My experiments with Slow cooker series - Palak Dal (Palakura Pappu , Lentils with Spinach)

A simple and nutritious dal which can be cooked in slow cooker.Palak dal came out well. One thing I noticed when cooking toovar dal in slow cooker ,is you need to add salt at the end and if you need to add any tamarind you need to add it after the dal is well cooked, otherwise the dal will not be soft.

Palak Dal

Ingredients :

1 Cup Toovar Dal

1 Medium Onion
1 Large Tomato

1 Bunch Spinach

2 Green Chillies
1/2 Inch Ginger
2 Garlic cloves
1/2 Tsp Red Chilli powder

1/4 Tsp Turmeric

Salt to taste

3 cups water
Tadka
1 Tbsp Oil

1/2 Tsp Jeera

1/2 Tsp Mustard Seeds

2 Dry Red Chillies

2 Garlic Pods
1 Tbsp Diced Onion
8-10 Curry Leaves

 

Method :

To the slow cooker cermaic pot, Add washed Toovar Dal,diced Spinach,diced Onion,Red Chilli Powder,Green Chillies,Turmeric,diced Ginger,Garlic,diced Tomato,3 Cups water. Cook on High for 6 hours. Add salt to the dal and cook for another 10 minutes.

Tadka : In hot Oil, add Curry Leaves ,dry red chillies, Jeera , Mustard seeds and Garlic pieces,onion. Let them turn light brown and add to the Dal.

Serve hot with rice.

My experiments with Slow cooker series - Blackeyed Peas Curry (Bobbarlu)

I like balckeyed peas very much. It tastes so good even with only a good  tadka. It can be served as a snack or a curry with Rotis.

It is very hot in NC and since my son likes water very much, so we frequent Carowinds. As I knew we would be back by dinner time,  I wanted the curry to be ready by the time we reach home. So I tried Blackeyed peas.It did not require any soaking ,was cooked perfect, Not mushy , held it's shape even after 6 hrs cooking.

Blackeyed Peas

Ingredients :

1.5 Cup Black Eyed Peas  ( Does not require soaking)
1/2 Medium Onion

6 Small Green Chillies

1 Tsp Chopped Ginger

1/4 Tsp Turmeric

1 Small Tomato

2 Tsp Oil

1/2 Tsp Jeera

1/2 Tsp Mustard Seeds

Salt to taste

4 cups water

Method :

In a microwaveable bowl, put Oil, Jeera,Onion,Tomato and Microwave for 3 minutes on high.

To the slow cooker ceramic pot add Black eyed peas,Chopped Ginger,Whole Green Chillies,Turmeric, above microwaved masala, Salt, Water. Cook for 6 hrs on high.

Note : If you are adding ginger paste instead of Chopped ginger, Cook it in Microwave along with other ingredients.

Serve hot with rotis

My experiments with Slow cooker series - Chana Dal with Lauki ( Anapakaya Chenaga pappu)

One more traditional Hyderabadi dal. Cooked in slow cooker and it turned out well.Dal always turn out better in slow cooker.Chana dal will be well cooked but not mashed.

  

Chana Dal with Lauki

Ingredients :

1 Cup Chana Dal

1 Medium Onion

1 small Lauki/Bottle Gourd/Anapakaya

1 Tsp Ginger Garlic paste
1 Tsp Red Chilli powder

1/2 Tsp Garam Masala(Optional)

1/4 Tsp Turmeric

1 Tomato

1 Tbsp Oil

1/2 Tsp Jeera

1/2 Tsp Mustard Seeds

1 sprig of curry leaves

Salt to taste

2.5 cups water

Method :

In a microwaveable bowl, put oil, jeera,mustard seeds,curry leaves, onion,ginger garlic paste,red chilli ,turmeric ,garam masala Microwave for 2 minutes on high.

To the slow cooker ceramic pot add Chana Dal, Lauki, Tomato,above microwaved masala, salt, water. Cook for 4 hrs on high.

Serve hot with rice.

My experiments with Slow cooker series - Rajma

As you may know, any kind of lentils cook very well in slow cooker. Today's post is Rajma which came out nice and creamy. I added the Rajma directly (dry beans), No soaking overnight. Rajma has good amount of Iron and is very healthy. 

Rajma

Ingredients :

3/4 Cup Rajma (Kidney beans)

1 Medium onion

1 Tomato

1 1/2 Tbsp Oil

1 Inch Ginger

2 Cloves of Garlic

1 Tsp Whoe Jeera

1 Tsp Garam masala

4 Small Green chillies

1/4 Tsp Turmeric

Salt to taste

5 cups water

Cut onion , tomato into small pieces.Slice ginger into juliens and chop garlic.

