Amma ka Daal (Mom's Lentil Recipe)

Name: Amma ka Daal (Mom's Lentil Recipe)
Total time: 3600 s
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1.5 cups Pigeon Pea (Toor Dal) or 1.5 cups Red Lentils (Masoor Dal); 1/4 tsp Turmeric; 1 tbsp Ghee (Clarified Butter); 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds; 3-4 green Chillies; 4-5 cloves Garlic (finally chopped); 1 large Red Onion (finally chopped); 2 Tomatos; 1/4 cup Cilantro (coriander leaves); to taste Salt

Anmen @culinaryadventurer

My ultimate comfort food is cumin rice (Jeera Chawal) with this dal. This is my mom's recipe, so truly meri maa ki dal. It's a very simple recipe with very basic ingredients. The best part of this dish is that the spice mix can be made in bulk and frozen for use later. I don’t encourage it but as our days get busy this may be a great time saver.

There is an interesting story behind this humble staple dish on our table. For many years, we could never get my mom’s taste in our dal. During one of my mom’s cooking sessions, my wife and I shadowed her like understudys, noting every detail of her cooking to the minutest details. Our dal would never get her taste. Then we realized that one of the key ingredients that gave this dish a unique velvety satisfying flavor is ‘smoked ghee tadka laced with cumin”. Be kind and don’t skimp on this step if you really want to get the flavor right.

Anmen @culinaryadventurer

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Ingredients

1 hour

6 servings

1.5 cupsPigeon Pea (Toor Dal) or 1.5 cups Red Lentils (Masoor Dal)
1/4 tspTurmeric
1 tbspGhee (Clarified Butter)
1/2 tspCumin Seeds
3-4green Chillies
4-5 clovesGarlic (finally chopped)
1large Red Onion (finally chopped)
2Tomatos
1/4 cupCilantro (coriander leaves)
to tasteSalt

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Steps

1 hour

1

Wash the lentils till the water runs clean. Add turmeric to the lentils and pressure cook on medium flame for at least 6 whistles. If you are using instant pot, pressure cook for at least 30 min, till the lentils are completely mush.Heat ghee (Substituting oil/ reducing the quantity will compromise the taste) in a Kadai/ frying pan, add cumin, cook till it is fragrant. Add garlic and green chilies. Make sure that the garlic doesn't burn.
2

Add onions and fry till it is brown. This step is essential. Caramelizing the onions ensures the dish has a rich flavor. Add tomatoes and mix well. Cook covered on low flame for the mixture to amalgamate and become a mush like texture. Add coriander leaves when the tomatoes are fully cooked. I store at least half of this mixture in a jar and freeze for later use.
3

Add the cooked dal to this mixture, with the required amount of water. Add salt to taste and cook on medium flat for 5-10 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with Jeera rice/ plain basmati rice. Pure nirvana!

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Cooksnaps

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Anmen @culinaryadventurer

on June 20, 2020 01:59

What is the point of keeping your talent, passion and creativity within you. Unleash it; change the world, one meal at a time :) We are sharing recipes that are either inventive or have taken years to perfect and are near to our hearts. It is also a tribute to our loving parents, whom we call umpteen number times in the middle of the night, when disaster strikes the recipe, asking them for help to resuscitate our dish. We promise to make every step accurate and clear. If you ever cook one of our recipes and don’t get the results, all I can say to you is that; we have been there and done that. You will figure out ways to salvage your dish unless you have turned it into a piece of charcoal. Even then you can try scraping off the carbon and see if there is a diamond inside. The diamond is the experience and the joy of cooking.