Kiddo prefers playing with friends than playing with toys. So he doesn’t mind sharing his toys from his almost a mini store sized collection with his friends.

But bring in Bhagus, my cute little 1.5 years old niece, and the entire equation is changed! She is almost viewed as a terror at times by my kiddo. He would whine, crib, cry, run and even climb on top of tables, just to get away from her.

His main complaint? ‘Mommy…Bhagus is troubling me. She wants only my toy.‘

Well, she wants to play with him and anything he has in his hands are attractive for her. But explaining this to a first grader is difficult – especially when, like a monkey, he is standing on top of the shoe rack to avoid her. And she would be lingering around, waiting him out.

The funny thing is, the minute she is away, he says,’I want to play with Bhagus.’ And when she comes in, its again the ‘She is grabbing toys from my hand!’

It reminds me of how I was with my younger brother. ‘He is troubling me’ was a standard, oft repeated statement from me.

Funny, all these things came to my mind when I was making this sambar. Its my younger brother’s favorite and amma used to make this often for him. If we were both kids, I would have said ‘Amma! He is taking all the lentil balls. He is not leaving any for me!’

Blogging Marathon 22 is in its last week now and this week’s theme is Chana/Chana dal recipes. Check out the BM page for more interesting themes and recipes from the participants.

Recipe Source : Gayathri’s Cookspot

Serves : 4

Ingredients:

For lentil balls

• Chana dal                       :          1 cup
• Mint leaves                    :           7-8 leaves
• Green chilies                 :           2
• Cloves                             :           1
• Salt

For gravy

• Tomatoes                        :       2
• Coconut                           :       1/4 cup, grated
• ginger garlic paste         :       1 tsp
• Onions                              :      2
• Sambar powder              :       3 tsp
• Water                                :       3-4 cups
• Mustard seeds                 :      1 tsp
• Jeera                                 :       1/2 tsp
• Oil                                      :       2 tsp
• Salt

Method:

1. Wash and soak chana dal for 2-3 hours. Drain and grind along with mint leaves, cloves,salt and chilies. You dont need to make a paste, pulse it a couple of times so that everything is crushed and has come together.
2. Divide the dal into marble sized balls and steam them for 5-7 minutes till they are firm. This step is optional. Keep the lentil balls aside.
3. Grind the tomatoes, coconut and ginger-garlic paste into a smooth paste. Keep aside.
4. Heat oil in a big wide kadai. Add mustard seeds, jeera and let it splutter. Add the onions and saute till the color changes. Add the tomato puree, sambar powder and salt. Saute till the raw smell goes off, say 3-5 minutes.
5. Add 3-4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat a bit and drop the lentil balls and cook for 10 minutes.
6. Do a taste test, adjust the seasonings and cook covered for another 5 minutes till the balls are cooked thoroughly.
7. Serve with plain hot rice.

Note: The gravy thickens as it sits. So its a good idea to keep it on the runny side while cooking.

Linked to:

• Blogging Marathon, under Cooking with Chana Dal theme
• Susan’s MLLA, hosted this month by Simone of Briciole
• Dish name starts with ‘P’
• Gayathri’s Walk Through the Memory Lane, hosted by Preeti of Preeti’s Kitchen Life