vegetarian dalcha and plantain bhujia


Dalcha is a lentil based curry cooked traditionally with mutton and is a hyderabadi specialty. I have seen an oriya version too and both of them taste awesome. You can choose from the mutton dalcha if you prefer non vegetarian meals, but both versions of dalcha are equally tasty.

Here I am giving a recipe of vegetarian dalcha which is a very good way to include some not so tasty vegetables into your meal. Yes I have used guar (cluster beans) and brinjals for this dalcha as these are the veggies my husband is not very pleased with. Also as most of my recipes, it is a simple and quick one and saves your time because you don't need any side dish with it.....

to prepare dalcha...
(2-3 large servings...)
prepare a masala paste which is the actual taste maker ( this masala has to be made fresh and can be kept in the freezer for further use)......you need to grind together...half a star anise, 1 tsp of cumin seeds, 1 tsp of black pepper corns, 2 whole red chillies, 4 cloves of garlic and half an inch piece of ginger...make a coarse paste using little water and keep aside.

apart from this you need
you can use any vegetables available but don't replace the tomatoes and potatoes.

a cup of chopped guar fali (cluster beans)
one medium sized brinjal cubed
one big red tomato cubed
2 medium potatoes peeled and cubed
3 tbsp of red lentil (masoor daal) washed and soaked for 10 minutes
1 tbsp of mustard oil ( you can use you choice of oil)
asafoetida 2 pinches
fenugreek seeds 1 tsp
salt to taste
turmeric powder 1 tsp

to proceed....heat oil in a pressure cooker...throw in the asafoetida and fenugreek seeds and as soon as they splutter, dunk in the cubed potatoes.....after just a minute add the masala paste and stir to fry the masala n potatoes together.....after a couple of minutes add the beans....stir for 2 more minutes and the dunk in the brinjals and tomatoes....toss to mix ...add salt and turmeric powder ........now add the washed and soaked daal to the cooker .......pour 3 cups of water................cover the lid and cook til 2 whistles........open the lid when pressure releases and serve hot with plain boiled rice.............

if you want it to be a bit sour, add little amchoor powder or tamarind paste to your taste..........it's absolutely yummy and you forget that you are eating those most hated veggies.........the flavors of cumin and star anise make this dalcha very very flavorsome ........you will repeat this one recipe i am sure......though the pics are not very tempting but you can trust me on the taste......it is super healthy.............

I like it with plain boiled rice and nothing on the side but A wanted some sabzi, so I served it with a quick kele ki bhujia ...which is a simple stirfry made with sliced plantains (with skin) .....

To make this kele ki bhujia....you need to heat 2 tbsp of mustard oil in a kadhai, temper with a few fenugreek seeds( gives a very aromatic flavor to this stirfry) , dunk in the sliced plantains.....fry till golden brown.....then add a tbsp or more of garlic and green chilly paste, salt to taste and a bit of turmeric powder........with a splash of water.........cover and cook till water is absorbed and a tempting bhujia is ready...takes about 8 minutes if using 2 plantains........this is not a low cal sabzi so keep a tab......presence of the skin makes sure it is nutritious n plantain is not a very high cal veggie but it uses more oil to fry....


I like the dalcha in the form of a soup too and always use the leftover as a one bowl meal for myself.


You can always add a little boiled pearl barley to it and make it a more filling meal if you wish. I wouldn't mind some boiled eggs with this meal too.

Enjoy...

Comments

  1. delicious great gravy I have some left over chapattis that would be good with this lol

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  2. This dish is new to me. Never tasted the meat version also. But I like ur idea of turning it into soup. I love soups

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  3. hi Sangeeta and thanks for visiting my blog and thus help me discovering yours. You have good bunch of dishes and I have a lot to explore. Will keep coming back. Stay in touch.

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  4. This dish looks very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Never tried sliced plantain with Skin, must try out.

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  6. Using plantains is such a great idea! I've just been deep-frying them, or serving them mashed. I love this way of cooking them; I definitely have to try your method!

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  7. I have eaten plantains with the skin on. Does it get cooked? My mom used to peel it.

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  8. Nice dishes dearie..the plantain one is my hub's fav..I make it almost the same,except that I use chilli powder instead of chilli paste..so it goes kinda reddish brown shade..n yes..turmeric too..:)

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  9. Super healthy dish as u said...will def. try it out..

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  10. thanks all of you......
    Jackie...the stirfried plaintains are very flavorful depending on what we use to flavor them.

    SJ...the skin does get cooked dear...you will not be able make out if you close your eyes...i find it tastier than the peeled plantains......i make the kele ka kofta too with the skin....did you try that...

    Varsha...the green chilly n garlic paste with a little water does a magic to this stirfry.....just cover the pan after adding them n see the jaadoo.....if you use red chilly powder...add some garlic powdre n a little water n use in the same manner....the taste will be different that using red chilly powder......makes a nice variation.

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  11. I heard about dalcha before , but don't know how to cook .... Looks great ...

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