Some more Dry Lentil Soups/Daal.

Items: Medium Size Pot with Lid & A Deep Wok style Ladle.

Ingredients:

1 cup of Tur Daal
½ tspoon garlic-ginger+green chilly paste, haldi (turmuric), dhania jeera powder,
1 tspoon gur (jaggri) or saugar,
¼ tspoon lime juice,
1 small canned chopped tomatoes
A Pinch of cinnamon powder.

For tarka/waghaar
1 ½ teaspoon cooking oil
¼ “ mustard
¼ “ whole jeera/cumin seeds
2-3 pinches hing (asafoetida) the yellow powder (it’s in the box yellow coloured little plastic jar)

Wash half to 1 cup of Tur Daal (Tur Lentil) with warm water 3 times. Leave aside to soak for at least 2 hours (if you'd like to cook it a bit later). Else pressure-cook it for 10-12 minutes if not soaked. (use 2& half cups water to pressure cook. Do not cook on high heat. Lower it to medium once you hear the first whistle). When cooked it’ll look smooth like paste. Switch the heat off and leave it cool.

Meanwhile put together all the ingredients to add to it later.

Heat the oil in medium sized cooking pot, add mustard, add jeera/cumin seeds when the mustard almost finishes splattering immediately sprinkle the hing(asafoetida powder) a pinch of cinnamon powder and add chopped tomatoes to it. Keep on stirring whilst adding the dry spices, sugar/jaggri, lime juice. Carry on stirring until it comes apart from the pan and you see the oil around the mixture. Now add the cooked daal and 2 to 3 cups of water. Mix it well (or stir it with a churner/egg whisker) and bring it to boil. Once it starts to boil, lower the heat to minimum and simmer it for 10–15 minutes. Keep a check that the daal doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan or ooze out whilst simmering. Else you'll loose all the goodness/taste. Switch the heat off after 10–15 mnts. Sprinkle some fresh coriander and let it stand for a few minutes and serve it with rice.

N.B: If in a rush put the pressure cooker under cold running water. Be careful not to lift the whistle before cooling sound stops. Lift the whistle with a cloth or prong.

By NinaPhiona Shukla ©