Friday, February 15, 2008

Daal Fry

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day yesterday!

Today, we will cook daal (lentil).

Ingredients
  • 1 cup pigeon peas lentil (toor daal)
  • 4 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
  • 2 cup chopped onions
  • 1 sliced (into discs) green chilli (small Thai chilli works well)
  • 1 cup cut tomato (1 medium sized tomato, especially Roma tomatoes work well)
  • 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1/4 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tbsp salt
  • 6-7 thin ginger pieces (1/2 inch ginger)
  • 3 cup water
  • 1/4 tsp Garam masala

Optional Ingredients

parsley or coriander sprigs

moong daal or urad lentil can be substituted for
pigeon peas.


Wash the daal a few times till the water is clear.

Set aside for ten minutes. This makes them soft which adds to the taste later.

In a pressure cooker on high heat add lentils, stir, add ginger, chili, salt, turmeric, coriander and chili powder. Add water, stir again thoroughly and cook dal to full pressure. After one whistle turn the stove off. Saute the onions till golden brown then add tomatoes and stir constantly for three to four minutes on low heat. Add this mixture to the cooked daal. Mix well. Chop sprigs. I usually chop them fine when making only one dish and coarse, if I need to make more curries. Choose the style that suits you. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves & garam masala. This adds a beautiful green and dark brown contrast to the sunny yellow daal.

Serve warm with (Indian flatbread) chapati or paratha. (recipe coming soon)
Serves four

As with any dish, have fun while cooking. Eat with your loved ones.

"Cooking is one of the oldest arts and one which has rendered us the most important service in civic life."
Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826)

As with any art; cooking is also an art and I am always appreciative of chefs all over the world who feed thousands of hungry stomachs with their yummy delicacies and delicious aromas.

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