Living the 'Filmy' life and Mixed Dal Kasoori Methi

I have been away for so long now that my writing feels rusty! In my defense, it has been a crazy month... those who know me will know that my life has always been filmi. So yes, it has been at it again :P Hmmm... how much can I say without really saying anything?? Yeah yeah, I know sometimes it is better to not say anything at all. But then me being me, I will say this much - in these past couple of weeks, I have talked a lot, screamed a bit, counselled endlessly, cried, hugged, laughed, stayed up all night, lost lotsa money at poker, spent time with my closest friends, fought with another friend, went to a shrink, decided to get a job, then decided to study instead, went for an interview, did not go for another, threw a party, cooked some, broke my bling phone, felt envious, got infuriated, got exasperated, got depressed, got stoned... Weeellll, not necessarily in that order :) So if that isn't the recipe for a masala film, what is??!

For all of you who got stuck on me going to the shrink part, no! It was NOT for me! But still, it was quite a milestone... sitting in a shrink's office.... hehehe!

So anyways, coming back to the blog now seems like some semblance of normalcy has been restored to my life. So I shall hang on to that illusion for a while till the filmi-ness strikes again! :D

Mango Dal with Sauteed French Beans

Mango Dal (Mamidikaya Pappu) is an integral part of all South-Indian cooking in the summers. And with he abundance of raw mangoes available now, I decided to try my hand at this childhood favorite.

Ingredients:

Raw Mango - peeled and chopped into large pieces - 1
Toor Dal - 1 cup
Turmeric - 1 pinch
Salt - To taste
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida/Hing - 1 pinch
Red Chillies - 2
Oil - 1 tsp

Pressure cook the Toor dal and the mango pieces in 2 cups water with a pinch of turmeric and some salt. The dal and the mango pieces should be soft and cooked, but not mushy. In a heavy bottom pan, splutter the mustard seeds, red chillies and hing in some oil. When they start crackling, add the cooked dal and mangoes and stir well. Garnish with some grated raw mango and coriander leaves.


Sauteed French Beans

Along with the Mango Dal, I made some simple Sauteed French Beans that tasted great with rice. It took me just 10min to cook this and I really liked the light flavours...though Sid with his thoroughly Indian palate thought he could do with more masalas!


Ingredients:

French Beans - 250 gms
Oil for tempering
Mustard seeds
Asafoetida/Hing - 1 pinch
Salt
Black Peppercorns
Lemon juice

Wash the french beans and slice them into 2 long pieces each. In a wide frying pan or wok, crackle the mustard seeds and asafoetida in 1 tbsp of oil. Add the beans and sautee for about 5min till they are cooked but retain their crunch. Turn off the gas and sprinkle some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add a dash of lemon juice, stir well and serve hot with some rice and dal.