Urad Dal Badi with Aaloo

When people would only eat according to the seasons there were times of the year when fresh vegetables were not available, it is for times like this that the women of the house would get together and make badis. Badis are basically made by soaking and grinding dals or legumes and then sun drying them in the form of small lumps with or without spices.

Sometime back when I went to my in laws place in Uttar Pradesh I bought these badis and cold pressed mustard oil from there. This recipe is a celebration of both these beauties. I was so happy to find the cold pressed mustard oil readily available there, in Bangalore I have got reasonably priced cold pressed sesame oil, groundnut oil, coconut oil but not mustard oil. So was delighted to find it there…it is now going to be a regular item on my ‘to get back to Bangalore’ list.

Urad dal badis are generally spiced with jeera and other spices whereas the other badis are plain.

Ingredients

100 grams urad dal badis,

3 medium sized potatoes,

2 tbsps mustard oil,

1 tsp cumin seeds,

1 big pinch of asafoetida,

2 red chillies (chopped),

1 ½ tsp of ginger paste,

½ tsp garlic paste,

2 medium sized tomatoes,

Salt to taste,

½ tsp garam masala powder,

1 tsp of red chilli powder,

1 tsp powdered coriander seeds,

½ tsp powdered cumin seeds,

½ tsp powdered turmeric,

Chopped coriander leaves,

1 tsp of ghee

Method

Urad dal badis are generally big in size. Break them into small morsel sized pieces.

Grind the tomatoes to a paste.

Peel and chop the potatoes into 8 pieces each.

Heat 1 ½ tbsp. of mustard oil in a pressure cooker and add the broken badi pieces. Fry till golden brown and set aside. In the same oil add the potatoes and fry till light brown. Remove and set aside with the fried badi pieces.

Add the remaining ½ tbsp. of oil to the cooker and add the cumin seeds, asafoetida and chopped red chillies. Once the cumin seeds pop add the ginger and garlic paste along with about a tbsp. of water. Fry till oil separates and add the red chill powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, and turmeric powder. Fry for another minute and then add the ground tomatoes. Fry this again till oil separates.

Add the fried potaotes and badi. Stir well and then add about 1 ½ cup of water and salt. Close the cooker lid and after one whistle, lower the heat and cook for about 5-7 minutes.

Open once the steam releases on its own and add the chopped coriander leaves and ghee. Goes well with phulkas or any Indian bread.