A simple dinner thali and the recipe for Peas Masala

BM #74 Week 3 Day 3
Theme : Thali/Platter
Dish : Peas Masala

The husband and the daughter have loved this theme that I chose. They were very, very happy to help with and polish off the breakfast thali and the lunch thali. The final thali that I have for this Blogging Marathon is a simple North Indian thali that we had for dinner.

In this thali are :

Rotis

Stir fried French cut beans

Cucumber raita

Peas masala

To make the peas masala, you need the following :

Green peas - 1 cup (I used frozen. You could use fresh peas or dried ones soaked overnight and cooked)

Onion - 1, chopped fine

Green chilli - 2, minced

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

Butter - 2 tsp

Cumin seeds/jeera - 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Jeera powder - 1 tsp

Dhania powder - 1/2 tsp

Almonds - 12, soaked in hot water and de-skinned

Tomato - 3

Salt - to taste

Grind the almonds and the tomatoes to a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Heat butter in a pan. Add cumin seeds, green chillies and onions. Saute until the onions start to brown. Add all the masala powders and then the ground paste along with salt and half a cup of water. Let it boil over a low flame for a few minutes. Stir in the peas and let boil for a few more minutes. Adjust the consistency by adding some more water if required. Garnish with some chopped coriander leaves and switch off the heat.

Serve hot.

Mini meals - A South Indian lunch platter and the recipe for Sambar Rice

BM #74 Week 3 Day 2
Theme : Thali/Platter
Dish : Sambar Sadam/Sambar Rice

Several years back, when I started cooking, one of the things I could never get right is the quantity. For the longest time, I used to cook one dish and then we would eat it for several days. Now, with some experience, I think I am finally getting the hang of it. I still do tend to cook more when I have guest, but most of the time, I manage to cook the right quantity these days. In the initial days of cooking, I never would have imagined cooking a thali meal at home, but today, I've tried recreating the Mini meals served in several popular restaurants in Tamilnadu, India. Small portions of different varities of rice, a flatbread and its side, some fried vadam and pickle are the usual components of a mini meal.

Pictured in the thali above are :
Puri with aloo masala
Thakkali sadam / Tomato rice
Sambar sadam / Sambar rice
Thair sadam / Curd rice
Lime pickle
Vadam

All the recipes except the ones for sambar rice and curd rice have been shared on the blog before and clicking on the names above will take you to the individual recipes.
Today, I will be sharing the recipe for sambar sadam. For this thali, I made sambar sadam by cooking rice and sambar separately and then combining them.

What you need:
Cooked rice - 1 cup
Cooked dal - 1/2 cup
Mixed chopped vegetables - 3/4 cup (I used carrot, beans, potato, onion and drumstick)
Tamarind paste - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Sambar powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp. (I used sesame oil)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Chana dal - 1/2 tsp
Salt

In a large pan, heat oil. Saute chopped onions until translucent. Add in the rest of the chopped vegetables and turmeric powder. Now add tamarind concentrate and a cup of water. Boil on a low flame until the vegetables are cooked. To make it quicker, you can pre-cook the veggies and add them to the tamarind concentrate.  Now add the cooked dal, sambar powder and salt. Stir well and let it boil for  a few minutes. Switch off heat.
Mix the cooked rice to this. The sambar rice should be a little watery as it will thicken on cooling. You can adjust the consistency by adding some hot water if needed.
In a small pan, heat a teaspoon of oil. Add urad dal, chana dal and mustard seeds to it. When the seeds pop, pour this over the sambar rice. Top with some chopped curry leaves and coriander.
Serve hot.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#74.

Mini tiffin - a South Indian breakfast platter and the recipe for Mysore bonda

BM #74 Week 3 Day 1
Theme : Thalis
Dish : Mysore bonda

Buffets, thalis, quick meals, mini tiffins - any meal where an assortment of dishes is served on one platter is something that I can never resist. The last time we were in the husband's hometown, we went to a small restaurant where I tried out the breakfast tiffin thali. With small portions of pongal, vadai, kesari, sambar, chutney, puri masal and dosa served in a visually and gastronomically appealing manner, this is one breakfast that has been fondly talked about and remembered very often.  In fact, every time I've felt even slightly hungry, I've wished that there was some place here that served this kind of thali.  Making a large number of dishes when I don't have company is usually not my style of cooking, but  this time, I decided to make an exception.

In the platter are an Onion Dosa, mini idlis soaked in sambar, rava kichdi, rava kesari, mysore bonda and coconut chutney.

Some of these recipes have been shared on the blog before and I have included links to older posts with the recipes.
Today, I will be sharing the recipe for Mysore bonda - a deep fried snack that, though a little time consuming, is not very difficult to make.

What you need :
Urad dal - 1 cup, soaked in plenty of water for an hour and drained
Curry leaves - a few, chopped
Green chillies - 3, minced
Black peppercorns - 7 or 8, coarsely crushed
Coconut sliced into tiny bits - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - for deep frying

Grind the drained urad dal, adding as little water as possible, in a grinder (recommended) or a blender (second best option). When well ground, the batter will be light and fluffy, floating when a bit of it is added to water.
Remove this batter into a container and add all the other ingredients except salt. (*)
Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. When the oil is hot, add salt to the batter, mix it well and drop small balls of batter to the oil. Fry on a medium flame until well browned on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain off excess oil using a paper towel.
Serve hot with coconut chutney.

* Salt, when added to the batter, makes it watery and difficult to shape. So, add it at the very end, just before you start frying, and mix it in well.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#74.