zucchini daal or a lentil soup with zucchini, a healthy simple desivideshi fusion...


Zucchini is not an Indian origin vegetable and so are potatoes or the tomatoes ...........yes it's relatively new but it does not deter me from loving  it , be it a salad or a stir fry , a savory pancake or even in a cake ......i have always loved this vegetable as i love all cucurbits ( cucumber-pumpkin family )..........many of you will be shrinking your nose i know but i believe in treating a vegetable in a manner it suits you.....it may be possible you don't like the zucchini stirfry , it is not the fault of zucchini ....may be your taste buds are accustomed to a particular type of food n zucchini will be better in a daal for you.......my point is , you can always try n get the optimum taste with any vegetable on earth...try different things n stick to what you like...that's it .......love all vegetables , they would do very good to you.
I have grown zucchini in my garden in the past and have seen how prolific it can be , i remember when there would be too many zucchinis n we we'd try to give them away to neighbors.............ye subzi hum nahi khate ( we don't eat this vegetable).... was the unanimous reply n i ended up making many many versions of zucchini.....

This daal is simple and can be a good soup for dinner or daal roti for lunch......i love anyways ...


ingredients...

mung daal ( split mung beans without skin ) 3 tbsp
zuccini ( i used yelloe n green both ) quartered lengthwise n chopped 2 cups
tomatoes chopped 1 cup
celery stalk chopped 2 tbsp
celery leaves chopped 2 tbsp
spring onions 2 nos. ( bulbs and greens chopped separately)
garlic cloves chopped finely 2 tsp
asafoetida 1 pinch
cumin seeds 1 tsp
red chilly powder 2 tsp ( or to taste )
turmeric powder 1 tsp
salt to taste
ghee 2 tsp

procedure...

Pressure cook the mung daal with 2 cups of water , turmeric powder n salt ...taking care not to overcook , it has to be cooked till the pressure builds up and the first whistle blows....keep aside to come to normal pressure.

Heat ghee in  a kadhai and throw in the asafoetida and cumin seeds , when they get browned add the chopped garlic n let it brown too.....add the chopped spring onion bulbs and fry till translucent .

Add the red chilly powder and then the chopped celery stalks and zucchini with salt ( the daal has salt for itself so here it will be just for the veggies) and stir fry , add the chopped tomatoes after a while and cook till half done.

Pour in the boiled daal and let it come to boil....add the chopped spring onion greens and celery leaves  and it's done......the tomatoes will be partially blended with the daal but the zucchini should be firm yet cooked ......cover the lid for a couple of minutes and serve immediately as a side dish or as a soup or just with whole wheat rotis .......i love my daal roti like this...
This daal has a subzi like feel as the zucchini is kept firm n not squishy , it tastes very fresh this way and pairs well with the textured mung dal ( never overcook mung daal ) which has half blended tomatoes in it imparting a sourish flavor ..not to forget the hing-jeera-lasun-laal mirch tempering for the daal ....desi meets videshi celery........do i need to tell more about the flavors of this daal ???

The celery is home grown and i am having a tough time keeping it alive in this scorching heat these days ....parsley has succumbed to heat already.......i love my oregano n basil plants for being so forgiving n being with me in all seasons.....oregano is having cute little flowers and i have dried the surplus leaves for gifting away.........


Do you get the aroma...........i love it.....isn't it the cutest flower ???

Comments

  1. Hi Sangeeta,
    Good to see zuchini recipes.....i have to tell u that i love it and i love all cucurbits my favorite being Kaddu or seetaphal as called in delhi. Whenever i go home after a long time my mom cooks that for me as she knows its my favorite....i like it in khatta meetha flavor...i also like lauki and it was cooked frequently at my place..and as for zuchini..i just discovered it one month back and since then have tried it in various forms....and will definitely try this one now..i know i will love it...
    My friends used to call me boring green as in my office canteen i will always go for the veggies tht were green in color :)

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  2. thanks crazy.
    even i like the khatta meetha kaddu ki subzi with poori...or with rotis.

    green is never boring for me ....

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  3. Oh wow, that looks extremely colorful appetizing, what a feast...same pinch, love all cucurbitacea:)

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  4. This looks so yummy and I feel like grabbing a ladle full and eat it with rice and a dollop of ghee on it :)

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  5. Look at the colourful dish! It is so healthy too!

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  6. Subzi looks so colorful sangeeta....I wish I was your neighbour so that I could get free supply of zuchini.....Love that oregano....

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  7. Cutest flower and lovely foliage :)
    To do justice to So many veggies and varied flavours in this dal...I am going to have this as a soup!!

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  8. You have a very interesting blog sangeeta! it's enjoyable reading it!

    do stop by my blog when you have a chance! http://ruchisimplyfood.blogspot.com

    Thanks Ruchi.

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  9. First time here at your blog. Love your space and your recipe collections. Love the zucchini dal. sounds interesting :-)

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  10. Very appetizing dal.I don't quite remember loving veggies as a kid,but right now I'm all embraces for fresh and healthy veggies :D

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  11. That looks yummy. I have never tried zucchini in dal and it looks interesting. Next time i will add some when i am making dal. And thanks for the tip on cornflour.

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  12. really love the zuchini dal. looks so bright and tasty. would love to dip some fulkas to complete my meal.

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  13. The zucchini daal looks scrumptious and healthy!

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  14. Hi Sangeeta,
    I have read many of recipes but never commented..I came across this recipe where you use the pressure cooker to minimise the oil in the sabzi and also to fasten the cooking process.I followed it to make a dry sabzi and it turned out so tasty and super fast..Thanks a ton
    Vini

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  15. very healthy and looks appetising!

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  16. the oregano is looking lovely :)

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  17. made this 2 days back....came out good.....its only 2 months of knowing zuchini and its a regular in my kitchen now :)

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  18. I was actually leaving comments for the horsegram paratha..when I scrolled down, zucchini dal caught my attention and finally landed here...both the recipes are wonderful..ofcourse FULL OF HEALTH..good going girl...

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  19. Your zucchini dal looks delicious. I make something very similar with lentils instead of split mung beans but am interested in trying this variation.

    Congratulations on your balanced healthy weight loss. Learning to cook more healthfully is such a wonderful way to get healthy and lose weight at the same time.

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