Mirchi etc ;)

Precisely! because when mirchis make an appearance, everything else becomes etc! (sorry Pel, that was really tough to resist) :-D. Its all about mirchis this months, folks :)). As i wondered if i would be able to participate in this month's JFI, i simultaneously made plans of having a quick dinner.....i was home quite late, again! And then, news flash, how about using mirchis as a key ingredient to spice up a quick meal!! I got home and.....what did i do? Jazzed up a simple parantha with gorgeous looking Anaheim chillies and even got the energy to dish up a delicious daal with chillies for my lunch tomorrow :)). I can see the wink-wink, folks, Musical makes paranthas and kadhis with everything :-D.



So these two quick recipes go to the very creative Nandita (of Saffron Trail fame) who is hosting this month's JFI:chillies, a lovely blog event created by dear Indira (Mahanandi).

On to the food.....

Mirchi-pudina-cheese parantha:

We need:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• A pinch of salt
• 3 big Anaheim chillies (chopped fine)
• 1 tbsp. dried Pudina leaves (crushed)
• Water to make a dough
• Fresh mozzarella cheese for filling
  
• Ghee for frying

Make a dough with whole wheat, salt, chillies and pudina leaves. Roll the paranthas and fill them out as shown here. Fry on the griddle with lil' bit ghee. Serve hot with plain dahi for a nice filling breakfast, lunch or dinner.

As for variations: Try dried Rosemary or Oregano :). Try some of your other favorite cheese variety. And trust me, this parantha wouldn't taste the same without MIRCHI :-D. If you want to make a kulcha with these ingredients, simply make the dough with curds instead and let it rest for 2 hrs. or so. Knead again and proceed to make the kulchas-which are paranthas from raised dough.

Masoor daal with mirchi:

This is my friend MD's all time favorite daal and is based on her Bengali recipe :).


We need:

• 1 cup masoor daal
• 1/2 tsp. panch-phoron
• 1 inch piece of ginger, chopped (my addition)
• 1 small tomato (chopped, optional)
• 6-7 green Thai chillies (slit) or 2 big Anaheim chillies(chopped into 1" pieces)
• 1 tsp. oil
  
• A pinch of turmeric (not more)
  
• Salt to taste

Pressure cook the masoor daal for 2-3 whistles. For the tadka, spultter the panch-phoron (mustard seeds, nigella seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds). Add the ginger and chillies, saute' and add the tomatoes, followed by the turmeric. Cook 2-3 minutes and add to the daal. Stir the tadka in, add salt and bring the daal to boil.

Enjoy with some plain boiled rice :).