To my surprise & shock, apparently you DO get nenua (ridge gourd) in Bangalore, that too on a day of national shutdown! So here's Bihari style nenua with kaala chana :D
You'll need:
* 1.5 cups kaala chana, soaked overnight
* 1kg peeled nenua
* 1 large onion, finely chopped lengthwise
* 1/2 tsp jeera
* 2 bay leaves
* 2 red chilies
* 1 tsp turmeric powder
* 1 tsp coriander powder
* 1/2 tsp jeera powder
* 1 tsp red chili powder
* Salt to taste
* Cooking oil
1. Sabse pehle, pressure cook the chana with 1 tsp salt in 1.5 l of water for 5 min. Just ensure that the chana is a little tender but its shape is still intact; it shouldn't become slush/pulp/mulch :P
2. Now, heat 4 tbsp cooking oil in a kadhai & add jeera & the bay leaves to it. When this begins to sputter, add the onion & saute for a while on a medium flame till the onion turns translucent & pink.
3. Post this, add the turmeric powder, coriander powder, jeera powder & red chili powder & saute for 2 min. Then add the nenua, chana & salt.
4. Now saute this for 5 min, cover & then cook on a low flame till the nenua becomes tender.
5.Once done, take off from the flame.
TipToEat: Serve piping hot with off-the-tava rotis. Heaven!
Dosa. Dose. Dosai. Dhosha. Dosay. Dhosai. Tosai. Dvashi. Thosai. Toshay. Staple dish down south (of India) ;) And with variations, and how!!
* Quinoa
* Moong dal
* Chili
* Open - chutney powder is spread on it while cooking, before serving, spiced and mashed potato is placed on top.
* Onion
* Ghee
* Butter
* Roast
* Kerala - a different kind of traditional dosa - small, thick, soft and spongy. More like a pancake and somewhat similar to appam, but dal is used in the batter for appam, and the appam is not flat.
* Family roast - :| a long dosa which can be spread over 2 or 3 ft!!
* Paper - a long and very thin, delicate dosa which can be spread over 2 ft. And my favorite among dosas :)
* Green - stuffed with fresh vegetables and mint chutney.
* Thalir - made of Maida and is very soft and delicate, eaten with sugar.
* Chow-chow - stuffed with (Indian flavored) Chinese noodles.
* Methi
* Cone
* Rava
* Wheat
* Vella - made of jaggery with ghee.
* Ragi
* Muttai - eggs are added to the regular batter; the word muttai in Tamil means "egg".
* Set - a popular dosa in Karnataka, it is cooked only on one side and served in a set of two to three, hence the name.
* Benne - similar to masala or set dosa, but smaller in size, it is served with liberal helpings of butter sprinkled on it.
* Cabbage
* Neer
* 70 mm - similar to masala dosa, it is larger, about 60 cm in diameter.
* American chopsuey - served with a filling of fried noodles and tomato ketchup.
* Uppu puli - made by adding uppu (salt) and puli (tamarind) to the batter, it is a part of Udupi cuisine.
But as you all know, the lazy chef will always cook the classics (read: the easiest) :P So, here's Masala Dosa!!
You'll need:
* 1 tbsp cooking oil
* 1 tbsp mustard seeds
* 1 tsp chana dal, soaked & drained
* 8 curry leaves
* 1 tsp chopped green chilies
* 1/3 cup sliced onions
* 1 1/4 cups boiled, peeled & finely chopped potatoes
* 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
* Salt to taste
* 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
* 2 cups dosa batter (NO I didn't make it from scratch! Am WAY too lazy, remember? Got it fresh from a store) :D
* 4 tbsp butter for cooking
* 6 tbsp finely chopped onions
And here's how:
1. Sabse pehle, heat the cooking oil in a kadhai. Then add the mustard seeds. When they begin to crackle, add the chana dal & saute on a medium flame till it turns light brown in color.
2. Then, add the curry leaves, green chilies & sliced onions, MIX WELL :D & saute on a slow flame for 5 min.
3. Iske baad, add the potatoes, turmeric powder, salt, coriander leaves & again, MIX WELL on a medium flame for a min, while stirring occasionally.
Masala is done. Now for the dosa.
4. Heat a non-stick tava, then sprinkle a little water on it. Thoda sizzle hoga then wipe off with a cloth.
5. Now, pour 1/4th of of the batter on the tava & spread with a katori to make a 9" dosa (obviously maine measure nahi kiya) :P Andaaz se kiya.
6. Then, smear 1 tbsp butter & spread 1/4th of the masala evenly over the dosa with a spatula (evenly, my ass :| I think I made continents, not a circle).
7. Iske baad, sprinkle 1.5 tbsp of the chopped onions EVENLY over the dosa till it (dosa) turns brown in color.
8. Tricky Part - fold over while pressing the dosa lightly using the spatula to make a flat roll and cut into 4 equal pieces using sharp edge of the spatula on the tava.
9. Repeat the procedure for the remaining batter & masala.
Masala Dosa done!! Serve immediately with sambhar & chutney (whose recipes am not posting) :P
