“Shepu- Mooga Dali Usli/ Upkari (Dill Leaves- Green Gram Dal Bhaji)” …mooga dali usli is a common dish from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine prepared almost in every home to be served during breakfast in combo with each ones preference dishes … I often like tweaking our own amchi recipes to bring in changes while keeping to roots … shepu bhaji is highly nutritious and though it has a strong flavor it blends in well with dals … I have often prepared mooga dali usli with addition of leafy veggies and here I have used shepu bhaji for the same … tastes best served with chapatti, poori, fried bread slices … try it, tastes great … Yummilicious ….
** Mooga dali usli (Green Gram Dal bhaji) is a common breakfast item from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine served in combo with each ones preference. While some have it as it is with some steamed nendrabale kele/ banana for breakfast, some prefer with pova chutney or roti/ chapatti/ poories etc. This dish is often served even during auspicious functions like Ram Navami or other festive days too in temples or at home, though the same is not usually prepared during marriages or other functions. Well, each home has their own method of preparing it, the way they like, some add grated ginger while some prefer hing and they are some who add on both and all of them taste wonderful.
** I have always relished usli from childhood with fried bread slices or with poori and I love both combos. Serving with bread slices is easier especially if it is to be a home affair while poori is preferred in case of guests. I have always loved giving small twists to our own cuisine dishes, so that I do not deviate completely to unknown fields, not that we don’t like it, but with advanced age one always prefers to relish dishes that one grew up eating. Here, I added shepu/ dill leaves/ sabbasige soppu which is easily available all round the world, so you can try out this dish and serve it with poori/ roti or prepare as grilled/ plain sandwich too, they all taste wonderful and is sure to be loved by all.
** Here is my recipe for “Shepu- Mooga Dali Usli/ Upkari (Dill Leaves- Green Gram Dal Bhaji)” … my style ….
** Wash and finely chop about 2 cups of fresh shepu/ dill leaves/ sabbasidge soppu (Leaves only). Leave it in colander to completely drain or squeeze out as much water as possible and add in a kadai and cook covered on low heat WITHOUT adding water. You may sprinkle some water if you find it absolutely necessary in between. Add a pinch of salt, mix well, remove and keep it aside ready.
** Note : Shepu/ dill leaves/ sabbasidge soppu has a strong distinct flavor and one needs to adapt to its taste. You can cut down on the quantity of leaves by half if you are trying out for the first time and increase later on.
** Note : You can microwave it in a glassware dish for 2-3 minutes like I did, I always put my MW oven to best use to cut down time and tedious works and it always gives me perfect results without wasting time.
** Wash one cup of moong dal/ green gram dal with plenty of water. Strain in a colander and keep it ready aside. Keep 2 cups of water to boil separately and let it simmer aside while we proceed with the preparation of the usli/ bhaji.
** Heat 2-3 tblsps of ghee/ oil (I use ghee) in a thick bottomed kadai/ pan, when it melts, lower the heat, add 1 tsp of mustard seeds (rai/ sasam), when they begin to crackle add 5-6 green chillies (tarni mirsanga/ hari mirchi) cut lengthwise/ cut to small pieces, 1/2 inch piece of ginger (adrak/ alle') finely chopped (Optional), 1 tsp hing (asafoetida) powder, a few dry red chillies cut to pieces/ flakes (Optional), 7-8 curry leaves (karbevu/ kadipatta) and fry all together for a few seconds only.
** Immediately add strained moong dal, mix well and fry all on low heat for 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle a little bit of water if necessary to avoid dal getting stuck to the bottom. Frying helps moong dal grains remain slightly separate when cooked, if you want mushy textured then you can skip frying part and straight away proceed to cook.
** Add 1.5 cups of boiling water and keep ½ cup aside to add on later if necessary only. Add salt (namak/ meeta) to taste, mix well and bring to a full boil on medium heat. Now lower the heat to minimum, cover with a fitting lid and let cook. Do check it out in between for water consistency and add some boiling water kept aside if needed only. You should be careful with heat and water consistency for perfect usli.
** When the moong dal is cooked 80% add in ¼ cup of freshly grated coconut (soyi/ nariyal), cooked and kept aside shepu/ Dill leaves and mix well without applying much pressure to avoid breaking the moong dal. Cover and cook until soft and done, remove and keep it covered aside for 5-10 minutes to cool a bit. Mix once in between while cooling for even settling of usli/ bhaji, helps a lot from overcooking.
** “Shepu- Mooga Dali Usli/ Upkari (Dill Leaves- Green Gram Dal Bhaji)” is done and ready to be served. You can serve it hot as it is or with any side dish of your choice like chapatti/ poori/ roti/ bread slices etc. In GSB Konkani Saraswat homes it is served with pova chutney along with steamed nendrabale kele, a great combo for breakfast. However, in my home we prefer roti/ chapatti/ paratha/ poori along with this usli for lunch especially on upvas/ fasting days and if I need to serve it for breakfast then I either serve it with tava fried bread slices or sandwich prepared with it, tastes wonderful. You can browse through the common links below where I have shared similar recipe.
** Definitely a must try healthy dish as both moong (green gram) dal and shepu (dill leaves) are supposed to be highly nutritious. Moong dal or Whole Moong (Green Gram) is one of the healthiest amongst all grams (pulses) and in my home we prepare it quite often, it’s not only tasty but a very good source of protein too. Children always need to be lured to eat home cooked food, so make it that much more interesting by adding in variety each time and they are sure to enjoy it and you will be relieved too.
** Always try out dishes giving them slight twists from routine to keep your family happy. Try grilled mooga dali sandwiches if have young children at home, they will have them without a murmur unlike when given plain mooga dali usli. Do add leafy veggies in different forms into your diet and reap in benefits as and when possible. We need to build stronger generation without falling into the traps of instant packaged store bought foods which are loaded with pesticides, a little bit of changes goes a long way.
** Sharing common link to all "Usli" items shared in the Blog before along with link to traditional GSB Konkani Saraswat method of preparing “Mooga Dali Usli” and a few combos served with it. It also includes the sandwich varieties, just browse through for more choice of preparing and serving the same ...
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