Easy Peacy Dal Fry

When Ro works from home, my whole routine goes for a toss. He's quite a pain in the ass. Since we have an open kitchen, the noises are not that suttle either. I am not allowed to use the pressure cooker, blender or even open the tap if he's on a conference call, leave alone watch tv which i fight against, and so am allowed to watch on the lowest possible volume. Also, I would need to make lunch if he is around and not laze around all day on my comfy couch facebooking, orkutting and chatting.

Last Tuesday was one of those days and the usual rice, curd, some veggie and cutlets were on the list (all left over and cutlets are always a saving grace. Have a set frozen and saved for a rainy day). But i ran out of curd and so was stuck as to what to make, that too something quick, so Ro wouldn't start his tantrums...yes he gets nasty when he's hungry. I had the instant MTR Rasam mix which was the easiest, but we had just finished it a few days back and i didn't want to repeat it. With no other option, i wearily decided on Dal Fry, thinking it was such a tedious task. Well...this easy recipe my mom passed on, proved me wrong. It was ready in no time.

Dal- 1 cup (toor dal or moong dal or maybe even a mix)

Water- 2 cups

Tomato- 1, chopped up

Onion- 1 small, thinly sliced

Ginger garlic paste- 1/2 tbs

Chilli pwd- 1 tsp (or less,according to your taste)

Turmeric pwd- 1/4 tsp

Garam masala- 1/4 tsp

Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

Coriander pwd- 1/4 tsp or even less

Asafoetida- a pinch

Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

Oil- 2 tbs

Salt- to taste

Coriander leaves- to garnish (optional)

Wash dal and cook with water in a pressure cooker for about 2 whistles. Wait till the steam subsides and open lid. Keep aside.

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat oil and fry the cumin seeds, make sure you don't burn it. Add the chopped onions, salt, Ggp and fry till the onion becomes a light brown colour. To this add the chilli pwd, turmeric pwd, garam masala and the tomatoes and cook till the oil separates. Add the cooked dal to this, stir well, check for salt and spice and add as required. Bring to a simmer. Remove from fire and keep aside.

In a small pan, heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, coriander pwd and asafoetida and pour over the dal. Mix well and just before serving, garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Notes: If the dal is a bit too thick, you can add some more water and loosen it. You can also have this with roti.

The tadka part is completely optional.