Black gram rice and Sesame Chutney ( உளுந்தஞ்சாதம் & எள்ளு துவையல் )

Black gram rice and Sesame Chutney 

உளுந்தஞ்சாதம் & எள்ளு துவையல் 

                              

Ingredients:


Black gram  -  1/3 cup ( split or whole)
Parboiled rice or Brown rice  -  1 cup
Garlic  -  5 cloves







Steps:
In a pan, dry roast the black gram until hot to touch / until you get the  flavour.
Wash and soak rice and black gram together for 10 to 15min.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pressure cooker, fry the garlic cloves until light brown.
Remove and in the same pot, add 3 cups of water and allow it to boil.
Add salt and the rice mixture.
Pressure cook for 4 whistles and further on a low flame for 5 min.
When steam is released, open the cooker add the fried garlic and fluff the rice well. Adjust for salt if needed. Close again and give a standing time of 5 to 10 min before serving.


















Sesame Chutney (எள்ளு துவையல் )
Ingredients:


Black or white sesame ( எள்ளு)-  3 tbsp
Dry red chilli  - 1
Tamarind ( புளி )  - a small piece
Asafoetida ( பெருங்காயம்) - a pinch
Salt  -  to taste

Wash and clean the sesame seeds as it tends to have impurities. You can drain using a tea filter and dry in a white cloth before frying.
In a pan, add a teaspoon of oil. Fry the dry red chilli and remove. In the same pan fry the sesame seeds.  Sesame will be easily burnt, so take note to fry in a medium flame and with constant stirring, As it splatters, remove from fire. Add asafoetida.
Grind the above ingredients into a fine paste. 
Serve the Black gram rice with the above sesame chutney. 

Do try this authentic lunch menu for your family.Everybody will love it .

I made cauliflower non-spicy curry (kootu) to fulfill the veggie part in the  meal.
Click the link for cauliflower kootu.

My Notes:

Black gram / black lentil, or Urad dal as it is commonly called, has an earthy flavour and an unusual texture when compared with the other dals like toor dal or moong dal. 
The split bean is called the dal and in this recipe we can use either the whole ( lentil) or split bean but with the skin.
Same Urad dal is white when the skin is removed and it is used as main ingredient for Idli batter and to make papads.
Par boiled rice is normally used in this recipe. Brown rice can also be used. Both enhance the  texture and flavor of the lentil.
Garlic can also be cooked with the rice  for the flavour to be completely infused.
I preferred to have garlic as a whole and not soft cooked, so didn't pressure cook it and added after cooking rice. It is a personal choice.
Cumin seeds and curry leaves are optional. But I preferred to keep this dish simple to have the original authentic taste of black gram.
Same way, sambar or any other curry is not preferred. (Again its a personal choice)
Just the rice and sesame chutney duo will be excellent.