Comfort food - Daal Tadka and Jeera Saffron rice

Vacation is a time when you enjoy visiting new places, eating new food. Once you are back, you feel like eating simple homemade food. Simple daal-rice is my choice when it comes to quick simple food. Each household has a favorite recipe to make daal as I have mine. But I try to make daals in different ways as I enjoy eating them as soups.

I remember seeing Daal-Tadka on a restaurant menu long time ago and still remember me not ordering it. Later jeera rice and daal-tadka became staple in restaurant outings. My brother who is a good cook and also likes to try out new recipes. Once after a restaurant outing with cousins we decided to make this for our parents who tend not to go out to eat and as expected they loved it. Later we both changed it to suit our individual tastes and both make it regularly.

Jeera saffron rice tastes great with this daal and is extremely easy to make.

Daal Tadka

Here is simple daal-tadka recipe -

Daal -

1/2 cup moong daal

1/4 cup toor daal

1 tomato

2 tsp aamchur powder or couple of aamsul pieces

small piece of jaggery or 1 tsp brown sugar

salt to taste

water as required

Tadka -

2 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp each cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, turmeric powder

pinch of asafoetida

2-3 dried red chilies

4-5 curry leaves

1 tsp each julienned ginger and julienned garlic

Preparation -

Pressure cook both the daals together until soft.

Coarsely chop tomatoes.

Add enough water to cooked daal and start boiling it. Now add chopped tomatoes, salt, aamchur and jaggery. Let it boil.

Meanwhile heat oil in small kadai and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds and let them sizzle for a minute or so. Now add curry leaves, red chilies, ginger and garlic and let it sizzle for few minutes until garlic becomes golden brown. Add turmeric powder and pinch of asofoetida at the end to prevent it from burning.

Pour this tadka over boiling daal and cover the lid. Switch off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Jeera Saffron Rice

Jeera Saffron Rice -

1 cup rice

2 cups water

salt per taste

5-6 saffron threads

1 tsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

Preparation -

Cook rice as usual with salt. I usually cook this rice either on stove top or in rice cooker to make sure it does not become too soft. Rice should be fully cooked but grains should be separate and not lumpy.

Soak saffron in one tablespoon water for 10-12 min.

Heat oil in kadai. Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle.

Spread cooked rice in large plate. Add soaked saffron and sizzled cumin seeds along with oil to the rice. Mix it well.

Daal-Rice

This comforting daal-rice is for MLLA-18 hosted by Srivalli and was started by Susan.

Tips -

1. I usually use Sona masoori rice or Ponni rice and it still tastes great. You can try using basmati.
2. I love the taste of aamchur in this daal than any other souring agent.
3. I use small round red chilies but any red chilies will do.