Farinata - Chickpea flour cake

It's an Italian dish made with chickpea flour. I of course Indianized it. I was not really sure if this would work, so went with minimal toppings. Feel free to use any toppings that you would use on a pizza.

Chickpea flour/Besan - 1 cup

Water - 1 cup

Salt - to taste

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Green chutney - 1/4 cup
Onion - 1
Red pepper - 1
Mozzarella cheese - 1/4 cup

Mix the chickpea flour, water, salt and cumin seeds. Whisk well and let it rest. I did not do this step, so I don't know how much of a difference it makes.
Heat a skilled or a non-stick pan. A skillet is traditionally used for this. Drizzle some olive oil, and pour the batter into the pan. Cook till crisp at the bottom, and turn once. Cook till the other side is cooked through.
Spread some green chutney, and veggies of your choice and cheese.
Pop under a broiler or in a 400F pre-heated oven, till the cheese melts.
Serve hot or at room temperature.

Daal Makhani

I used the 16 Bean Usal mix for this recipe. Very nutritious and also very easy to prepare. I did not pre-soak the beans, and just pressure cooked them for 10 to 12 whistles. Since there were different kinds of beans, some of them cooked rather soft ans some remained intact. This gave the dish a creamy texture, without any added butter or cream.

16 Bean mix (Or any mixture of beans on hand) - 1 cup

Onion - 1 big

Green chilis - 2

Tomatoes - 2 big

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Red chili powder - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Turmeric - 1 tsp

Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Saunf - 1 tsp

The beans I used were a mix of Red kidney beans, Chickpeas, dried black chana daal, black eyed peas, dried geen peas, green mung beans and others. The smaller ones cook up much faster, so they cook up really soft. 

In a pressure cooker, add the beans and cover with 3 to 3 1/2 cups water. Cook for about 10 whistles, since they have not been pre-soaked. If soaking in advance, reduce the cook time. Turn off and let them cool.

Chop the onions, chilis and tomatoes.

In a pan, heat the oil, splutter the saunf and add the onion and chilis. When they are soft, add the tomatoes and cook till well cooked.

Add the masalas and salt.

Open the lid of the cooker and add the cooked mixture into the beans.

Mix and add more water if required. 

Close lid and cook for 2 more whistles.

Open and garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or rotis.

Note: If the beans seem under cooked, increase the number of whistles the second time.