Vegetable dal soup

[Toasted]

I know that there are probably a million variations of this type of soup. I've looked all over the web but I can't seem to find a recipe that tastes like the soup at my favorite Indian restaurant. I promise to actually follow the directions if someone would be kind enough to post a recipe. Btw: the vegetable dal I order is pale yellow in color, thin, slightly spicy- believe me, I've tried to re-create it many times with many failures. It seems like it should be easy but I just can't seem to get it right.

[mongo_jones]

most indian dals are not eaten as soups. the only possible exceptions that might be called dals in indian restaurants in the u.s are sambhar, rasam and the old anglo-indian standby, mulligatawny soup (all of these are thin and spicy and can be yellow, and can have vegetables in them). so, the first question is are you using the word "soup" because the dish in question is liquidy and can be eaten with a spoon, or is this something that is advertized as a soup in the soup section of the restaurant in question?

now among the other indian dals the ones that could be yellow are mushoor dal, moog dal, channa dal and arhar dal (have i forgotten any, people?). mushoor dal and possibly arhar dal can be thin--moog and channa rarely are. all are rarely prepared "spicy" or with enough vegetables in them for vegetable and dal to have equal billings in their names. if it was one of these you ate it was either an unusual prep or you have a very low spice tolerance.

in other words, i have been of no help at all. the best thing to do would be to ask the restaurant in question which lentil they use.

[Toasted]

It says "Vegetable dal soup" on the menu. I did try to ask about the ingredients the last time I went but there was a language barrrier and basically I have no idea what the guy was saying but I did get the vibe that he wasn't into sharing the recipe!

[Peppertrail]

.  Btw: the vegetable dal I order is pale yellow in color, thin, slightly spicy- believe me, I've tried to re-create it many times with many failures.  It seems like it should be easy but I just can't seem to get it right.

Could you identify what vegetables are used in this dal? In Andhra they make a mildly spicy Mango dal using semi-ripe mangoes and mung dal. I have seen this served as a thick soup in some Indian restaurants.

[mongo_jones]

i'll be very impressed if an indian restaurant in the u.s (assuming that is where toasted is) serves such a regionally specific dal.

[Toasted]

.  Btw: the vegetable dal I order is pale yellow in color, thin, slightly spicy- believe me, I've tried to re-create it many times with many failures.  It seems like it should be easy but I just can't seem to get it right.

Could you identify what vegetables are used in this dal? In Andhra they make a mildly spicy Mango dal using semi-ripe mangoes and mung dal. I have seen this served as a thick soup in some Indian restaurants.

No, nothing so exotic here in CT! The soup is pureed so it's hard to identify what vegetables are in it although I'm guessing carrots, potatoes, maybe tomatoes-I can taste ginger, coriander, cumin, lemon- again, seems like something I could make at home but the seasoning seems all off when I try.

[rajsuman]

Hi Melissa,

If you could post a photo of the dal soup in question, we might have better luck guessing what it is.

Suman

[Episure]

Dal soup is a regular item in most Middle East Arabic restaurants too. It just tastes like a thin unspiced dal.

Another instance of Dal soup is in Gujarati cuisine - Osaman, which is like Rasam in the sense that only the dal water is used.

[Toasted]

Hi Melissa,

If you could post a photo of the dal soup in question, we might have better luck guessing what it is.

Suman

What a good idea. I'll try to get there this weekend if I can.

[easyguru]

It could be dal shorba.

[Monica Bhide]

It does sound like a shorba.. if you tell us a bit more... I may have a few recipes for you

[Sleepy_Dragon]

Did it come with an idli or two? (white slightly tart disc shaped steamed cake of rice and urad dal)

Pat

[Edward]

I have tasted "vegetable dal soup" in many Indian restaurants and I have decided that vegetable usually means "vegetarian" because there was not a vegetable to be found. It was always just plain masoor dal(red lentils) made very thin and strained. Sometimes it would have a light lemony flavor. The only spices I could detect were coriander and turmeric. Does this sound like your soup?