Saturday 27 July 2013

Zucchini Dal Tadka - Peerkangai Paruppu

Serves 3
I was brought up in a family where eating at a restaurant was something that happened very rarely. Both mom & dad were very particular about having home cooked meals.But when I moved to a different city to work,eating out was something that happened quite often.Whenever I found myself in a restaurant,initially I would always let me friends order as I never knew most of the dishes on the menu card.I only knew that anything that starts with Mughlai or Butter would be rich,creamy and yummy .Not knowing how a dish tastes can be real risky :)In Germany many times I've ordered stuff because the name looked fancy and ended up with things that I could hardly eat :) The first time my friends ordered Dal Tadka,I was really surprised.I wondered why people would come to a restaurant to just order Dal. But I fell in love with it when I tasted it.As hubby is a big fan of Dal ,I prepare this pretty often.This tastes very close to the restaurant style Dal Tadka. I've added Zucchini to make it more healthy.You could also replace the zucchini with Ridge Gourd /Peerkangai. Give it a shot ,you'll love it:)



You'll need:
To Pressure Cook:
Zucchini - 1 big
Channa dal - 2 tbsp
Moong Dal - 2 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
For Tempering:
Onion - 1 medium(finely chopped)
Tomato - 1 medium( finely chopped)
Red chilli powder - 3/4 tsp
coriander powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/4 tsp
Green chilli - 1 (finely chopped)
Ginger - 1 tsp(finely grated)
Garlic - 1 tsp(finely grated)
Kasoori Methi - 1/2 tsp
Boiled Milk or cream - 1/2 cup
Coriander leaves - 1 -2 tbsp(chopped)
oil - 2 tsp
salt - as needed

Method:
-Clean the zucchini and chop into pieces.Clean the Moong Dal.
-Add the zucchini,moong dal,2 cups of water,salt and turmeric powder to a pressure cooker.Let it pressure cook of one whistle on high and 4 -5 minutes on low heat.
-To a pan add the oil and when it heats up,add the ginger,garlic and green chilli.Saute for a minute and add the onion and a  little salt.When it's translucent add the tomatoes and stir for a minute.
-Add the Red chilli powder,Coriander powder,Cumin powder and Garam masala powder.Saute until the tomatoes turn soft.
-Add boiled dal and zucchini mixture and mix well.Add the milk,kasoori methi and coriander leaves and mix well.Check for salt,adding some if needed.
-Let the mixture simmer for 7 - 10 minutes.Done !



Thanks for stopping by ! Happy Cooking !
Sending this to Walk through Memory Lane happening at Priyas's Virundhu and Gayathri's space. and Dish name starts with Z happening at Akila's space



38 comments:

  1. Delicious zucchini dal tadka Reni, Love it.

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  2. Wow! The zucchini dal tadka looks fabulous! Leave some for me too! ;)
    http://www.rita-bose-cooking.com/

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  3. Its the same story with me Reni. We seldom eat out when we were younger. Basically my family couldn't afford. But just like you, the working years were when I went out to eat and explored different types of food. But you know these days its so common to eat out.

    Still I still believe home cooked meals are the best. I have never made dal with zucchini and it sure looks good. Zucchini is my everyday salad and I always have it in my fridge. Certainly gonna made this delicious dal dish.

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    1. Yes Nava ! Affordability is an issue too , as eating out is an expensive affair ! Thanks a lot :)

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  4. Wow adding zucchini to dal is new... Lovely clicks...

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  5. Dal tadka gets kasoori methi,cream etc no wonder restaurant ones taste so good. Reni I think Chinese okra is peerkangai not that it matters.But I feel the recipe works well with both.

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    1. Thanks a lot Meena ! I somehow replace zucchini with Peerkangai and vice versa in many dishes....because we call Zucchini as 'western bottlegourd' in tamil :) Thanks for mentioning :)

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  6. Very comforting and delicious dal tadka... love it Reni...

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  7. I know, sometimes names fancy us more & we end up tasting something that we wud never touch again.. An interesting addition of milk & zucchini der.. Nice way to have zucchini !!

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  8. There were not too many restaurant outings for us too at home, Reni :)

    Loved that Zucchini as well as cream in there :) I will try this out the next time I make Dal tadka!

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  9. Very comforting and yummy dal tadka..

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  10. I m making this tomorrow. Loved it.

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  11. a fab twist to the typical punjabi ghiya dal tadka ( dal with bottle gourd)..try it with chana dal as well:)

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  12. looking delicious.. i would like to try it once....

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  13. nice post
    love to follow this blog

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  14. To me eating out with friends is a ritual, enjoy it big time :-)
    It is weird but no matter what else we order, we always order dal tadka to accompany the rest of the dishes. A comfort food for sure.
    But during my school days, it used to be sunday, the day we eat out usually - paratta or kothu paratta!!
    Your zucchini Dal looks perfectly made, although brand new to me! Would love to give it a try!

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    1. Guess Kothu Parotta was a delicacy in those days before all these fancy north indian and western dishes invaded our restaurant cuisines :) Thanks a lot Pavithra !

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  15. comforting food...dal looks super delicious

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  16. My mom makes similar daal with lauki!! And on a cold evening, it seems so comforting!!
    Loved your version of daal :)

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  17. Your dal tadka looks perfect.. Fabulous clicks.. Even we seldom ate out as kids.. And Mom ke haath ka khaana.. kya baat.. miss it soo much now :-)

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  18. Thanks a lot Reni for linking it to the wtml event dear, waiting for more delicious and mouth watering entries from you...

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