Thursday, August 6, 2009

Aloo Posto and Moong Dal ki dal

Aloo Posto

Moong Dal ki Dal
Dals are so easy to work with, the variety of dals like moong, masoor, toor …are so easy on receiving the experiment that is done with it. It blends in any spices and masala you put into them. I am sure all of you would’ve experienced the same.

When bored of making the same tadka ( tempering) dal, we ladies put on our enthusiasm caps and are all ready to mix and match the spices and various things that can go into the dal. Oh ya, I know we are not limited to mix n match our dresses alone ;) Now coming to today’s recipe of dal. There was a stock of Moong dal crying for attention from several days!! (God How can I be so bad!!) so I thought to shower some attention on the poor sidelined Moong dal :)

This recipe just happened… it wasnt pre-planned, I pressure cooked the moong dal , glanced at my spice rack and just got started. S these days wants rice almost for both meals and I love my rotis :) So wanted something to go well with both…here ‘s what I cooked:

Ingredients for Moong Dal ki dal:

Moong dal- 1 cup, pressure cooked with just enough water, mashed and set aside
Onion- 1 medium, finely chopped
Tomato- 1 medium, finely chopped
Green chilies- 1 finely chopped or 1 tsp red chili powder
Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tsp
Turmeric- ½ tsp
Cumin powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Garam Masala – ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Oil- 2 tsp

Method:

Heat oil in a vessel, put cumin seeds and wait till it splutters.

Throw in the onions and fry till translucent. Now put the green chilies and ginger garlic paste and fry for sometime.

Next add tomatoes and sauté for a few minutes until the tomatoes turn mushy...

Spoon in turmeric power, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, salt mix well so that the spice powders coat the mushy mixture. Add a few spoons of water if it gets too dry.

Fry for sometime until the rawness of the spices fade away.

Add the mashed dal and mix well. Taste and adjust accordingly.

Add some water to the dal and mix well again and bring it to boil.

The dal is ready to be served hot garnished with coriander leaves.

Note: If you prefer your dal thick add less water, and if you like it the regular runny way add water accordingly.

Aloo Posto:

This dish is one of the simplest ones to prepare and the taste definitely makes one over eat ;) The first time I tasted aloo posto , I found it strangely nice :)
The posto(poppy ) paste has a strange rawness to it inspite of cooking, which is very close to the taste of peanuts.

Aloo posto is nothing but potatoes cooked in poppy paste. The minimal use of ingredients throws the limelight completely on to poppy seeds.

I’ve made posto several times and in 1 or 2 different ways, referring to many blogs and magazines. The difference is negligible though :) Today I made the posto referring to this blog. It has some authentic Bengali recipes do check it out.

The aloo post was too good, hearty thanks to Sudeshna :) I blindly …err…with my eyes wide open(LOL) followed her recipe and instructions. So here goes….


Ingredients for Aloo Posto:

Moong dal- 1 cup, pressure cooked with just enough water, mashed and set aside
Onion- 1 medium, finely chopped
Potato: 4 medium sized
Poppy seeds: 3 tablespoons ( I roasted them)
Nigella seeds: 1 teaspoon
Green chili: 3, finely chopped
Turmeric powder: ½ teaspoon
Mustard oil: 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste

Method:

Make a soft fine paste of the poppy seeds and set it

Cut the potatoes into small cubes

Heat oil in a wok over low flame, add the nigella seeds

Throw in the potatoes along with the turmeric powder, green chilies and salt

Pour in about a cup of water and let the potatoes get half cooked

Add the poppy seed paste and cook till the potatoes are well cooked

Pour in water if necessary

TC and Happy week ahead!

39 comments:

Lakshmi said...

I like the aroma of nigella seeds in oil, aloo posto looks yumm SUparna and moong dal is as you said is simple and satisfying

Savi-Ruchi said...

I agree to you.., we do a lot of mix n matches. The surprising part is.., most of the times the spices never disappoint us :D
Nigella is my fav too.., although potato is not!!

Ria Mathew said...

They look so good! I love anything with Aloo!

Unknown said...

aloo and dal is a great combination and my fav. combination too both recipes looks great specialy aloo mmmmmm yummmy and flavorful.

Chitra said...

it looks yumm..whats nigella seed?
Love the dal and will give it a try:)for my vathakuzhambu, u can try with brinjal or simply garlic flakes :)

Sanghi said...

Yummy aloo..! Lovely blog.. Do check mine!

Suparna said...

