Teto'r Dal -Mong Dal cooked with Bitter gourd, Kochu'r Tarkari- Arbi ki Sabzi/Taro roots stir/fry, Beet Koraishutir Tarkari - Beet Green peas stir/fry- our Niramish Platter

The Indian grocery store that we have over here is on farther end of our vicinity. Now for us it’s not always possible to walk with a jute bag, tucked inside our armpit and do vegetable shopping as we are habitual of doing it back home or might have seen our parents doing that way may be at least once in a life-time.Although these days back home, even vegetable vendors do home-delivery and are very much hi-tech people with latest mobiles,now all one needs is to call them up and they will do home delivery but don’t expect them to strike a conversation with you as they have other clients to look after who might be expecting them to turn up.So, gone are the days when one can go to vegetable shopping, smell and feel the vegetables and do bargain, anyhow when everybody is going technical/electronic, why these people should be left behind .

And over here,I have to motivate myself to travel to that far corner of our vicinity and bring fresh green vegetables home. And believe me once I am there is no stopping. I really like to pick everything, sometimes smell and feel, seeing all those vegetables, my mind starts planning what should be made in due course of coming week ahead.Then there are quite other vegetables which are not part of our staple Bengali cooking and which do tends to intimate me, but still I refrain myself from buying them, exception being curry patta- we, I mean me and my husband really like the smell of curry patta, although my daughter still hasn’t developed that affinity.And then many of them are the ones on which our Bengali cooking adhere. But I control myself; trying to recollect what my ma and ma-in-law used to make with those vegetables. Then I start picking those “chosen ones”- vegetables that I would like to cook as it used to be made in our home, keeping in mind the choices of my folks over here.Generally I like to pick at least these or possibly almost all of them depending on the availability and quality - sajne data/drumstick, korola/bitter gourd, green banana, green papaya, curry patta, and coriander leaves, parwal, turnip, beet, cabbage etc. 

Even though some of the vegetables are not relished in our home, but still they are very much sneaked into eating many other ways. But then, even with such efforts there is still couple of them which are never liked in whatever way I would try to make them. Actually it’s mainly two of them -Korola/bitter gourd and Kochu/Arbi or taro.I have given many lectures on the benefits of these vegetables, but it came back to me, re-bouncing. Anyhow can’t change the way my DD and DH like to eat and eating should be a pleasure not punishment.

“Kochur tarkari with green peas”- arbi ki sabzi/taro vegetable stir/fry is something I like to eat quite often compared to this, my folks are not into eating much of this and so is “teto’r dal”- korola/bitter gourd cooked with lentils. So, whenever I make “teto r dal” or “kochur tarkari”, I have to make a separate dal  and sabzi/tarkari for my DD and DH.And it’s most of the time tomato-masoor dal as the dal cooks quite fast as compared to toor dal/arhar dal.Some times when I pressure cook the mong lentils, I remove my portions and add in fried bitter gourd pieces which I generally like to do it in advance and reserve rest of the dal for tempering with tomato to make tok’er dal.This isn’t a case in our paternal home where tero’r dal is quite a staple especially in summers. I haven’t seen my ma-in-law making this dal but have heard from my father-in-law that his mother used to make this dal often. There- tradition is all about how one perceives things and likes to incorporate, so what works best for me, might not work for you as well.Although I would say if you really like to incorporate some healthy recipes,particularly low-calorie recipes, in your menu then once in a while one can make these vegatarian recipes and many more such things.

Now to the recipe part

Kochur Tarkari-Arbi Ki sabzi- Taro root-(Satoimo) stir/fry with green peas

Recipe requirements-(Serves 3-4)

• About 10-12 Kochu- as in Bengali /Arbi as in Hindi /Taro root in English/ Satoimo as in Japanese
• 1 cup of fresh green peas or frozen green peas whatever available
• 1 medium size potato
• Seasoning
• ½ tsp of turmeric powder
• 2 tsp of red pepper powder
• 2 tsp of ginger paste
• 1 tsp of coriander powder
• Two pinch of hing
• 1 tsp of cumin seeds
• 2 tej patta
• 1 tsp of salt
• 3-4 tbs of mustard oil

