Friday 11 March 2011

Yellow is definitely the new black (or you can also call it Amritsari Dal)

I flip through cookery books at the library and then something fancy catches my eye and I end up borrowing it. Then it stays on my shelf till I have to return it, (that is, if by chance I open it and find out I'm not late as yet... I mostly end up paying a fine) with hopes of wanting to try some recipe from the book vanishing in thin air. So this time too I ended up picking a book by Madhur Jaffrey (I had no flippin clue who she was..in fact I thought it was a he till I saw her picture) and was adamant I would try out at least one recipe from the book before I returned it. And I did -with great difficulty- but I did, that's the important thing...yaaaayy. 

When Ria posted a question on FB asking what according to you was comfort food, I replied saying rice, dal, pappad, pickle and beef fry. And then I wondered, according to me comfort food also has to be something I can whip up in a jiffy. Pappad, I have a packet at home all the time (thanks to it being compared to crisps here in UK, they now sell fried ones in packets), pickle, the stock from home still adorns my pantry shelf and rice, its just so much more easier now that I follow Jamie Oliver's method (till then I used to dread the soaking and draining and all that). I was stuck at dal and beef fry. Beef fry, I thought is icing on the cake...I mean it would be nice to have it as part of a meal, but then I can do without it too, if I have all the other stuff.
That brought me back to dal..something that does take a lot of time for me, but something I love, love, love (stressed it enough?). And then I stumbled upon the recipe for Amritsari Dal in MJ's ancient book Flavour's of India and decided to give it a go, still assuming its gonna take time. But boy was I surprised. This is like the easiest and tastiest dal recipe evah. The lesser the ingredients the better it is for me...and if it tastes good, damn good for me (and Ro too since he washes up after my cooking expedition).

Amritsari Dal (more or less adapted from Flavour's of India by Madhur Jaffry)
Mung dal- 25 gms
Masoor dal- 25 gms
Toor dal- 50 gms
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Water- 2 1/2 cups
Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida- a pinch
Onion- 1 small, thinly sliced
Green chilli- 1, chopped
Finely chopped ginger- 1 tsp
Finely chopped garlic- 1 tsp
Fresh Coriander leaves- a handful (optional) or dried ones- 1 tsp
Garam masala- 1/4 tsp (optional)
Lime juice- 1/2 tsp
Ghee- 2 tsp
Salt- to taste
Wash and drain the dal's and put in a pressure cooker with turmeric powder, 1 tsp ghee and enough salt. Stir and cook till about three whistles. Once pressure releases, open lid and keep aside. Add more water if you feel the dal is too thick.
In a deep pan, heat the remaining 1 tsp ghee and splutter the cumin seeds.
Add the asafoetida and give it a good stir.
In goes the onion, green chilli, ginger and garlic. Sauté till they are nice and fragrant and wilted a bit.
Add the coriander leaves and chilli powder and stir well.
Pour the cooked dal into the pan with the masala and mix well. Check for salt, add if required.
Sprinkle the garam masala over the top and mix it in. Simmer for a few minutes. .
Add the lime juice, give one final stir, garnish with coriander leaves and serve with love.
Notes: You can add a tomato instead of the lime juice. I didn't because chopping one up was tedious at that point
The recipe calls for urad beans and chana dal. I didn't have either, so I used all these. I had seen other recipes online using masoor and toor and mung dal. 

Sending this over to Ammalu's kitchen who is hosting My Legume Love Affair this month, brain child of Susan from The Well-Seasoned Cook.

41 comments:

Indian Khana said...

Looks delicious n comfort food ..a must try I guess :)

Padhu Sankar said...

I prepare it often with fried potatoes .Such a comforting food.
Lovely pictures as usual .

Unknown said...

Dhal is always comforting...looks very tempting. Lovely clicks too

Rumana Rawat said...

What a beautiful presentation.. the yellow color looks awesome:) why dont u send it to my event:)

Torviewtoronto said...

delicious way to eat dal I usually make without the toor looks wonderful and this would be a good addition

Unknown said...

Hey,

Simple,healthy and tasty...:)

Dr.Sameena@

http://www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com/

Swathi said...

