Garlic & cumin flavored lentils...

Cooking lentils is fun. I love trying out different ingredients with lentils and my all time favorite is lentils with garlic- Garlic flavor works like magic with lentils. No matter how much you love eating from outside and trying different restaurants, there are times when you want to eat a simple dinner at home, nothing fancy….Garlic dal/Garlic lentils is my comfort food and I can cook them without much sweat.  The recipe is simple & would leave you wanting for more. Nothing else to dilute the garlic flavor- no fancy ingredients- just plain old garlic sauteed in butter (clarified butter) with a hint of cumin.

You can always improvise the recipe and add onions or tomatoes and cook the lentils with garam masala. But if you are fond of garlic and want the flavor of garlic to shine through, then this recipe is a winner!

Garlic & Cumin infused lentils

Ingredients

• 1 cup toor dal (yellow Pigeon peas)
• 1 cup mung dal (mung bean/ golden gram)
• 8-10 garlic cloves (chopped)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Clarified butter/butter for cooking
• 2 green chillies (chopped fine)

Instructions

1. Pressure cook the lentils till they are soft.
2. In a pan add butter and once melted add cumin seeds.
3. As the cumin seeds begin to sputter saute garlic & green chillies.
4. Add the cooked dal/lentils mixture to the pan and cook on a low flame for few minutes. (add a bit of water to make it soupy).
5. Adjust salt according to taste and serve hot with chopped coriander for garnish.

Published @ Honest Cooking - http://honestcooking.com/2011/11/03/garlic-and-cumin-flavored-lentils/

Exciting Lentils (dal parantha- Indian flat bread stuffed with lentils)

I was in mood for something special- not the same old boring dal and roti or dal and rice. So I am raking my brain and in hunt for something sizzling! I was surfing TV when I landed up on this cookery show where they made some spicy dal. Then suddenly it dawned on me, why not make the dal interesting by filling it in a roti and making dal parantha?? So, I took time to make some lovely paranthas- come, join me for a bite- won't ya??

What goes in?

For the filling-

1 cup Chana dal- soak it for an hour or two in water.

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1 green chilli finely chopped

1 tsp Garlic and ginger paste

1/2 tsp Garam masala

1/2 tsp Coriander powder

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

salt according to taste

Other minor ingredients required for filling- 1 onion chopped, 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves.

For the base-

wheat flour

water

salt

Preparation-

1. Knead the flour with salt and water to a smooth dough (add oil towards the end to make it silky). Set it aside (I used about 11/2 cups of flour, you can use as per your requirement).
2. In a pressure cooker, heat oil and add cumin seeds. As the seeds begin to sputter add garlic-ginger paste, green chilli pieces. Cook for few seconds on a low flame.
3. Add garam masala, coriander powder, red chilli powder and salt.
4. Rinse the lentils thoroughly in water and add them to the above cooking spices.
5. Add around one cup of water and pressure cook the lentils till they are soft and have absorbed all the water.
6. Once the lentils are soft and well cooked, gently smash them with a spoon.
7. Add the chopped onions and coriander leaves to the cooked lentils, mix them thoroughly and ensure it is a dry mixture and not sticky- our filling is ready!
8. Now, take a small ball of dough and flatten it with a rolling pin.
9. Add around 1 tbsp of filling in middle and fold it to a pouch (with filling in middle).
10. Flatten this pouch on a lightly floured surface to a medium sized round shape.
11. Cook the roti (both sides) on a frying pan with sufficient oil.
12. Serve hot with mango pickle and raita! Enjoy-

Rich and Flavorful- Dal Makhni (north Indian lentils recipe)

Dal Makhni is a very popular dish that is served in Indian restaurants. People generally assume that this lentil dish is healthy - The word "Makhni" means with butter and this lentil dish practically swims in butter and cream. But the taste is gorgeous and just melts into your mouth. It is assumed that if you can cook a good dal then you can manage the Indian cooking well. I like the dal without cream or butter and love to keep it simple. But when you crave for something rich and need that perfect restaurant dal then this dish is worth the effort.

What do we need?

Whole black gram (sabut urad dal)- 1 cup
Red kidney beans - 1/2 cup
Grated ginger- 2 inch piece
Butter- 4 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Onion- 1 big sized (chopped)
3 medium sized tomatoes (chopped)
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Fresh cream - 1/2 cup
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing
Garlic - chopped (7-8 cloves)
Salt according to taste

How did I make it?


Soak urad dal (black gram) and red kidney beans in water overnight. The next day, drain and pressure cook it with half portion of the grated ginger till they become soft (reserve the other half portion of grated ginger for later use). Melt butter in a pan. Add cumin seeds. As they start to change color, add onions. Fry onions till they become golden brown. Add garlic, remaining ginger and tomatoes. Cook till the tomatoes are mashed and has mixed well with the rest of the ingredients. Add cooked dal to this. Add two cups of water and adjust salt according to your taste. Mix red chilli powder, garam masala powder and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Add fresh cream and mix well. Cook your dal on a low flame for 5 minutes. Serve with rotis/rice. Works great with naan! Garnish with coriander leaves and decorate it with a bit of cream.

There are two versions of making this dal- with/without onions- I find it more flavorful with onions and it really adds that zing to your dal!