June 6, 2008

Dahi Moong, MW cooked Lemon pickle!

Siri of "Siri's corner" is hosting a new event with a ever popular and well loved ingredient "YOGURT" this month. We,as Indians, LOVE yogurt and use it almost everyday in India or wherever we are in the World and however we can use in the dishes. Here is my Dahi Moong, a simple and delicious side dish. Enjoy Siri!:))

Yogurt:

Yogurt is nutritious which is available year-round and researchers have evidence that milk and yogurt may actually add years to your life as is found in some countries where yogurt and other fermented dairy products are consumed everyday. Yogurt is a fermented dairy product made by adding bacterial cultures to milk, which causes the transformation of the milk's sugar, lactose, into lactic acid. This process gives yogurt its refreshingly tart flavor and unique pudding-like texture, a quality that is reflected in its original Turkish name, Yoghurmak, which means "to thicken." (Info from WHFoods)

Dahi Moong:

Dahi is Yogurt/Mosaru in Kannada and Moong is Green gram. Green gram cooked in mildly spiced Yogurt gravy, that's what "Dahi Moong" means in Hindi, just in case you didn't know already! :)
This dish very tasty, subtly flavored with ginger, green chillies, mildly spiced with garlic, Cumin, coriander pd, garam masala and added with up to a cup of thick Yogurt or Sour Cream for that tang, it's a great side dish with chapatis or cloves and ghee seasoned rice. Enjoy! :)

Step by step photos:
Click on the collage to see the lager photo.

You need these:
1 cup green whole green Moong, soaked overnight, 1/2 cup strained thick Yogurt or Sour Cream, salt, 1/4 tsp Turmeric, 3 tbsp Cilantro, 2 slices of Jalepeno.
Grind to paste: 1" fresh ginger, 2 Jalapeños or green chillies.
Spices: 1 tsp Cumin seeds pd, 1 tsp Coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp Garam Masala.
To season: 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp ghee, 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds, 1-2 garlic chopped, 1-2 dry red chillies, pinch of hing/asafoetida.
To make it:
1. Heat oil and ghee in a pan, add mustard seeds, red chillies, garlic, hing. Add ginger-green chilly paste,stir for a minute.
2. Add soaked and drained Moong to the pan, 1 1/2 cup water, sliced Jalapeño pieces, Turmeric, cover and cook for 10 mins or until Moong is almost cooked.
3. Take the pan off of the heat and leave it on the counter for a minute for the dish to cool down. Add all the dry spices, salt, Cilantro and 1/2 cup thick Yogurt or sour cream to the pan and mix well.
4. On a low heat, simmer the Dahi Moong for 5-7mins until thickish. Adjust the salt and spices. Serve with Chapatis or with seasoned rice.

Note: You must take off the pan off the heat before adding the yogurt to the moong dish. If the gravy is too hot, yogurt will split resulting in very thin grainy gravy. Once you add the yogurt and mix it, you should simmer the gravy on low heat. That's it!:)

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Microwaved Lemon pickle is my entry to "Easy cooking with Microwave" which is hosted by Srivalli of "Cooking 4 all seasons" with a theme of "bottled" this month. Thanks for hosting Sri, enjoy!:)



Indian Pickles:
Indian pickles, which are very different from Western pickles, are a variety of usually spicy and sometimes hot and sweet condiments popular in India, often made with different vegetables, green Mangoes, limes, Pearl Onion, green leaves,Garlic, ginger and Lemons etc.
Usually, I buy most of the pickles from the Indian store as they are easier to buy than making them. When Limes, Lemons or even Florida Key Limes are in season, I make these pickles in huge quantities to store in the fridge which lasts a year in the fridge if made correctly.
I found this cooked (or microwaved) Lemon pickle in one of the Premila Lal's Indian cookbooks long time ago.I liked this method so much that it has become a tradition now! Cooked Lemon pickle is like a instant pickle, ready to eat as soon as they are cooled. Since they become soft and absorb the masala quickly, there is no need to wait to eat the pickle. Try it!:)

Lemon pickle with two flavors:
Red colored Lemon pickle, like this Bamboo shoot pickle, is flavored with the traditional Methi seeds, red chillies,Mustard seeds powder, which I already had in the fridge made few months ago and sometimes I use SWAD brand "Achar Masala"(pickle masala) as well which has the same ingredients.
The yellow pickle masala is made from Ranji's Thambale powder. I used just 2 large Yellow Lemons for this yellow pickle just to show you. I recently made a yummy Eggplant dish from Ranji's blog with this masala pd. She mentioned that I could also use this powder to make pickles too, so here it is! Thanks Ranji, it tastes good, looks beautiful as you can see!:)

