Recipe#11865

Title: Dals

Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes 
 From: jmni@midway.uchicago.edu (Jill M. Nicolaus) 
 Subject: 3 great dal recipes 
 Message-ID: <9405021704.AA01972@midway.uchicago.edu> 
 Date: Mon, 2 May 94 12:04:21 CDT 

These dals are great served with rice or one of the Indian breads, and
 adding a good hot curry and several condiments almost makes a feast!  My
 favorite condiments are mango chutney (which comes preserved in a jar like
 jam) and cucumber raita (beat 1 c, plain yogurt with a fork and add a
 diced, peeled  cucumber, 1/4 t. salt, couple pinches cayenne and maybe some
 coriander or mustard powder -- should be cooling rather than spicy). 
 Wonderful drinks can be made with the sweetened mango pulp available canned
 in most Indian groceries (or obviously with a blender and fresh mangos if
 available) -- just mix with milk or with tonic water and lime.  Canned
 leechee fruits in sirup make an easy desert.
 CHANA DAL
 1 c. chana dal
 7 c. water
 1 t. salt
 1/4 t. each cayenne, turmeric powder, cumin powder, corriander powder
 1 T. tmarind pulp (or 1 T. lemon juice & 1 t. sugar)
 1 T. vegetable oil
 1/4 t. black mustard seeds
 1 clove garlic, chopped
 Chana dal is the larger of the skinned, split, yellow dals you will
 find in an Indian grocery -- it closely resembles the yellow split
 peas found in Western supermarkets, and in fact these yellow split
 peas make an acceptable substitute.
 Measure the dal into a bowl and sort through it to remove any
 unskinned (dark) dal, small stones or other debris.  Soak the chana
 dal in 4 c. water for 2-3 hours, then wash under running water and
 drain.  Bring 3 c. water and the salt to boil in a medium-size pot.
 Add the chana dal and wait for the water to begin its second boil,
 then cover the pot and cook over medium-to-low eat for 30 min. At
 this time, remove the cover and stir up the dal.  To the open pot
 add the cayenne, turmeric, cumin, coriander and the tamarind pulp
 (skin & seeds removed).  Stir well and allow to simmer uncovered
 while you prepare the next step.
 In a separate small pot or frying pan, heat the vegetble oil over
 low heat and add the mustard seeds and chopped garlic to it.  When
 the oil gets hot, the mustard seeds will begain to pop (really.
 and they may spatter a bit.).
  When they have ceased popping, add the oil mixture to the simmering
  pot of dal.  Immediately cover the pot and keep covered for 2 min.
 while the dal continues to simmer.  Then remove the cover and stir
 once with a spoon to mix in the new ingredients.  Cook uncovered
 for another 5 min. and the dal is ready to be served with rice or
 bread.  Taste to correct seasoning (ie salt. also, I tend to increase
 the amounts of all spices a bit, keeping proportions the same.)
 This dal is fairly thick in consistancy and should not be made
 thinned with water.
 Serves 4-6.
 ******************************************************************************
 URAD DAL WITH YOGURT
 1/2 t. garlic chutney (see below)
 1 c. urad dal
 5 c. water
 1 c. plain yogurt
 1/4 t. turmeric powder
 1 t. salt
 2 t. fresh lemon juice
 optional fresh coriander leaves
 (The urad dal gives this dish a distinctive flavor, so, while it
 may be possible to substitute another sort of lentil, such substitution
 will produce a very different dish.)  The urad dal, sometimes
 spelled udud or ured, is formed from a small black urad bean which
 is first skinned and then split in half. The split urad bean has
 a dusty white color, and in India it is also ground into a flour
 and used to make several types of snacks.
 For the garlic chutney, make a paste of 1 clove garlic, very finely
 chopped, 1/2 t. cayenne, 1/8 t. coriander powder and 1/8 t. cumin
 powder.
 Mix 1 c. water with the plain yogurt and beat with a fork until
 smooth.  to this add the turmeric powder and the 1/2 t. of garlic
 chutney.  Beat again to make an evenly smooth liquid and et the
 bowl aside for a moment.
 In a medium-size pot, bring 4 c. water and the salt to a boil.
 While you are waiting for the water to boil, clean the urad dal
 under running water and drain.  When the water boils, add the
 drained urad dal.  Bring the water and dal to another boil and cook
 uncovered for 10 min.  Stir once, cover the pot and lower the heat
 to between low and medium.  Cook the dal for 20 min. until its
 grains are easily mashed when pressed between two fingers.  Remove
 the covered pot from the heat and let stand for 10 min.  Add the
 yogurt mixture, stir once and return the pot to low heat.  Simmer
 for 10 more min., stirring frequently.  By this time the yogurt
 will have combined with the dal to form a thick sauce-like mixture.
 Turn the heat off and stir in the fresh lemon juice.  If you like,
 top this with some finely chopped fresh coriander leaves.
 Serves 4-6.
 *******************************************************************************
 MUNG DAAL (DRY)
 1 c. mung dal (without skin)
 2-1/2 c. water
 1 t. salt
 1 T. vegetable oil
 1/4 t. black mustard seeds
  clove garlic, chopped
 1/4 t. chopped fresh ginger
 /4 t. garam masala (Indian spice mixture)
 1 small tomato, chopped
 Mung beans are green when whole, but when split and skinned, the
 resulting mung dal is yellow (smaller than chana dal).  This is a
 quick and easy dal.
  (I've made it with half mung dal and half masoor dal -- the latter
  is bright orange and gives the dish a very festive look.)
 Bring 2-1/2 c. water to a biol in a medium size pot and add the
 salt to it.
  After carefully sorting out the dal by hand to remove any foreign
  objects, wash clean under running water and drain.  Add dal to
 the boiling water.  When the water begins its second boil, reduce
 heat to medium and cook uncovered for 10 min.  Place a tightly
 fitting lid on the pot, reduce heat to low, and cook another 10
 min.  The dal should have become soft and there should be almost
 no water left in the pot.  If there is some water left, simmer and
 stir the dal continuously until the water has evaporated.
 (The directions say to remove the dal to a bowl, dry the pot, heat
 oil and spices in the pot, then add the dal back to the pot.  I
 think it is easier to heat the oil and spice in a small pan, then
 add to the pot, as above.) Heat the vegetable oil separately from
 the dal and add the mustard seeds, chopped garlic and chopped ginger
 to the oil.  The mustard seeds will begin to pop and spatter when
 the oil becomes hot.  When they have all popped, combine the hot
 oil and the dal.  Stir for a minute, then add the garam marsala
 and the chopped tomato.  Mix well and continue to stir for 5 min.
 until the dal is well heated.  This dal should be served hot and
 may be reheated before serving.  While most dals are thin and
 soup-like, this particular preparation comes out somewhat dry and
 lumpy by comparison.
 serves 4.