Palak Sabji / Palak recipes / Alfalfa sprouts recipes

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Sprouted Moong Spinach Curry / Palak Moong ki sabji /Alfalfa Sprouts Recipes 

Moong sprouts with palak ( palakura molakala kura ) is an interesting  combination which is very healthy. The soft and nutty texture of sprouts in creamy and silky spinach gravy is so yummy 😋 just like Palak paneer. Though this palak ki sabji is not as rich as palak paneer, but still the gravy is very delicious. The preparation is more or less similar to that of palak paneer with slight variations. Kids who are very fussy to eat sprouts would happily enjoy this curry. They would not even hint that there is an addition of sprouts in it. And it makes a great lunch box idea as well.  This goes very well with any flat bread 🍞 - roti, chapathi, puri, kulcha, naan, etc.

Palak (spinach ) is rich in iron, calcium, Vitamins B, C and E and Omega-3 fatty acids. Moong sprouts also known as alfalfa sprouts is a very good source of iron, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and folate. So, this combination with spinach and moong sprouts is very healthy and filling. This alfalfa sprouts recipe is very light on your tummy as well. 

In this recipe of sprouted alfalfa beans, the sprouts are cooked in the pressure cooker mainly for two reasons. First, to soften the sprouts prior to the addition in the gravy. Second, to remove the bacteria from the raw sprouts. There might be presence of  little bacteria while sprouting or even in the store - bought ones. Its always advisable to cook it rather consume raw sprouts to make it bacteria free. I have used the homemade sprouts which I will be posting very soon. 

You can also check my other healthy recipes with green leafy veggies :

Palak Rice

Palak dal 

Chukka Kura Pappu

Amaranth Dal

Amaranth Rice 

Murungai keerai idli podi

Murungai keerai sesame powder dry curry

Preparation

Pressure cook moong sprouts and potatoes until 2-3 whistles.

Allow the pressure to cool down. In the meantime clean and wash the spinach leaves along with their tender stems. Grind the spinach leaves, ginger, garlic, cumin seeds and green chillies to a fine paste.

Keep the ground paste aside. Heat oil in a pan. Add finely chopped onion and fry until they get brown colour on them.

Add the ground paste and turmeric and cook until there is no raw smell of spinach, ginger and garlic.

Add coriander powder, cumin powder, Garam masala powder, flax seed powder and salt.

Mix well. Sauté for a minute and add curd.

Mix well and cook for another minute. Now add the mashed potatoes and mix well.

Also, add the cooked sprouts and give a nice mix.

Add water and adjust the consistency according to your desire. Add tomato sauce, chilli powder and mix well.

Check for seasoning - salt, spice and masala. Add more if required. Cook covered until it comes to a boil. Switch off the flame and serve hot with any flat bread. Garnish with grated cheese just before serving. 

Ingredients

Potatoes 2

Sprouts 1 cup

Oil / ghee 3 tsp

Onion 2 finely chopped

Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder  2 tsp

Cumin powder 1/2 tsp

Garam masala powder 1 tsp

Tomato sauce 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Chilli powder 1 tsp

Flax seed powder 1 tsp ( optional )

To grind

Spinach 2 bunches

Cumin seeds 1 tsp

Ginger 1" piece

Garlic 5 pods

Green chillies 2

Method

1. Wash the spinach leaves and keep aside.
2. Pressure cook sprouts and potatoes up to 2 whistles.
3. Grind all the items given under to grind list. Keep aside.
4. Heat oil or ghee in a pan and add the chopped onions. Fry until the onions turn light brown colour.
5. Add the ground paste and cook until the raw smell disappears.
6. Add all the spices namely coriander powder, cumin powder and Garam masala powder, chilli powder and flax seed powder. 
7. Cook for a minute and add curd. Mix well and cook for another minute. 
8. Add the mashed potatoes and the cooked sprouts and mix well. 
9. Adjust the consistency by adding water. 
10. Finish off with adding tomato ketchup ( tomato sauce ). Bring it to a boil and switch off the flame. 
11. Sprinkle grated cheese just before serving as a side dish.

