MOONG DAAL FRY (PETITE YELLOW LENTILS CURRY)

Daals that is lentils, are high in proteins. Daal is a part of the staple diet in all of India. It is made either in curry form, or added to various vegetables or used in the preparation of various sweets as well as savoury snacks.

Moong Daal Fry is a yellow lentils curry which my mom used to prepare. It is a very simple but delicious daal. Whenever she made this daal, the aroma of the tadka (tempering) would waft around and make me hungry! It is a simple daal recipe with a tadka of the aromatic cumin seeds, asafoetida (I use powdered Irani hing), dry red chillies and onions. We NKGSBs are ardent rice eaters and love fish curries with it. But as I am more of a vegetarian, my mom would experiment and cook different daals for me (though my all time favourite is Varan). Moong daal fry is one such daal, with the only difference that I have added some Tuvar daal (Toor daal) to it.

If you like a variety in daals, do try the…..

1) Paalak Daal or

2) Varan or

3) Daal Tadka

Here’s the recipe for the nutritious and delicious Moong Daal Fry…..

INGREDIENTS :

• 1/2 cup Yellow Moong Daal (Petite yellow lentils / split and dehusked Moong beans)
• 1/4 cup Tuvar / Arhar Daal (Toor daal / split pigeon peas)
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

For tempering :

• 1 1/2 tbs Homemade Ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp Asafoetida
• 3 Dry Red Bedgi Chillies
• 1 Small Onion

METHOD :

1. First soak the mentioned daals together in sufficient water for about an hour and a half.
2. Then wash them thoroughly and add water to it to the level just a centimetre above the daal.
3. Add the turmeric powder and pressure cook till done.
4. When the pressure settles down, open the lid and churn or smash the daal well with the back of a ladle.
5. Add sufficient water to get a medium thick consistency and salt to taste. Boil the daal on high flame and keep aside.
6. Chop the onion finely. Break the dry red chillies into pieces.
7. Heat a small tadka pan and add the ghee to it.
8. Add the cumin seeds and when they crackle, add the asafoetida.
9. Now add the broken and deseeded dry red chillies and saute.
10. Add the finely chopped onions and saute till they turn translucent add are cooked.
11. Add the sizzling tadka to the boiled daal and cover immediately for a while.
12. Serve with some hot steamed rice or pulav.