Bharats in Yogurt Sauce

Bharats are one of my favorite dishes. I have never tried making them, but I have been craving them lately and the only person I know who makes them is across the country right now.
They were much easier to make than I thought they would be and they turned out GREAT!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups green split peas (soaked in water 6 hours or overnight)
• 2 cups yogurt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• pinch of hing (or garlic powder)
• pinch of cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• oil for deep frying (ghee if you have it)
  

Drain the split peas and grind in a blender or food processor until a nice paste is formed and the peas stick together. You can add a few tablespoons of water to the peas if they seem to dry.
Once the peas are ground mix in the spices.

Heat the oil in a deep pot or wok until very hot. Mold the ground pea mixture into approx. 1 1/2 inch balls. Gently place the bharats into the hot oil and cook until dark golden brown (about 10 minutes). When you first place the bharats into the oil do not stir them, they will break apart, wait about 2 minutes before stirring. Drain the bharats on a paper towel and then place in a casserole dish.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl combine the yogurt, sour cream and water. Pour the mixture over the bharats. Cover and bake in oven for 8 minutes just to warm the sauce. Serve warm.

These keep really well in the fridge for a few days. I think they taste better the longer they are allowed to soak in the yogurt.

Vegetable Cobbler

Vegetables:

• 3 medium red potatoes, cubed
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2 cup broccoli florets
• 1/2 carrot, diced
• 1/2 cup green beans, snapped into thirds
• 1/2 cup whole kernel corn

Steam potatoes, celery, broccoli, carrot and green beans until tender, approx. 10 minutes.

Sauce:

• 2 cups of milk
• 1/3 cup onion, finely diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 4 tbs butter
• 6 tbs flour
• salt to taste

While the vegetables are steaming, bring the milk, onion, bay leaf and black pepper to a boil, remove from heat and let sit.
Heat butter in a sauce pan until bubbling, slowly whisk in flour making a roux. Add the warm milk mixture to the roux (don't forget to remove the bayleaf) and cook just until thick, this will only take a minute.

Biscuits:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup milk

Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar.
Using a pastry blender (or a fork) cut in the butter until the mixture looks like crumbs.
Make a well in the center of the mixture and pour in the milk.
Knead the dough on a floured surface about a half-dozen times.
Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick and cut into 2 inch circles.

Assemble:
Combine the steamed vegetables, corn, and sauce. Add salt to taste.
Pour into 1 quart casserole dish.
Place biscuits on top of the vegetables in a circle as shown in my picture.

Bake:
Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown.

Notes:You can make this with any vegetables you would like, you just need about 4 cups to fill a 1 quart casserole dish.
Also, if you are in a rush using store-bought biscuits would work fine, but not much is better than homemade biscuits.
I served this dish right out of the oven! I just put the casserole dish on the table and served family style, which worked out great cuz my dad kept eating!

Buon Appetito!