Gujarati Dal and Kadhhi

I have a friend who comes from the southern part of India, and the first thing he ever asks me to cook when we meet is the Gujarati-style Kadhhi....yeah, for people who know it and have relished it tons of times, it would sound like a joke, for its probably the easiest things to make!! However, these happen to be favorite gujarati recipes for a lot of people, and not just gujaratis! I'd like to dedicate this post to my friend who savours this simple recipe the most, and also the Gujarati dal, which perhaps requires a little more skill...

Kadhhi
Ingredients: 3 cups buttermilk, 1 cup chickpea flour (besan), 2 tbsp ghee, 1 tsp each of cumin, mustar and methi (fenugreek) seeds, 5-6 curry leaves, 2 green chillies, sugar or jaggery to taste, water

Method
Take 3 cups sour buttermilk and add one cup chickpea flour (besan) to this while you keep stirring continuously to avoid making any lumps. When the buttermilk and flour have blended well, heat a saucepan, add 2 tbsp ghee, some jeera seeds, methi seeds, 2 green chillies cut into small pieces and 5-6 curry leaves (limdo). When the seeds splutter, add the buttermilk mixture to it. Then add some jaggery or sugar, salt to taste, and some lemon juice if needed. Add some water if you need to make it thinner in consistency. Let the mixture boil on low flame. Keep stirring occasionally and cook uncovered for 8-10 mins. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with Jeera Rice or Khichdi!!

Gujarati Tuver Dal
Ingredients: 3 cups Tuver Dal, 10-12 raw peanuts, 1 tsp each of mustar, cumin and methi seeds, 5-6 curry leaves, a pinch of asafoetids, salt, sugar/jaggery, red chilli powder, dhana-jeeru powder (dry coriander and cumin powder), lemon juice to taste, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 chopped tomato, chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Method
Take 3 cups tuver dal and pressure cook it (covered upto 5 whistles) with a little extra water to make it soft. Add the peanuts to the dal while cooking. Now take a saucepan, add some mustard and jeera seeds, a pinch asafoetida and when seeds splutter, add the cooked dal in the pan. Add water to reach desired consistency; you can mash the dal partially to create a thick dal. Then add salt, turmeric powder, red chilly powder, dhana-jeeru powder, sugar or jaggery, lemon juice(to taste), half chopped tomato, 5-6 curry leaves, and bring the mixture to a boil. Then lower the flame and let it cook for 2-3 mins. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with Rice!!!

Tip of the day: If you manage to find "Dry Kokam" in an indian grocery store, use that instead of lemon juice to introduce tremendous flavour to your dal or kadhhi.