Green Gram -Sweet Potato Dry Curry + Parata

Green Gram and Sweet Potato curry is one of the side dish we can have with rice, chapati, roti, pooris and rice varieties and plain rice. With the dry curry I tried Parathas and it was really yemmy and loaded with good with good food. As the name says the dish contain Whole Green Gram and Sweet Potato.

Lets see some benefits of  Whole Moong and Sweet Potatoes.

Whole Moong is a store house of nutrients and it is a nutrition giving food and they are rich in Vitamin B, Vitamin C, Proteins, Manganese. It contains a lot of fibre and helps in digestion. It also controls the amount of cholesterol content in our body. It contains lot of minerals like calcium and potassium which is essential for enhancing the strength of  bones and teeth. Fat content is very low in Moong bean and good for people who wants to reduce their weight.  

Sweet Potatoes are good source of Starch. They also contain vitamin A, Vitamin C, vitamin B, fiber, potassium and even iron. In fact, Sweet Potatoes are considered as one of the healthiest vegetables we eat.
Here is a recipe of  " Green Gram- Sweet Potato Dry curry (Palya) and it is easy and tasty and I am sure all the age group will surely enjoy eating this curry and Parotha .

GREEN GRAM CURRY :

Things Needed :

Green gram : 1 Cup
Sweet Potatoes : 2 (Medium sized)
Green chilly : 2
Mustard seeds : 1/2 Tea spoon
Jeera : 1/2 Tea spoon
Urid dal : 1/2 Tea spoon
Salt : To taste
Curry leaves : 6 to 8
Oil: 2 Table spoons
Ingh : a pinch
Ginger : 1 Table spoon.
Coconut : 2 Table spoons.
Coriander Leaves : 2 Table spoons

Method :

1. Wash and soak green grams overnight, wash again and pressure cook for  8 minutes.

2. Wash and cut sweet potatoes in to small pieces. (Remove the outer skin).

3. Wash and cut green chilly, coriander and curry leaves.
4. Wash and remove the outer skin, wash again and grate ginger and keep it aside.
5. Now keep a pan on the fire and heat. Put oil and mustard seeds and urid dal.

6. Let the mustard seeds splutter. Add jeera and cut green chilly. Add curry leaves. Fry for 10 seconds.

7. Now add cut Sweet potatoes and mix it well. Add 1/4 cup of water and mix well. Cook on low flame for 4 to 5 minutes.

8. Add turmeric powder and mix it well. Add salt to the cooked curry. Stir in between. \

9. Add cooked whole moong and mix it well nicely and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. 

10. Add coconut and coriander leaves and put the ready dry curry to a serving bowl.

Note : 

You can cook sweet potatoes in a pressure cooker too. But it turns very soft.It may taste different. Cooking on the low flame will help the potato pieces and whole gram to be combined nicely. Try to dry out the extra water but at the same time the curry should not turn very soft. Adding more oil  or onions is purely optional. This is a simple dry curry (Palya) and do not try to add any strong masala. Adding coconut and jaggery is also optional. I have not added jaggery to this curry. You can cook whole moong been without soaking previously.  Wash and cook them with required water in a pressure cooker for 8 to10 minutes.
Time : 30 minutes
Serves  4.

GREEN GRAM -SWEET POTATO PARATHA

Things Needed :

Wheat flour : 2 Cups
Green Gram-Sweet Potato Dry curry : 1 Bowl
Oil : 1/2 Cup
Garam Masala Powder : 1 Tea spoon
Jeera : 1/2 Tea spoon
Salt : To taste

Method :

1. Put Sweet Potato- Green gram curry in a big bowl. Add garam masala, and jeera to it.

2. Mix it well and keep it aside.

3. Take a big bowl and put wheat flour and salt. Put 2 tea spoons of oil. Mix it well.
4. Now add water little by little and prepare chapati dough with wheat flour and keep it aside.

5. Divide the mixture of Sweet potato and green gram mixture in to small ball.
6. Divide the chapati dough also in to equal portion (ball size) and make like a ball . Keep it aside.
7.Now take a portion of chapati dough and a portion of  Sweet potato -greem gram mixture.

8. Flatten the chapati dough  slight y bigger on your palm.

  

9. Place the ball size of dry curry and cover  the chapati dough completely by using your hand

10. Now roll this curry filled wheat ball and dip in the dry wheat flour and roll the paratha.

11. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Put rolled paratha and sprinkle oil on the top and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
12. Turn the other side and cook for 1 minute and remove from the pan to a plate.

13. Repeat the same with remaining dough and prepare Parathas.

14. Serve this "Green Gram - Sweet Paratha" with a cup of curd and side dish you have prepared.

Note :

Do not use lot of oil while preparing the chapati dough. Add red chilly powder if you want it more spicy.
Adding more oil while cooking paratas is optional.
Time : 30 Minutes.
Serves : 3 .

Cucumber Seeds Rasam.

Cucumber Seeds Rasam may sound strange to you. This rasam is done using Mangalore Cucumber or Bannada Sauthekai as we say in Kannada langauge. It is also known as curry cucumber and used in Southern part of India.

Curry cucumber is known as  Mangalooru Sauthekai in Kannada, Tamil it is Velarekai, Vellarikka in Malayalam and Kheera or Kakadi in Hindi and Shosha in Bengali. Here I have used the pulp and seeds of Curry cucumber to prepare Rasam or Saaru as we call it. Fresh coconut milk adds to the health count. It is one of the traditional and rural prepared dish and its 100% healthy dish. Normally eaten with plain rice. This rasam (Saaru), helps to keep the body cool in summer. We can also serve this dish as a healthy drink in summer.

Here is a recipe of Cucumber seeds and we can have this saaru with plain rice or even this can be served as a Thirst filling Drink instead of fizzy drinks.

Things Needed :

Cucumber seeds and pulp : 1 Bowl.
Butter milk : 1 Glass
Coconut : 2 Table spoons
Ghee : 1/2 Tea spoon
Red Chilly : 1
Mustard Seeds : 1/4 Tea spoon
Salt : to taste '
Curry leaves : 3 to 4
Ingh : a pinch
Jeera : 1/4 Tea spoon.

Method :

1. Remove the pulp and seeds from the Curry cucumber and keep it aside.

2. Grate coconut and keep it aside.

3. Now grind coconut and cucumber pulp with seeds nicely.

4. Stain the ground cucumber pulp - coconut mixture in a stainer.

5. Put the clear mixture in a bowl. Add butter milk or curd to it.  ( Add water if you use curd and mix it well ).

6. Add salt and mix it well.
7. Keep a pan on the fire. Heat and put ghee, mustard seeds and red chilly.
8. Let the mustard seeds splutter. Add jeera, ingh and curry leaves and put off the fire.
9. Put this ghee fried mixture to the rasam. 

10 Serve this rasam with plain Rasam.

Note :

You must check the pulp. Some time it may taste bitter. Do not use the bitter pulp. It is unhealthy and you will not be able to enjoy the rasam since it taste bitter. You can add more coconut to grind and extract more coconut milk. Do not add more chilly because it should be mild.
Time : 10 Minutes
Serves : 2 to 3.