Mussoor Dahl Recipe - Cooking Index
Mussoor Dahl Recipe - Cooking Index
| 1 cup | 237ml | Red lentils |
| 500 | Water - (depends on desired texture) | |
| 1 | R 2 serrano peppers | |
| 14 | )tsp turmeric - (maximum) | |
| 1/8 teaspoon | 0.6ml | Kalonji |
| 1 teaspoon | 5ml | Ghee - (can use oil or clarified butter) |
| Salt to taste |
1. Wash the lentils. Add the water, bring to a gentle boil. Some scum will develop, from lentil dust, and surfactants in the lentils. Skim it off.
2. Add the turmeric powder. (Doing this before the scum is removed causes the turmeric to float up with the scum, and it is then lost. If you do not skim the scum off you will have problems with the mixture boiling over). Do not postpone adding the turmeric too long. Undercooked turmeric is not nice.
3. Pierce the sides of the peppers (or slit them), and drop them in. Boil gently, almost covered, till the lentils are comletely cooked. If necessary, add some water along the way. The end product should be fairly fluid.
4. Remove the peppers, homogenize the mixture with a hand mixer, drop the peppers back in. .SH "Make the tarka:"
1. Heat the ghee, preferably in a wok, which makes it easy to deal with the very small quantity of oil. Add the kalonji.
2. As soon as it stops sizzling, add the cooked lentils rapidly. You may want to let the oil cool briefly, so that splattering is avoided. .PP --- SEE CAUTION BELOW. THERE ARE RISKS FOR THE CARELESS. ---
3. Salt to taste (0.5 to 1 tsp), mix, simmer briefly, serve. .SH Variation: .B Materials: As before, except: .IP skip the kalonji .IP use somewhat more ghee add: .IP 1/8 - )14 tsp cumin seeds .IP a modest handful chopped onions .B Procedure: The only difference is in the tarka. Cook the lentils as before. .B "Prepare the tarka as follows:"
1. Heat the oil. Add the cumin seeds. Stir-fry for a few seconds. Add the chopped onions, and sautee.
2. Pour in the cooked lentils. Salt to taste. Serve. .IP "CAUTION: ADDING THE LENTILS TO HOT OIL MAY CAUSE SPLATTERING." .PP If you are not experienced at this, allow the oil to cool first. Also, against the intuition, there will be more splattering if you get too gentle about pouring the lentils into the oil. If you add the cooked lentils rapidly, the oil gets swamped quickly by the lentils, and splattering is avoided, even if it is hot. At the same time, rapid addition of hot fluid involves some risk of splashing it around. .PP The safest way to deal with this is to let the oil cool down, then pour it into the cooked lentils (instead of the other way around), and then use some of the lentils to rinse the rest of the tarka into the main container. Respect hot oil. .SH Accompaniments: The first implementation, in particular, is one of the most common ways in which red lentils are made in Bengal, where I'm from. It is usually served with rice, a wedge of lime, and fried potatoes. Mix the dahl with the rice and potatoes, squeeze the lime over it and eat. .PP If you want to serve this with bread, use less water, so as to get a thicker consistency. .PP By some small margin, I prefer the first implementation with rice, the second with breads. Chappatis in particular. .SH "Fried potatoes:" Cut potatoes into 1.5 cm cubes. Optionally, parboil the potatoes and drain. Sprinkle with salt and turmeric. Fry over medium to high heat. .PP I have a strong preference for the parboiled version, but lack the technique to do it consistently.
Source:
Shankar Bhattacharyya
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