Take a microwave bowl add oil, whole jeera, Onion, Garlic, Garam masala and cook for 2 minutes.

In the slow cooker add Rajma,Ginger,Turmeric,Green Chillies tomato, water ,salt and Tadka. Stir well and cook on low for 7 -8 Hours on high. It will not harm even if you leave it for another hour or so. 

Alternately if you are at home, you can add tadka later after 5 hrs of cooking process instead of at starting.

Serve hot with roti.

My experiments with Slow cooker series - Chicken Palak Curry (No Oil)

I wanted to cook the chicken in slow cooker without any browing and oil. I tried this chicken curry and it worked well. Chicken leaves enough oil on its own and combined with Dahi we get  decent amount of gravy.

Since I did not want to cook chicken before I transferred to slow cooker, I used fresh chopped ginger and garlic instead of ginger garlic paste which I felt requires pre cooking on high flame or microwave to remove the raw smell.

 

Chicken Palak Curry (No Oil)

Ingredients :

500 gms medium cut Chicken

2 Handfuls of Palak

3 Tbsp Curd

1 Inch Fresh Ginger

4 Garlic Cloves

1/2 Tsp Jeera powder

3/4 Tsp Red Chilli powder

1 Tsp Dhaniya Powder

1/2 Tsp Garam Masala Powder

1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder

1 Tsp Whoe Jeera

2 Bay leaf

4 Cloves

8 Pepper Corns

Salt to taste

In the slow Add chicken,curd,whole  jeera,bayleaf,cloves,pepper corns,chopped Ginger and Garlic,turmeric powder,jeera powder,red chilli powder, dhaniya powder, garam masala powder, Palak, Salt.

Mix them well and let it cook for 3 to 3.5 hrs on High. Check after 3 hrs and if the chicken is well done, then turn it off, otherwise leave for about 0.5 hr more.

Mine is narrow based bottom, so the chicken peices at bottom tend to get overcooked if the water released by chicken is more. So I stir them well once in evey hour. It you have big slow cooker, that may not be an issue.

Serve hot with roti.

My experiments with Slow cooker series - Toovar Dal with Drumsticks (Munakkaya Pappu)

One more Traditional Hyderabadi dal. I tried it with slow cooker and it turned out well.

  

Toovar Dal with Drumsticks

Ingredients :

3/4 Cup Toovar Dal

1 Medium Onion

2 Long Drumsticks

1 Tsp Ginger Garlic paste
3/4 Tsp Red Chilli powder

1/4 Tsp Turmeric

Salt to taste

5 cups water

Small Amount of Tamarind
Tadka

1 Tbsp Oil

1/2 Tsp Jeera

1/2 Tsp Mustard Seeds

2 Dry Red Chillies

2 Garlic Pods

 

Method

Soak Tamarind in water and Squeeze the pulp to get tamarind water and use it in the recipe. Cut Drumsticks into 3inch pieces and Onion into small pieces.

To the slow cooker ceramic pot add Toovar Dal, Onion, Drumstick Pieces, Red chilli powder, Turmeric,Ginger Garlic Paste, and water.Stir well and cook on High for 4 Hrs or  low for 8 hrs.

Add Tamarind water,salt and cook for another 1 hr.

Tadka : In hot Oil, Add  Dry red chillies, Jeera , Mustrad seeds and Garlic pieces. Let them turn light brown and add to the Dal.

Serve hot with rice.

My experiments with Slow cooker series - Whole Moong Dal

Dal's cook very well in slow cooker, be it toovar,rajma,chole,chana dal or moong dal. This is a simple whole moong dal which we make quite often at home. Turned out well in slow cooker.

  

Whole Moong Dal

Ingredients :

1 Cup Whole moong Dal

1 Medium Onion

1 Tomato

1 Potato

1 1/2 Tbsp Oil

1 Tsp Ginger Garlic paste
1/2 Tsp Jeera powder

1 Tsp Red Chilli powder

1 Tsp Dhaniya Powder

1 Tsp Whoe Jeera

1 Bay leaf

a pich of Turmeric

Salt to taste

5 cups water

Cut onion , tomato and aloo into small pieces.

Take a  microwavable bowl. Add oil,bay leaf, whole jeera, Onion,ginger garlic paste, jeera powder,red chilli powder, dhaniya powder, turmeric and 1 Tbsp water. Mix well and microwave for 2 minutes. 

In the slow cooker add moong dal, microwaved mixture, aloo,tomato, water and salt. Stir well and cook on low for 8 hrs.

Serve hot with rice and roti.

