Moong Dosa/Pesarattu (Moong dal ka cheela)

Moong is one of those legumes from the entire legume family considered healthy and easy even for a 6 month old baby. We all know that a  restorative a rejuvenating diet,more often than not, consists of Moong Dal Khichdi! Yes, easy and light for the tummy, yet yummy and flavourful!

This Moong dosa / Pesarattu is a traditional Andhra recipe. 

Coming to the north-indian variation of the humble Dosa - the Cheela, is usually prepared with skinned, yellow split moong dal. Here in my recipe, I have used whole moong, that give a wonderful green colour to the dosa, which also means since its not been skinned, we have more fibres in this meal. 

I would equally relish the "Cheela" as much as the "Dosa", though!

The best part about this dosa is that it requires only soaking and not the regular fermentation like regular dosas. That makes it an easy breakfast item, which is yum and healthy.

This whole moong dosa tastes heavenly when topped with onions and pairs very well with Coconut chutney.

Ingredients: 

For the Dosa batter:

Whole Moong - 1 cup (soaked overnight and drained) 

Green chillies - 3-4 nos (adjust to taste) 

Salt - to taste

Water - 1/2 cup

For the Dosa: 

Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp to be mixed into the batter

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp to be mixed into the batter (this gives a lovely colour to the dosa) 

Finely chopped Onions - 1 no.

Cumin seeds - 2 tsp 

Oil - 4-5 tsp 

Method: 

1. Take the ingredients for the dosa batter and grind them in the food processor. Add water in small measures as you grind. The batter should not be too watery. You may leave it slightly coarse in texture if you like, or you may fine grind it. 
2. Pour the batter into a bowl, add the turmeric and asafoetida and mix well.
3. You could keep this for 30 minutes or even start making Dosas right away. Moong is best consumed fresh, So take care to grind only enough quantity of Moong for the batter as much as needed. The Moong can be tied up for sprouting incase if you feel its excess. 
4. Heat a Cast Iron gridle(tawa), a non-stick one also will do. and lightly grease it with oil. 
5. Spread a ladle full of batter on thr gridle and sprinkle cumin seeds and onions. Drizzle some oil on the periphery of the dosa. 
6. Flip it after two minutes, and let the other side brown a bit. 
7. Moong Dosa / Pesarettu is ready!
8. This goes well with Chutney Pudi or the humble Coconut Chutney!

Red Lentil Salad

The festivities are over and the air is crisp. Offcourse, the festivities have left behind lots to shed off ;-), and making us look forward to the next year! 
What better time for the shedding off than Winter? 
Winter,for this reason, happens to be my favorite season, as all winter vegetables and greens are available in plenty and are reasonable. 

I wanted something light for the tummy for dinner and this Red Lentil Salad crossed my mind. This salad involves a little of preparation, but, its totally worth it. 
Salads are typically flexible, so you can add in whatever suits your taste as long as ingredient doesn't cancel out the effects of another. Yes food combinations are a thoughtful subject, but I leave this here. 

This salad is perfect as a wholesome dinner, as there are lentils and loads of veggies. 

Red Lentils - Picture Source - Internet

Here is what I used: 

Red Lentils (Masoor) - 3/4 cup 
Fresh Spinach Leaves - about 15
Capsicum, Carrot, Onion, Cucumber, Tomato - 1 each - finely chopped
Cabbage - finely shredded - about a handful 
Chilli flakes - 1 tsp
Walnuts - 4-5 chopped
Rock Salt - to taste 



Directions: 

1. Soak the red lentils for 6 hours.
2. Boil 1/2 a cup of water (about as much as is enough to cover the lentils completely). Let this boil for 10 minutes

   

   This is what the boiled lentils look like

3. Take this off the flame and allow to cool. 
4. Transfer the lentils into a bog mixing bowl.
5. Mix in the vegetables, chilli flakes, Salt and walnuts. 

   

   Chopped Vegetables

6. Chill in the freezer for 10 mins. 
7. The yum Salad is ready to serve.

You can zing this up with a dash of lemon juice.

Like is mentioned earlier, you can add other vegetables like Beet Root, Yellow and Red Bell peppers, Red Cabbage...