Sundal Cravings...

Dear Foodies,

Sundal

If some one asks me what I miss most about the start of the festive season, food would fight for the top position along with the new clothes and the pooja customs. Each one of our festivals is accompanied by its very own, unique 'menu'. Its like rules written on stone, each preparation will invoke the memories of one particular festival. Varalakshmi vratam and Dussehra start the Sundal cravings for me. Varalakshmi vratam is like the "starter", just one evening of going arnd collecting all the various types of Sundal. My brother and I would tag along with my mom as she goes from house to house for tambulam just for the extra packet of Sundal. By the end of the trip we would have nearly every legume covered and soo many different flavor combos. Though the list of ingredients is pretty narrow, when paired with the legumes/beans used, the permutations and combinations are way too many ! And then comes Dasara, the "main course", my mom would prepare a different variety of sundal for each of the 9 days....yummmy !

Here go two varieties of sundal that I have tried and loved. The first one is with Lima beans. I absolutely love these. They taste a little like peas, but not as sweet and have a nice bite to them. I use them in a lot of mixed vegetable & rice preparations. I had a whole pack of these and knew this was the best way to get rid of the whole batch and enjoy the dish.

Lima Beans Sundal

Ingredients:

• 1 pack: frozen Lima beans
• 1/2 Tbsp: Oil
• 2 tsp: Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp: Cumin seeds
• 2 tsp: Urad dal
• A pinch of hing/asafoetida and turmeric
• 2 nos: dry Red chillies
• 10nos: Curry leaves
  
• 1/2 cup: desiccated coconut flakes or fresh/frozen grated coconut

Method:

1. Thaw the frozen beans and microwave them for about 5-6mins. Sprinkle a few drops of water before microwaving if they look too dry. The beans should be cooked but not mushy.
   
2. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, jeera and urad dal.
3. Once the dal starts changing color add the turmeric, hing, red chillies and curry leaves. Give it a minute for the curry leaves to turn crispy and then add the cooked beans and coconut.
4. Mix well and season with salt. Reduce the flame and cook for another extra minute allowing the flavors to blend.

Thats it ! I think I might have to take away the 'Method' sub-heading going by its length in my last few entires :))

The next one is my all time favorite ! The king of all Sundals, made with chickpeas :) With canned chickpeas making this one is a breeze. I also had some semi-ripe mangoes that I added to it and I was all set to go on an outing to the beach in Madras :)

Sundal 'to go' potlam for you

The only difference in this version is you don't have to cook the chickpeas separately. Just drain and wash them thoroughly to get rid of all the liquid that comes in the can. I used chana dal in the seasoning. I chopped the mango and tossed it in the oil before the chickpeas so that the oil also gets infused with the mango flavor too. I used frozen fresh coconut that you get in the Indian stores for this one. I also used a green chilli, but you can adjust the heat to your taste. This one is surely the best combo for Sundal, the slight tang and sweetness from the mango paired with the chickpeas and coconut is absolutely fantastic.

Other Sundal victims: black eyed peas, Green peas, boiled chana dal, boiled peanuts, cooked kala chana, batani...the options are endless!

Enjoy & Have a great day !