Recipe

Moong Daal
(मूंग दाल)

Recipe Contributed By: Anupriya Sinha, Pune

 Ingredients

Moong Daal - 1 cup
Shelled green peas - 1/2 cup (optional)
Water - 4 cups
Salt - 1 tsp or as per taste
Sugar - 1 tsp or as per taste.
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Bay Leaves - 2
Green chillies - 2 or as desired (cut in two parts)
Cumin powder - 2 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp
(make it fresh by grinding together 1" stick cinnamon, 2-3 green cardamoms and 2-3 cloves)
Ginger (peeled, washed and grated) - 1 tsp

For tadka (phoran):
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Dry red chillies - 2
Kashmiri mirch powder - 1/4 tsp or as desired

 Method of Preparation

1. Take dry moong daal in a kadai and roast till it gives out the aroma.

2. Transfer into a bowl and wash.

3. Add the water and let it soak for 15 minutes.

4. Transfer the soaked daal, alongwith water, into a pressure cooker.

5. Add peas, salt, turmeric, bay leaves, cumin powder, ginger, green chillies and garam masala powder.

6. Cook the daal till done i.e. for two whistles. Let the cooker cool by itself.

7. Open the pressure cooker, add sugar and mix the daal with a serving spoon. Do not do this too vigorously, otherwise you will not get the desired texture. The daal grains should still be visible, however, not very clearly.

8. For tadka/phoran, heat ghee in a big ladle till it melts.

9. Crackle cumin seeds in ghee. Add whole red chillies, fry and remove the ladle from heat.

10. Add Kashmiri mirch powder and immediately immerse the ladle in daal, cover and leave for 1 minute.

11. Mix daal with the ladle and switch on heat. Simmer the daal for 2-3 mins and remove from heat.

12. Serve with hot Maida Poori(Luchi) or Kachauri. It goes equally well with steamed rice and fried potato (aloo bhaja) as well.

 Notes and Tips