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Lentils with Mint- Pudina Dal

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Lentils with Mint To me there is nothing more comforting than a big bowl of well made dal (lentils). It is equivalent to Chicken Soup here- real comfort food.

In India the lentil variety is mind boggling. I am sure there are plenty of them I have never tasted. As part of my Indian pantry, I have at least 8 to 10 different kinds on hand at any given time. They are very reasonable to buy and great to make in a cinch. Some of the lentils have a tough exterior and need longer to cook- I have my trustee pressure cooker to do the job. A slow cooker works really well also- red kidney beans (rajma) and black lentils (whole urad dal) are ideal for slow over night cooking.

A well balanced Indian meal usually includes a vegetable- saag paneer or aloo gobi; a dal- masoor; a meat dish- keema or chicken. The dishes are served with homemade yogurt and freshly made rotis (bread) or rice. Obviously the dishes vary according to household and region but the staples remain the same- dal, roti and yogurt.

My parents are visiting from India- that means we will be getting fabulous Indian food. My Mom is a great cook- that is where I get my obsession of food. 

While she was unpacking her suitcase, she brought out a big container wrapped carefully in plastic wrap and all sorts of plastic bags. Out came one of my favorite mutton dishes- achari gosht. The word achari means pickled and gosht is mutton. She used to make this dish whenever we would go for a picnic or on a long train ride. The meat is cooked in pickling spices, and mustard oil and finished with vinegar; plus it does not have any water- all of these factors help with a long shelf life. It is absolutely delicious- I know what you are thinking- why didn’t she just make it here?- well, the goat meat you get back home is far more superior than here and a lot tastier- I will post the recipe soon.

Anyway, my point was that we ate the mutton dish that very night. I decided to make dal as an accompaniment. I mixed the masoor dal (pink lentils) with moong dal (yellow lentils). I wanted to keep the dish simple since the mutton dish was the star of the evening. I added a few garlic cloves and cooked the lentils with salt and turmeric. I added fresh mint from my backyard. The mint gave the dal a really fresh and light flavor- it was amazing. The whole meal was delicious and very enjoyable- brought me back to my childhood. My daughter enjoyed it as well!

This dal is perfect with any dish or just by itself with a bowl of fluffy white rice.

  • ½ cup masoor dal (pink lentils)
  • ½ cup moong dal (yellow lentils)
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3 garlic cloves, smashed
  • Salt
  • ½ cup fresh mint, chopped

Tempering

  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon ghee or butter

In a medium saucepan, bring the two lentils and water to a boil. Add the turmeric, cayenne, garlic and salt. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the lentils are soft- about 10 minutes (the consistency should be like a thick soup). Add the mint.
In the meantime, in a small frying pan add the ghee and cumin seeds. Saute the cumin seeds on medium high heat for a minute or till they begin to sizzle. Add the cumin seeds to the lentils and mix well. Taste for seasonings.

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1 Comment
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Now THAT’S a creamy looking bowl of dal!!

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