How to make Microwaved Lemon Pickle:

You need:
2 large Lemons, cut in to small pieces like shown, take seeds out since it's going to be cooked,
3-4 tbsp pickle powder, home made or Thambale pudi or SWAD Achar mix, salt, 1 tsp sugar.
To season: 1/4 cup Canola oil or any oil you like ,4 whole or sliced peeled Garlic, 1tsp mustard seeds, few fresh curry leaves, 2 dry red chillies, 1/4 tsp hing/Asafoetida powder, 1/2 tsp chilli pd.
To make the pickle:
1. Add chopped Lemon pickles, 1/2 cup water, 2 tsp salt to a clean dry glass bowl and Microwave it for 10 mins or until lemons are light yellow and soft.
2. Take it out, add Thambale pudi or SWAD, sugar, mix with a clean wooden spoon and let it cool.
3. Heat oil in a pan until very hot, slide the pan off the heat to cool for a minute. Place the the pan on the low heat this time.
4. Add all Garlic, Mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves. When the garlic becomes golden, add hing and chilli pd and take off the heat. Cool the oil.
5. Add the seasoning to the pickle, mix well. Taste the pickle, add more salt,chilii pd and pickle pd if needed. They all should balance perfectly with the tartness of lemon juice.

When the pickle is completely cooled, add it to a clean dry glass bottle and store in the fridge. It will stay in the fridge for a month. Make sure your hands, bowl and wooden spoon you use is very clean and dry when pickling or else it will go moldy on ya!

Another close up!!

Bottled!! :)

Have a wonderful weekend. See you all next week!:)

62 comments:

Finla said...

MC Pickles. Asha this is really excelent.
I didn't even know we could make them in MW.
I made one of your parathas yesterday for the roti mela.
It was delicious, will post it next week.

Purnima said...

Asha, super duper quick! She just announced the yoghurt event, u hv an entry too...great!!!! Also liked ur way of mw pickles..both look fab!!! Hv a gr8 wkend!!!

FH said...

Lemon cooks and absorbs all the masala quickly, so it's like instant pickle ,ready to eat!:)
Can't wait for the Paratha, will see you then. Cooking chicken this weekend for that chicken event! YAY!:)

FH said...

I had soaked Moong day before she announced to make it and got very very happy looking at the yogurt event!:D
Hope you try it. MW Lemon pickle is easy too, Ranji's pd came to the rescue! See you on Monday!:)

Anonymous said...

I didn't know that we can make pickle in Mw also.Great Entry Asha.Dahi Moong is looking yummy.Have a great weekend.

Trupti said...

Hey Asha, Dahi Moong is very healthy. Thanks for this recipe. Lemon Pickle in MC that's wonderful.

Have a nice wkend.

Cham said...

Pickles re splendid, i like the colour of fiery red hot and yellow 2!
I am drooling over ur plate of Dahi moong Asha!

Suganya said...

Hi Asha:
MW pickles looks so good. Two bright colors are mind blowing. Nice tried doing pickle in MW. Have to try one. Hay I also loved ur dahi moong. Looks great. YUM! YUM!

FH said...

I am here to teach you Sireesha! Hahaha, enjoy the pickle!:))

Dahi Moong if perfect for adults and kids too, enjoy your weekend T!:)

FH said...

Cham, pickle should be perfectly hot, tangy and salty.Otherwise you feel like something is missing.Enjoy!:))

Sukanya, try with just 2 Lemons like I did. If you like it you can always more. This amount last for 2 mints for us!:))

Anonymous said...

Dahi moong sounds unique Asha! And the pickles look eays and groovy!

kamala said...

I am a great pickle lover.Can even eat plainly...I am drooling over your pickle pics.Never had Dahi with Moong.All your dishes always new to me

sunita said...

Asha,My yogurt stock is rarely empty too...the dahi moong sounds delish. and the pickles look so colourful and ful of flavours.

Enjoy your weekend...ours is probably going to be a wet one like the past few days :-)

Vanamala Hebbar said...

Awesome asha :)wonderful pickles & dahi moong..last week i made kashmiri rajma..came out well.

TheCooker said...

Dahi-Moong: what a combo. I'm trying this for sure this weekend!

