From ianhoarespamless@wanadoo.fr Thu Feb 20 10:24:02 2003 Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 16:57:48 +0100 From: Ian Hoare Reply-To: ianhoare@wanadoo.fr Newsgroups: uk.food+drink.indian Subject: Re: Tarka Dal Salut/Hi Shankar, le/on Wed, 19 Feb 2003 07:04:40 GMT, tu disais/you said:- >> If you used red lentils, they aren't terribly strongly flavoured >> themselves, but lentil dishes usually make up for that with spices. > >Not all lentil recipes, not even all dals, are spicy. In my part of >India most dals are quite mild and relatively "bland", though we would >prefer to characterize them as subtle. Chuckle. >Here is a very Bengali implementation of a minimally spiced mussoor dal: >Boil the mussoor dal. Skim off the froth that rises to the top. Add a >bit of turmeric and a hot green chile or two, slit along the side. >Boil till the dal is done. > >Heat some oil or ghee. Add some nigella to make the tarka. Pour the >dal into it. Heat briefly. Add salt. Churn a little to break the dal >up. This looks almost identical to the mussoor dhall I've been making for years, though sometimes I use kala jeera in place of nigella for the final dum. Here's another lentil recipe that I make a lot. The title tells you whence it came! ----- Now You're Cooking! v5.59 [Meal-Master Export Format] Title: Gopa's Mum's Moong Dhall Categories: vegetables, side dish, indian Yield: 4 servings 6 oz split washed moong dhall 2 bayleaves 1 tb ghee 2 1/2 tb dessicated coconut 1 ts ground turmeric 3 whole chillies (green) 1 ts salt 3 tb chopped fresh coriander 1 ts ground cummin 1 1/2 tb ghee or oil 2 ts whole cummin Method Pick over the dhall removing the odd stone etc. Put into solid saucepan and heat dry over moderate heat, stirring ALL THE TIME with largeish metal spoon. After about 5 mins or so, the dhall will be smelling cooked and become well speckled with brown. Immediately, take pan to the sink, and pour in cold water to cover (kerboom!). Swirl around vigorously and tip out washing water. Add more water and repeat the washing process till the water runs away clear. Now add enough water to cover by 1 to 1 1/2in. (2.5 to 4 cms). Bring to boil, add 1 Tbs ghee, turmeric, cummin and bay. Turn down to low, cover and boil slowly. After about 10 to 15 mins the dhall should be parcooked - the grains are beginning to break up at the edges. Add the coconut, the chillies (just as they are) and the chopped fresh coriander. Continue to boil slowly, adding a little more water if needed. MAKE SURE that the dhall doesn't stick at the bottom. When cooked, add salt. Now heat ghee/oil in small pan. When very hot, add whole cummin. As soon as it begins to pop, pour into the dhall, stir and simmer a couple of minutes. Recipe IMH c/o LeMarYol 2:324/151.4 ----- -- All the Best Ian Hoare Sometimes oi just sits and thinks Sometimes oi just sits.