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Panchmel Dal: Five Legume Medley

3 Jan

Panchmel Dal - Five Dals with Fenugreek

Mixed legumes cooked with whole spices and fresh fenugreek, topped with a rich ghee-garlic tadka. Panchmel dal is one of those rare dishes that are complex and, at the same time, comforting.

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Chow Chow Dal: Chayote Squash Dal

12 Oct

Chow Chow Dal - Chayote Squash Dal

Dal and chow chow (chayote), when cooked together, give you a dish with wonderful texture and taste. The juicy pear-like chow chow softens and melds into dal, adding an interesting counterpoint to the dal’s “porridginess”. When I want to do a bit more with chayote than make an easy stew, I usually turn to this chow chow dal recipe.

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Methi Toor Dal Dry, with Caramelized Onions

14 Apr

Methi Toor Dal Dry with Onions

Methi toor dal dry was a revelation when I first tasted it. I was keen to learn what ingredients and techniques went into preparing this flavorful dish. My friend’s mom who had cooked the meal for us assured me that the secret was just a generous addition of onions,  and the patience to caramelize said onions on low heat.

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Dhansak: Parsi Dal and Vegetable Medley

18 Jan

Dhansak, Kachumber, Aloo, Berry Pulao, Grape Chutney

Dhansak – in which legumes, vegetables and aromatic spices come together in a celebration of Persian and Gujarati flavors. The name tells us as much: “dhansak” comes from dhan (Persian for “seed” – legumes) and sak (Gujarati “shaak” – vegetables).

This recipe is a meatless take on the dhansak template, with plenty of vegetables and a freshly prepared dhansak masala.

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Poi Saag Toor Dal: Basale Leaves and Yellow Lentils

12 Dec

Basale Leaves with Yellow Lentils

I love cooking greens with toor dal – my go-to combination is spinach toor dal, mostly because spinach is easier to procure than other greens. When I do get my hands on poi saag (basale leaves/Malabar spinach), I alternate between cooking them in Bengali style or Andhra style – this poi saag toor dal recipe closely follows the Andhra style as in Sailu’s excellent blog.

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Goji Berry Dal Tadka

8 Sep

Dal with Goji Berries

While wolfing down gobi manchurian, I wondered what to do next with my pack of wolfberries. That’s when sudden inspiration struck me. Allow me to present goji berry dal tadka, a happy marriage of Indian dal tadka with the Chinese “superfruit” goji.

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Express Mooli Sambar: Radish Lentil Stew

2 Jan

Mooli Sambar

A quick method of making mooli sambar: everything in the pot, pressure-cooked, topped with a tadka. Ideal for days when you don’t have too much time for the kitchen.

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