Menthyada Gojju / Fenugreek Gojju

Have you ever thought about how one gets their cooking, talking or doing anything style? We basically learn everything by mimicking our elders. It goes without saying that we cook like our parents (whichever one cooked our meals). But, I do have to say that not only I know all of the things my mom cooked, I know a lot more that she doesn't know. How? I can find what I want and experiment lot easily compared to what my mom could when she was young.

Having said that, it probably won't be nice if I didn't mention that my mother is an excellent cook. She definitely can't bake, but she can cook very well. But there are certain dishes she never made or rather never cared enough to make them. One of them is this Gojju. I had eaten this at one of my friend's place but I was very young at that time and didn't bother asking how they made it. All of a sudden, I remembered it and tried to make it. I was surprised at the result. Pleasantly of course. So, here I am with my recipe..

Ingredients:
Dry Roast and powder:

• Chana dal or bengal gram dal - 1/4 cup
• Urad dal or black gram dal - 1/4 cup
• Methi/ Fenugreek seeds - 1  TBSP
• Red chillies - 10 or more as per taste

For the Seasoning and assembly:

• Oil - 3 TBSP
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Red chillies - 1 broken
• Curry leaves - a few
• Hing - two big pinches
• Tamarind - 1 lemon size soaked in water and juice extracted
• Jaggery - 2 TBSP or to taste
• Turmeric - a big pinch
• Salt - to taste

Method:
Take the tamarind juice extracted in a bowl. Mix the masala powder and make a thin paste. If needed, add some water to get the required consistency. It should be more like a sambar consistency. In a pan, add oil. When hot, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add red chillies, curry leaves, hing. When they are all toasted, add the tamarind mixed with the powders paste. Add turmeric, salt, jaggery and let it boil. Once it boils, simmer for couple of minutes until it reaches the desired consistency. Adjust the seasonings if required. This goes well with idli, pongal, rice.
Here is a picture of Pongal with this Gojju. I still haven't posted my Pongal recipe though. We'll save that for later..

Another one..

Note: You can definitely  make the powder in large quantity and store.
Happy Cooking!!