DOING

N''ot long ago, an Aussie friend asked me for a good 'dal' recipe. Being a fan of Indian food and dal in particular, she hadn't quite grasped the concept of making a good, who lesome, flavoured dal. She didn't even know chat different varieties existed, as she simply picked any packet labelled 'lentils' from the supermarket.

Now in most Indian househo lds, dal is pretty mu ch a sea p le on ch e weekly menu , so there may not be much we can learn abom cooking a good dal. However, if you have non-fndian friends who need a few hints, these recipes will help tickl e their tastebuds.

bottomed wok, add oil. When hot, turn down che flame and add the mustard seeds, cwnin and red chi ll ies When the mix scares to splutter, add the garlic, ginger, peppercorns and onion , and fry for a minute or cwo, until the onions turn soft Next, add the turmeric powder a nd stir for a m.inme.

Next, add the boiled dal mix and thoroughly stir through the tempering or tadka. Sinimer for 2-3 minures, d1en turn off and garnish wi th fresh chopped coriander. Add lemon and stir through. Serve hot with rice or naan.

Dal tvlakhani

My personal favomite, probably because it's a nice , rich one with crean1 and a bit of butter.

2 cups b lack dal (the orange lentil with the flat brown husk still on)

½ cup red kidney beans

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped break. Serve immediately.

This dal cooks beaucifi.i lly in a slow cooker, as che spices completely mjngle wicl1 the dal and irs aroma is abso lutely heavenly. Follow che san1e process once the dal is cooked through.

A dal makhani masala powder is also availab le fi-om Indian shops, which can be used as a substitute to the other powders. For a richer taste, drop a small knob of butter into the hot dal just before serving.

Daily dal

This is a generic recipe for cooking any kind of lentil , cl1e toor, red , yeLlow mung or thicker grained split peas or chana dal varieties. You can even add two or more to make a more interesting mix.

Also

'', the recipes below may seem a tad 'Aussi6ed' to you , so enhance the taste by upping the quantity of spices to sui c your palate. And instead ofthe presoaking and boiling in a chick bottomed saucepan, simply pop the dal into a pressure coo ker to save time.

Tvlung Da L

This is a simple recipe and much of the AavoUr comes from the da l itself.

2 cups who le green mung dal

1 medium sized onion , finely chopped

1 medium clove garlic, finel y ch o pped

½ tsp grated ginger l -2 green chilli es (optional)

1/3 tsp turmeric powder

4-5 whole peppercorns

2 esp vegetab le oil

Salt to taste l tsp lemon juice l esp m uscard seeds l pinch cumin seeds

1-2 dried red chillies

2 tsp oil

1 tbsp chopped coriander

Soak the mun g dal overnight in water, ensuring chat the level is at lease a couple of inches over the dal. The mw1g beans wil l absorb the water and puff up co at leasr twice their original size.

Drain che mung beans, add fresh water and sale, add green chillies and boil in a closed saucepan on medium heat, stirring from time to time to check if che beans are folly cooked. Once done, pick out the green chill ies and keep aside.

In a separate saucepan or h eavy l medium clove garlic, chopped

½ esp graced gi nger

3 bay leaves

7-8 who le peppercorns

7-8 cloves

2 mediWTI cinnan1on sticks

2 who le cardamom l red chilly, broken into two pieces

1 level esp turmeric powder

½ tsp each , cumin, coriander, curry powders

Salt to caste

½ cup regular or sour cream (low fat could be used)

2 cbsp vegetab le oil OR 1 heaped tbsp clarified butter or even margarine

Soak the dal a nd kidney beans together for a few hours , until the beans absorb water and puff up. Drain the water and p lace in a chick bottomed saucepan, adding water co cover the dals by about an inch. P lace on a low flame.

Next , add the chopped onion, romaro, gar lic, ginger, bay leaves , peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon st.icks , red chill i, tmmeric and ocher powders, and salt Slow cook for at least cwo hours , 45 minutes in a p ressure cooker on low flame. Scir occasionall y to check if the dal is cooked through. Once the dal is done, add the oil ( preferably clarified burrer/ margarine) co a small frying pan and heat gen tly. Once hot, add a pinch of mrmeric powder to the oil and leave for about 20 seconds.

Next , add this mix co the dal co temper i c. Tal<e the dal off t he fire, and gemly pour in the cream , raking care to stir carefully so cl1at the cream doesn't l medium tomato , chopped

2 cups of any dal, soaked for at least a couple of hours.

1 small onion, chopped

1 large garlic pod, chopped

1 medium g reen chilli (optional)

½ esp turmeric powder ror the rrmpaing:

Boil the dal ill a large saucepan togecl1er with d1e turmeric powder, tomato , onion , chi ll i and garlic, adding salt to taste. To make a thicker dal, add less water, to make a thinner, soup-like version , add more water. The approximate measure should be lcup dal = 2 cups water. It is usually easier co cook da l in a pressure cooker, it's faster and can be cooked wi chouc presoaking the dal.

½ tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp whole cumin

½ esp turmeric powder l red chilli who le

2 cbsp vegetable oil

OR

I cbsp g hee or clarified butter

Hear the oi l/ghee in a small frying pan or t~ika kadhai add the mustard seeds and let chem crackle. Next , add the cumin, red ch illy and turmeric powder Fry for approximately 30 seconds, then pom it into the cooked dal mixture. Take care as the mix will sizz le a bit. Stir through thoroughly.

Garnish:

Freshly chopped green coriander

A tab lespoon of fresh , graced coconut ff you'd like a treat, drop in a knob ofbutter, organic, if it will make you fee l less guilty

1Don~lt

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