Lakshmi, sushma, Ria, Rekha thanks for stopping by :)

Chitra:Black onion seeds are also known as nigella seeds in hindi it's called kalonji or kala jeera :)
Thanks for the alternative for the vathakuzambu, very sweet of u :)
TC

Sushma Mallya said...

picture is very lovely and must be as yummy to eat as well....

Mythreyi Dilip said...

Hi Suparna, i want to make authenticate and proper "Dal makhani" but i am confused which dal to be used. Some recipe says Toordal or Rajma or Urad dal which one to be used?

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

Aloo posto looks so tasty. Dal looks yummy.

Indian Khana said...

Aloo Posto looks so gud...with all the flavor...yum

suvi said...

i love aloo posto...but sadly poppy seeds are banned in singapore, so can't make it
:(

Priya Narasimhan said...

Nice recipe suparna..i have never made aloo posto and it looks very tempting..
bookmarking it.

Anonymous said...

Sups,both daal and aloo are my favs..I usually used toor daal..since this is moong daal,the flavour will be somewhat diferent i guess..I would love to see..but have no doubt seeing the ingredients.Aloo posto looks cho colorful and yummo too..delicious click !!

Suparna said...

Thanks sushma,valar, priti for ur time :)

AD,
oh!I did'nt know this tha's really sad :( wish I could send u some aloo posto :)

Mythreyi- There are several ways of making dal makhani, as far as I know the authentic dal makhani calls for a combination of whole black gram and rajma(kidney beans)
which is soaked overnight and cooked over low flame and flavoured with spices and masala paste. This is method brings out the best taste of the dish. When there is shortage of time one can also pressurecook the dal and legumes :)
Thanks for ur visit dearie :)

Suparna said...

Ann,
When I get bored of mosoor, toor I make dal with moong dal :) ya u r right Ann...the spices work magic in flavouring this dish :)Thanks

Mythreyi Dilip said...

Thanks Suparna:) I will try soon and let you know how it came.

anudivya said...

This is the first time I am hearing of Aloo posto, and it is very interesting. I hope I can try it soon. The coating on the potatoes look so good!

Unknown said...

Aloo Posto and Dal looks absolutely delicious..we too make moong dal slightly different way...yours look good too.

Ann said...

Wow, I love this dal, very comforting.. Looks yumm

Usha said...

The aloo posto and dhal looks absolutely comforting and delicious!

Deepthi Shankar said...

aloo poshto looks very tempting

saffronapron.blogspot.com said...

Posto sounds so cute. The pic looks cute too. Simple and easy recipes for lazy days. Nice.

Vibaas said...

never tried aloo posto before. looks yum and a must try :) Dal looks equally yum

Varsha Vipins said...

Both cool dishes Sups..I have ner tries poppy seeds in an ything except chicken curries n biriyani's..so dunno even know the real taste or flavor if it..l try this one..:)

Indrani said...

ummmmmmmmmm...aloo posto & dal, any bong's favorite and mine, too...both the dishes looks awesome, I also make moong dal same way, only without spices, try sometime adding only ginger paste & tomato, and turmeric and chilli powder and gr. chilli

Sudeshna said...

This combination of dal and alu posto is just irresistible. I posted about the same combination months back, you can have a look at it here- http://bengalicuisine.net/2008/11/06/masur-dal-and-alu-posto-a-whole-lunch/

sathya said...

Aloo posto looks delicious, never tried before. Dal looks yum.

Renus Kitchen said...

This is a new recipe to me...looks very nice, will try it sometimes

Poornima Nair said...

Love the two dishes. Aloo and dal is such a great combo.

Parita said...

Moong dal is hearty and healthy! Aloo Posto is new to me and looks sooo good, wish i could have it right now, will definately be trying out soon :)

Lisa Turner said...

Two perfect dishes! A wonderful meal indeed.

Shri said...

Never heard of Aloo Posto and never knew that Posto is Poppy seeds!They both look very delicious.

Anu said...

First time to your blog. You have a nice blog and interesting dishes.
Never tried Aloo posto before. Looks yum must try. Both looks delicious..

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm...these look so good! I love dals and the aloo posto looks so exotic :) Really nice Suparna. And I love the new look of ur blog.

Padma said...

Looks so good Suparna... yummy dal and nice combo with aloo posto.. loved ur recipe :)

Indrani said...

Su, some awards are waiting for u in my blog..pl. accept them, I saw you already got them but those are from me for you & you deserve these

Soma said...

Now you have me lolling my tongue out at aloo posto & mung dal:-) Just a perfect comfort meal for me.. you know!
Soma(www.ecurry.com)

Prasukitchen.blogspot.com said...

looks lovely suparna ...
gr8 dish ..
if u get a chance do visit my blog .