No dearies. There is no cream or milk involved in this recipe. And Yes, it does turn out to be creamy in texture and consistency due to the mashing involved.
A very simple, succulent dal to go with warm Basmati rice. I made this dal for our dear friends Yen and Cheewee. They were visiting us after a very long time. I remembered not to make anything too spicy or rough to the palate. They love Indian food, but their only complain was that, when they eat at restaurants, the dishes are overboard with masalas and pungent flavors which they are not comfortable with.
I was happy, that night, the Dal was a big hit and so was the light cumin flavored Basmati rice.
So I wanted to share this winner with you all too.
What we need:
1 cup of toor dal
1 cup yellow moong dal
2 green chillies
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
6 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp roasted coriander powder
1 tsp roasted cumin powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 red chillis
Finely chopped cilantro
lemon juice
2 tbsp oil
1 pinch asafoetida
Method:
1. Wash and soak the two dals in sufficient water for about an hour
2. In a pressure cooker add the dals, tsp of cumin, 2 green chillis and turmeric. you can use the same soaked water for cooking ( or fresh water too).Make sure the quantity of water is right for pressure cooking.
3. Pressure cook the dal until 3 whistles. Once done, allow the cooker to cool.
4. Once cooled, transfer the dal into a wide pot. With a masher, mash the dal a couple of times, until it reaches the creamy consistency. The green chillis will be soft and mashes easily.
5. Add 2 cups of water to the dal and on a medium flame bring the dal to a boil. Add salt
6.While the dal is boiling get the tempering ready.
Tempering:
In a small non stick pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil. Once oil is hot, add asafoetida, red chillies and minced garlic. fry for a minute. next quickly add the cumin powder, coriander powder and chilli powder. fry for less than a minute. Watch out, lest it might burn.
Now add the whole mixture to the boiling dal. Mix well. Continue boiling for another 2 minutes. Add water if the dal starts getting too thick in the process.
turn off heat. Squeeze a wedge of lemon juice and garnish with cilantro(coriander)
Serve with rice.
p.s: I am a little ashamed of the wilted cilantro during the process of photo shoot 🙂
SIMPLE COOKING SURPRISES 