Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Freestyle Savory Dalia

I am a gobbler for comfort food in a bowl. Whether its grass root or gourmet. Or something in between. Its the way you look at a bowl of freestyle Dalia (broken wheat) fortified with vegetables.

IMG_0325 My Mum-in-law makes this during winters and serves each bowl of savory Dalia with a hard-boiled egg. And freshly cracked pepper for special effects.

Believe me when I say it cannot get healthier from here.  I used to down a bowl of steaming hot Dalia and an egg before going to work in absolutely no time! I’d come back home and check if there were any leftovers. It is that good.

Ingredients for Freestyle Savory Dalia are:

1 cup dalia/broken wheat
Quarter cup green peas
Half a red onion, chopped
1 carrot cut into small pieces
Handful of green beans, cut into very small pieces
One knob of ginger, cut coarsely
Two green chilies, chopped (optional, if making for kids)
One tablespoon ghee + extra to drizzle later (use unsalted butter if you don’t have ghee)
Salt
Hard-boiled eggs (optional)

wheat Wash the broken wheat to clean off any dirt. Drain water. Though I have cut my vegetables in small pieces, you can cut them any which ways. After all the name is freestyle.

green-beans-01 In a saucepan, add the washed broken wheat, vegetables, ginger, ghee and salt. Add enough water to cover all the ingredients. Cook uncovered till the vegetables are done but not mushy.

whole-and-sliced-gingerGinger adds a very nice pungency to the boiled vegetables and wheat. I would say its the essential item in this dish. You can use any seasonal vegetables for this recipe.

IMG_0323 Drizzle some ghee and serve a bowlful of this healthy Dalia with sliced boiled eggs.

IMG_0324 IMG_0322

11 comments:

Gouri Guha said...

This is a healthy breakfast and I would love to try it.

Shivani Monga said...

I have never been a fan of the savory dalia made at my home, though i am always open to healthy meals-in-bowl that can be eaten without much effort.. but would definitly like to try Aunty's version.. may be just hop across for breakfast :)

PreeOccupied said...

@Shivani, I am sure Ma will be delighted. :-)

GB said...

Pree, I love it (have you tried adding some chicken stock instead of water?...gives a wonderful flavor+ I add all frozen/leftover veggies to it). I love one bowl/one pan dishes!!

I think I'll make some for lunch today. :)

PreeOccupied said...

My Mum makes the chicken version with rice. She makes it for us and our pet dogs (though they get a non-salt version), I think she throws in some cloves of garlic, one black cardamom and a bay leaf too. Its so yummy. My Dadu loved it.

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

wow...thats mouth watering and beautiful presentation dear.

Moushumi - Rainbows and Cloudbursts said...

This sounds yummy Pree!!! Shall make it for myself for lunch as I usually have dalia instead of rice. How does mashima make the chicken version? Does she sauté the chicken first?

PreeOccupied said...

Moushumi, no, Mum pressure cooks everything together with the bay leaf, garlic, and a couple of black cardamoms. I love lots of peas and carrots in mine. Adds butter on top.

AlKal said...

Don't we have to soak the dalia?

AlKal said...

Don't we have to soak the dalia?

PreeOccupied said...

Al Kal, no. If we needed to soak the dalia, I would have mentioned it in my post. :-)