Tangy Spring Onion Dal

I was extremely bored with the dals I'd been making. They are all yummy, no doubt, but I wanted to whip up something slightly different. I checked out videos on You Tube and this recipe is an amalgamation of the many that I saw. Many of you would have paired spring onions with dal, but for me this was a first and I loved the final flavour that emerged. Go on, give this a try. I’m very sure you’re going to love it too. 😊

Ingredients:

150 grams tur dal, soak in water for an hour

3/4^th to 1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon salt

6-8 tablespoons oil

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

10-12 curry leaves

3 green chiles, break into large 1-inch pieces

2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste

1 large onion, thickly sliced

2 teaspoons red chili powder (I use MDH Deghi Mirch powder)

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon coriander powder

2 cups chopped spring onions

2 teaspoons amchur powder

A handful of coriander leaves, finely chopped

2-3 tablespoons clarified butter

¾ teaspoon asafoetida

6-8 curry leaves

2 red dry Kashmiri chilies

Method:

1.    Wash the soaked tur dal, twice or thrice or until the water runs clear.

2.    Add the dal into a pressure cooker. Add turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon salt and about 450 mils water.

3.    Pressure cook the dal for 2 whistles, lower heat, and simmer for 2-3 minutes more.

4.    Take the cooker off the stove and allow the pressure to release by itself.

5.    When the pressure is released, open the cooker, and give the dal a mix with a spoon. Do not smoothen it too much. Keep aside.

6.    Heat oil in large vessel or a saucepan. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and green chilies and sauté until the cumin and mustard seeds begin to splutter.

7.    Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté on MEDIUM flame.

8.    Add the thickly sliced onion. Sauté until the onions go pink and translucent.

9.    Add red chili powder, garam masala powder and coriander powder. Sauté the masalas giving them a good mix.

10. Add 2 cups chopped spring onions. Sauté for 1- 2 minutes.

11. Add the cooked dal, add water if you wish to adjust the consistency of the dal.

12. Cover the dal, lower heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.

13. Add amchur powder, stir well and simmer uncovered for 2-3 more minutes. NOTE: At this stage, if the dal is too thick, add some water and if it’s too thin, simmer until you get the desired consistency. The consistency depends entirely on you.

14. Add chopped coriander leaves, simmer for a few seconds more and take the vessel off the stove. (Adding a small video to show the final consistency of the dal)

15. In a small vessel, or a tadka pan, heat ghee. When the ghee is hot, add curry leaves, dry red chilies and asafoetida. Sauté until the ingredients are sizzling but, do not allow the tadka to burn.

16.Take the vessel off the stove and add the tadka into the dal. Serve with soft Indrayani rice and pickle.

Chef Notes:

1.    Chop the large onion thickly as you want to feel it on your palate when you eat the dal. Tastes absolutely wonderful. If you slice it thinly there is a chance it will disintegrate. You don’t want that to happen.

2.    I used dry red Kashmiri chilies but feel free to use Byadgi or Gundu if Kashmiri chilies are not available in your pantry… mostly any dry red chili will do, just don’t opt for Bhoot Jolakia for if you do, I’m not responsible for what happens to you the next morning.…… mwhahaha. *very evil laugh*

3.    I have mentioned the oil and ghee amount as used by me. Please use as much, or as little, as suits your diet; just don’t give me grief about the amount I used. 😉

4.    Amchur is the ingredient that lends this dal its tanginess. While 2 teaspoons were perfect for me, I would, ideally, suggest you add 1 teaspoon at a time and adjust the quantity to suit your palate. Some of you may even prefer to add more than 2 teaspoons which is absolutely okay to do.

5.    For the tadka, I halved the Kashmiri chilies as I wanted to deseed them. Feel free to use them whole in case you choose not to deseed. I usually deseed chilies as mum and dad are unable to eat very spicy food.

6.    You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes, and/or my photographs, on any blogsite or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.

Some more photographs: