Channa dal(Bengal gram), Lauki(Bottle Gourd) and Wadi Combo

This summer I met my sisters and cousins for a family reunion in California.  We all are connoisseurs of good food.  We love eating and creating new dishes.  Since we had so much time at hand, it was natural to go down the memory lane of our childhood and talk about familiar flavors and aromas.  Our mothers and aunts were great cooks and perhaps that is what inspired us to work with food and exploring the buzz and vibe of cooking.

One of my sisters asked me if I recall the recipe of maternal grandma’s famous Channa dal, lauki and wadi combo.  I told her I don’t know the exact recipe but even after forty years I can still feel the taste of that dish in my mouth.  We set out to create that childhood memory to tickle our palate.  

What amazes me that our mothers and grandmothers fed us healthy food all the time without realizing the food values of every vegetable or lentil.  For that matter even this   combo is full of nutrients.  Since this is my grandma’s recipe, I feel it is a treat to share it with the world.

Channa dal (Bengal gram) has good amount of iron, sodium, selenium and some amount of copper, zinc and manganese.  It has folic acid and fiber and is rich in protein.  It contains phytochemicals called saponins, which act as antioxidants.

Lauki (Bottle Gourd) provides good amount of both soluble and insoluble fiber and water and thus helps in digestion.  This is the best vegetable for dieters as it is high in dietary fiber and provides only 15 calories per 100 gram.  It provides vitamins C and B and some minerals like iron, sodium and potassium.

Wadi is a sun dried dumpling made from ground lentils, pumpkin and some spices.  They have the nutritional value of lentils as well of vegetables.  We generally add wadi for its taste.  It is possible to make wadi at home but the process is little tedious. Most super markets sell Wadi or Wadiyan as they are called.  The best way to add wadi to any food is by breaking into small pieces and pan fry these bits.  Frying enhances the taste of Wadi.

Ingredients:

1 cup Channa dal washed and soaked for an hour in fresh water, 10 to 12 inches long lauki peeled and chopped into small cubes, 1 wadi broken and pan fried in a tsp of cooking oil, 1 large onion chopped finely, 1 tsp of grated ginger, 4 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed, 2 tomatoes pureed, 1 ½ tsp of cumin seeds(Zeera), ½ tsp of yellow fenugreek seeds(methi dana), ½ tsp of brown mustard seeds(rai), 1 tsp of coriander powder, ½ tsp of garam massala, ½ tsp of red pepper(degi mirch), salt to taste, 1/8 tsp of asafetida(hing), 1 tsp of turmeric powder,  ½  tsp of dry mango powder,  1 ½  tbsp of cooking oil, 1 tbsp of ghee(clarifying butter), 2 whole dry red peppers(optional).

Method:

Pressure cook the channa dal for 10 minutes but adding ½ tsp of turmeric and a pinch of salt.  If your pressure cooker is smart one it might take just ten minutes to make the dal soft and tender.  Mine is not so smart so it took 20 minutes to make dal tender.

Heat oil in a pan.  Add asafetida and yellow fenugreek seeds.  When they turn light brown, add 1 tsp of cumin seeds and when they stop spluttering add ginger onion and garlic and stir it.  After three minutes, add ½ tsp of turmeric and salt to taste.

When onion turn light brown, add lauki pieces and mix it well.  Reduce the flame to low and cover the pan.  Stir the mix time to time. Add fried wadi to the mix so that spiced aroma of wadi blends into the vegetable.

When lauki pieces turn soft, add tomato puree to it and increase the flame to medium.  Add coriander powder and red pepper. Cook for another five minutes and then add boiled channa dal to the vegetable mix.

In the meanwhile heat the ghee in a small pan, add ½ tsp of cumin and brown mustard seeds.  Once these spices stop spluttering, add whole dry red peppers to the mix and reduce the flame to low.  Once red pepper turns maroon, add this tampering to the channa dal and vegetable mix.

Let the dal-lauki mix simmer for another five minutes.  Add dry mango powder and garam massala.  Mix well and turn off the flame after three minutes.

Enjoy hot with rice, parantha or chapatti.

Stuffed Baby Eggplant

When I was very young, I did not relish any kind of eggplant(baingan in Hindi) dish.  As I grew up and started taking interest in different cuisines of India, I understood that eggplant is cooked in every state and region of India in a different way.  So no two dishes are the same.  Being from North India and specially influenced by rich Punjabi cuisine, my stuffed baby eggplant dish became quite a hit in our family.  These baby eggplants are slit half way and then stuffed with a combination of spices and are left to simmer in spicy gravy.  The result is finger licking good.

Ingredients:
10 baby eggplants or bringal (white or purple both will be fine)

Spices for stuffing:
2 tsp of dry mango powder, 1/2 tsp of coriander powder, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of red pepper, 1/4 tsp of garam massala or curry powder,

Ingredients for the Gravy:
2 medium onions chopped finely, 4 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed, 1 tsp of grated ginger, 2 tomatoes chopped finely, 1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds (methi seeds), 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp brown mustard seeds(Rai), 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1/4 tsp garam massala, salt to taste,1 tbsp of cooking oil.

Method:
Wash, wipe and take off the stems of the eggplant.  Slit half way into quarters.
Mix stuffing spices in a small bowl.  Stuff these spices  in the slits of the baby eggplants.Put these aside.
In a pan, heat the oil, add fenugreek seeds.  When they turn light brown, add cumin and mustard seeds.
Now add ginger, onion and garlic in that order with a gap of ten seconds between each condiment and reduce heat to medium.
When onion mix turns light brown add tomatoes and cover the pan.
Once everything is well blended,  uncover the pan, add coriander powder and salt( keep in mind that stuffed eggplants have some salt too).
Add the stuffed eggplants and stir well but very gently so that eggplant pieces do not break.
Reduce heat to low and let it simmer till eggplants are done.  It takes at least half hour to 40 minutes.
Just before they are about to be done, add yogurt and increase the heat to medium for a couple of minutes. once yogurt dries up, add garam massala(curry powder) and turn off the flame.
Enjoy with nan, chapati or parantha.