The Simple Dal Curry

Dal can be made in a variety of ways and with minimum ingredients too. Yet this simple dish can be very tasty, homely and healthy too. Once we tried this dish at a Five Star hotel and was lost in wonder at the cost for a small dish of the same! How did this simple dal end up so costly! Anyway, the dal I make for rice is different from the one for chappathi or the Indian bread. The color changed depending on the dal I use.

Dal Curry

Ingredients

1. Dal (Toor dal or Whole Green Dal) - 1 1/2 Cup
2. Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
3. Cumin Seed - 1 tspn
4. Garlic - 2 cloves
5. Green Chilly - 3 nos.
6. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tspn
7. Small onions - 3 chopped finely
8. Red chilly - 1 broken into pieces
10. Coconut to fry - 1 tspn
11. Curry leaves - few leaves
12. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn

Toor Dal Curry

Green Dal Curry

Method

Boil the dal with turmeric, salt and green chilly in a pressure cooker. 3 whistles will do. Grind items 2 - 4 well. Pour the mixture into the boiled dal and check for water. If the curry is too thick, one can add more water. Let it boil. Switch off the fire.

Take a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add the red chilly, curry leaves and onion. Let them brown. Finally add the coconut and let it brown too.  Now add this to the waiting curry and enjoy!