FH said...

Latha, Dahi Moong is great parathas, try it!:)

Kamala, I knew a girl who would eat very spicy pickle on it's own and then call her doctor hubby to get her some Antacids!:D
I love to eat pickles with parathas too, enjoy!:)

FH said...

Sunita, you can use Sour cream too. Actually it's better than yogurt in this dish.You will get a tangy thick gravy!:)
Wet, cloudy ,gloomy!! OH, dear old England! Hope you get some sunshine. Hugs.

Mala, glad you made Rajma, my fave recipe too, great with rice as well although I always serve with parathe!Try this Dahi Moong,really yummy!:)

Enjoy TC, you will love it!
I plan to make your green parathas next week!:)

notyet100 said...

omg,.as always,.yummy posts with delicious,..recipies,.happy weekend,..

Sunshinemom said...

Yes! I have tasted this (from M Aunty, my lovely n'bour), and love this! I still depend on mom for the annual pickle dose..but you inspire me all the time!

Unknown said...

Moongdal in yogurt is very new to me, but looks delicious.Uppinkaayi thumba ruchiyagede.

Have a nice weekend !

Anonymous said...

hello Asha,
Dahi moong looks delicious.the pictures are beautiful.

shalini

Meera said...

We make somewhat similar dahi moong Gujarati way called Khatta mag. Urs looks so good!!!

I absolutely loved ur mw pickle. that bottled picture is just fabulous. You are such a good cook.

I just read ur comment about Malvani Masala on my blog. Hey, if you like to try some, i would be more than happy to send some over. Drop me an email if you are interested.

FH said...

You too N, have a safe weekend. Thanks girl!:))

Hi S,yeah.Dahi Moong is probably a popular dish in North India, right? I love it too.
Most of my pickles comes from the Indian store.Lemon amd Bamboo shoot pickles are the only two I make at home!:)

FH said...

Hi Madhu, this is made from whole green Moong/Hesarukalu, Moongdal tastes little different, but usable too too. Nimbekai uppinkai yarige ishtavagalla, alva!:))

Thank you Shalini. Moong is healthy, full of protein, great kids.Love it.
Enjoy your weekend!:))

Uma said...

Kudos to "Super Asha"! What a display of wonderful recipes! I love the way you made lemon pickle in MW, wow! I love all your bowls too! Thanks for voting for me dear asha!

ranji said...

awesome asha!!!i am the very few ppl who doesnt like curd..And so i know very less of the variety of yogurt dishes..but i do cook some things with curds for hubby:)....
lemon pickle is also awesome..one of my fav pickle..have u tried preserving lemons(leftover after squeezing the juice) in salt for a month or so..they become sooo soft and its perfect to eat with kanji..

FH said...

Meera, it's probably is Khatta Moong too. Many yrs ago, I had written down this recipe in an old yellowing notebook from God knows where!:D
I would love to have that pd, will mail you this weekend, recipe would be even better! You know what they say, "it's better to teach a man how to Fish than give him few Fish" Hahaha! Will mail you the address later!:)

FH said...

Thank you and you are welcome Uma. Always a pleasure to support friends!Enjoy all the awards! I was just there!:))

Ranji, you know, sometimes when lemon pickle becomes dry and old without juice, I get those salty hard Lemon pieces! I love it with yogurt rice since I don't make Kanji.
WHAT?! Don't like Yogurt? :D
Thanks for the Thambale pudi, I took your advice and made the pickle, it works well with pickle too!:))

Hetal said...

Hey both the entries are wonderful,loved the dahi moong recipe.

FH said...

Hi Hetal,thanks girl. Dahi Moong is easy to make too, hope you try!:)

Sum Raj said...

woo both ur recipe re moutnwatering..and the pic of pickles r marvellous...can't wait to take that bottle filled pickle..luc to have those with garamaa garam aloo paratha...

FH said...

Haha!! Yeah, I did make some Prathas today for Dahi Moong, tomorrow will be leftover pickle and parathas!
Hope you try it Suma. Enjoy your weekend!:)

Sagari said...

lemon picle looks sooooo good ashaji , and its happy to here that u and your family enjoying my set dosa recipe and thank u so much for appreciating my pictures

Vani said...

The moong curry looks awesome! And leave it to the Queen of Cooking to think of making pickle in a mw! You rock, Ash! :)

TBC said...

I like the pickles you have made, and in a MW too! You can sell it now under the brand name ASHA's( like PRIYA's).;-)

Have a good weekend!

