Cabbage dal

My kids love dal, but they don't like cabbage stir fry or any dish with cabbage. So one day I thought of adding cabbage in  dal and they didn't even realize that their favorite dal had cabbage in it. Whether you like cabbage or not, this dish takes dal to a different level. It can be served with rice or roti..a little ghee and papads on the side to go with rice makes it a yummy meal.

Ingredients

Toor dal or split moong dal - 1/2 cup

Onion - half of a medium sized, chopped fine

Shredded cabbage - 2 cups

Tomato - 1 small, chopped (optional)

For tempering

Oil - 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Jeera/ Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Dry red chillies - 2

Curry leaves - a sprig

Garlic - 3 cloves crushed

Hing/asafetida - a generous pinch

Turmeric powder - 1/4 TSP

Chilly powder - 3/4 TSP

Chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Salt as needed

Preparation

1. Rinse and drain dal and pressure cook with 2 cups of water.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds followed by jeera. Add crushed garlic and saute till raw smell is gone. Add dry chillies, onion, curry leaves and hing.

3. Stir for a minute and add cabbage and spice powders.  Mix well and add tomato.

4. Stir fry for a minute. Add cooked dal and enough salt. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add water if needed to adjust consistency.

5. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves/cilantro.

Serve hot.

Hot and Sour Veggie Soup

It was a perfect cold evening for a hot and sour soup and I had lots of veggies in the fridge that I could use. Hot and Sour is my favourite soup and when we were in Bangalore, everytime we eat out I used to order this, either veggie or with chicken. My husband tells me to try something different, but I don't bother. The perfect balance of spiciness and sourness makes the best hot and sour soup. I know many of my friends who do not try to make this at home, as they feel it is time consuming. But the recipe is very simple, only chopping the veggies take some time.This is a basic recipe and you may add egg or  chicken(cooked and shredded) to customize this.

Ingredients:

Oil - 1 tbsp

Finely chopped ginger - 1 tbsp

Finely chopped garlic - 1 tbsp

Carrot - 1 small

Beans - 4 or 5

Cauliflower - 2 florets

Capsicum/Bell pepper - half, I used yellow.

Cabbage - 1/4 cup, shredded (As I didn't have green cabbage in stock, I used purple)

Mushroom  - 1 or 2

Spring onions - 1 tbsp for cooking and 1 tbsp for garnish

Veg Stock cubes - 1 pack(I used Maggie and one pack has 2 cubes)

Water - 1 litre

Soy sauce - 1 tbsp

Red chilly sauce - 1 tsp (Adjust based on the hotness)

Tomato ketchup - 3 tbsp

Vinegar - 2 tsp (I used White Wine Vinegar)

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Corn flour - 1 tbsp or more (adjust to the consistency you need)

Chinese 5 spice shake - 1/2 tsp (optional, but it gives a very nice flavour)

Salt

Use the above quantities as a guideline and adjust as per your taste. I like it to be spicy and sour.

Getting ready

1. Chop carrot, beans and capsicum to small pieces. Chop the cauliflower florets and mushroom and cut the cabbage and spring onion into thin strips.

2. Boil 1 litre of water and add the 2 stock cubes. Follow the instructions on the pack as the amount of water differs for other brands stock cubes. The cubes dissolve and the stock is ready.

3. Mix corn flour in 1/4 cup of water.

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a large pan and saute ginger and garlic till you get the aroma. Now add carrot, beans,capsicum,cauliflower and cabbage and saute well for a few minutes.

2. Add the prepared stock and bring to boil. Add mushrooms and spring onions.

3. Now add all the sauces, vinegar and salt and let it boil. Do a taste check.

4. Check if the veggies are cooked. They shouldn't get mashed. Add the cornflour and bring to boil. Add some pepper powder and chinese spice shake. Turn off the stove.

5. Garnish with spring onions.

Serve piping hot with some breadsticks.

Linking to Anyone can cook: Series 27

Also sending to Iftar moments at Taste of Pearl City

Linking this to Life is Green Event