Indrahar - An Easy to Prepare Wholesome Dish at Home

It is not always necessary to go to a fancy restaurant and treat your taste buds to some lip smacking delicacies. By staying at home and with some free time to utilise it is possible to enjoy some good cooking sessions in your own pantry and with limited ingredients of course! 

Moreover, one cannot deny the fact that preparing meals at home is not just good for your health but easy on the pocket too. There are few dishes in Madhya Pradesh which you can also pick to prepare in your house, utilize your free time and indulge in some healthy cooking. One such healthy option to try out in your home is Indrahar. It is a dish which includes everything that is staple in your kitchen. 

Indrahar is dominant in Rewa, a district in the north eastern part of Madhya Pradesh. The geographical conditions here are very much conducive for Dal and hence one gets to enjoy various recipes prepared with the use of lentils.

Rewa has a strong lineage of tempting dishes amongst which Indrahar finds a special mention. The other mouth watering delicacies include Bagheli mutton, dal ki Puri, Bagheli chicken, Khad Gosht to name a few. The Rajputana background of Rewa has been a major contributor in giving birth to a strong food culture here. So, one must visit Rewa to experience its amazing food culture in the most authentic form. 

Now, one might wonder what actually is Indrahar? So here it is- 

Indrahar, is a combination of different types of dals (lentils) mixed and fermented overnight. With some readily available ingredients this dish can be easily prepared at home. Also, Indrahar is best enjoyed with Kadhi (a thick gravy based on chickpea flour to which yogurt is added to give it a bit of a sour taste). In case, you do not wish to add kadhi, you can simply enjoy eating Indrahar pieces alone. 

Why is it named 'Indrahar'? 

It is believed that Indrahar is offered to devon ke dev Lord Indra and hence this dish is named Indrahar.

Now that you might want to try this unique dish in your kitchen, let's take a look at the ingredients and the recipe that you can follow to enjoy this dish with the members of your family.

Ingredients:

1. Moong dal (Yellow Split gram): 50 gm
   
2. Chana dal (Bengal Gram Split): 50 gm
   
3. Masoor dal (Red Lentil): 50 gm
   
4. Urad dal (Black Gram skinned): 50 gm
   
5. Besan or gram flour : 100 gm
   
6. Sour curd : 500 gm
   
7. Oil: 100 gm
   
8. Cumin seeds
   
9. Ground spices
   
10. Turmeric
    
11. Red chillies
    
12. Green Chilly- coriander paste
    
13. Ginger garlic paste

How to prepare Indrahar

• Soak all dals overnight and then grid them
• Heat oil in a pan while adding red chillies and cumin seeds to it. 
  
• Now add the paste of dals to the pan and saute it a little. 
  
• Add salt, turmeric and ground spices to the paste. 
  
• Add the green chilly- coriander and ginger garlic paste and mix it well.
  
• Steam the entire mixture in an Idli oven. When done, remove it and cut into pieces.
  
• Fry the pieces a little and your Indrahar is ready. 

For preparing Kadi:

• Mix gram flour in sour curd. 
• Heat oil. Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds and ginger garlic paste. 
  
• Add the flour paste to this. 
  
• Add two cups of water and salt to the mixture and stir well. And your kadi is ready.
  

How to Serve Indrahar:

Pour the Kadhi in a plate and then place the Indrahar pieces on it. Garnish with coriander and serve. 

While you can definitely try this healthy dish at home, it would also be a good idea to plan a trip to Rewa in future and savour Indrahar in its most original form.