Simple food for the soul

Thanks to Mejwani paripurna kitchen's call for interesting recipes on their Facebook page, I got motivation to finally update my blog with my cooking experiments. Now I'm on extended maternity leave which I'm fully utilizing for trying out different recipes which I had bookmarked long ago. I also have some paper clippings from Loksatta's Sunday supplement.Food critic and researcher Mohsina Mukadam and Dietitian Dr. Anuradha Sovani used to write articles related to different food culture.I think it was 6-7 years or may be even before that. Finally now I got time to try these recipes.

Before my leave I was very much keen on preparing recipes which don't use many ingredients and are not very time consuming for preparation/cooking. Following 3 recipes fall under this category. First 2 are traditional Oriya recipes. Third one is prepared at my in-laws house but I don't think its traditional recipe.

Saag with badi

1 bunch red saag (lal maath) or bathuva (chandan batava)
8-10 badis (these are made from urad dal. Similar to saandage)
2-3 cloves garlic chopped
1-2 green chillies
1 tsp paanch foran (equal mix of cumin, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, kalongi and saunf)
3 tsp oil
salt to taste

Thoroughly wash the leafy vegetables and drain water completely. Chop finely.
Heat oil in pan. Fry badis till golden brown and keep aside. In remaining oil prepare tadka with paanch foran, green chili and garlic.

Add chopped saag and crushed baadi. Cover and cook for 7-8 min. Add salt and again cook for a min or so.
You can eat this with roti or rice.

Jahni poshto

1 Jahni/Dodaka/Ridge guard cut into small cubes
2 medium size potatoes cut into small cubes

1 medium size onion finely chopped
3-4 green chillies
1 tsp paanch foran
3-4 green chillies
4-5 tsp poshto/khaskhas
3-4 tsp oil
salt to taste

Cut ridge guard and potatoes in small cubes. Finely chop onions. Vertically slit 2 chillies. Now heat oil in pan. Once heated add paanch foran, chillies, onions. Fry till
onion is slightly brown.Next add ridge guard and potatoes. Add water and cover to cook. Grind khaskhas to fine powder. Then add green chillies and grind along with khaskhas powder. Once potatoes are almost cooked, add this khaskhas - green chillies powder. Cover the pan again and cook till this masala is cooked well.

This is a great side dish with daal-chawal

Dal tadka with scrambled egg

This is a great dish to eat with phulaka specially on Sunday night as its very easy to cook. Also the ingredients used are very simple. Use of scrambled egg is purely
optional. This tadka tastes equally good without egg.

1 cup black urad (soak for 5-6 hrs)
1 medium onion chopped
3-4 green chillies
1" ginger finely diced
2 eggs (optional)
salt to taste
1/2 tbsp turmeric powder.
1 tsp oil

Pressure cook pre-soaked urad. You may need 4-5 whistles to properly cook dal. You may add salt and turmeric powder while cooking dal or you can add later.
Now in a pan heat oil.Fry ginger till it gives out nice aroma.Next add green chillies and onion. Cook onion till its slightly brown.If turmeric powder was not added
earlier, add now. In this tadka add boiled taal. Let it simmer till it reaches required consistency. Add salt if not added earlier.Cover the pan and switch off gas.
Prepare scrambled egg with just salt as seasoning. While serving dal, place some scrambled eggs on top.