Friday, February 11, 2011

Dabka Kadi / Sweet & Tangy Soup & Manasi's Bithday pictures !!!

Even as I write this I am watching  the breaking news on CNN- Egypt Is Free !!! We have all watched the political uprise in Egypt for 18 days  now. I watched it even more closely as our friends from the states were also in Egypt on a holiday around the time the uprise just found its voice.Egypt's freedom  is a historical moment for all, I hope this outcome leads to a peaceful democratic Egypt . Oh yes-Our friends were back last to last Sunday and all is well with them:)

I noticed I have not been posting as regularly as I started out in the beginning, there have been too many distractions but I promise I don't forget to take pictures of everything I prepare and also upload them from time to time.So I have a good amount of dishes to choose from now. Today I choose to write a post on Dabka Kadi,this is a Gujarati kadi and I especially like it for its very healthy preparation. The base for the kadhi is curd and gram flour and the main fair here is the unfried moon daal balls. This tastes absolutely delicious with rice and is also very light on the stomach. I love to make this on days when I am tired of eating daal with rice, I also use curd which has turned a little sour,this gives the kadhi a nice tangy flavor.If you are using the store bought curd then I recommend you use some lime juice .

ingredients for kadhi
Besan/Bengal Gram Flour: 2 tbsp
curd: 2 cups
ginger & chilli paste : 1 tsp
sugar: 1/2 tsp
salt: 1 tsp or to taste
chopped corriander/cilantro: 2 tbsp
Lime juice: 2 tsp

ingredients for dapkas:
 Moon Daal/split green gram: 1/2 cup soaked for 4-5 hours
oil: 1/2 tbsp
Ginger & chilli paste: 1/2 tsp
sugar: 1/4 tsp
Eno fruit salt:1/4 tsp
salt to taste

tempering:
oil: 2tbsp
cumin/jeera: 1tsp
Mustard seeds:1/2 tsp
Asfoetida a pinch
Dry Red Chilli: 1 broken

Method:

1.Drain the saoked daal  very well and grind it to a  very fine paste in  a blender.
Add the oil,the ginger chilli paste,eno fruit salt and salt to taste and beat well  till light and keep aside for 2 -3 minutes
2. take the curds and besan/gram flour and beat well with 3 cups of water. ( add the lime juice now)
3.add the green chilli & ginger paste and salt and sugar and put this to boil in a kadai/pan,stirring occasionally.
4.When the kadhi starts to boil add the dapka batter a little at a time using your fingers to form dumplings. Let the kadhi boil on medium heat till all the dapkas float and get cooked,about 12-15 minutes. Remove kadhi from the fire and keep aside.
5.heat the oil for tempering and add jeera,hing and rai/mustard seeds.When the jeera turns golden take it off the fire and add the broken red chilli bits .
6.Add the tempering to the hot kadhi and garnish with  chopped fresh cilantro.Enjoy kadhi with rice and if you wish add a dollop of desi ghee on your rice and then mix the dapka kadi and enjoy this wonderful meal with your family :)