Method

• Wash and clean taro root/kochu/arbi in water to get rid of dirt and mud.I tend to leave them in water for 1 hr and then rub them with hands to get rid of dirt, this way it's much easier.
• Then pressure cook them for one whistle with sufficient water. Let the pressure subside, open the lid.
• Take out the boiled arbi/kochu and then peel the skin. Cut roughly in slices or rounds whatever way you prefer.
• Now cut the potato and de-shell fresh green peas or use frozen ones.
• Heat up a saucepan, add in mustard oil, and add in phoron/tadka/tempering- with cumin seeds,hing and tej patta. Sometimes kalo jeery/nigella seeds also is used.
• Add in ginger paste.I even use fresh grated ginger, that imparts nice gingery flavour. Fry them for 2 mints.
• Now add in chopped potato pieces and chopped and boiled kochu/arbi pieces. Let it fry for 4-5 mints.
• Now add in all the seasonings- turmeric powder, red pepper powder,coriander powder and salt.
• Add in frozen green peas. Mix and stir for another minute or two.
• Now cover the saucepan and let it cook for 6-7 mints or till the potatoes are well cooked.
• When all the vegetables turn little bit mushy, turn off the heat.Kochu/arbi is bit slimy, so if you wish you may add bit of lemon juice at the end to get rid of sliminess, although I don't do that generally.
• Serve with warm cooked rice or roti whatever way you prefer.

Beet Koraishutir Tarkari 

Recipe requirements

(Serves 3-4)

• 2 -3 medium size beet
• 1 cup of fresh green peas or frozen green peas whatever available
• 1 medium size potato
• Seasoning
• 3/4  tsp of turmeric powder
• 1-2  tsp of red pepper powder
• 1 tsp of cumin seeds/panch phoron
• 2 tej patta
• 2 dry red pepper
• pinch of hing(optional)
• 1 tsp of salt
• 3-4 tbs of mustard oil or any other cooking oil

Method

• Wash beet very well in  water.
• Cut roughly in cubes with potatoes, or  whatever way you prefer.
• De-shell fresh green peas or use frozen ones, whatever is available.
• Heat up a saucepan, add in mustard oil, and add in phoron/tadka/tempering- with cumin seeds and tej patta.Although sometimes I like to use kalo jeery/nigella seeds or panch phoron as well.
• Now add in chopped potato pieces and chopped beet pieces. Let it fry for 4-5 mints.
• Now add in all the seasonings- turmeric powder, red pepper powder and salt.
• Add in frozen green peas. Mix and stir for another minute or two.
• Now cover the saucepan and let it cook for 8-10 mints.
• When all the vegetables turn little bit mushy, turn off the heat.take out in a separate bowl.Sometimes when I do feel I try to include fried Bodi/dried lentil dumplings as well.

Teto’r dal – Yellow mong dal- lentils cooked with Bitter gourd

- serves 3-4 

• 1 cup of dhuli mong dal
• 1 karela/bitter gourd or korola
• Seasonings
• ¾ tsp of turmeric powder
• 1 tsp of kalo jeerey/nigella seeds/kalaunji
• 2 dry red pepper
• 1 tsp of salt
• Pinch of sugar
• 2 tbs of mustard oil

Method

• Wash and clean mong dal.Pressure cook for one whistle in ample water. Let the pressure subside, open the lid. If the water has all been soaked up, then add about 1 or 2 cups of water now.
• Meanwhile the dal is being cooked. Cut and chop bitter gourd into small pieces and marinate it in little bit of turmeric powder and salt. Now let it sit so that the water comes out.
• Heat up a saucepan,add in cooking oil, add in marinated bitter gourd pieces and fry them for about 5-6 mints at medium flame or till the bitter gourd/korola pieces turn slightly brown. Take out and then proceed for tempering the dal.
• Add in more mustard oil now, add in nigella seeds/kalunji/kalo jeery and then add dry red pepper.
• Add in fried korola/bitter gourd pieces, transfer this phoron/tadka/tempering to he cooked dal.
• Now let the dal simmer for about 3-4 mints or till korola/bitter gourd pieces are well incorporated into the cooked mong dal.
• This dal is always eaten as first course.Please include at least one bhaja/fry like potato bhaja or begun bhaja /eggplant fry , even better if you can make a side-dish like the above recipes.

Note-
Alternately you can cook bitter gourd pieces with the simmering mong dal/lentil. Although the above way it also comes out nice.

Happy Cooking Friends