Dill Leaves.. Because Its All About Good Health!

I love writing about ingredients and I am back to doing my favourite blog post after quite some time. This time I am going to write about dill, a herb that is gaining popularity, more specifically in the health market, and definitely something a lot of people end up getting confused about.

By the time you read those lines you must have had a smile on your face because each one of us has confused dill leaves with its look-alike, fennel, at least once.

Fun Fact!!!

With a distinct smell and taste, dill leaves (anethum graveolens) are feathery and dark green in colour and are popular accompaniments to potatoes and seafood, especially smoked salmon. Recent studies have found that dill is a great antioxidant and that dill extract also helps in reducing high cholesterol levels. The word 'dill' means to calm or soothe, most likely given due to its property of soothing the stomach during digestion.

It is commonly used as a culinary herb (dill weed/ seeds), as a condiment or for pickling. In Indian cooking though, dill or 'soya', 'suva' or 'shepu' as it is locally known, is commonly prepared as a side dish during the winter months when it is widely available in the market. In the Western countries, it is more commonly used in salads (with quinoa or bulgur), dips (hummus, sour cream) and crackers (dill seed flavoured crackers)

As a child, I used to love eating the "shepuchi bhaji" with chapati that my grandmother used to prepare quite often. This easy to cook dish is commonly prepared with Moong Dal. This makes it tasty and cuts down the strong flavour of the leaves (slightly though, not much). A few days ago, I had dill in my fridge but had run out of moong dal (one of those crazy days!), so I decided to cook it with baby potatoes instead.

Ingredients

Healthy living isn't a big deal really!

Dill leaves- a big bunch (chopped)

Potatoes- 4-5 small or 2 medium, diced

For Tempering/Tadka:

Oil- 1tbsp

Jeera/ Cumin seeds- a pinch or 1/2 tsp

Rai/Mustard Seeds- a pinch or 1/2 tsp

Chana dal- 1/2 tsp

Peanuts (roasted)- slightly less than a handful, depending on how much you want to put!

Dry red chilli- 1 no

Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

Green chillies- 2 chopped

Garam Masala powder- 1 tsp

Salt- to taste

Method

In a kadhai or non stick pan, heat oil. Once the oil is hot, add all the ingredients mentioned in the tempering one by one- cumin seeds, mustard seeds, chana dal, dry red chilli, peanuts, and turmeric powder. 

Let the ingredients crackle.

Now add the green chillies and the potatoes and give it good stir. Cover the pan for a few minutes till the potatoes get cooked. Add water to let the vegetables cook well.

Add salt and garam masala powder, stir well and keep it on medium for a few minutes longer. Make sure that the dill leaves are slightly wilted and do not have a raw flavour.

Once the strong aroma of the dill fills up your kitchen, it is time to take it off the flame and enjoy it with chapatis/ phulkas.

Try this recipe at home and share your feedback!

Love, Kshipra

Info references:

www.gourmetgarden.com

www.seedman.com

www.georgeandserve.com

www.pinterest.co.uk