It has been a while I have been on this site so I thought I'd share a recipe that I just made that some of you may enjoy especially if you like Indian food. It's homey and comfy and a whole meal. You can make several components ahead of time and freeze them and then viola incorporate them last minute to make a meal:
The traditional name of the dish is dal dhokli and I make it often in the winter months but Spring with it's chili nights is a good time to try it and enjoy it. The ingredient list is long but don't let that intimidate you.
Make the Dough for the dhokli (dumplings):
1 cup of wheat flour
1/4 cup of chickpea flour
couple of pinches of salt
1 tsp of red chili powder
1 tsp of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp of ajwain seeds (also known as carom seeds)
water to bind the dough
Mix dry ingredients and add enough water to make a nice stiff dough ball and let it rest atleast for a couple of hours. You can also make it the night before
Make the Dal
2 cups of tor dal (available at most Indian stores) - yellow split peas
1 whole tomato
6 cups of water
Boil the dal with the tomato and water until it's tender. The tomato will turn into mush. Blend the dal and keep aside. You can also make this ahead of time
Now to put it all together.
Temper the dal first: Chop 4 cloves of garlic and a green chili and keep aside. You will also need 3 tsp of whole mustard seeds, 3 tsp of whole cumin seeds, 1 tsp of fenugreek seeds (if you can find it), 1 tbsp of chopped peanuts (roasted is fine), handful of curry leaves, 1 tsp of grated ginger and 2 sticks of cinnamon
Heat 3 tbsp of oil. Once it's hot add the cinnamon, mustard, cumin, fenugreek, curry leaves and green chili. Let it cook for a minute. Then add the garlic and ginger and peanuts. Next pour the boiled and pureed dal into this spice mixture. Add 3 tsps of sugar and 1 tbsp of lemon juice and let the dal simmer for 30 minutes
Now to the dumplings: Divide the dough into 4 or 5 equal parts and make balls the size of a small golf ball. Roll the dough into a large circle (not too thick, not too thin). Cut the circle into squares with a pizza cutter and slowly add them to the simmering dal. Let it cook for atleast 20 minutes
Serve piping hot in a bowl with some freshly chopped cilantro
You can make the dumplings way ahead of time and seperate them via wax paper and freeze them in a freezer tray and then store them in a ziploc bag. You can also boil the dal mixture ahead of time and freeze that
At the last minute you can temper the dal and add the frozen dhokli to it and you have your meal.
Hope you enjoy it as much as we do in our house.
The traditional name of the dish is dal dhokli and I make it often in the winter months but Spring with it's chili nights is a good time to try it and enjoy it. The ingredient list is long but don't let that intimidate you.
Make the Dough for the dhokli (dumplings):
1 cup of wheat flour
1/4 cup of chickpea flour
couple of pinches of salt
1 tsp of red chili powder
1 tsp of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp of ajwain seeds (also known as carom seeds)
water to bind the dough
Mix dry ingredients and add enough water to make a nice stiff dough ball and let it rest atleast for a couple of hours. You can also make it the night before
Make the Dal
2 cups of tor dal (available at most Indian stores) - yellow split peas
1 whole tomato
6 cups of water
Boil the dal with the tomato and water until it's tender. The tomato will turn into mush. Blend the dal and keep aside. You can also make this ahead of time
Now to put it all together.
Temper the dal first: Chop 4 cloves of garlic and a green chili and keep aside. You will also need 3 tsp of whole mustard seeds, 3 tsp of whole cumin seeds, 1 tsp of fenugreek seeds (if you can find it), 1 tbsp of chopped peanuts (roasted is fine), handful of curry leaves, 1 tsp of grated ginger and 2 sticks of cinnamon
Heat 3 tbsp of oil. Once it's hot add the cinnamon, mustard, cumin, fenugreek, curry leaves and green chili. Let it cook for a minute. Then add the garlic and ginger and peanuts. Next pour the boiled and pureed dal into this spice mixture. Add 3 tsps of sugar and 1 tbsp of lemon juice and let the dal simmer for 30 minutes
Now to the dumplings: Divide the dough into 4 or 5 equal parts and make balls the size of a small golf ball. Roll the dough into a large circle (not too thick, not too thin). Cut the circle into squares with a pizza cutter and slowly add them to the simmering dal. Let it cook for atleast 20 minutes
Serve piping hot in a bowl with some freshly chopped cilantro
You can make the dumplings way ahead of time and seperate them via wax paper and freeze them in a freezer tray and then store them in a ziploc bag. You can also boil the dal mixture ahead of time and freeze that
At the last minute you can temper the dal and add the frozen dhokli to it and you have your meal.
Hope you enjoy it as much as we do in our house.