There is also this dal that we bengalis make with fried bittergourd. We call it tetor dal. Ma and Boroma’s tetor dal till now has been the best that I have tasted so far. Nothing like it!

What you would need:

Moong Dal – 1 cup
Bitter gourd – 2 medium sized ones
Green chilli – 3 medium sized
Ginger grated – 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1/2tsp
Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Hing- 1pinch
Salt to taste

How to make it:

Fry the moong dal till it begins to turn light brown and leaves a nice fried aroma. Note: Do not overfry the dal.
Boil this dal in 2 cups of water adding a pinch of turmeric and salt.
Cut the bitter gourds in round shaped pieces and mix salt and turmeric to it.
Fry them till they turn slightly brown in color. Then keep them aside.
Now take a kadai, add a tablespoon of ghee, add a pinch of hing and then add the mustard seeds to it. Once the mustard seeds splutter add the grated ginger and slit green chillies.
Once you find the ginger slightly turn brown, add teh cooked dal and two more cups of water. (Ma always says to add boiled water so that the flavor of the dish is not lost)
Then add the fried bittergourd to it and let it boil for 3 – 4 minutes.Well, I do not add sugar to the dal because my hubby being from the southern part of the country is not used to the sweet taste in all dishes like we bongs:-) But usually at home Ma used to add a teasppon of sugat to it and also fry some coconut while garnishing the mustard and ginger.

Well your dal is ready and it tastes  absolutely delicious with jhuri bhaja.

For the tapioca

2 big Tapiocas (around 1 kg)
2 green chillia few small onions
1 cup coconut
1/4 tsp whole Jeera
4  Garlic cloves
1 pinch of Haldi

When you buy the tapioca just remember to check that they do not have the black spots inside. That would not be a good one.

Step 1. Peel the tapioca and cut it into small pieces
Step2.  Wash the cut pieces and pressure cook it adding salt according to your taste. Let there be 5 -6 whistles
Step3. Once the pressure is released, drain the water from the Tapioca and keep the tapioca aside
Step4. Take a Kadai, pour 2 tsp of Coconut oil ( mom says not the parachute oil ) Add mustard and curry leaves and add the tapioca to it.
Step 5. Put the ground masala and add little water to it
Step6. Let it boil little while
Thats all! Your tapioca is ready.

For the fish curry

10 sardines ( We all love sardines but you can choose any small fish)

Masala to grind together
10 small onions
1/2  big onion
5-6 cloves of Garlic
1 small piece (1 inch) of Ginger
1/2 tsp Jeera
1/2 tsp whole pepper
1 and 1/2 tsp Chilli powder
1/4 Haldi powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 big cup of coconut
1 sprig of curry leaves
Pour 1 tsp of oil in a frying pan and roast all the masala together . Then grind this to a fine paste. Add salt according to your taste while grinding the masala.

Wash 3 -4 small pieces of  kudampuli and soak it in little warm water.

In a kadai, add 2 tsp of oil
Add 1/2 tsp of methi seeds
Add the ground masala
Pour water 2 glasses of water and add the kudampuli soaked water in it.

Let this boil. Once it boils, add the fishes.

Your fish curry is done!! Mummy loves to eat the fish curry with plain Tapioca. I usually like it with plain rice.

For the Appam
1 glass of Rice (normal Dosa rice will do, sometimes I even use the rice that we use for everyday food)
1/2 cup of scraped coconut
1/2 cup of cooked rice
1/4 tsp of yeast
1 tbsp of sugar

How do you make the Appams?
Step1. Soak the rice for minimum 4 hours
Step2. Grind the rice adding the coconut and cooked rice
Step3. Add the yeast and the sugar and mix thoroughly.

Keep it overnight in a bigger vessel so that the batter gets enough room to rise.
Note: Mummy always says to add the salt in the morning while you are getting ready to make the appams. You need to add salt according to your taste.
Use an Appamchatty or any small sized Kadai with a lid to make the appams. Spread the batter along the kadai/chatty. You can cook it soft or if you like a bit crispy (like my hubby does), you can keep it in the low flame for a little longer till the edges turn slightly brown and crispy.

For the Chicken Stew (Serves 4)

2 Carrots
2 Potatoes
10 Beans
1 cup of green peas
1/2 kg chicken cut into small pieces ( stew goes well with smaller pieces rather than bigger ones)
2 medim sized Onions chopped
1 inch Ginger piece finely chopped
1tsp of whole pepper coarsely ground
Coconut Milk (thin and thick. I have explained this below)
2 tsps of Cornflour
Salt according to taste

For Garnishing
1tsp of mustard
2 sprigs of curry leaves (Mummy always tells me to add a little more curry leaves)

Now for the Coconut Milk
You need to take one full medium size coconut grated.
Grind this in a mixer using water. Add 2 tall glasses of hot water and use a strainer to strain the first thick milk.
Add little more water and grind the coconut again. Use 2 glasses of hot water and strain the thin milk. If you think you need to add another glass of hot water to increase the quantity of the milk, go ahead. Remember this thin milk is in which you need to cook all your veggies and the chicken.

How to make the Stew:
Mix all the vegetables, the chicken pieces, the onion, ginger pieces, pepper and salt together in a deep cooking pan and add the thin coconut milk to it.
Cook this till the vegetables and the chicken become tender.
Once they become tender, add the cornflour. (Prepare the corflour mix by adding it to 1/2 cup of cold water)
Once the gravy starts to thicken, add the thick coconut milk. (Mummy is very particular about the fact that this gravy should not boil. It should just be made warm.
Garnish mustard and curry leaves in another vessel and add to the stew.

ENJOY YOUR APPAM AND STEW!