Notes

• The addition of flax seed powder is for health reasons. It also gives a nice nutty texture to the curry. But it is optional. You can skip if you do not have it on hand. 
• Tomato sauce gives a nice sweet and sour taste to the curry making it a wholesome dish with the perfect flavour. So do not skip on it. 
• Other veggies like carrots, cauliflowers, etc., can also be added to this curry. Including paneer would also enrich the curry making it more healthy.

This post has been submitted to the Livogen Iron Chef Contest ...  http://www.livogen.in/iron-chef

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Palakura pappu / Spinach dal / Healthy dal recipe / Vegan spinach recipes

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Healthy Spinach Dal Recipe / Palakura Pappu / Palak dal Andhra style 

Today´s recipe is a routine dish that can be prepared on a daily basis. Spinach dal is a very common dish in every household especially in the Telugu states of Andhra and Telangana. This healthy dal recipe goes very well with rice accompanied by any curry or papad. This is a staple diet of Andhrites of South India. Spinach lentils is also known as Palakura Pappu in Telugu. This simple palak recipe also goes well for roti if thickened. This dal variety with spinach is prepared with tamarind which gives tanginess to the dish.

Scientifically, it has been proven that tomatoes should not be cooked along with spinach. So whenever I cook spinach, I make sure that I do not add tomatoes in them. But today, I wanted a tangy and spicy side for my meals for which I have added tamarind to get the desired taste.

Spinach is popularly known for its iron content. It is also rich in protein, fibre, folate, calcium and Vitamins A and C.  Since it is a very good source of so many nutrients, it is advised to include this fabulous ingredient in our daily diet. Spinach dal is very easy to prepare with few ingredients that are commonly available in our kitchens. This palak ki dal can also be served as a soup. This is definitely an interesting recipe for kids as well who will love to add it to rice or as is.

You can also check out my recipe for Thotakura Pappu ( Amaranth in lentils )
                                                               
                   and                                         Shallots Sambar .

Preparation

Wash the leaves of palak along with the tender stems and keep aside. Wash toor dal and put in a pressure cooker.

Add sufficient water and chopped palak ( spinach ) leaves to the toor dal.

Pressure cook this combo of spinach and toor dal for upto 3-4 whistles. Allow it to cool. Once the pressure subsides, remove the lid and mash the lentils with the back of the ladle and keep aside.

Heat a vessel and add oil in it.

For the tempering, add mustard, cumin and fenugreek ( methi ) seeds.

When they splutter, add garlic pods, red chillies and curry leaves. 

Fry until the garlic pods turn light brown in colour. Now add the chopped onion and slit green chillies.

Saute for a minute and add turmeric and hing.

Mix well and saute for another a minute. Now put in the cooked and mashed toor dal and mix well.

Add the tamarind juice.

Do the seasoning with chilli powder, salt and sambar powders.

Add water to get the desired consistency and allow it to boil. Cook for 3-4 minutes and then switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice with a side dish, any curry or a papad. I served it with snake gourd poriyal.

Ingredients

Palak ( spinach )  1 bunch

Toor dal 

Oil  2 tbsp

Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds 1 tsp

Methi seeds 1/4 tsp

Garlic pods 10

Red chillies 2

Curry leaves 2 sprigs

Green chillies 4 ( slit lengthwise )

Onion 1 small

Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp

Hing big pinch

Tamarind  small lemon size

Salt to taste

Sambar powder 2 tsp

Chilli powder 1 tsp

Coriander leaves to garnish

Method

1. Wash the leaves along with the tender stems of palak and keep aside. 
2. Pressure cook toor dal and chopped spinach together for 3-4 whistles. 
3. Mash the cooked dal and keep aside. 
4. Extract the juice from the soaked tamarind and keep aside. 
5. Heat oil in a vessel and do the tempering with mustard, cumin and fenugreek seeds.
6. When they splutter, add garlic pods, red chillies and curry leaves. 
7. When garlic turns golden in colour, add onions and green chillies.
8. After a minute, add turmeric powder and hing. 
9. Add the mashed toor dal and mic well. 
10. Add tamarind juice and water to adjust the consistency. 
11. Finish off with seasoning with chilli powder, sambar powder and salt. 
12. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with plain rice and curry of your choice.

