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Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Kolotho Dalma (Coastal Odisha Special)

In Coastal Odisha, if you happen to cook any lentil with vegetables, you end up with a dish that is suffixed with a 'dalma'. So, when I decided to add some veggies to my regular horsegram dal recipe (a western odisha version and my personal favorite), I had to peddle it as 'dalma' to please my husband who is rather fond of this particular category. While there are different versions of the recipe favored by different households, I have used the recipe provided by my mother in law who prefers to ditch the 'ambula' or dried mango / tamarind in favor of an overload of country tomatoes.

It is a very healthy and delicious recipe that provides a good dose of protein and fiber in one go. A word of gentle caution though. Since it is a winter recipe that is used to keep the body warm in the chilly weather, it is best to avoid consuming the lentil frequently during the summer months. However, one can continue to drink the water that is obtained by soaking the lentils overnight as it is perceived to be a cure for kidney and gall bladder stones.

Read on for the recipe -





Preparation Time - 20-25 mins

Ingredients -

  • 2/3 cup kolotho/horse gram (lightly roasted & broken)
  • 1/4 cup baigana/eggplant (cubed)
  • 1/4 cup saru/taro (cut into roundels)
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin (cubed)
  • 1/4 cup green papaya (cubed)
  • 1 drumstick ( cut into 2 inch pieces )
  • 1 small potato (cubed)
  • 2-3 big ripe tomatoes (roughly chopped)
  • 1/2 tsp pancha phutana (mix of fenugreek, cumin, mustard, nigella & fennel seeds)
  • 4-5 garlic flakes
  • 3-4 dry red chilis
  • 5-6 curry leaves
  • 3 tsp rice bran oil
  • 1/3 turmeric
  • salt to taste

Cooking - Wash and cook the kolotho in a pressure cooker with 2 cups water, salt and turmeric. Allow for 2-3 whistles. Remove from flame and allow steam to escape.

Open the lid and add the vegetables (except tomatoes) before closing it once again. Cook for 1 whistle on high flame. Remove from flame and keep aside till steam escapes.

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan. Add the chopped tomatoes, sprinkle a little salt and cook till they become mushy. Add the tomatoes to the contents of the pressure cooker. Put the cooker back on the flame. Adjust the consistency of the dalma by adding some hot water if required.

Heat the remaining oil in a tempering pan. Add the pancha phutana, broken red chilis and curry leaves. Allow it to splutter before pouring it over the dalma.

Serve hot with some white rice and a light stir fry.





















Click here for other recipes with horse gram.

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