Awesome comfort food, dal with rice is always yumm.

Suji said...

Beautifully presented and captured Dal,Nisha..

Sandhya Hariharan said...

Lovely :) Dal is ever comforting...
I m surprised to see the name Amristari Dal is soo much universal.... for differnt combi's

divya said...

OMG,it looks gorgeous and tempting

Unknown said...

Lovely Dal presentation! YUM!

Vimitha Durai said...

That looks soooo tempting... Lovely pictures...

Suja Manoj said...

Perfect comfort dal..must try this,looks yummy

Simplyfood said...

Simple but delicious.Best things in life or kitchen are un complicated ones and this dhal looks uncomplicated.:)

Nithu said...

Dal looks absolutely delicious. Nice pics.

Tanvi@Sinfully Spicy said...

Comfort food for me.Looks amazing.Love the chillies flaoating on top and piece of yellow jute

Satrupa said...

LOL ..... I am so glad I am not the only one who borrows cookery books from the library and ends up returning it with a fine without trying a single recipe. You reassured me that the planet has plenty others like us :p.

By d way the Amritsari daal looks very comforting.

Cheers,
Satrupa

http://satrupa-foodforthought.blogspot.com

Priya Suresh said...

Wat a bowl of delicious and comforting dal,inviting..

Namitha said...

Well, I return most of my library books like that too. Not only recipe books, but the other ones too :(
Yellow is a great color to be pictured, rt? :-)

Prerna@IndianSimmer said...

There's nothing more comforting and homey than a bowl full of dal! This is what can warm you up inside out!

notyet100 said...

dal looks so delicious,perfect click too,.

Prathima Rao said...

Delicious daal!! Making this for lunch today as i have already cooked some mung dal...Thx for sharing!!
Prathima rao
Prats Corner

Monet said...

I love her....I bought her World Vegetarian book for Christmas. So many good recipes! Thank you for sharing this delicious meal. I hope you have a beautiful weekend. Thanks for getting mine off to a tasty start!

Sushma Mallya said...

Looks delicious, perfect with rice:)

Jaisy James said...

looks delicious n nice click too

Rekha shoban said...

cute preparation n healthy dal!

Binys Recipes said...

wow i love the recipes,photography and the chef...simple dal presented in a gr8 way

Kulsum@JourneyKitchen said...

Damn - Look how sexy you make thedal look.Yum! ;-) I love MJ by the way but have never came across this recipe -I'm surprised this is called amritsari dal as we make it at home and call its Kafti dal(got it on the blog) sans the hing.

Kulsum@JourneyKitchen said...

My bad ;-( here it is http://www.journeykitchen.com/2010/09/mix-dal-tadka-indian-lentils-soup.html Forgive the crappy pictures by the way

Sailaja said...

yumm

aipi said...

Homey, comfy n always satisfying!


US Masala

Shah cooks said...

i can come over for a comfort lunch at ur place any time.. that is my idea of comfort too!!

Lawyer Loves Lunch said...

Heh, I love the title (and pictures) in this post! :)

Unknown said...

Lovely clicks, Nisha..Loved this recipe..Will surely give it a try soon..Bookmarked!

Deepti said...

Simple n healthy recipe..

Loved visiting ur lovely space...glad to folow

http://www.panchamrutham.blogspot.com/

Cool Lassi(e) said...

This dhal looks gorgeous..And I love the way you present the food..I have to take some tips from you! Plus I dig all your porcelain cups and mugs!

Sarah Naveen said...

Oh yeah ..yellow is the new black :)...
I have more or less the same recipe from MJ's book...

Nice clicks Nisha..I making beef today ;)

Eat Hearty said...

First time to your site, dal looks so yummy and the chillies on it looks real cute :)




Ankita
http://eat-hearty.blogspot.com/

Suhaina said...

wow...wonderful clicks...love to have some roti now...yumm.

Sanjeeta kk said...

What a lovely presentation and a flavorful Dal!

Raks said...

Lovely looking dal,beautiful presentation,always love dal with hot steamed basmati rice!