My experiments with Slow cooker series - Chicken Curry

Congratulation all of you, India WON the World cup.I watched the match after many years and it was a treat to our eyes.We celebrated with chicken curry.

 I don't like the taste of chicken we get in US when made into curry. So I usually do dry chickens which are better. I used the same method here and did not add any water to the curry and it turned out very well with good amount of gravy from chicken's own juices. The cooking times and amount of gravy  may vary a little depending on how much water and oil the chicken oozes out.Please make sure to drain water properly from chicken before using it.

Chicken Curry

Ingredients :

500 gms medium cut Chicken
1 Tomato
2 Tbsp Oil

1 Tsp Ginger Garlic paste
1 Tsp Jeera powder

2 Tsp Red Chilli powder

2 Tsp Dhaniya Powder

1 Tsp Whoe Jeera

a pich of Turmeric

Salt to taste

Take a wide microwavable bowl. Add chicken, ginger garlic paste, jeera powder,red chilli powder, dhaniya powder, turmeric,salt. Mix well and microwave for 4 minutes. 

In the slow cooker add oil , Jeera. Add the microwaved contents to the slow cooker and tomato, give it a good stir and let it cook for 3 to 3.5 hrs on High. Check after 3 hrs and if the chicken is well done, then turn it off, otherwise leave for about 0.5 hr more.

Mine is narrow based bottom, so the chicken peices at bottom tend to get overcooked if the water released by chicken is more. So I stir them well once in evey hour. It you have big slow cooker, that may not be an issue.

Serve hot with rice and roti.

My experiments with Slow cooker series - Rice Kheer

I made rice kheer for my son's birthday as per our tradition.This time I made in slow cooker. It came out very well and tasty. Cooking in slow cooker also meant no spending hours in kitchen, no burning, no sticking, no stirring continuously. I was able to spend all that time on decorating the house for the party.

Rice Kheer

Ingredients :
1/4 Cup Basmati Rice

3/4 Cup Sugar (Add more/less as per your liking)

6  Cups Milk

4 Elaichi

7-8 Raisins/Khismis roasted in Ghee

10 Kaju

2 Tsp ghee

Roast khismis ,kaju in Ghee.Add washed rice ,sugar and milk ,elaichi in slow cooker and set it on High. 

Let it cook for 6 hrs. Add khismis after 3 hrs and add kaju while serving.

The khismis gave a nice light brown colour to the Kheer.

My experiments with Slow cooker series - Cabbage Chanadal Curry (Cabbage Chenagapappu Koora)

Today's dish is cabbage chandal curry which can served with both rice and roti. Very easy dish, came out very well in my slow cooker.

My Cabbage was already cut the previous day, So it took me only about 5 mins to assemble it at around 9:30. I went to shopping and came back at 1:45. By that time, my curry was ready along with Rice cooked in Rice cooker.

Cabbage Chanadal Curry
Ingredients :
1/2 Cup ArharChana Dal(Chanaga Pappu)
1/2 Large Cabbage
1  Medium Onion
1 Tomato
1 Tsp Ginger Garlic paste
1 Tsp Red Chilli powder
1 Tsp Dhaniya powder
1/2 Tsp Jeera Powder
1/4 Tsp  Turmeric
1/2 Tsp Whole Jeera
1/4 Tsp Mustard seeds
1 Tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
1/2 Cup of water

Take Microwave safe bowl, Add Oil, Jeera,Mustard seeds, Red chilli powder,Jeera powder,Daniya powder,Turmeric, Onion peices , Ginger Garlic Paste, 1 Tbsp water and microwave for about 2 mins. This will remove raw smell of the masalas.

Cut Cabbage and Tomoto. Add Chana dal, Cabbage,  Tomato and the microwaved masala, salt and water to Ceramic pot. Mix well and  put the slow cooker on High for 4 Hrs.

After 4 hours , the curry is ready to be served with Rice ,Roti.

My experiments with Slow cooker series - Chicken Soup

Today is one of those very cold and rainy days at our place. This calls for hot hot soup, so what better than chicken soup. Soups taste better when done in Slow cooker. Chicken is well cooked and is ready to fall of the bone.

This soup has been my son's favorite from the time he was very small. It has Chicken, vegetables and you can add some spaghetti/noodles if you like.You can increase spice in case you like it spicier.

