Sunday, May 31, 2009

Dal Fry

I know this sounds really simple, but I had to experiment for about two years to get it just right. Last night's was simply yummy so i thought I would share.

Ingredients:

1)Dal - 1 cup (I used the flat lentils here arhar dal but you can use just about any skinned lentils you have in your kitchen)
2)Tomato - 1 small, chopped finely
3)Onion - 1 small, chopped finely
4)Chilli - 1 medium to large, chopped into a long piece n then slit
5)cilantro - 1 teaspoon, chopped

Spices:
1)Mustard seeds - a pinch
2)Cumin seeds - 1/2 a teaspoon
3)turmeric - a pinch
4)all spice powder (garam masala) - a pinch
5)paprika / red chilli powder - a pinch
6)dry mango powder - a pinch (you can also substitute this with about 10 drops of lemon juice for the tang)
7)Salt to taste

Preparation:

1) Boil the dal with slightly excess water.
2) Heat 2 teaspoons oil. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they sputter, add onion. When onions start turning gold add the tomato and chillies.
3) Add the dal once the tomatoes start oozing oil.
4) Add the all spice, paprika, turmeric, dry mango and salt.
5) Add 1 tablespoon of water and boil for about 2 minutes. The dal should be medium watery.
6) Add cilantro before serving.

2 comments:

angana said...

It's like the bengali dal that we have.... instead of just mustard and cumin seeds, u cud add the other elements of the traditional bengali paach phoron.... it will gv a much better taste...Olso if u boil the dal with cilantro for 5 mins before reducing the flame, U will get the real taste of the leaves which is just divine. Adding other vegetables like zuchini, tomatoes, beans make it healthy and more colorful.... try it. U wont be disappointed.

Aparna said...

yeah Wong, I agree with the Bond Dal ingredients having amazing flavor. Incidentally Andhra Dal has loads of variations with vegetables like tomato, raw mango, gourds, spinach, etc added to it...