Paneer Veggie Masala Moong Dal.

“Paneer Veggie Masala Moong Dal” … tried out a simple masala dal with addition of veggies and paneer … tastes best served with roti/ chapati/ paratha, pulav, ghee rice … Yummilicious ….

** I have often mentioned that though I love paneer somehow I hardly prepare it at home and is always reserved to be relished in restaurants. For a change I added on paneer cubes to moong dal, which I had prepared with addition of malvani masala powder. A simple but tasty dish, was something different and a welcome change from the normally prepared one. Though I did want to prepare ghee rice to be served along, I was falling short on time, so had to do with chapati, nevertheless it was awesome.

** Here is my very own simple recipe for “Paneer Veggie Masala Moong Dal” … my style, try it and enjoy with family …

** Wash 1 cup moong dal (green gram dal) with water, drain and then add it into a pressure cooker pan along with 2 cups of water and pressure cook on medium heat to 2 whistles or till done. Let rest till the pressure falls on its own and the lid can be opened. Check if cooked and keep it aside ready.

** The veggies I have used are carrot, beetroot, capsicum (donnemirsanga/ simla mirchi) and bottle gourd (lauki/ gardudde), you may use any of your choice. Just peel, cut the veggies into ½ inch cubes and keep them ready.

** About Paneer : Cut 150 gms fresh paneer into ½ inch sized cubes, wash gently in water twice and then keep it soaked in some fresh water till needed. Fresh paneer cubes should always be washed to avoid the sourness in them which may spoil the taste of food if added as it is, also keeping it soaked in water till needed helps retain its freshness, this is my observation and the method which I always follow. Again, add them to curry towards the end then just cook for 2 mins and remove from fire, this retains its softness. Do not overcook paneer otherwise they turn hard and chewy.

** In a thick bottomed kadai add in beetroot and carrot pieces along with 2 cups of water and cook on medium heat till 50% done. Now add in the bottle gourd pieces and continue cooking till they are 70% done. Lastly add capsicum and further cook till all are 80% done. Check water in between and add on if necessary.

** Add water if needed to the cooked moong dal, mix well mashing it slightly with a potato masher to loosen lumps if any and to get evenly thickened. Add this to the cooked veggies and mix well adding more water only if necessary and bring to a boil on medium heat stirring often to avoid the dal getting stuck to bottom. Add salt (namak/ meeta) to taste, mix well and then lower the heat and let the dal simmer while we prepare the seasoning with masala to be added on to the curry.

** Heat 2 tblsp oil (tel/ tela) and 1 tblsp ghee/ toop together in a pan, when hot lower the heat to medium and add in 1 tsp of mustard (sasam/ rai), when they begin to splutter add ½ tsp of cumin (jeera) seeds, 8-10 seeds of fenugreek (methi) seeds, 1 tsp of black pepper corns (kali miri), 10-12 fresh curry leaves (kadipatta/ karbevu) and fry for a few seconds on low heat, taking care not to overdo.

** Now add in 1 tsp of grated ginger (alle’/ adrak), ½ tsp of hing (asafoetida) powder, a pinch of haldi (turmeric) powder and lastly add 1 tsp of Kashmiri mirchi powder (mirsange pitti/ tikkat), 2-3 tsp of malvani masala powder (you can use any masala curry powder here that which is available at home), fry for a few seconds and then immediately pour it over the cooking dal and give a good stir.

** You have to keep checking and adding in more water as and when required as you cook the dal, so that you can maintain a proper consistency, so please do not add more water in one go. Let the dal cook on medium heat when you see bubbles appearing on surface, drain off the water from the paneer cubes and add them to the cooking dal, mix well and cook only for 2 more minutes and then remove from fire.

** “Paneer Veggie Masala Moong Dal” is done and ready to be served. Always serve it hot to retain the softness of paneer. This delicious dal is thick textured so tastes best served as side dish with roti/ chapati/ parathas. However, I am sure it will taste great with pulav, midly spiced rice like ghee rice etc. We relished it with phulkas and it was awesome. A simple healthy dal with veggies is always prepared in most homes, addition of paneer just takes it to another level, so do give it a try next time you prepare dal at home, children will definitely love helping themselves to paneer.