Pendpala - daal stir fry ( सोलापुरी पेंडपाला )

This dish is made of mix daals preferably chana daal and tuvar daal .
But combination of other daals also tastes equally yummy .
The secret lies in crispy garlic and a special solapuri tadka called " bhurka " .


Ingredients - 

1/2 cup ................. chana daal
1/2 cup .................. tuvar daal
1 .......................... onion chopped
1 ......................... green chilly chopped ( optional )
1/2 tsp ................. turmeric powder
8/10 ..................... garlic flakes crushed or grated
1 tbsp ................... red chilly powder
3 to 4 tbsp ................ oil
salt as per taste

Method - 

Wash both the daals and soak them in water for an hour .

Now keep only little water and cook the daal in a pressure cooker taking care not to overcook them .

In a pan heat little oil and add chopped green chilly and onions and stir fry till golden in colour .

Now drain out the water completely and add only the dry cooked daal in pan .

Stir properly and add salt and turmeric powder .

Cook covered with a lid for 2/3 minutes and remove from gas .

In a small vessel meant for tadka heat oil and fry grated garlic till crispy brown .

Spread it evenly on top of the daal .

Again heat the remaining oil and when hot add to it red chilly powder and immediately turn off the gas .

Spread this mixture too evenly on the daal .

This is called bhurka .

Your delicious pendpala is ready to eat .

Serve it hot with chapati or jowar bhakri and shengdana chutney .

Bhadang ( भडंग )

The simple looking kurmure also known as puffed rice are used to make various preparations ....
One of the most popular preparation being the world famous Bhel ....
But today I am going to write about one more equally popular speciality from Sangli called Bhadang .
The addition of very few ingredients transforms the taste of these kurmure making them mouth watering and irresistible .....
This crunchy snack is low in calories and can be relished guilt free by weight watchers too ....


Ingredients : 

100 gm - puffed rice
10-15 garlic cloved ( peeled and slightly crushed )
5 tbsp - plain groundnuts
2 tbsp - chilli pd
1/4 tsp - turmeric pd
2/3 tbsp - oil
salt as per taste

Method : 

Heat oil in a kadhai and when hot add crushed garlic.

When the garlic becomes slightly brown in colour add groundnuts .

Stir till the groundnuts become golden red in colour .

Now add kurmure along with chilli pd , turmeric pd and salt .

Mix very well and keep on slow flame till the kurmure become crunchy.

Remove from fire cool the bhadang and store in air tight dabba .

Narali Bhat - Sweet coconut rice ( नारळी भात )

Ingredients : 

1 cup ........................ basmati rice
1 cup ....................... grated jagerry
1 cup ....................... thick cococnut milk ( grate the coconut , grind it and extract thick juice)
4/5  ..........................cloves
1 inch .....................cinnamon
15 - 20  .................. raisins
15-20 ..................... raw groundnuts ( soaked in water )
1/4 t sp ................. nutmeg powder
1/4 t sp .................. cardamom powder
 2 - 3 tb sp ............... ghee

Method :

Heat ghee in a pan and add cloves and cinnamon stick .

Now strain the water and add soaked groundnuts .

Stir the groundnuts for 2/3 minutes .

Thoroughly wash and strain the rice and add it to the pan .

Saute the rice for few minutes and add to it the thick milk extracted from coconut along with 1 cup water .

Also add very little salt , cover the pan and let the rice cook .

When the rice is just cooked stir it very carefully taking care not to break the rice grains .

Add to it jaggery and let it melt .

Keep the gas flame medium .

Now add to it nutmeg and cardamom powders and raisins .

Cover the pan with a lid and let the rice cook for five more minutes .

To avoid the rice getting burnt from below you can keep a flat tawa below the pan while cooking .

Ambade Saasav ( Raita )

Ambada is a sour fruit which is called hog plum in english . In olden days most of the saraswat community homes had this tree in their courtyard . This delicious fruit is used in variety of dishes to make pickles , chutneys , sasams and curries .

Since the fruit is sour according to the sourness you can adjust the quantity of jaggery used in this dish .

Ingredients :

6 .....................ambade ( hog plums )
1 big bowl .................. fresh grated coconut
1 n 1/2 tsp .................... mustard seeds
1 n 1/2 tsp .................... red chilly powder
lemon sized .................................jaggery 
salt as per taste 

Method :

Wash ambade fruit and cut upper stalk part , keep the skin as it is . 

Steam ambade for 10 minutes or till soft and cooked . 

In a pan dry roast mustard seeds till the splutter an turn whitish in colour . 

Grind grated coconut , mustard seeds , chilly powder , salt and jaggery . 

When ambade cool down a bit mash them and mix well with ground masala . 

The most delicious dish is ready to be served with daal rice or chapati . 

Khatkhate ( Mix Vegetable )

This vegetable variety is made during the months of Shravan and Bhadrapad i.e the months of July and August . During the monsoons markets are flooded with various types of gourds and roots and tubers . Vegetables like bottle gourd , snake gourd , pumpkin , ridge gourd , ash gourd , sponge gourd excluding bitter gourd as well as yam , sweet potato , arbi , raw banana , raw papaya , and last but not the least corn cobs are used in this preparation .
The only veggies which are not usually added are leafy greens and capsicum , carrot , cabbage .
Actually you can use or even avoid any vegetables as per your choice .



Ingredients - 

100 - 150 gms ................... each of the above mentioned vegetables
2 full  .................................corn cobs ( cut into half inch rings )
1/2 small bowl ...................raw groundnuts
1/2 .....................................coconut ( freshly grated )
1/2 bowl ............................ cooked plain tuvar daal
2 tsp .................................. red chilly pd
1/2 tsp ..............................  turmeric pd
big lemon size .................. jaggery
8 - 10 ................................ teerphal ( konkani spice variety )
3 /4 .................................. kokam pieces
salt as per taste .

Method - 

In a big vessel boil and cook the vegetables .

First add all the hard vegetables like yam , papaya , sweet potato and corn rings etc .

After they are half cooked add the softer gourds .

Also add salt , jaggery ani kokam pieces at this time .

In the mixer grind grated coconut along with chilly and turmeric pd and teerphal .

When vegetables are almost cooked add the ground masala along with cooked daal .

Cook for 5 / 10 more minutes and switch off the gas .

This delicious filling mix veg vareity goes well with rice as well as chapati or just can be relished all by itself .