Dal

There are dals and dals. And every family I know makes their dal differently.  It is a family staple in most households and most Indians would agree that they could survive on rice and dal or chappati and dal with no complaints.

Dal can be of many varieties - they are the dried legumes that come in various colours and shapes and form an important part of Indian food.  The dal I have used in my recipe today is called Toor dal or pigeon peas. They are available in the Indian grocery store all year round.

Ingredients to make dal vary with every household.  I also improvise using ingredients that I may have handy to create the dal for the day.

The essential South Indian dal needs to have garlic, shallots, curry leaves, cumin and even shredded coconut.  Depending on whether you are going to have your dal with rice or chappaties, you make it thinner or thicker.

Today's recipe has dried fenugreek leaves - an ingredient I have discovered fairly recently and I not only love the flavour but I love the fact that it controls type 2 diabetes.


Step 1 ingredients:
1 cup toor dal, washed
7-8 shallots or 1 thickly sliced red onion
7-8 cloves of garlic
2 green chillies
salt to taste

Step 2 ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 table spoon dried fenugreek leaves

Step 3 ingredients:
1 table spoon oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 inch piece ginger - julienne
5-6 cloves of garlic sliced
1/2 a red onion chopped
1 sprig curry leaf

a table spoon of chopped coriander leaves for garnish

Step 1:

Add 2 - 3 cups of water and cook dal, all of the step 1 ingredients  until the dal becomes soft and the onions and garlic turn soft and mushy.  Add salt to taste.  

Step 2:

Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, dried fenugreek leaves and continue to boil the dal in a low flame.

Step 3: 
In a separate saucepan, heat oil and add mustard seeds.  When the start to crackle, add the rest of the  step 3 ingredients and saute till you can smell the curry leaves and ginger.

Add this to your dal.  Check for salt and consistency - whether you need the dal thinner or thicker.  Garnish with chopped corainder leaves.

Your dal is now ready.  Serve hot with rice or chappaties.

Notes: You can add a tomato in step 3 and add it into your dal.  It adds colour and a touch of sweetness.

If serving with rice, add a small dollop of ghee to your dal - it gives an added dimension to the dal.