Dal Fry - Mixed Lentil Soup tempered with spices - A North Indian Delicacy

Dal Fry is a North Indian delicacy and is eaten with much love at my home by A and Me. It is one of the most popular dishes out of the Punjabi carte du jour. A combination of lentils can be used to make this lentil soup. Some mix BengalGram (Chana Dal) & Pigeon Peas (Toor Dal) along with the Red (Masoor) & Yellow (Moong) lentils that I used. It is very high in protein and is extremely nutritive. This rich lentil soup is first boiled and then tempered with a variety of spices to enrich its taste. It can be eaten with both Rice (Jeera Rice – Rice flavored with Cumin) and Roti’s. The first time we had this with Roti’s and the leftover was eaten with Rice the next day. No I did not have Jeera Rice but nevertheless tasted great with the plain steamed Rice.  

Here is what you will need to make Dal Fry:

(Serves 5-6)

Yellow Lentil (Moong Dal) – 1 Cup

Red Lentil (Masoor Dal) – ½ Cup

Onion – 1 large – made into paste

Tomato – 1 medium – made into paste

Green Chillies – 4 – I pasted this with the Onion + 2 slit to garnish

Ginger – 1 tsp grated

Garlic – 1 tsp grated

Whole Dry Red Chillies – 2

Black Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp

Nigella Seeds (Kalonji) – ½ tsp

Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp

Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp

Cumin Powder – 1 tsp

Coriander Powder – ½ tsp

Garam Masala Powder – ½ tsp

Cooking Oil – 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Red Chilli Flakes – to garnish

Ghee / Clarified Butter – 1 tsp - optional

Method:

Wash the lentils under running water and then soak them in water for 30 minutes.

Once soaked put the lentils into the cooker with 1 tsp of Turmeric powder, Salt and the grated Ginger and Garlic and whistle until tender. It took me 5 whistles.

Heat Cooking Oil in a Pan and temper with Whole Dry Red Chillies, Black Mustard & Nigella seeds for about 30 seconds.

Add the Onion-Green Chilli paste and cook till Onions turn a little brownish.

Add the Tomato paste and cook till the rawness of the Tomatoes go away.

Add the already cooked Dal in. Mix thoroughly.

Add the Red Chilli Powder, Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder and Garam Masala Powder and mix.

Add desired amount of Water and bring it to boil, let it simmer for a while.

This Dal is not going to be runny, it will be thick. Hence turn of the stove when desired thickness is reached.

Garnish with Red Chilli Flakes, a couple of Slit Green Chillies. 

Serve with hot Roti’s or Jeera Rice.

Luchi Chola-r Dal / Puri & Chana Dal - the Bengali way

An essentially Bengali recipe mostly prepared to be eaten on days like Durga Ashtami at home. Finished with a generous garnish of fried Coconut pieces, desiccated Coconut and eaten with puffed Luchi (deep fried all purpose flour Pancakes). Bengali Chola-r Dal is a Dal which is supposed to have a generous amount of sweetness, hence do not faint when I mention about adding about 2 tsps of Sugar in the recipe :P Some days back I was blessed to taste a salty Chola-r Dal at a relative’s house, I can guarantee it tastes BAD. Hence please make this dish higher in sweetness and less salty.

Last weekend I was in a mood to explore various Lentil Soups. First I made the heavenly Roasted Yellow Lentil Soup or Bhaja Moog-er Dal on Friday night, Saturday morning I made this Chola-r Dal and Luchi for breakfast, we loved it so much that I made a fresh batch of Luchi  Sunday morning and had the same breakfast on both the days followed by Dal Fry on Sunday night for Dinner. A very Vegetarian weekend indeed thanks to unavoidable circumstances!

Here is what we will need to make Chola-r Dal or Chana Dal – the Bengali way:

Bengal Gram / Chola-r Dal / Chana Dal – 1 cup

Coconut – cut into small pieces like shown in the picture – ½ Cup

Desiccated Coconut – ½ Cup

Grated Ginger – 1 tsp

Whole Dry Red Chillies – 4

Sugar – 1.5 – 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp

Cumin Powder – 1 tsp

Mustard Oil – 1 tbsp

Ghee / Clarified Butter – 1 tbsp

Method:

• Wash and soak the Dal in water for 30 minutes.

• Drain the water and Pressure cook with 1 Cup of water for 2 whistles & the pressure go down on its own.
• In a Pan heat the Mustard Oil.
• Fry the Coconut pieces in this Oil till brown and fragrant. Keep aside.

• In the same Oil, sauté the grated Ginger.

• Add the Whole Dry Red Chillies & sauté for another minute.

• Add the already boiled Dal in and mix.

• Add Sugar, Salt, Turmeric Powder, Red Chilli Powder and Cumin Powder and mix thoroughly.

