DALMA RCI - Orissa And an Award!!!

It's time for RCI and our hostess this month is Swapna and the theme is Orissa Cuisine.Having little or no exposure to this branch of cooking, I also admit that it has so far been neglected.. why? Born and brought up in Mumbai, I was exposed to a large variety of cuisines, but I have never seen a restaurant serving Oriya food! The closest I came to anything eastern, was Bengali sweets!
When we moved to CA, I caught up with the local Indian fauna as quickly as a moth gravitates towards light. My very first taste of Oriya cuisine was at this potluck which led me to my very first experiment in Oriya cuisine a wonderful chutney which was also an introduction to panch phoron (a mix of mustard seed, cumin, fenugreek seeds, kalonji/nigella & fennel in equal portion).

Sadly, what I know about Orissa is also negligible.. somehow over time, getting caught up with scores in tests, higher studies and trying to scale the corporate ladder (and you are right at the bottom) leaves one ignorant about anything else!And now that I have the time, what better way to start learning something, than to start off with food!! (spoken like a true foodie!!)

To start off with, I got hold of my friend B who is from Orissa and asked her to give me a 'nice Odissi recipe'. she was prompt in sending me the recipe, which in her words ...main ek pura special odissa ka item bata rahin hoon...DALMA

Ingredients: (the measures are good for 2 people)
1/4 cup Channa daal

1/4 cup Moong daal (lightly roast the daal)

Vegetables (this dish is perfect to make use of all vegetables u have!) I used 2 cups of mixed veges : Cauliflower, potato, French beans, carrots and peas.

1/2 medium Onion finely chopped

2 tbsp. oil

1 bay leaf

1 tsp Cumin/ jeera

1/2 tsp Panch Phoron

5 whole Dry red chilies

1/2 tsp grated Ginger

Salt to taste

Do the prep: Dry roast 1 tsp cumin and 3 red chilies. Cool and grid to a powder, this will be used for garnishing

Soak Channa Daal in water for 30 minutes. Dry roast the yellow moong daal.

Boil the Channa daal and Moong daal . When the daal is nearly cooked, pitch in the chopped vegetables and cook till done.

While the daal and vegetables are cooking merrily, heat oil in a wok/ kadhai. Add Panch Phoron, tejpatta/ bay leaf. After the PP pops. Add the red chilli, ginger and then the finely chopped onion. Saute till the onion turns translucent.

Add the daal and vegetable mixture. Add salt and cook this for a few mins. Add the cumin-red chilli powder. Dalma is ready!!

Serve with rice or roti.

Verdict: Beauty lies in simplicity! The lack of any 'masala' is the USP of this dish! The twist in taste comes from the panch phoron. Talk about nutrition!! this dish packs it all!! A wonderful recipe! A very forgiving one too... add any vegetable at hand eg: eggplant, yams, raw papaya in addition to the above mentioned mix. Grated fresh coconut can be used for garnishing as well.

Doubts: Did I get it right? How well was I supposed to cook the daal and veges? to a mush? Errr... is this supposed to be a gravy vegetable? I followed the recipe, but these doubts kept popping into my mind. Oh well, B and my blogger friends can review it and give me the feedback.After all, there are no mistakes, it is all learning! Isn't food blogging just awesome!!!!

Swapna, Thank You for hosting RCI! All the best for the round up.

NOW for something THRILING!!!

"The Power of Schmooze Award is for bloggers who "effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don't limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. They are the ones who engage others in meaningful conversations, refusing to let it end at a mere hello - all the while fostering a sense of closeness and friendship."

The Budding Cook has honoured me with this award!!

I was thrilled to recieve this!!! Do I deserve it? That is debatable! Nevertheless, it is so motivating! When I stepped into the world of blogging, I was kinda sure of what I wanted to do, but what I was worried about was how well it would be accepted. One year down the line, I have realised, I am a part of this world which has now become a very important part of me. Fellow bloggers have reached out and welcomed me into this world and taught me so much! This is an award for ALL my blogger friends who have motivated me and brought me this far! I love you all! And so, I deserve this honour only when I share it with you all!

Given a choice, I would want to extend this award to all my blog buddies, as it is I had a tough time in choosing a few!

I would ike to pass on this award to

Asha of Foodie's Hope
Coffee of Spice Cafe
Nupur of One Hot Stove
Trupti of The Spice Who Loved Me

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