Kadala Curry without coconut

Kadala curry, a quintessential dish from Kerala, served usually with rice, appams or puttu. There are two versions to this dish, one with coconut, which is usally made it when there are a lot people to be served and the quick and easy one without the coconut. 

1 cup black chana soaked overnight
Cook in the pressure cooker with enough water until done.

1 onion finely chopped
1 tbsp each ginger/garlic/green chilles minced
3 tomatoes chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp coriander pwd
1 tsp chilli pwd
salt
1/2 tsp fenugreek pwd
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida
curry leaves
2 tbsp oil

Heat oil, add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and hing.
Once the mustard seeds pop, add onions and curry leaves.
Add ginger, garlic and green chilles.
Once sauted, add tomatoes and all the dry spices.
After the tomatoes are cooked down add the kadala with the water that it was cooked in.
Add salt and cover and simmer till a nice gravy is formed.
Serve with any kind of Kerala bread or rice.

Easy Peasy huh!!!!

Til Chikki/Sesame Seeds Candy

Sesame seeds are wonderful to eat in the winter, it warms up the body and no wonder they are eaten so much in India in the cold season.

1 cup white sesame seeds

1 cup/ 200 gms jaggery

1 tbps ghee

Roast the seeds on a low flame till golden.

Add ghee to the pan, add crumbled jaggery and stir continously to melt. Remember not to add big chunks of jaggery as it will take a long time to melt and will burn too.

Once melted and starts foaming a little, add the seeds, stir well. Pour on a greased cookie tin or flat surface.

Roll it out a little to shape it using a greased roling pin.

Once it is a little cool cut into squares and serve. Yummy!!!