MANGO KHEER AND MW MOONG DAL-PUMPKIN GRAVY

This is my last post in 2007 at Aroma!! YAY!! Happy new year to all of you. See you in 2008!:)

Latha N of "The YUM blog" is hosting this month's "A Fruit A Month" with a theme of cooking with "Dry fruits". AFAM is started by Maheswari of "Beyond the usual" blog and Mango-Coconut Kheer is my entry for this event.. Thanks for hosting Latha!:))

Dried Mango slices from Philippines:
Mangoes retain a special significance in the culture of South Asia where they have been cultivated for many centuries. It has been the national fruit of India, Bangladesh and Philippines. Reference to mangoes as the "food of the gods" can be found in the Hindu Vedas and the leaves are ritually used for floral decorations at Hindu weddings and religious ceremonies.

The name 'mango' is from the Malayalam word manga, which was introduced in Europe by the Portuguese from Calicut (Malabar Coast) in the late fifteenth century and called "Aam" in Hindi.
The mango is an excellent nutritional source, containing many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, as well as enzymes such as magneferin and lactase. In the Philippines, unripe mango is eaten with bagoong. Dried strips of sweet, ripe mangoes have also gained popularity both inside and outside the country, with those produced in Cebu making it to export markets around the world. Dried unripe mango used as a spice and is known as amchur or amchoor in India and ambi in Urdu. All these info. is from WIKIPEDIA.

Mango-Coconut Kheer:
Kheer is an Indian word for pudding, which is easy and quick to make and tastes delicious flavored with Mango bits and coconut. Hope you try!

You need: 1 cup chopped dry Mango slices(soak these in hot water for 1/2 an hour until soft, drain), 2 tbsp very fine grained Semolina(cream of wheat), 2 tbsp grated fresh or Sweetened Coconut, 1/4 cup or more Sugar, 3 cups 2% milk, 1/2 tbsp butter, pinch of salt.

To make it:
1. Heat butter in a pan, add semolina, stir for a minute.Add milk, bring it to boil, turn down the heat.
2. Add the soft Mango slices, coconut, sugar, salt and simmer for 1omins. Take off the heat. It gets thicker as it cools.
3. Serve warm or chilled, tastes great. I added very little sugar and skipped Cardamom pd since Mangoes have their own sweetness and beautiful aroma. Enjoy!

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Moong dal and white Pumpkin(Ash gourd) gravy cooked in the Microwave is my entry to "Easy cooking with Microwave" which is hosted by Srivalli of "Cooking 4 all seasons" with a theme of "Gravies" this month. Thanks for hosting Srivalli!:))



Microwaved Moong-Pumpkin dal:
Here is a tasty gravy you can make in the microwave. Moong dal or yellow split lentils is the easiest dal to cook in the microwave since it cooks very easily unlike other dals. You can use Masoor dal (red lentils) too. Adding Ash gourd pieces gives the gravy texture and makes it tastes delicious.

You need: 1 Cup Moong dal, washed,soaked in 3 cups of hot water for 1/2 an hour, 1 cup Ash Gourd or Bottle gourd chopped into cubes, 1/8 tsp Turmeric, 2 green chillies chopped or 1/4 tsp chilli pd or any curry pd you have, 1 tsp grated ginger, 1 tbsp Coriander seeds powder,salt, few cherry tomatoes (Optional).
For seasoning: 1/2 Tbsp Butter + 1/2 tbsp oil,1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 garlic chopped, 3 tbsp onion minced.

Garnish with cilantro and squeeze of lemon juice.

To make it:
1. Add the soaked dal with water to a microwave proof deep dish along with gourd pieces and cook for 5 mins on high. Stir and cook for 5 more mins.Repeat this way until dal is cooked and gourd is soft. Add salt, turmeric, green chillies or chilli pd and ginger.
2. Cook again for 3 mins. Add coriander pd, pierced cherry tomatoes,cook for 2 more mins, mix well until you get a thickish gravy.Take it out of the MW and garnish.
3. For seasoning, you can either do it on the stove top for convenience or heat a glass bowl with butter and oil for 1 min on high, add all the seasoning ingredients, cover with paper towel and heat until it splutters. Add minced onion and garlic and cook again until golden on the edges.Add to dal and mix.

Enjoy!:)