Dal Makhani

This makes a restaurant style Dal Makhani. It is so creamy and rich not to mention comforting that you will want to lick the bowl after the dal is long gone.

The other weekend when we were making our usual round of Costco, a store I hate as it makes my pantry look like it is bursting at the seams, they were handing out samples of  Madras Lentils from Tasty Bites, now I thought from the name that it might be something like Sambhar. But it was Dal Makhani !! I still do not get why they would call Dal Makhani - which is a north Indian dish - Madras lentil.

Anyway it was really tasty and my husband requested that I make this for him. This recipe tasted far better and it is home-made to boot. Try it and see for yourself.

Besan Ke Ladoo

I would like to wish all my friends and family a very Happy Diwali. So Diwali is here again and in the flurry of getting the home all spic and span and making sweets, I have neglected to post these recipes sooner. And now that there is only one day left I thought I will post a recipe that requires minimum effort and gives maximum pleasure !

So here is my very easy to make, delicious Besan Ke Ladoo recipe. This recipe is from my college days and was part of one of the menus in our cookery class. When I brought some of these ladoos home, my mom and grandma loved them and my grandma even made me make these again for her.

The only thing to keep in mind is to let the mixture cool down thoroughly. Also do not worry if your mixture feels too soft and your balls are flattening. If this happens, make all the balls and keep them on a plate and after 15 minutes roll each ball again between the palm of your hands. The mixture would have hardened a little and the balls will maintain their shape, this time.




Besan Ke Ladoo

Hayagriva ( a lentil based sweet )

This is an Indian sweet dish made up of cooked bengal gram dal, jaggery, freshly grated coconut and poppy seeds. It is very popular in the south of India especially in Mantralayam.

I love making this sweet as it is very delicious, nutritious ( when was the last time you heard of a sweet dish being nutritious too !) and very quick and easy to make. Hayagriva is very similar to the puran in Puran Poli / Holige .

Some people like their Hayagriva to be a little runny in consistency. However, I like mine in a soft, semi solid state. This depends on personal preference, so if you like it a little more runny do not evaporate a lot of the moisture out during the cooking process. Also when cooking the channa dal / split bengal gram dal , some opt to cook it in the pressure cooker. I, personally, prefer the stove top method - cook it in a saucepan with lots of water - as this allows me to control the texture of the cooked dal. I like my dal to maintain its shape and integrity and putting it in a pressure cooker can be a hit or miss in that. Again there is no hard and fast rule here, as this is not going to change the taste of the dish, just the visual appeal.



Hayagriva