Adai

Adai with chutney or sambar is one of my favorites. A lesser known cousin of dosa, adai is a very healthy and filling tiffin recipe of South India. 

Ingredients:

Channa Dal - 1/2 cup

Rice - 1/2cup

Toor dal - 1/4 cup

Urad Dal - a handful or less

Green chillies - 3 finely chopped

red chillies - 5

Ginger - 1 inch

Onion - 1/4 finely chopped

Curry leaves

Asafoetida - a pinch

Optional: coconut - 4ts

Salt to taste

Prep:

Soak all the dals and rice overnight (though 4-5 hours should be enough)

Procedure:

Grind the soaked ingredients together in to a coarse batter along with ginger, red chillies and salt. 

Now add onion, curry leaves, green chillis, coconut and asafoetida to the batter.

Now heat a griddle, add 3-4 drops of oil in the griddle. When the griddle is hot, pour a laddle of  the batter and spread it. Make a hole in the middle and pour a drop of oil in the hole (so that the adai comes crispy). Turn the adai after 1minute and wait until both sides are golden brown.

Adai can be had with tomato-onion chutney or jaggery or avial etc.

Rajma

Rajma, is a Punjabi dish.More than famous it is one of their staple diet. It is very healthy food and is eaten with Chappathi/Naan/Roti.

Ingredients:

Rajma - 2cups
Garam Masala - 1ts
Aam Chur - 2ts/as per taste
Green Chillies - 7
Onion - 3/4
Tomatoes - 2 (roma)
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 2-3ts
Turmeric powder - 2ts

Tempering:
Cumin seeds - 1 ts

Salt to taste

Prep:
Soak Rajma overnight in water.

Cooking time 30 mins
Servings - 5

Procedure:
Pressure cook the soaked Rajma until it is well cooked (not smashed). Drain the water (save the water, it can used in the gravy later. Thus the goodness of Rajma is preserved and the water adds taste to the gravy) and keep rajma aside.

Heat oil in  wide bottomed pan and add cumin seeds to it. Let it splutter, then add cut green chillies and onion.    Saute until the onion starts to turn slight pink, then add ginger-garlic paste. And saute until the raw smell of garlic is gone and the onion turns translucent. Then add garam masala and 3ts of pressure cooked rajma. Saute until nice aroma rises, then add cut tomatoes, turmeric powder, 5ts of cooked rajma and saute. Add little bit of water  (use rajma water), so that tomato can cook easily. Once tomato is cooked well, add rest of the Rajma, aam chur, salt and saute for 2mins. (Make sure you don't smash rajma). Add water so that we have nice gravy. Close and cook for 44-5 mins in medium heat. Then switch off. Your yummy rajma is ready to be eaten with chappathi/naan.

Hint: to increase taste you can also add 1/2 ts of panipuri powder along with garam masala. Add enough aam chur so that u get a slight tangy taste.