• Add desired quantity of water and bring it to boil.

• Let it simmer for a while, once desired consistency is reached, add the Ghee in, the Ghee will melt easily in the already boiling Dal. Mix.

• Garnish with the fried Coconut pieces and desiccated Coconut and serve with Luchi. :D

Bhaja Moog-er Dal – Roasted Yellow Lentil Soup

“Ami Maach-Bhaat Khabo naa!!”(I will not eat Fish and Rice) shouted the little girl. She was always a terror when it came to eating meals. She did not eat Fish, Mutton or any random Vegetable you can think of. Her Mother had a terrible time trying to make her eat. All she ate was Boiled Eggs and Chicken Curry with Rice for Lunch and sometimes Rotis (Indian flat-breads) with Milk at night, her staple diet.

Not every day in a Bengali home is Chicken Curry or Boiled Eggs made, they are a fishy race and thus prepare Fish every day which the little girl will not eat, even if her Mum got angry or threatened her that she will tell her Father when  he comes back home. She was her Father’s pet and knew she will get away with these little tantrums and Babai (what she adoringly calls her Father) will not be upset with her.

Even when her entire family tried to scare her saying ‘Maach naa khele chokh kharap hoye jaabe’ (If you do not eat Fish, your eyesight will not stay put), she jumped and did a little jig and told them pointing at her 2 year older cousin who was fond of Fish and had glasses already ‘Dada toh Maach khete bhalobashe tahole or chokh ki kore kharap holo’ (He loves fish then how come he has been prescribed glasses) :P .. well, no one really had an answer to the little girl’s innocent question hence she continued with her tantrums.

One cold Winter afternoon, her Mother gave her some Bhaja Moog-er Dal (Roasted Yellow Lentil Soup) with Rice and some fritters, she had also made Chicken Curry for her little daughter which she was about to serve and found that her girl had almost finished her entire plate with the Dal and Fritters, the Mother was overjoyed, as if she has found a Magic wand to make her little girl eat. Since then whenever her Mum thought the food was not up to the mark for her daughter’s taste buds, she quickly made her some Bhaja-Moog-er Dal  & she did not have to worry any more. Her daughter at last had started to eat something.

Here is what you will need to make ‘Bhaja Moog-er Dal’:

Yellow Lentils / Moong Dal –3/4^th Cup

Bay Leaf / Tej Patta – 1

Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp

Asafoetida / Hing – 1 pinch

Whole Dry Red Chillies -2

Ginger – grated – 1 tsp

Peas – a handful

Tomato – 1 – medium – chopped / puréed (I puréed it)

Green Chillies – slit - 4

Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp

Red Chilli Powder – ½ tsp

Cumin Powder – 1 tsp

Mustard Oil / Cooking Oil – 1.5 tbsp

Salt to taste

Sugar – a little more than to balance, this dal/soup is essentially Bengali and has a certain undeniable amount of sweetness.

Red Chilli flakes – to garnish.

How to make Bhaja-Moog-er Dal:

·         Heat a Tawa and dry roast the lentils till they get a very light brown hue and smells nice.

·         Remove from the Tawa, pour into a bowl and then wash thoroughly. The moment you put water on the already roasted lentils, very hot vapor would escape out of it, hence be careful while washing.

·         Once washed, put into a Pressure Cooker along with the Turmeric Powder and 1 cup of water and cook for 5 whistles (Normally Mum back in Calcutta gets this done in 2 whistles, in the Western side of India, it takes me 5 or more whistles to cook this lentil. Hence please cook for as many whistles required by your Lentil)

·         In a Pan, heat some Mustard Oil / Cooking Oil.

·         Temper with Cumin Seeds, Dry Red Chillies and Asafoetida Powder.

·         When they start to sizzle, add the grated Ginger and cook for a minute.

·         Add the Peas, cook for a couple of minutes.

·         Add the Tomato purée and cook for a couple of minutes more.

·         Add the Sugar, Cumin Powder and Red Chilli Powder and cook till the spices are not raw any more.

·         Add the already cooked Lentil into this.

·         Add desired amount of water and salt to taste and let it simmer.    

·         Once desired consistency is reached, turn off the stove.

·         I sauté the Green Chillies in a separate Pan for a minute in some hot Oil and add it to the final dish.

·         Add some Red Chilli Flakes to garnish and serve with Plain White Rice and Fritters, Maach Bhaja (Fried Fish) or with any curry, I served with Aloo Posto.

P.S : I still mention my cousin who loves to eat Fish and has glasses whenever somebody tells me that ‘love for fish’ and ‘good eyesight’ are related. The only difference is now they say ‘Maach khash naa, oi jonnei toh tor choshma hoyeche’ (You do not eat fish, so you have glasses) ;)