Your Cooking Coach
Show MenuHide Menu

Tag: channa dal

Curd (Yogurt) Rice

Curd Rice

I have never made curd rice before- but have eaten it in South Indian restaurants. I realized it was not very hard to make when I put it together the other night in 15 minutes- the key is to have all the ingredients on hand. I even happen to have frozen rice, which was ready in three minutes in the freezer. It is a great side dish or a quick snack…

  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
  • 8 to 9 curry leaves, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons grated ginger
  • 1 tablespoon channa dal
  • 1 tablespoon urad dal
  • ¼ cup grated coconut
  • ½ cup cilantro, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 cups cooked rice
  • 1 cup yogurt

Heat a medium frying pan with coconut oil. Add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, ginger, channa and urad dal. Saute on medium heat till the seeds begin to sizzle. Add the coconut and cilantro. Saute for a minute. Add the rice and salt and mix well. Take off the heat and add the yogurt. Mix well and check for seasonings before serving at room temperature.

Tomato Rice with Peas

Tomato RiceThis is my version of a South Indian rice dish my husband has all the time at restaurants. I have never made it before and thought it would be nice to try it at home. It is essentially cooked rice sauteed with a lot of spices, lentils and curry leaves. I decided to take it to another level and make a one pot meal out of it. How much do we love one pot meals?

In order to make this dish balanced I added frozen peas and shredded paneer which is an Indian style cheese. So now I had vegetables and protein in the rice dish. I guess if you wanted to be even more healthy, you can use brown rice instead of the white.

The rice dish was super flavorful with the mustard seeds, curry leaves, and a blend of spices. The crushed tomatoes and peanuts made this dish fabulous. My daughter is not into nuts- so all I did was take them out for her. She was very skeptical trying the rice- but once she had a bite, she was sold…
read more …

Dal Keema (Ground Turkey with Yellow Gram Lentils)

Dal Keema This is a very simple and delicious dish to make. If you have never made an Indian dish before and are a little overwhelmed- this maybe the one to try. Don’t let the list of spices scare you- if you can’t find any one of them, just eliminate them.

Keema is essentially ground meat. Typically it is either goat or lamb keema cooked with a vegetable- either peas, cauliflower, potatoes or spinach. I use turkey to create a healthier dish for my family.

I made this dish a bit different and paired it with lentils. I cooked the lentils separately in a pressure cooker. You don’t need to have one- just follow the same instructions but cook the lentils on the stove. It will take longer and a bit more liquid but you will get the same results.

The rest is quite simple, I sauteed some spices, onions and garlic. I added the ground turkey meat and cooked it for a while and then added the meat. To make the dish creamy, I added some Greek yogurt.

It was a delicious dish I served with fresh rotis and a spinach salad.
read more …