Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Simple Lunches - 10 Beetroot leaves Paruppu (dal)

We had our health checkups a couple of weeks ago at the office which usually means a flurry of diet and exercise consciousness brought on by the news of high cholesterol. Some blame it on the shrimp they ate a couple of days and take the news in stride, a few others try to make changes to their diet. One was going on a meatless diet and being fond of Indian food asked me the recipe for lentils - Ameri speak for dal. I gave him the standard onion, garlic, green chilies with seasoning of mustard and cumin but he informed me yesterday that he liked the dal a whole lot better with ginger in it. I rarely ever add ginger to dal or sambhar.

I am consumed with guilt if I buy beets and end up throwing away the green parts because they don't look too good after sitting in the fridge for quiet some time. These days I plan(!) the purchase of beets much better. The greens acutally are quiet versatile and fit into a lot of dishes. The quickest surest way to use them ofcourse is in dal. The dal serves as a perfect partner for my favorite sunday meal,
chapatis with aloo gobi. This menu make its appearance once in two weeks or so.


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Ingredients
1. Bunch of beet greens washed and chopped fine, the soft stem part can be used also
2. 1/4 Cup of Toor Dal washed
3. 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
4. 1 tsp of sambhar powder
5. seasonings: cumin, mustard, curry leaves, asfoetida, few pepper corns
6. Salt

Method
1. Pressure cook the greens and dal with about 1 cup of water, turmeric powder and few drops of sesame oil, cool, mix and mash slightly
2. In a another pan heat a little bit of oil, add the seasonings and when they start to turn color and the mustard pops
3. Pour over the dal and cook for a minute or two, add a bit of ghee on top.

Perfect side for chapatis alongside Aloo Gobi.

Puttu Maker
A new easy to use puttu maker caught my eyes in the stores during the India visit. Looked similar to a idli pan and could be used in the pressure cooker. The tumblers had holes on the bottom for easy steaming :)

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13 comments:

  1. I love your simple lunch series. All we need for a busy week day.. The puttu maker is cool. have to look out for these during the next visit...

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  2. i love the puttu maker indo..did u buy in chennai..if so plz specify the name of the shop...

    and the poriyal looks so good.

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  3. ISG,That platter sure boosts health! Thanks for sharing the latest puttu maker, its new to me, seems convinient,what with four chambers,seems like gonna b less work!

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  4. Revathi, yes did not want to forget the everyday food in the enthu to post the exotic. The puttu maker is really handy.

    Lavi, no I bought this in Kamala stores in CBE. I am pretty sure you would get it in any pathra kadai in Chennai.

    Purnima, yes that is fav lunch platter. yes the puttu maker is easy to clean and best of all it goes in the pressure cooker.

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  5. OMG!!! I am looking at that Puttu maker, that looks lot eaisre than the one I have. Beautiful!:)

    I NEVER throw any green leaves which comes with veggies unless it's bitter! Looks like a great lunch!:)

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  6. Wow!!This is a healthy one ...Awesome whole lunch!!!

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  7. Wow, the dal looks so yummy! Simple way of preparation. Sounds interesting.

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  8. Wonderful use for the beet greens! Puttu maker looks great, too! :)

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  9. I agree with you on planning while buying vegetables like beet and radish because i love their greens too. Lovely daal recipe. And i am envying your puttu maker :-D.

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  10. Puttu is my favorite..The puttu maker looks different..The dhall looks delicious

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  11. never tried beetroot leaves ,nice and healthy dal yumm

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  12. I too hate to waste beet leaves. They are so tasty and good for you besides. Lovely lunch!

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  13. Love them both, the new puttu maker and the beet greens dal. I've been eating too much rich food lately -- don't need the doctor to tell me it's time to get back to basics for springtime. Perhaps even some beets for the garden, this year, yes? :)

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