Dal Fry

Dal Fry

A simple meal of dal-chawal is what I crave for most days. There is something very satisfying about this particular dal that I have been making for years. I can't even remember how I first got this recipe. :-) It is certainly not my original recipe. Over the years I have made so many tweaks that it feels like my recipe. I have heard from friends who have tried this dal that it tastes like "haleem" or "dacha". A simple combination of Moong and Masoor gives it a rich, earthy and satisfying taste. It does not take too long to prepare and can be had with parantha, roti or rice. So, here we go!

Ingredients:

Moong dal-1/2 cup
Masoor Dal-1/2 cup
Onion- 2-3 medium, finely sliced
Tomato- 1-2 medium, chopped
Ginger- 1 medium piece
Garlic-2 big cloves
Fresh Coriander- handful finely chopped
Lemon-1

For tempering:
Cumin seeds- 1 tablespoon
Haldi- 1 tablespoon
Red Chilli powder- 2 teaspoons or to taste
Garam Masala- 1/2-1 tablespoon or to taste

Pure Ghee- for tempering and garnishing

Process:

1) Wash the dals and cook them together with a pinch of haldi, salt and some jeera. I cook them on stovetop- since these dals are light-it doesn't take it too long to cook. You can cook the dals in the proessure-cooker also.
2) Take the ginger, garlic and a teaspoon of jeera and pound it nicely in a mortar and pestle. This is my secret trick to get the real flavors of jeera mixed with ginger-garlic instead of using a processor to grate it. Once you do this, you will never go back to making a ginger-garlic paste in a mixer. :-)
3) Start working on your tempering in a non-stick pan. Heat the pan and add a tablespoon or so of ghee. You can also use oil for tempering but make sure you put at least a little bit of ghee on top to get the real "dal fry" flavor.
4) Once the ghee heats up, add cumin seeds, haldi, hing, ginger-garlic paste and let it fry for a minute or so. Then add the finely sliced onions (leaving a handful of onion for later)  and let it fry really well-till golden brown.
5) Add red chili powder, garam masala and chopped tomatoes. Let this cook really well, till the tomatoes get mushy.
6) Add this mixture to the cooked dals and mix well. Let the dal cook for 15-20 minutes or so. The longer you simmer it, the better the flavors will be.
7) Add the rest of the garam masala, red chili powder, chopped coriander, and lemon juice. Continue to keep the dal on simmer. (Check the taste of the dal and add seasonings according to taste).
8) In the same pan where you made the tempering, heat up 2-3 tablespoons of ghee and fry the left over sliced onion till nicely browned, with a pinch of red chili powder.
9) Pour the onion mixture on the cooked dal and switch off. You can either garnish each serving with some browned onion or pour it over the entire dal.
10) Enjoy!! :-) Please let me know your feedback if you try this recipe!


Note: this tasted super awesome with Rumali Rotis. You can certainly have it with parantha or plain phulka as well. I used this recipe by Priyanka Varma:

http://cookwithpriyankavarma.blogspot.com/2014/06/rumali-roti-thin-flatbread.html