The downside of starting a blog, you ask? Undoubtedly, every conversation with the spouse involves said blog. And the upside is having an incredibly supportive hubby who helps you decide on what to post next. Obviously. My legendary Dal Tadka Recipe. His words, not mine. Actually, this should’ve been one of the primary posts on the blog! This is the one dish my husband and Little Amelia absolutely love.

Amelia isn’t fussy about dal and eats up with no problems at all. In fact, this was one of the first foods she started off with, when I introduced her to solid foods (minus all the spices, of course).

Indisputably the staple in any family unit in India, including mine is “Dal”. This is the perfect comfort food and is simple to make. Dal is frequently branded as ‘pulses’ and are utilized to make a wide assortment of sustenance in Indian cooking and has been a fundamental piece of India’s rich culinary tradition. The variety in dal recipes, crosswise over India, is vast to the point that you could attempt other recipes consistently and not rehash them for quite a long time. Dal, on its own, are somewhat undistinctive and not stuffed with flavor. It’s the spices and vegetables that you include give dal diverse identities. The process of tempering spices such as mustard seeds and cumin seeds in hot oil or ghee is an essential technique in preparing dal and is known as “Tadka”. This Tadka is finally added to the cooked dal and that’s when the magic happens. The infused oil and spices seep into the cooked dal producing an aromatic and flavorful dish.

In this blog post, I’d like to introduce you to the commonly used dal and also share with you a recipe of Dal Tadka.

Some of the commonly used Dals are:

• Moong Dal/Green gram Dal/split yellow bean: This is the dal I use on a regular basis. It was one of the first dals Amelia ate when she was about 8 months old. These are fairly quick to cook and easy on the stomach.
• Masoor Dal/Red lentil: It is orange in color and has an earthy flavor. They are easy and fast to cook and are also usually used to make stews.
• Toor Dal/Pigeon pea: This beige lentil with a yellow interior serves as an important source of protein in a vegetarian diet. I sometimes use this instead of moong dal to make my Dal Tadka.
• Urad dal/Black gram: They are little black seeds with a white interior. The split urad is white in color. The whole black lentil is used in making the famous, delicious ‘Dal Makhani’ from Punjab. They are also usually ground up with rice to make Dosa and Vada batter.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Moong dal/ Toor dal

2 medium sized Onion sliced

2 medium-sized Tomatoes sliced

1-2 Green Chillies chopped (or as per heat level of your choice)

2-3 cloves Garlic chopped

Some Coriander leaves chopped

1 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp Jeera (Cumin Seeds)

1/2 tsp Oil

3 cups Water (you can add depending on how thick you want the dal to be)

Salt as per taste

Tempering:

1 tsp Mustard seeds

2-3 cloves chopped Garlic

1/2 tsp Jeera (Cumin seeds)

Few Curry leaves

NOTE:

*Before you cook the dal, rinse them at least twice.

*Dal can be cooked in a general pot, however, cooking time will be longer than that of a pressure cooker.

*Indian pressure cookers are not quite the same as the ones accessible elsewhere. They consistently discharge steam in what is alluded to as ‘whistles’ that are utilized to decide the cooking time. They change from cooker to cooker and aren’t constantly precise. You can utilize these whistles as a guide and see what works best with the cooker you have

*If you want your Dal Tadka tangy, you can add a little lime juice to the dal.

*Whole dried red chillies also can be added while tempering

METHOD:

Add all ingredients in a pressure cooker and let it cook for about 6-7 whistles. Release steam and check if dal has cooked well and also check for seasoning.

Tempering:

Separately heat ghee and oil, add mustard seeds and wait for them to pop. Add jeera, chopped garlic, and curry leaves, stir once and immediately pour over the cooked dal.

Serve with rice or roti with a side of salad/papads/pickle.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Moong dal/Toor Dal

2 medium sized Onion sliced

2 medium-sized Tomatoes sliced

1-2 Green Chillies chopped (or as per heat level of your choice)

2-3 cloves Garlic chopped

Some coriander leaves chopped

1 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp Jeera (Cumin seeds)

1/2 tsp Oil

3 cups water (you can add depending on how thick you want the dal to be)

Salt as per taste

Tempering:

1 tsp mustard seeds

2-3 cloves chopped garlic

1/2 tsp jeera

Few Curry leaves

METHOD:

Add all ingredients in a pressure cooker and let it cook for about 6 whistles.Release steam and check if dal has cooked well and also check for seasoning.

Tempering:

Separately heat ghee and oil, add mustard seeds and wait for them to pop. Add jeera, chopped garlic, and curry leaves, stir once and immediately pour over the cooked dal.

Serve with rice or roti with a side of salad/papads/pickle.