Tag: moong dal

South Indian Style Brown Fried Rice with Red Pepper and Green Beans

I love south indian style lemon rice… and make it often… so I was in the mood but wanted to make it healthier and filled with veggies- so I came up with this recipe… I cooked it with brown rice and added peppers and green beans.. check it out- it is yummy!

1 cup brown jasmine rice, rinsed
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water

Transfer the rice to a heavy saucepan with the oil and sauté on medium heat for a minute. Add the salt and water, bring to a boil and cover partially with a lid and lower the heat to a low medium. Continue cooking, about 15 minutes till all the water is cooked off from the surface. Place the lid on the pan and lower the heat to a very low and continue cooking for at least 20 minutes or till cooked. Fluff with fork and let cool.

2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
12-15 curry leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon white moong dal
1 tablespoon channa dal
¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
½ cup roasted peanuts, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
1 red pepper, chopped
1 cup green beans, chopped
Salt
Juice of half a large lemon
½ cup cilantro, chopped

Add the oil to a wok like saucepan with the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, moong dal, channa dal, coconut and peanuts. Saute on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the onion and ginger and sauté for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the red pepper and green beans and sauté for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cooled brown rice, salt and lemon juice. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes, check for seasonings and finish off with the cilantro. Serve with grilled meats or lentils.

Lentils with Baby Spinach

Lentils with Baby Spinach Here is another vegetarian dish. This could be almost a one pot meal. All you need is some brown rice or quinoa.. well, those are the healthy options. One could also serve this with a rice pulao with lots of cumin and sautéed onions. Either way, this is a delicious dish that is very simple to make and very nutritious.

I love combining the orange and the yellow variety- the names of the lentils are below (actually I am not very good at remembering lentil names .. so I recognize them by color and shape). Anyway, I love combining the two and cooking them with a bit of garlic. I usually cook the lentils in water, but they can be made with chicken or vegetable broth.

Once the lentils are tender and cooked, I added baby spinach to the mix. I finished the dish with a tempering of cumin and mustard seeds.

It is one of my staples, especially when I don’t have a lot of time to cook…
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Moong Dal with Cumin Seeds

Moong Dal with Cumi This dal would be a great complement to the seekh kebabs from yesterday. It is a dal dish my Mom has made for years and this is the first time I have ever made it myself. I do have another recipe for it on the blog courtesy of my Mom. I always thought it was very complicated and hard to make this particular version.

Typically one adds the lentils and water to a pan and the dish is cooked till the lentils are soft- very simple. This one, you cook like pasta- once the lentils are al dente, you drain and then dress with different spices or herbs.

In my case, I decided to keep it simple and add cumin seeds, onions and ginger. I of course added some garam masala – which I think adds a very distinctive flavor. I finished it with some fresh chopped cilantro. I couldn’t believe how simple it was to make- this will definitely be part of my repertoire. Try this dish, you will really like it…
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Moong Dal with Spinach (Lentils with Spinach)

Moong Dal with Spinach This is a great dish to make through the week. It is simple and quick. Especially since I used these particular lentils- moong. They take all of 15 minutes to cook up. I have quite a few lentils in my pantry which is great when I don’t have anything else to cook.

I made these simply with some turmeric, salt and garlic. I let the lentils cook for a while and then added the frozen spinach- another thing I have on hand- it is extremely versatile and easy to use.

While the lentils were finishing up, I heated up some ghee (butter can be used instead) and added cumin. I added the mixture to the lentils and that was it. I served the lentils with some rice and it was a delicious weeknight meal. Everyone loved it.

Make these lentils through the week- they don’t take long at all.
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Yellow Lentil Recipe: Moong Dal

Dry Moong Dal I grew up eating this lentil dish. My mom would make it when we had people over for a meal.

It is very different than the regular lentil dish we normally make in which the lentils are cooked in water and then drained just till they are soft to the touch but not mushy. Once the lentils are cooked to perfection- like al dente pasta, they are mixed with a mixture of cumin seeds, green chilies and garam masala. You can also add sliced yellow onions into the mixture- it makes it more substantial and adds a bit of sweetness to the mix.

This dish is very simple and quick to make. It is perfect for a weeknight meal or when entertaining. I had chicken and spinach already in the fridge. I served it hot with freshly made rotis.

Try this lentil dish- you will impress everyone who eats it…
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Moong Dal- Yellow Lentils

moong-dal This is the most popular lentil dish on my Dad’s side of the family. I grew up eating it all the time- to the point that I don’t like to make it very often. Actually I do make it once in a while but I never the way my Mom does.

She would cook the lentils in water, turmeric and salt. Sauteed onions were the most important part of the tempering. They were chopped and cooked on a medium fire with ghee until they turned chocolate brown. The lentils were topped with the onions and garam masala was sprinkled on top- thats it – that is how it was made every single time. Part of me understands looking forward to the same dish, made the same way every time- I do that- I have the same breakfast every day. Somehow with these lentils- I want a change but as you probably noticed, I did sprinkle the garam masala on mine as well- I love the flavor and it finishes the dish off really well.

I like making it with ginger while the lentils are cooking and then topping it with an onion and chili. It is quite similar to the one I grew up with but still a bit different. It is great with rice or as a side dish with a vegetable or a meat. It is even great as a soup!

1 cup moong dal
2 cups water
2 inches ginger, grated
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon turmeric

Tempering

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion- diced small
1 serrano chili- chopped
1 teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Add the dal, water, ginger, salt and turmeric to a medium deep pan.
Bring to a boil and lower the heat to medium. Stir occasionally and cook till the lentils
are soft not too mushy, about 10-12 minutes.
In the meantime in a small frying pan, heat up the olive oil and add the onions and serrano chili. Stir and cook on medium heat till the oinions are golden brown. Add the onion and chili mixture to the lentil pan. Add the garam masala and cayenne pepper. Taste for salt. Serve with rice.

Lentils with Mint- Pudina Dal

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.