Notes

• This spinach dal can also be prepared without tamarind. 
• The consistency of palakura pappu varies. You can make it thicker or thinner according to your desire. 
• This palak ki dal can also be prepared without onions and garlic during festive days.
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This post has been submitted to the Livogen Iron Chef contest ... http://www.livogen.in/iron-chef

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munagaku telagapindi fry / moringa leaves recipes / murungai keerai recipes /

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 Cooking With Moringa Leaves / Munagaku Telagapindi Curry / Dishes with drumstick leaves 

In the previous post about til ke laddu ( chimmili ) , I have mentioned about telagapindi. When I was typing the draft for that post, it was then it strike me that there was some telagapindi leftover in the freezer section. I also had this amazing green leafy vegetable - drumstick leaves in my pantry. So as soon as I finished preparing the draft for the post, I went straight to prepare this yummy and delicious curry with the drumstick leaves and the so called telagapindi. 

Drumstick leaves also known as munagaku in Telugu and murungai keerai in Tamil are very famous for its health benefits and it is available in abundance during this season. I got hold of some fresh and tender ( soft ) leaves of drumstick tree from my neighbourhood. Previously, I posted murungai keerai idli podi (munagaku idli podi ) which was so very flavourful and tasty that I also used it as a spread on dosas for my kids.

I first tasted this munagaku telagapindi fry at my friend´s place. It was so delicious that I wanted to try it once again at home for my man. This time when I had both the ingredients ready, I did not dare to miss the chance. This curry is a kind of poriyal without the addition of coconut. It goes perfectly well with sambar, rasam or any other dal like spinach dal ( palakura pappu ) or thotakura pappu (amaranth dal ).

Preparation

Remove the leaves from the stems and wash perfectly. Keep aside. Put a pan on flame and add oil or ghee. For the tempering, add mustard and cumin seeds.

When they splutter, add urad dal.

When the dal becomes golden brown in colour, add the broken red chillies and sauté for a minute.

Now add the munagaku ( drumstick leaves ) along with salt and turmeric and mix well.

Cover with a lid and cook on a low to medium flame. Add some water and cook covered until the leaves are completely cooked.

Now add the telagapindi ( sesame seeds powder obtained after extracting the oil from them ).

Mix well. Check for salt and spice.

Add chilli powder if you want it more spicy. But this curry is mildly spiced. Switch off the flame and serve hot with rasam, sambar or dals.

Ingredients

Drumstick leaves  2 cups

Telagapindi  1 cup

Oil / Ghee  3tsp

Mustard seeds  1/2 tsp 

Cumin seeds  1/2 tsp

Urad dal  1 tsp

Red chillies  1-2

Salt  to taste

Turmeric powder  1/2 tsp

Chilli powder  optional

Method

1. Wash the drumstick leaves and keep aside. 
2. Heat oil in a pan. Do the tempering with cumin, mustard seeds, red chillies and urad dal.
3. When the dal becomes golden brown in colour, add the drumstick leaves, salt and turmeric powder.
4. Add water and cook covered until the leaves are completely cooked. Stir once in a while.
5. Once completely cooked, add the telagapindi and mix well. 
6. Check for seasoning and switch off the flame. 
7. Serve hot with sambar rice, rasam rice or any dal rice.

Notes

• Telagapindi is the leftover powder that is obtained after extracting the oils from the sesame seeds. It is available in all superstores.
• This curry is a very mildly spiced poriyal, so do not add too many ( or any other ) spices. 
• The perfect taste of this munagaku telagapindi fry is obtained only if we use the fresh and tender drumstick leaves. 
• If by any chance, you are using the not-so-tender leaves, then boil the leaves in the cooker separately and then proceed with the preparation as suggested above.

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