boiled Polenta as is or It can be served many different ways. For this recipe we would prepare a sambar to serve with Polenta. Sambar is a south Indian soup which is prepared using mix of vegetables of your choice, toor daal and special sambar masala. In this recipe, I have also added green pigeon peas along with toor dal to get twist in sambar taste. There are varieties of sambar recipes available and you can use anyone if you like or you can use your own sambar recipe. Polenta used to be one of common meal item when I was young and my grand mother use to make it and serve with toor dal and spicy curry. In northern India is it referred as “Makki ka bath”. I literally love Polenta and every time I make it, it bring memories from childhood. Polenta with sambar was an awesome combination and very delicious, you could also try it with rasam.
Quinoa Mix Daal Adai Dosa
Mix Daal Dosa is one of the many different types of Dosa found in South India. Mix daal dosa is prepared using a variety of daal (pulses), beans, quinoa and brown rice. Mix daal dosa is full of protein and a very healthy breakfast. Adding quinoa to the recipe makes it even more healthy and delicious. This dosa does not require overnight fermentation process, however, if you wish you can leave it for 3-4 hours to ferment. If you like your Dosa crispy, you can add a little rice flour into batter. Normally, this dosa is served with potato masala, sambar and coconut chutney. You can also try it with guacamole and it tastes just as good.
Bisi Bele Bath
Bisi bele bath is one of most popular dish in Karnataka. The recipe is very similar to north Indian khichdi. In Kannada, bisi means hot, bele means daal and bath means rice hence the name. Rice and daal cooked along with veggie, spices, and jaggery makes this dish delicious. I am very fond of south Indian food and this is one of my favorite dish. The aroma of bisi bele bath masala, curry leaves, ghee and tamarind creates a craving for the food. You can use home made Bisi bele bath masala which gives an awesome freshness and taste to this dish but if not available, you could use store bought MTR Bisi bele bath masala powder. Bisi bele bath tastes best when served hot, topped with ghee along with papad and kara boondi.
Homemade Rasam Powder
Rasam is a south Indian lentil soup flavoured with tamarind, tomatoes and rasam powder. Rasam can be served as a soup or as a side for white rice. Rasam powder is easily available in Indian grocery store however fresh homemade rasam powder gives a wonderful taste and aroma to your rasam. The rasam powder is made with blend of Indian dry roasted spices. In southern part of India, people make rasam powder or any spices mix in a bulk and it comes in various varieties. You can adjust the spiciness by adding chili & black pepper corn in this recipe as per your choice.
Masala Dosa
Masala dosa is a one of the popular breakfast dish in southern part of India, however loved across the India. There are varieties of dosa recipes like plain dosa, paper dosa, rava dosa, ragi dosa, mysore masala dosa and so on. This recipe is traditional and made with main ingredients as urad daal and rice. Masala dosa is all time favorite of my family. Generally masala of masala dosa is made of potato and onion, however in this recipe I have given a small twist by adding bell pepper to the same which gives a little different taste and flavor. Masala dosa goes very well with sambhar and coconut, peanut or tomato chutney. The recipe requires preparation a day before you want to make Masala Dosa.
Mix Daal Khichdi
Khichdi is a light comfort food. It is very easy to prepare. Khichdi has many varieties and many of them are without vegetable basically only pulse and rice. In this recipe I have use vegetables and mixed pulses to give a different taste. You can tweak in with the vegetable of your choice.