Hello there,
I have been complimented for my dal recipes many times and I was recently asked by a friend of mine to share the recipe. So here it is. I am an amateur cook and before moving to the United States, I had no prior cooking experience. The recipe is similar to my mother-in-law’s dal recipe and I hope you like it. I am open to your suggestions and look forward to your comments.
Please note that I am not good at measurements so I will post pictures to demonstrate how much quantity of each spice or masala goes in.
Ingredients :
- Moong Dal
- Onions (finely chopped)
- Tomatoes (finely chopped)
- Garlic pods (finely chopped)
- Green chillies (finely chopped)
- Cilantro or Coriander leaves (finely chopped)
- Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- Turmeric (Haldi) powder
- Coriander (Dhaniya) powder
- Asafoetida (Hing)
- Amchur
- Garam masala
- Vegetable Oil (I use mustard oil)
Procedure:
1. Boil 1 cup of moong dal in a pressure cooker with salt, turmeric powder and water. I use 1:5 dal to water ratio and pressure cook for 1 whistle. (Please note that the dal to water ratio and number of whistles can vary. Choose what is best for you).
2. In a frying pan, add mustard oil (or any vegetable oil of your choice) and let it warm. To the warm oil, add cumin seeds. Once the seeds start sputtering, add finely chopped garlic. I use mustard oil because the smell of fresh garlic in warm mustard oil is just heavenly!
3. Once the garlic turns golden brown in color, add the finely chopped onions and green chillies.
4. Once the onions turn golden brown, add the finely chopped tomatoes and mix.
5. Start adding the spices and masala powders at this stage and mix. I also add some salt at this stage to let the mixture cook faster.
6. Turn the heat to medium low and cover the frying pan and let the mixture cook well. When the tomatoes are cooked, you will notice oil leaving the sides of the pan.
7. To this mixture, add the boiled dal and some water. The quantity of water will depend on your preferred consistency of the dal. When the dal starts boiling (bubbles appear), and add some chopped coriander leaves.
8. Voila! Your dal is ready! Enjoy with steamed rice and a spoonful of ghee 🙂 Bon appetit!
