Spicy Barley - Lentil stew

The barley-lentil stew

When trying out new grains and that too when I am not sure how well our palettes are going to receive the new textures, I prefer to go back to my own cuisine to borrow ideas. The south Indian cooking - the familiar zone seems so comforting and forgiving like a Mother. When I have to deal with the unfamilar grains for the first time, I prefer to combine the typical ingredients used in my (south Indian) kitchen and add spices for more layers of flavor. This barley dish is a proof of it.
Though barley is available in India, it was never used in our kitchens (my mother's or MIL's or any of the relatives'.) The first time I used barley was when I bought some to prepare this bread for Kiran's event. The barley I have been left with has gone in to the preparation of typical Indian style dishes.
Barley cooked till tender has a chewy texture that I am not very fond of. I have therefore allowed the barley to cook until it reached a fall apart stage, where you don't feel its texture at all. As I mentioned above, this dish relies on South Indian style cooking and is somewhat a cross between Karnataka's Bisibelebhath and Tamilnadu's Kadamba Saadam. I simply called it a stew since I didn't want to wreck my brains in search of a perfect name for this dish.
A wholesome healthy dish that was liked by everyone at our home.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1/2 cup barley
• 1/2 cup toordal
• 1 cup chopped mixed veggies (I used carrots, green beans, potatoes, peas)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 2 - 3 Tbsp thick tamarind juice (extracted by soaking about lemon sized tamarind in water)
• For tadka: 2 tsp ghee / oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, few curry leaves
• For spice powder, dry toast and powder: 2 Tbsp chanadal, 1 Tbsp uraddal, 1 Tbsp coriander seeds, 1/4 tsp methi seeds, 8 - 10 red chillies, 2 Tbsp coconut flakes, a few dagad phool / rathi puvvu

Method:
Soak barley for at least an hour and this step is optional if you are using a pressure cooker.
Add barley, toordal, vegetables, turmeric powder and about 2 cups of water to a pressure cooker and cook till it is done. If you cook rice for 3 whistles, then let this go for 12 - 15 whistles.
When the valve pressure is gone, remove the container. Check the barley and if you wish to cook it further, add the mixture and extra water needed to a pan and cook further till the desired consistency is reached. Also if you prefer your veggies crunchier, you can cook them separately instead of adding them to the pressure cooker.
Then add salt, tamarind puree and the spice powder to the barley mixture and simmer for a couple of minutes more.
Heat the ghee / oil in a pan. Toast the mustard seeds and curry leaves and add to the barley mixture.

This goes to Nivedita's "Only" - Original recipes, an event created by Pari.

Source: Veggie Platter