Lehsuni Daal/ Garlic Lentils

Made with masoor daal (orange lentils) this dish is simple and very tasty. It is in fact almost a staple in most homes. It makes a great accompaniment for plain boiled rice and a vegetable curry. Lehsuni Daal means lots of garlic and thus it is important that garlic turns a bit golden in colour, its only then this Daal will be flavorful.

Ingredients:

1 cup masoor daal

3 cups water

2 tablespoon vegetable/sunflower/canola cooking oil

Salt to taste

1 onion chopped fine

1 tomato chopped fine

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

3 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)

2 green chilli choppes

1/2 teaspoon asafoetida

1 tsp cumin seeds

10-12 cloves of garlic

Method:

Wash the daal thoroughly.

Mix the daal, water, cooking oil, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt to taste, onion and tomato in the pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles.

In another small pan, heat the ghee well and add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle. 
Add the garlic and chillies and fry till the garlic is light brown. Add the asafoetida and turn off the fire.

Quickly add this ghee and spice mixture to the boiled daal and stir well.

Eat piping hot with bread or rice. .

Notes: Any yellow daal- masoor, moong, tooar can be used.

If you do not like garlic flavour, reduce the amount of garlic.

This daal can be cooked thick or thin. I like it thin. Thus adjust water as per your preference.

Daal Masala

Surprisingly, I never tasted or had Dal Masala in India; I had it last Sunday in London and I loved it because it was very different from all the dals that I had till date. Dals cooked in most of the houses is of liquid consistency but Dal Masala is a thick dal with different flavours.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup yellow moong dal (split yellow gram)
• 1/3 cup masoor dal (split red lentil)
• 1/3 cup urad dal (split black lentils)
• 1/3 cup toovar (arhar) dal
• 3 onions, grated
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 3 tbsp ghee
• salt to taste
• chopped coriander (dhania)
• 5 cloves of garlic (lehsun)
• 2 tsp coriander (dhania) seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander (dhania)
• 8 whole dry kashmiri red chillies
• 25 mm. piece ginger (adrak)
• 3 sticks cinnamon (dalchini)
• 3 black peppercorns
• 3 cloves (laung / lavang)

Method

1.   Wash all the dals together and soak for an hour

2.   Then boil dal in a deep pan with 4 cups of water till is done.

3.   Take garlic,coriander seeds, cumin, turmeric, dry red chilli, ginger, cinnamon, peppercorns and laung and make a fine paste in the blender.

4.   Heat the ghee and fry the onions till it becomes light pink in colour.

5.   Add the paste(made in step 3) and fry for 3 to 4 minutes.

6.   Slowly add the tomatoes and fry again till it leaves oil.

7.   Then Add the cooked dals and salt.

8.   Cook it covered till it boils.

9.    Garnish with coriander.

Serve hot with Rice or Bread.