Masoor Dal, with Basmati Rice and Cucumber Rita

For my next intrepid cooking adventure I decided to turn to Indian cooking. It is absolutely rich in flavors, colours, textures, spices and diversity. A flavor explosion in the mouth and for me, the spicier the better. I had cooked Indian curries many times before, but this was the first time I decided to whip up masoor dal. What I made was not masoor dal in its entirety but in its essence. Rather than using masoor dal, I decided to supplement it with green mung beans. I had them in the pantry and rather than going out and buying the required lentils and adding them to the ever increasing amount of clutter in my pantry, I used the mung beans. The clutter is another story and potentially another blog.

Along side the masoor dal, I cooked basmati rice and for a side made cucumber rita. The recipe for the cucumber rita will be provided below.

The ingredients:

1 cup of masoor dal (spilt orange lentils)

1 slice of yellow pumpkin cubed

2 medium onions chopped finely

1 can of tomatoes

1 inch of ginger, sliced thinly

3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

1 teaspoon of chilli powder

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

1 teaspoon of garam masala

1 teaspoon of turmeric 

salt to taste

The method

Wash the dal and soak overnight in water. On the next day, either pressure cook the dal if you happen to have a pressure cooker or just boil the dal in water in a saucepan for half an hour. Pressure cookers are great time saving devices as they cook the food much more quickly and under pressure, in comparison to the humble saucepan 

Then, heat an amount of oil as required in a pot and when the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds. When the seeds start to splutter and pop, add the ginger and the garlic and allow to fry for 30 seconds, until golden brown. Onion is added with salt to taste and allow the onion to brown.

 Now, at this step some would add the spices and then the pumpkin and dal. I personally prefer the method in which I add the can of tomatoes and the spices, turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala and simmer the ingredients until the tomatoes become a paste. You could also use chopped up tomatoes rather than canned tomatoes, but I find that they take too long to break down. Alternatively, as my sister and brother in law in India would get fresh tomatoes and processed them in a food processor until it forms a paste. Everyone has their own trick to the trade. My trick is to put the canned tomatoes in, as I am impatient in cooking, after allowing the tomatoes to simmer for a few minutes, I take out my potato masher and start squashing them. It achieves the desired results regardless of how odd a method it appears to be.

Now, after the tomatoes form a paste add the pumpkin, some water and allow to simmer until the pumpkin starts to soften. I then add the dal, with more water and leave it to boil for a number of minutes. The heat is then reduced to a simmer for up to 20 minutes. The finished product of Masoor Dal is completed.

Now it is time for cucumber rita.

The ingredients:

1 medium cucumber

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

2 cups of plain yogurt

1 clove of minced garlic

2 tablespoons of chopped mint

Paprika to garnish

The method

Peel and grate the cucumber, removing any moisture.

Toast the cumin seeds in a frying pan for several seconds. Add the cumin seeds, crushed garlic, mint and cucumber to the plain yogurt and combined the ingredients. Finally sprinkle with paprika.

I prepared some basmati rice earlier in a rice cooker, to be served with the Masoor dal. It can be served also with roti, but as I have not made roti in so long that rice is the quickest and easiest alternative. So below is my finished product.