Dals become your best friends when you are watching your calorie intake. High on nutrients, equally high on taste, they play a starring role in many salads, soups, spreads and dips. IFF members share eight of their favorite recipes with us.
Padma Anagol: Kosambari
50 gms moong dal
2 tbsps freshly grated coconut
1 cucumber peeled & chopped into fine pieces
1 carrot peeled & grated
2 tsps lime juice
salt to taste For tempering: Oil Mustard seeds 4-5 green chillies
1 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped Pinch of hing
Method:
Soak moong dal for an hour. Drain the water and add to it the chopped cucumber, carrot, coconut, coriander leaves, lime juice and salt. Take 1 tsp of oil and when hot add mustard seeds. After they split add the chopped green chillies and some curry leaves. Toss around and put a pinch of hing. Now pour the entire thing onto the moong dal mixture & mix it properly.
Chill before serving.
300 gms sprouted green moong
1 yellow capsicum
1 red capsicum
1 tomato
1 onion
1 apple
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
white pepper powder and salt to taste.
Method:
Add juliennes of apple, tomato, red and yellow capsicums to the sprouted moong. Cut the onion into small dices and add to the moong. Prepare a dressing with the salt, pepper powder, lemon juice and olive oil. Toss the salad with the prepared dressing and serve chilled.
Ingredients:
1 cup of sprouted Moth Dal
1 Onion finely chopped
1 Tomato finely chopped
1-2 Green Chili finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Sone Coriander leaves, chopped.
Method:
Heat 2 tsp oil in a nonstick pan, add some cumin seed.
When the seeds splutter, add chopped onion, and saute till it becomes soft ( be careful , not to overdo it) add chopped tomato, salt to taste and cover it, lover down the flame and let it simmer.
Once the tomatoes have become soft , add the sprouts, sprinkle some water 2-3 Tsp, again cover and let it steam on low flame.
After 5- 10 mins, switch off the flame, mix every thing , add lemon juice, garnish with coriander leaves and serve. Sandhya Nag: Sprou
This is one of Sandhya’s favorite salads. “I am on weight watch period…..truley existing on salads and fruits…..I consider sprouted moong to be the best of all salads.”
Ingredients : Sprouted moong Red onions chopped Tomatoes cut into big chunks Green chilli chopped Coriander leaves Mint leaves Lemon juice Salt Red chilli powder Method: Mix all the ingredients, squeeze some lemon juice, sprinkle some red chilli powder, and add salt just before enjoying. Natasha Ramarathnam- Red lentil soup (with a taste of the Konkan)
“I had a colleague who was a big fan of red lentil soup, and inspired by him, I started making that for lunch quite often. One day, I got creative and added a whole bunch of extra ingredients, and came up with this. Tasted almost Thai, though the mix of ingredients could as well be from the Konkan coast. Can be had as a soup, or as a dal.”
Ingredients:
1 measure dhuli masoor dal
1 onion chopped
1/2 inch ginger grated
2-4 pieces of kokum
2 tbsp grated coconut
1 red chilli
Salt to taste
Method:
Pressure cook the dal, onion, ginger and the kokum till soft.
Fry/ dry roast the grated coconut and red chilli and temper the dal with it.
Add salt to taste and blend till it attains a smooth consistency.
“Dal for breakfast, anyone? A savory spread of filling, nourishing sprouts on crackling brown toasts, slathered with rich, creamy cheese.”
Ingredients:
Moong dal sprouts
Chopped tomato
Coriander leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Lime juice
Method:
Steam the sprouts lightly, stir in salt, pepper, a chopped tomato, lots of fresh dhaniya and a squeeze of lime.
To serve, spread a layer of cheese on toast, before topping with the sprouts topping.
Ingredients:
1 cup roasted chana dal
1/2 cup grated fresh coconut or frozen coconut
1/4 th skin less peanuts
green chillies 3 to 4
salt
jeera
curry leaves
whole red chillies
Method:
Grind the chana dal and peanuts with chillies- while grinding, first dry grind, then add water after 2 turns.
Add coconut and grind smoothly
Sdd salt to taste
Heat some oil, add jeera , whole red chillies and curry leaves. Once the aroma rises, add to chutney
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked chana/chickpeas
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 tablepoon of peanut butter or tahini
Salt, pepper and chilli flakes to taste
Juice of half a lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil.
Method:
Take all the ingredients in a food processor and process till smooth.Serve with chips or pita bread.