Normally when we have guests around it
means that we hit the restaurants we love pretty hard, and when I do
cook I will normally go a little richer than I do day to day. Well,
after a few days of that I crave vegetables and the flavors I love.
That in mind today I whipped up some
Pongal (Thanks again Andi for inspiring me to make that for the first
time a little while ago!) and a mixed veggie sabzi with coconut, and
it was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I was planning to use cabbage,
but for the first time in months I didn't have any so I scrounged up
what I had and it was great, the crunchy vegetables along side of the
soft and satisfying pongal was a delight.
Venn Pongal
Serves 2
Ingredients
½ C moong dal
½ C rice (I used jasmine but whatever
you have will work)
3 ½ C Water
2 TBS oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
pinch hing
½ sprig curry leaves
¼ c coarse black pepper
1 TBS chopped jalapeno
2 TBS peanuts or cashews
1 heaping TBS sugar
1 TBS oil
2 TBS chopped cilantro
Salt to taste
Method
Slightly toast rice and dal in a dry
pan for a few minutes until they smell nutty then add water and salt
to taste.
Bring to a boil and simmer on med/low
until done to your liking, probably about 30 minutes.
Heat oil in a small pot to med/high then fry mustard seeds until they sputter, then cumin seeds for a second, then hing, then curry leaves until the crackle, then jalapenos and peanuts, fry this for 20 seconds then add to the rice/dal mix with black pepper.
Heat oil in a small pot to med/high then fry mustard seeds until they sputter, then cumin seeds for a second, then hing, then curry leaves until the crackle, then jalapenos and peanuts, fry this for 20 seconds then add to the rice/dal mix with black pepper.
Stir in sugar, salt if needed, and
garnish with cilantro.
Eat it up.
Mixed vegetable sabzi with coconut
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 bell pepper very thinly sliced
1 C matchstick carrots
1 small onion thinly sliced
1 roma tomato cut into thin strips
2 TBS oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
pinch hing
½ sprig curry leaves
1 TBS chopped jalapeno
2 tsp garlic ginger paste
¼ C coconut powder
Salt to taste
2 TBS chopped cilantro
Method
Heat oil in a frying pan to med/high
then fry mustard seeds until they sputter, then cumin seeds for a
second, then hing, then curry leaves until the crackle, then
jalapenos for 20 seconds, then gin/gar paste for 20 seconds, then
coconut until lightly brown.
Add your bell peppers and stir fry for
3 minutes, then add carrots and onions with salt to taste, stir fry
for another 5 minutes until the texture is crunchy-tender, then add
tomatoes and stir fry for 1 minute to heat them up or until the whole
mix is whatever texture is to your liking.
Garnish with cilantro and eat while
it's hot!
