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1995-09-28
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Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes
From: jmni@midway.uchicago.edu (Jill M. Nicolaus)
Subject: 3 great dal recipes
Message-ID: <9405021704.AA01972@midway.uchicago.edu>
Date: Mon, 2 May 94 12:04:21 CDT
This is in response to requests I've seen here from time to time. The
following recipes are from _Flavors of India: Recipes from the Vegetarian
Hindu Cuisine_, by Shanta N. Sacharoff, reprinted without permission.
Comments in parentheses are mine, and I've paraphrased some portions. I've
tried these and several other recipes from this book & highly recommend it!
These dals are great served with rice or one of the Indian breads, and
adding a good hot curry and several condiments almost makes a feast! My
favorite condiments are mango chutney (which comes preserved in a jar like
jam) and cucumber raita (beat 1 c, plain yogurt with a fork and add a
diced, peeled cucumber, 1/4 t. salt, couple pinches cayenne and maybe some
coriander or mustard powder -- should be cooling rather than spicy).
Wonderful drinks can be made with the sweetened mango pulp available canned
in most Indian groceries (or obviously with a blender and fresh mangos if
available) -- just mix with milk or with tonic water and lime. Canned
leechee fruits in sirup make an easy desert.
CHANA DAL
1 c. chana dal
7 c. water
1 t. salt
1/4 t. each cayenne, turmeric powder, cumin powder, corriander powder
1 T. tmarind pulp (or 1 T. lemon juice & 1 t. sugar)
1 T. vegetable oil
1/4 t. black mustard seeds
1 clove garlic, chopped
Chana dal is the larger of the skinned, split, yellow dals you will find in
an Indian grocery -- it closely resembles the yellow split peas found in
Western supermarkets, and in fact these yellow split peas make an
acceptable substitute.
Measure the dal into a bowl and sort through it to remove any unskinned
(dark) dal, small stones or other debris. Soak the chana dal in 4 c. water
for 2-3 hours, then wash under running water and drain. Bring 3 c. water
and the salt to boil in a medium-size pot. Add the chana dal and wait for
the water to begin its second boil, then cover the pot and cook over
medium-to-low eat for 30 min. At this time, remove the cover and stir up
the dal. To the open pot add the cayenne, turmeric, cumin, coriander and
the tamarind pulp (skin & seeds removed). Stir well and allow to simmer
uncovered while you prepare the next step.
In a separate small pot or frying pan, heat the vegetble oil over low heat
and add the mustard seeds and chopped garlic to it. When the oil gets hot,
the mustard seeds will begain to pop (really. and they may spatter a bit.).
When they have ceased popping, add the oil mixture to the simmering pot of
dal. Immediately cover the pot and keep covered for 2 min. while the dal
continues to simmer. Then remove the cover and stir once with a spoon to
mix in the new ingredients. Cook uncovered for another 5 min. and the dal
is ready to be served with rice or bread. Taste to correct seasoning (ie
salt. also, I tend to increase the amounts of all spices a bit, keeping
proportions the same.) This dal is fairly thick in consistancy and should
not be made thinned with water.
Serves 4-6.
******************************************************************************
URAD DAL WITH YOGURT
1/2 t. garlic chutney (see below)
1 c. urad dal
5 c. water
1 c. plain yogurt
1/4 t. turmeric powder
1 t. salt
2 t. fresh lemon juice
optional fresh coriander leaves
(The urad dal gives this dish a distinctive flavor, so, while it may be
possible to substitute another sort of lentil, such substitution will
produce a very different dish.) The urad dal, sometimes spelled udud or
ured, is formed from a small black urad bean which is first skinned and
then split in half. The split urad bean has a dusty white color, and in
India it is also ground into a flour and used to make several types of
snacks.
For the garlic chutney, make a paste of 1 clove garlic, very finely
chopped, 1/2 t. cayenne, 1/8 t. coriander powder and 1/8 t. cumin powder.
Mix 1 c. water with the plain yogurt and beat with a fork until smooth. to
this add the turmeric powder and the 1/2 t. of garlic chutney. Beat again
to make an evenly smooth liquid and et the bowl aside for a moment.
In a medium-size pot, bring 4 c. water and the salt to a boil. While you
are waiting for the water to boil, clean the urad dal under running water
and drain. When the water boils, add the drained urad dal. Bring the
water and dal to another boil and cook uncovered for 10 min. Stir once,
cover the pot and lower the heat to between low and medium. Cook the dal
for 20 min. until its grains are easily mashed when pressed between two
fingers. Remove the covered pot from the heat and let stand for 10 min.
Add the yogurt mixture, stir once and return the pot to low heat. Simmer
for 10 more min., stirring frequently. By this time the yogurt will have
combined with the dal to form a thick sauce-like mixture. Turn the heat
off and stir in the fresh lemon juice. If you like, top this with some
finely chopped fresh coriander leaves.
Serves 4-6.
*******************************************************************************
MUNG DAAL (DRY)
1 c. mung dal (without skin)
2-1/2 c. water
1 t. salt
1 T. vegetable oil
1/4 t. black mustard seeds
clove garlic, chopped
1/4 t. chopped fresh ginger
/4 t. garam masala (Indian spice mixture)
1 small tomato, chopped
Mung beans are green when whole, but when split and skinned, the resulting
mung dal is yellow (smaller than chana dal). This is a quick and easy dal.
(I've made it with half mung dal and half masoor dal -- the latter is
bright orange and gives the dish a very festive look.)
Bring 2-1/2 c. water to a biol in a medium size pot and add the salt to it.
After carefully sorting out the dal by hand to remove any foreign objects,
wash clean under running water and drain. Add dal to the boiling water.
When the water begins its second boil, reduce heat to medium and cook
uncovered for 10 min. Place a tightly fitting lid on the pot, reduce heat
to low, and cook another 10 min. The dal should have become soft and there
should be almost no water left in the pot. If there is some water left,
simmer and stir the dal continuously until the water has evaporated.
(The directions say to remove the dal to a bowl, dry the pot, heat oil and
spices in the pot, then add the dal back to the pot. I think it is easier
to heat the oil and spice in a small pan, then add to the pot, as above.)
Heat the vegetable oil separately from the dal and add the mustard seeds,
chopped garlic and chopped ginger to the oil. The mustard seeds will begin
to pop and spatter when the oil becomes hot. When they have all popped,
combine the hot oil and the dal. Stir for a minute, then add the garam
marsala and the chopped tomato. Mix well and continue to stir for 5 min.
until the dal is well heated. This dal should be served hot and may be
reheated before serving. While most dals are thin and soup-like, this
particular preparation comes out somewhat dry and lumpy by comparison.
serves 4.