Pravs said...

very interesting recipes. I always learn new and different recipes with varities, when ever i get here.

jayasree said...

Dahi monng looks very delicious. Lemon pickle is welcome anytime. Thanks for an instant version.

Srivalli said...

wow..excellent pickles Asha..just so yummy it looks...and moong dal looks yum!

Anonymous said...

The dahi moong looks great! Will try that soon.And love the pickle.I am drooling all over the keyboard :)

Raaga said...

I want to have that pickle with curd rice now :-) send some over please :-)

FH said...

Sagari, thank YOU for posting set dose recipe, we LOVED it!:)

HeHe! Thanks Vani. We had Dahi Moong with parathas last night, it was yummy. Hope you try, healthy too. This is the only Uppinkai I make at home, everything else comes from the store!:D


HeHe! Okay tbc, I will get some catchy name like "Ajji's" to sell faster!;D
I do like "Amma" brand masalas we get here!:)

FH said...

We all learn from each other Pravs, that's what makes foodies community a great place to belong to. Since I have started cooking from other blogs, I am amazed everyday that how much I enjoy the new tastes!:))

Jaya, enjoy. Since Lemons are cooked, it absorbs the masalas quickly,you can use it immediately!:)

FH said...

Sri, I told you I have one for ya!:D
This is the pickle I was talking about, I love it. I added Ranji's masala pd this time since I had it, love the taste!:))

HeHe! Thanks HC. Now wipe off all the drool and go make some!:))

Okey dokey, it's in the mail Raaga!:D
I know, pickle taste great with just plain yogurt and rice, now I am drooling!!

EC said...

I keep looking out for interesting side dish for rotis and dahi moong is bookmarked now...thanks for sharing..the pickles look good too

FH said...

EC, Dahi Moong is delicious. Jalapeño I use here is not that spicy, kids like it mild too but you can add more green chillies. Indian chillies have more taste as well, enjoy!:))

zlamushka said...

Asha, I just wanted to let you know that the round-up for T&T May is up now.

Unknown said...

Loved both the recipes..I always wait for the india vacation to get those lemon pickle that H's grandma makes.Now after this post, i guess i will be able make my own and too the easy way...

FH said...

Thanks Z, I will check it out!:))

Mahesh, nobody can beat ajji/Paati's pickles! :D
This is just a quick fix way of doing things for me here since we don't go to India often. Give it a try, you might like it.I like SWAD pickle masala!:)

Laavanya said...

The dahi moong looks so creamy and delicious - lovely take and very healthy too.

And microwaved pickle? you amaze me asha - looks just too good!

Kalai said...

MW pickle?? Wow! So quick and it looks delicious! Will have to try. Great one for the yogurt event, too! :)

Unknown said...

wow the lemon pickle sounds easy.I have never tried my hands on pickles. This is bookmarked.
We had the dahi moong at our friends place, I relish it . Thanks for sharing the recipe.

J said...

I like that dahi moong!! Great for the terrible summer here!! Now that the guests have left, I'm relaxing and checking blogs again!

Seema said...

Moongh with curds is a totally new recipe to me! Looks great. MW pickles - i am truely impressed!! Asha they just announce & your there for the event.. super women!!

FH said...

Hope you try them both Laavanya!:))

Thanks Kalai.Pickle cooks, so absorbs allt he masalas, another way to make them!:))

FH said...

Hi Pearl, this one of two pickles I make at home, that's where it ends!:D

J, so glad you survived all the guests girl.It scares me when I have guests, not used to cooking for so many people.
We have terrible heat too, Dahi dishes are great, try it!:)

HeHe! Seema, I was ready to make this dish for our dinner anyway and I saw the Yogurt announcement, great for me!:D

bha said...

It seems as if you have posted from the whole week, please say you did, else thts too much for a day....:)

Love the spread

bha said...

And yes, the MW pickle is truly a brilliant idea...how did you get that...:)

FH said...

Actually Bha, you are commenting on the last week's post now!:D
I just posted one today for this week in the morning. Pickle idea is from Premila Lal's old book, don't even remember which, been making this way for a long time!:)

Rupali Jain said...

Hey Awesome Pickle Recipe...!!!
Thanks for sharing

FH said...

You are welcome Rupali. I love the taste of pickles with different pickle powders too. Glad you tried it. Enjoy!:))

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FH said...

Thanks, I appreciate both of your comments! :)