BM #109 : Week 2, Day 1
Theme : DEF – Curries

I am back in the blogging space after a really long time. Each time I take a break, it always seem to extend it beyond what I originally meant! Anyway, here I am finally with a theme that I should have kick started last month. It’s an ongoing alphabetical theme for the year and I have chosen Curries as my theme.

About the recipe here, it’s dal tadka. I have used red lentils (masoor dal) here, but this can be made with toor dal or moong dal with the same results. This pairs well with roti, naan or rice. It’s surprising that I don’t have any recipes for dal tadka in the blog though I have made this as part of some Thalis before.

Read on for the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup masoor dal
• 3 cups water

• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

• 2 teaspoons oil
• 1 small onion, chopped finely
• 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
• 1.5 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1.5 teaspoon garam masala
• A pinch of kasoori methi, optional
• Lemon juice to taste, optional
• Salt to taste

For tadka:

• 2 teaspoon ghee
• 1 teaspoon Jeera
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 2 dried red chilies
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder or chili flakes

Method:

1. Pressure cook 1 cup dal with 3 cups water And turmeric powder. Let the pressure release naturally. Keep aside.
2. In a pan, heat oil and sauté the onions. Once the onions turn pink, add the ginger garlic paste. Mix it in and add the coriander powder and garam masala. Mix it in. Add the dal and salt as needed.
3. If the dal is too thick, add some water, half cup at a time. Once everything comes to a boil, add the kasoori Methi and lemon juice. Mix well. Take off the heat.
4. For the tadka, heat ghee in a small pan. Add red chilies, jeera and mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds crackle, add the chili flakes or chili powder. Take off the heat and add to the dal. Serve with rice or roti.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this Week