FILIPINO UCCHE PATAR DAL

 

GINISANG MUNGGO WAS NEVER IN MY TO DO LIST; UNTIL ONE DAY.....

...... our Cristine, the Filipino got me this recipe! Last January I found her sowing bitter gourd seeds! She expressed her wish to have their style of Moong Bean Soup with Bitter Gourd Leaves. You get a bitter gourd everywhere in the market but not their leaves. Okay, Cristine's ma'am can beat the bushes on her walks to get some but the former preferred to grow some.I did not say no to disappoint her; I told her I would cook it and also blog about it!Bengalis indeed cook "Tetor Dal" with bitter gourds & drumsticks or bitter gourds & bottle gourds come spring to stay off measles!I have the recipe in the blog but wish to change the pictures, so not sharing the link now!Cristine assured me her Sir & our boy can eat it because the dal / lentil curry does not get bitter with the use of the bitter gourd leaves!After cooking it up, I found truth in it. My monkey baby was already in another country by then.

WHAT WE DID AND ATE SINCE YESTERDAY?

It was a relaxing Sunday yesterday. Cristine went for her off day and the rest of the three of us love our home sweet home. Only that I expected the son to lie his cheek down on mumma's navel as he did few years back and talk a lot about his university, the new city, his friends.That he is not doing, he is doing his regular covid related self tests & also going to a centre at Kovan for the tests!Today is his day seventh here in the island!Anyway, his presence is good enough to make us feel twenty years younger busy with a new born child.We had our lunch with "bhetki paturi,mulo diye bhaja moong er dal, begun diye kolmi shaak bhaja"!

Who on earth eats "shemai er payesh diye muri" / puffed rice with vermicelli pudding after a fish & rice lunch I do not know but I had yesterday; daddy's girl in this matter totally!Bhai does not fancy muri as a snack I think! Last Friday, I had to serve two clients and did no workout! So yesterday evening I went out for a walk and on the way back got two packets of chicken breasts, made a quick dinner for the men using a simple marination & served with cheese stuffed bread!I had a big bowl of shukto adding very little of rice!

Me and the man dislike sausage, its so processed! Because the son is here I got the cocktail sausage, picnic chicken ham.These all are very processed things!Kids of this generation only listen to themselves!

WHAT IS THIS FILIPINO UCCHE PATAR DAL?

UCCHE PATA is bitter gourd leaves and in Philippines it is "Ampalaya Leaves". Cristine says they prepare a soup with Munggo Beans / Moong Bean / Skin On Moong dal, Bitter Gourd Leaves & minced pork or chicken! In my version, I obviously have to omit the meat. So here is my Bengali version of Filipino Munggo Bean Soup / FILIPINO UCCHE PATAR DAL! It is a vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, heart healthy soupy curry! I really enjoyed it! It is absolutely not bitter tasted and my family won't mind having it with refined flour paratha, better with naan or layered ones or with jeera rice, vegetable fried rice; good if there is a kofta or mutton or chicken curry alongside!Today too I went for a late walk and had a croissant; it felt salty; thereafter a chilled nescafe mocha.I had a lunch bowl with very little rice,dal & panchmeshali as late as 4:15 pm!

Do you think I can ever be slim? I am planning to be for 35-36 years though!I wanted to be a Pricilla like to Hemnalini to Dia Mirza!At one point in life you realise its an insult on yourself to be in anyone else's shoes; that I wasted valuable time; that I should have concentrated on building myself.If you look at Rekha Ganeshan's birth history to her first day in Bollywood until this day; you get a burning example of turning weaknesses into strength, of perseverance, of will power! I may not be anyone's dream thing, but I am happy in my small world, where I ask my Husky baby if he wants cheesy sausage and the happier him peeps into the kitchen a couple of times to see if its ready!Thereafter, Mumma sits with her self made bread & a chilled coffee and dreams of going back in time and be a worthy member of the society!A dinner still left and a disturbed sleep!

INGREDIENTS :

SKIN ON GREEN MOONG : 1 SMALL TEA CUP

BITTER GOURD LEAF : A HANDFUL

SLICED ONION : 2 TBSP

CRUSHED GINGER : 1 TSP

CRUSHED GARLIC : 2 TSP

SLITTED GREEN CHILLI : 3-4

LIGHT SOY SAUCE : 1 TBSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : 2 TBSP

PROCEDURE : 

I did this last March and I am clueless why I did not click a proper stepwise pictures!

Unfortunately, the bitter gourd plant gave up before fruiting; but I promised Cristine a Filipino Dal! So I tore off a few fresh leaves!

Even before that,I soaked the whole moong beans for two to three hours in hot water!

Thereafter, I washed the dal and took it in a pressure cooker adding some salt!

We will close the lid & pressure cook at the lowest heat up to one whistle. We will not force open ever a pressure cooker but let it be!

We will heat the oil in a wok, and temper it with the peeled, washed and crushed ginger & garlic cloves.

We will add the peeled & washed, cut onion slices and fry until brown!

We will add the washed & slitted green chillies, soy sauce  and give a stir!

We will add the boiled dal to it and let simmer at low heat for 8-10 minutes!

Thereafter, we will add the washed bitter gourd leaves and adjust the salt! We will bring it to boil again & switch off!

Have it with roti, prata , fried rices or as it is like a soup if you are on diet!