Sundal Varieties ( “No Fat high protein” Legumes, seasoned with spices)

 

 In my previous posts, I wrote about  Navarathri and Saraswathi poojai-Vijayadashami and mentioned about sundals, but didn’t have a chance to write how each variety is made. When I came across the event  “My Legume Love Affair”- 15th helping in  Sia’s Monsoon spice, couldn’t resist a post dedicated to sundals. So, here it is…………

During Navrathri we make sundals with legumes every day for 10 days and offer it to Goddess Devi and partake. Also, this can be a great protein packed evening-after school snack/tiffin for kids. It’s great for pregnant women. Also great for weight watchers diet, as it is low or no fat and high in protein content. Almost 15 types of sundals can be made with different legumes using different methods.

Method: 1 ( This method can be used for Green chana, White chana and Black chana-Garbanzo beans. It is called Podi thoovina sundal)

Chana Sundal

Ingredients:

• Black or Green or White chana (Garbanzo)- 1cup.
• Salt-to taste.
• Turmeric powder- a pinch.
• Lemon juice- few drops.

For Seasoning:

• Oil- 1tsp.
• Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp.
• Urad dhal- 1/2 tsp.
• Curry leaves- 1 arc.
• Green chilly-1(optional)
• Asafoetida- a pinch.

For Masala powder: Dry roast the below and powder them.

• Dhania or coriander seeds- 1tsp.
• Dry Red chillies- 2.
• Channa Dhal-1tsp.
• Urad dhal-1tsp.
• Coconut scrapes- 2tsp.

Method:

1. Soak the chana in water for 10-12 hours.
2. Add salt and pressure cook till 1 whistle, so that it doesn’t over cook.
3. Keep oil in a pan and add the above mentioned seasoning one by one, in the order mentioned above and turmeric.
4. Add the cooked chana to the pan, after draining excess water.
5. Add the masala powder and give it a toss.
6. Squeeze lemon juice.

Method 2 ( This method can be used for Chana dhal(Kadala parupu- split chickpeas), Split Moong Dhal (Payatham parupu) and Kidney beans( Rajma) and Black eye peas(karamani)

 Ingredients:

• Legume of interest- 1cup.
• Salt-to taste.
• Turmeric powder- a pinch.
• Coconut scrapes- 2tsp.

For Seasoning:

• Oil- 1tsp.
• Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp.
• Urad dhal- 1/2 tsp.
• Curry leaves- 1 arc.
• Red chillies-3.
• Asafoetida- a pinch.

Method:

Rajma soaked in water for 10-12 hours. Karamani soaked for 1 hour. Need not soak chana dhal and moong dhal as they cook directly.

Pressure cook till 1whistle, with just enough water.

Keep oil in a pan and add the above mentioned seasoning one by one, in the order mentioned above and turmeric.

Add the cooked legume to the pan, after draining excess water and cook 5 minutes.

Garnish with coconut scrapes.

Method 3 ( Green patani-vatana, White patani, Groundnut-peanuts, Chora can be done in this method)

  Ingredients and Seasoning and Preparation method:

• Same as mentioned in Method 2.
• Instead of red chillies, green chillies are used here.
• Lemon juice can be used in this variety.
• Groundnuts need not be soaked, directly cooked.
• Chora and vatana can be soaked, but cooked carefully, as they become soft easily.
• In green vatana sundal, cut mango pieces can be added to make Thengai-maangai-patani sundal.

Method 4: (Sweet version can be made with green gram(Paasi payaru) and Red Karamani (which is hard to find in the US)

The idea is pretty much the same except that Jaggery(vellam), coconut, cardamom and ghee are used. Avoid seasonings mentioned above.

Method 5: ( Green gram Masala Sundal with onions)

If it is not used as neivedhyam, just prepared as a snack, green gram can be soaked, and allowed to sprout and method 3 can be used. But can saute chopped onions, tomatoes and a pinch of garam masala can be added.

Tip:

Asafoetida or Hing can be added to all the sundals, as legumes may cause gas to form in the stomach. Gas formation can be further avoided by letting the legumes sit in hot water for few minutes and draining the water. Then they can be soaked and cooked.

 Revealing my Legume love affair to the world by sending this to Sia’s Monsoon Spice , who is hosting the event for Susan of  The Well Seasoned Cook.