BM #110 : Week 4, Day 1
Theme : A to Z theme – Curries

My love for Gujarati food started a couple of years back when two of my son’s friends started having sleepovers at our place. The kids all play for the same cricket team, so sleepovers are common when you have games and practice back to back in summers. Whenever those kids stay over, I prefer to make this dal and some curry and serve it with rice and roti. Slowly this has become one of the regular recipes at my place. I really like the simplicity and the taste of this dal. It pairs so well with rice, especially basmati rice.

There is no single recipe for a dish like this, every house has its own version. The basic thing is to cook the dal and then do a tadka with the spices. What goes into the tadka is what makes it unique to each family. Some people add peanuts. A little Lemon juice is a good substitute if you don’t have kokum, but again it’s optional. Ginger and green chilies add a lot of flavor to this dish. I add a tomato if I am in the mood, sometimes I skip it.

Read on for the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup toor dal
• 4-5 pieces of kokum, optional

Tempering:

• 1- 2 tablespoon ghee/oil
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoon grated or minced ginger
• 2 green chilies, minced
• 10-12 Curry leaves
• A good pinch of hing
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder, or per taste
• 1 tablespoon jaggery / sugar
• Salt as needed

Method:

1. Pressure cook dal with 2 cups of water and kokum (if using) for 8-9 whistles. I keep it for 8 in Manual Mode in Instant Pot. Let the pressure release naturally.
2. Once the pressure is released, take the dal out and mash it with a ladle to make it smooth.
3. Heat oil/ghee in a big pan. Once it’s hot, add mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves. Wait for mustard seeds to splutter and add the minced ginger and green chilies. Add tomato, turmeric powder, chili powder and salt. Mix everything well and add the dal.
4. Add one cup of water, jaggery. Let it come to a boil. Taste test, adjust seasonings if needed. If the dal is thick, add another cup of water and bring it to a boil. Take off the heat and serve with rice and roti.

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