Mussoor Dahl
beans, indian, vegetables
1 cup red lentils
500 ml water (depends on desired
1 texture)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon kalonji
1 teaspoon ghee (can use oil or
1 clarified butter)
1 salt to taste
1 serrano peppers
1. Wash the lentils. Add the water, bring to a gentle boil. Some scum will develop, from lentil dust, and surfactants in the lentils. Skim it off.
2. Add the turmeric powder. (Doing this before the scum is removed causes the turmeric to float up with the scum, and it is then lost. If you do not skim the scum off you will have problems with the mixture boiling over). Do not postpone adding the turme
3. Pierce the sides of the peppers (or slit them), and drop them in. Boil gently, almost covered, till the lentils are comletely cooked. If necessary, add some water along the way. The end product should be fairly fluid.
4. Remove the peppers, homogenize the mixture with a hand mixer, drop the peppers back in. .SH "Make the tarka:"
1. Heat the ghee, preferably in a wok, which makes it easy to deal with the very small quantity of oil. Add the kalonji.
2. As soon as it stops sizzling, add the cooked lentils rapidly. You may want to let the oil cool briefly, so that splattering is avoided. .PP --- SEE CAUTION BELOW. THERE ARE RISKS FOR THE CARELESS. ---
3. Salt to taste (0.5 to 1 tsp), mix, simmer briefly, serve. .SH Variation: .B Materials: As before, except: .IP skip the kalonji .IP use somewhat more ghee add: .IP 1/8 - \)14 t sp cumin seeds .IP a modest handful chopped onions .B Procedure: The only difference is in the tarka. Cook the lentils as before. .B "Prepare the tarka as follows:"
1. Heat the oil. Add the cumin seeds. Stir-fry for a few seconds. Add the chopped onions, and sautee.
2. Pour in the cooked lentils. Salt to taste. Serve. .IP "CAUTION: ADDING THE LENTILS TO HOT OIL MAY CAUSE SPLATTERING." .PP If you are not experienced at this, allow the oil to cool first. Also, against the intuition, there will be more splattering if y
Difficulty : easy. Precision : measure ingredients.
Recipe By : Shankar Bhattacharyya sbhattac@rnd.gba.nyu.edu,
Yield: 1 servings