Dal is a very important dish in the Indian cuisine, and every household had different variations of dals. Sometime we enjoy plain dal and sometimes tadka dal with some veggies in our every day meals.Today i would like to share a very simple, easy, and very healthy recipe, Dal Palak. Palak/spinach has a lot of health benefits and has a beautiful color. Many dishes can be prepared using palak like curries, parathas, koftas, cutlets, pakoras, kababs and so on. Some times we can use palak puree to give a natural green color to our recipes. This recipe utilizes two types of dal: toor dal and moong dal. You are free to add one or both of them. The boiled dal is cooked along with spinach, garlic and other spices, which gives it an aromatic smell, and taste. Dal palak is best served with plain rice or roti.
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Bhindi Curry (Bihari Style)
Bhindi/Okra is one of the popular vegetables and loved by many people. It can be prepare in any form be it dry, stuffed, or curry. You can prepare variety of dishes using Bhindi and different places have their own variations.This recipe is generally prepared in the state of Bihar and has a mustard flavor. This recipe is prepared by cooking sauteed bhindi in onion, tomato and mustard gravy. This curry goes very well with phulka, parata or plain rice. Visit my other Bhindi recipe like Bindi masala, Bindi Fry and Stuffed Bindi.
Kala Chana Fry (Ghugni)
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and keeps you energetic the whole day. Kala Chana Fry aka Ghugni/ghughuni is a very popular breakfast item in Bihar. Its a very simple recipe prepared by stir frying boiled kala chana with onion and light spices.This dish is tasteful as well as healthy. It also goes very well with tea or coffee. Try this recipe, I am sure you will love it and add it to your breakfast routine.
Shahi Aloo Mutter
Potatoes are kings in veggies, with which we make several delicious dishes such as snacks, curries, bread or appetizers. Potatoes are also an all time favorite for kids. This dish is prepared with baby potatoes (but you can use big potatoes as well) without the use of onion and garlic. Adding cashew nuts into this curry gives a rich and thick texture and shahi taste to the dish. You can also add thick curd instead of cashew nuts. This dish can be made during the navratri festival, and is a great dish if you don’t want to add paneer. Shahi aloo mutter is best served with rice, roti, poori, naan or parathas.
Beetroot Dhokla
Dhokla also known khaman dhokla and is an extremely poplar Gujarati delicacy. Dhokla can be prepared in two way, using instant dhokla (which is made with besan)or using fermented channa daal and rice. Both have an awesome taste and are a healthy snack item. In Gujarat, dhokla is often eating as a breakfast or snack item. Earlier, I shared a variety of khaman dhokla like green moong daal dhokla, veg sandwich dhokla, and pomegranate quinoa dhokla. In this recipe, I have used beetroot puree along with besan to give it a beautiful color, and develop a more healthy and tasty dhokla. I have also made yogurt dhokla chaat with this dhokla, which has an amazing taste. You can make dhokla chaat with leftover dhoklas and enjoy it as an evening snack
Dry Coconut Garlic Chutney
India has many street foods which are popular across the nation. Dabele, vada pav and pav bhajji are some of the most popular and are primarily from Maharashtra. Vada pav is prepared with batata vada (deep fried spicy potato balls/patty) with Pav and three types of chutney. Vada pav is incomplete without garlic chutney and people demand it when they buy Vada pav. This chutney is a dry and spicy, prepared with dry roasted coconut, garlic, chili and spices. Traditionally this chutney is prepared using garlic clove with skin however if you don’t like it, you can peel it. This simple chutney can be stored for 2 to 3 weeks in an airtight container when refrigerated.
Batata Vada ( Aloo Bonda)
Batata Vada (Aloo Bonda) is a very famous fast food in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Batata means nothing but potato. This recipe is very easy to prepare. Boiled and mashed potato is first saute’d with coriander, mint leaves, chili and ginger paste then deep fried after coating it with gram flour batter. It can be served as a snack directly, and can also be used to make popular vada pav when served with pav, mint-coriander, dry garlic and tamarind chutney. There is a slightly different version of batata vada in Gujarat where the mashed potato is mixed with green chilies, coriander leaves, and garlic paste and deep fried with gram flour batter. Enjoy batata vada with a hot cup of tea. 
Pumpkin Masala
Pumpkin is one of the widely grown vegetables rich in vitamins. You can prepare variety of dishes using pumpkins like pumpkin pie, pumpkin kheer, pumpkin cupcakes, breads and so on. This recipe is mainly based on the preparations in Norther part of India where it is used as a dry side dish and goes very well with channa daal poories, normal poories or rice. This dish is simple to prepare and gets exotic taste from punch phoran spices, jaggrey and amchoor powder. This dish is also prepared during marriage ceremony. This is one of my favorite dry side dish. Enjoy this delicious recipe with your family and friends.
