Bengali Arhar dal with Jeera

[sankarson]

Bengali Arhar dal with Jeera

Serves 3 as Main Dish.

Arhar or Toor dal (pigeon pea) is one of the most common dals in India. This is the bengali way of making it, tempered with ginger and jeera. This dal - the name for toor dal in Bengali is not to be confused with Urad dal. The recipe calls for chillis, as almost every Indian dish does; please use dried Indian chillies. Mexican chillies taste different and should be avoided.

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For the dal

• 1 c Arhar (Toor) dal
  
• 3 c water
  

For the tempering

• 1 tsp grated ginger
  
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
  
• 1 bay leaf
  
• 1 dried red chilly
  
• 2 T ghee (or cooking oil)
  
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)
  
• 1 pinch hing (asafoetida)
  
• salt to taste
  

Soak the dal in some warm water for 15 min or so, then drain

Boil the dal in water (1 cup to three cups of water) till moderately soft (about 20 min). It should be soft but not completely mushy. Mash the dal lightly, making a thick soupy mixture with bits of whole dal.

In a pan or karahi, heat oil till nearly smoking and add bay leaf and dried red chilly. Then add the jeera seeds. These should crackle and release a distinctive aroma immediately. Then add the ginger, stir quickly and pour into the dal. Add salt to taste serve hot with rice. The sugar is optional, but Bengalis always add sugar to this dal. The Hing is also optional, but really adds a unique edge to the dal.

Keywords: Main Dish, Beans, Indian, Vegan, Easy

( RG1296 )