Chicken Soup

Ingredients :

500 gms Chicken
1  Aloo
1 Medium Onion
1 Medium Capsicum
1 Carrot

1 Tomato
1 Cup Cabbage

1/4 cup spinach

3 whole green chillies
6 curry leaves
2 Tbsp Kothmir
1 Tbsp butter

1 Bay leaf

1 Inch Dalchini
4 Cloves
7-8 peppercorns
1 Tsp Jeera
1 Tsp Ginger Garlic paste
1 Tsp Jeera powder

a pich of Turmeric

Salt to taste

3 1/2 Cups of water
Spaghetti /Noodles - Optional

Take a wide bottomed pan. Put butter. Add bay leaf,dalchini,cloves,peppercorns,jeera,curry leaves. Add chicken pieces,turmeric,ginger garlic paste and jeera powder, Let it roast on medium/high flame. Cut vegetables and add them to the pan as you go.

Give it a good stir and transfer the contents to slow cooker. Add whole green chillies, kothmir , salt and water. Now put the slow cooker on High for 4 Hrs.

If you want to add noodles or spaghetti, add in the last half an hour.

Serve hot with dinner rolls or baguette bread slices.

My experiments with Slow cooker series - Dalma

Dalma is another Oriya/Bengali dish which my mom-in-law makes quite often. It is a good candidate for slow cooker.  This dish is Dal combined with many vegetables. We can use vegetables like Pumpkin, Drumstick, Baingan etc. Today I used, Gobi, Beens ,Alu and carrots. This is a good dish for kids which helps to sneak in some veggies along with dal.

Dalma

Ingredients :

1 Cup Arhar Dal(Toovar Dal)
6  Large Gobi florets
1  Aloo
6-7 Green Beans

1 Carrot

1 Tomato

5 whole green chillies

1 Tsp Ginger cut into small pieces

1 Bay leaf
2 Tsp Ghee

1 Tsp PanchPhoran(Kalonji,Methi,Jeera,Mustard,Fennel seeds mix)

2 Dried red Chillies

a pinch of Turmeric

Salt to taste

3 Cups of water

Cut Aloo, Carrot , Beans and Tomato into medium size pieces. Wash dal and place into Ceramic pot. Add Gobi , other cut vegetables and tomato. Add ginger, bay leaf,turmeric, Green chillies, salt and 3 cups of water.

Now put the slow cooker on High for 4 Hrs. After 4 hrs turn off the slow cooker and add tadka.

Tadka -  add paanchphoren , dry red chillies in Ghee and let it splutter. Add it to Dal.

Serve it with hot rice.

My experiments with Slow cooker series - Aloo Gobi ki Sabzi

Today I wanted to make Aloo Gobi with an 8hr setting. You can start it in the morning and come back in the evening to a fully cooked Sabzi and wonderful aroma from your kitchen. 

Aloo Gobi ki Sabzi.
Ingredients :

1/2 Medium Gobi
1 Big Aloo
a pinch of turmeric Powder
4 Slit green chillies
1 1/2 Tbsp Oil

1/4 Tsp Jeera Powder
1 Tsp Dhania Powder
1 Tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
1 Small onion
1/4 Cup Water
Salt to taste

Take A microwave safe bowl, add Oil,Onion Pieces, Ginger Garlic paste,Turmeric,Jeera Powder, Dhania Powder and 1Tbsp of water. Microwave it for 2 Minutes . This will take away raw smell of masala.

Cut Aloo ,Gobi. Place Aloo First,Gobi and Microwaved masala, Salt and water in the Ceramic pot. Give a light stir. Now put the slow cooker on Low for 8 Hrs. Turn off the cooker and Serve it hot with Roti when ready to eat.

My experiments with Slow cooker series - Parwal Aloo Sabzi

I read about Slowcooker/Crockpot in a parents forum I follow,  I always wanted to try it. So when Walmart had a very small Slow cooker thier Thanksgiving Sale , I baught it without a blink and started my Slow cooker journey.

I have tried Chicken ,Dal and Wet and Dry sabzi's in It, Till now it has been going great. So I thought to chornical them in a blog for my future use and to anyone lookign for saving some time in thier routine.

It is boon for the woman when they are running low on time. I work full time, So this means, I have atleast one hot curry ready when I get home.

Today I tried making a dry sabzi.

Here it goes......

Parwal and Alu ki Sabzi.

Ingredients :

200 Grms Parwal
1 Big Aloo
1 Tomato
1 1/2 Tbsp Oil
a pinch of turmeric Powder
3/4 Tsp Red chilli Powder
1/4 Tsp Jeera Powder
1 Tsp Dhania Powder
1 Tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
1 Small onion
A little less than 1/2 Cup Water
Salt to taste

Cut the vegitables,Onion, Tomoto. Mix all the ingredients in the Ceramic pot ,add water. Prep done in less than 10 minutes.

Now put the slow cooker on High for 4 hrs. Thats it.Will put the picture later.

Looking forward to add more recipies as I go and get maximum out of my Slow cooker.