Washed split black gram cooked with light flavours and spices
Serves 5-6 people
Ingredients:
250g dhuli urd daal/washed split black gram
4 tbsp oil
150g or 2 medium sized onions
260g or 2 large tomatoes
1 tsp zeera (cumin seeds)
1 tsp crushed ginger (or paste)
1 tsp crushed garlic (or paste, this is optional)
Seasonings-
1tsp salt (or adjust to taste)
1tsp red chilli powder (or adjust to taste)
¼ tsp haldi powder (turmeric)
1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
1 cube maggi chicken/vegetable cube
Method
Pre-preparation
· Wash and soak the daal for at least one hour to get the best results. Use boiling water to soak the daal if running short of time.
· Slice the onions.
· Chop the tomatoes.
Cooking
In a pot, add cooking oil and splatter cumin seeds. Add sliced onions and fry till light brown. Add chopped tomatoes with ginger, garlic (optional), chicken/vegetable cube and the seasonings. Mix all together, cover and cook with the lid, on a medium flame for 5-6 minutes. The tomatoes would soften by now and the masala is nicely blended.
Add washed and soaked daal mix in gently. Finally add 250 ml water (approximately). Check the seasoning at this point and adjust accordingly, if needed. Let it cook on high flame until you can see bubbles. Cover with the lid and cook on low medium flame in steam for about 25 minutes. Do not cook on high flame because it will dry up the moisture and the daal wouldn’t have softened.
Check after 20 minutes. If the daal is tender, switch off the flame and leave it covered. If not, let it steam cook for few more minutes as needed.
Garnish with coriander leaves and ginger juliennes and serve with fresh roti/paratha (Indian flat breads)
Tips
You might need to add some water if it needs more cooking and there’s no moisture. On the other hand, if there’s extra water and daal is nice and soft, open the lid and cook on high flame for few minutes to dry out excess water. Stir in gently if needed, try not to make it mushy!
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