Mung Bean Soup -- Moong Dal Ayurveda way

Mung Bean is BIG in Ayurveda. As I read through I see whole green mung(moong) dal referred to having magical and powerful effects. It seems to be as magical as the magical bean of Jack and the Bean Stalk.

"Mung bean soup pacifies all three doshas and is nutritious yet easy to digest. Mung Bean Soup recipe is used to clear even the most chronic, troublesome digestive issues and used to enhance overall health and vitality."

Really ??? You say to yourself. Those tiny shiny green beans and they want you to make a soup of it, a dal actually, and that dal is supposed to get rid of the toxins in your body ??? Whoa, and you fall right into it and before you know you have this big pot of green moong dal bubbling on the stove and you are having a bowl full of it everyday. It does not exactly detox if you follow it up with cut mirchi bhaji and samosas with your afternoon chai but what the...

Actually the green mung(moong) dal is pretty delicious. Made the Ayurvedic way without the onions and garlic, makes it not rich but very tasty. I deviated from the recipe a little and followed my Mom's way,added vegetables like cauliflower and carrots. I think greens like spinach would be a very good idea too.

The split and hulled moong dal, which is the yellow moong dal has equal magical properties and you can use that instead of whole green mung beans. The yellow moong dal cooks faster and is also easier to digest.

When you are making the mung bean soup and you want to follow the Ayurveda detox regime you need to determine which category you fall in. Depending on the dosha you have you have to use different spices. The recipe I have here is loosely based on Kapha Balancing Mung Bean Soup. I have used whole green mung and also the pressure cooker. You can use yellow moong and do it in a regular pot.


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Green Mung Bean Soup

Wash and soak 1 cup of whole green moong beans for couple of hours or overnight. You can skip the soaking if in a hurry.

Pressure cook the beans with double the water, little salt and 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder

Heat Ghee in a soup pot. I used Olive Oil about 3 tsp

Temper the oil with
1/2 tsp of Whole Cumin/Whole Jeera
1/2 tsp of Whole Fennel/Whole Saunf,
6-7 whole Fenugreek seeds/Whole Methi seeds
and a pinch of asafoetida/Hing.

If adding vegetables add them now and saute for a few minutes

Add the cooked mung beans

Add 1" ginger grated or pounded in a mortar and pestle

Add 1/2 tsp of fresh corriander powder and salt to taste. Mix well. Add about 2 cups of water and let the dal come to a boil. At this point you can blend the dal to make a puree, I do not.

Adjust for seasonings. Squeeze juice of a lime quarter and enjoy hot.

Alternately

Skip step 2 i.e. do not pressure cook the dal at the beginning. Instead start the whole process in a pressure cooker and pressure cook the dal after adding all the spices.

I am sending this off to MLLA -19 hosted by Simple Indian Food and the brainchild of Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook

Bhaja Moog er Dal -- sabji diye

I thought I was done with pre-holiday posting and could get on with my life with minimal cooking & much entertaining till the next week. Only 2 more days to a 4 day holiday weekend makes you feel like that.

But then there came the snow, and what a snowfall it was. Unlike the washingtonians who take their snow seriously and stock themselves up, we are more lackadaisical. We think, what will 12 inches of snow do to us as so we relax, until we see we are in deep sh** err snow and the pantry lacks bare necessities like onions and Marie Biscuit. Fortunately there were enough leftovers from the Friday night impromptu party, to tide over two meals. But the soul was still craving deep fried pakodas or something hot in a bowl.

What could a Bong female do in such a situation but make a bowlful of Bhaja Moog er Dal(Roasted Yellow Moong dal). She went an extra half mile, in her head, not snow and added cauliflowers and shrimp to it. That made it a bowl of warm, yellow goodness in the midst of a white snowy December.

In other news we have a Christmas tree this time, yeah our first time. The Christmas potluck party has decided to be hosted in our home and since we were asked not to cook anything except, ahem, Rice, the best we could do is bring home Christmas cheer in way of a cheap, $35 plastic tree. Sorry Charlie Brown, couldn't get a wooden Christmas Tree, this time.

Charlie Brown's Christmas on Hulu, free until Jan 1, 2010

And that brings on another question. Since Christmas seems to be all about Giving, how do you like Giving ? Do you like to Give where you are recognized as a Giver and can brag about it with a pink pin, a printed name, a plaque in your name or do you believe in selfless giving, where the giver actually keeps a low profile and giving is really about the other person and not you. Do you think 'Selfish' Giving is less moral and ruins the spirit of giving ? Read more...

Back to the Bhaja Moog er dal or the Dry Roasted Yellow Moong Dal, which with its nutty roasted aroma claims to be one of those landmark Bengali Dals. This Dal is rich enough to be served on important occasions like pre-wedding lunches etc. and also is served for comforting home lunches. This has a vegetarian version and a fishy version with fish head or a more international Bengali version with shrimp. The one here is a combination of the veggies and fish in form of cauliflower and shrimp. 

Get this recipe in my Book coming out soon. Check this blog for further updates. 

Bhaja Moog'er Dal

Roast the Dal Dry roast   1 & 1/2 cup of Yellow Moong Dal for 6-8 minutes at medium heat. You should not burn the dal in the process, as soon as you get a nice , warm roasted nutty aroma, you know you are done.   Note: Dry roast means, do not use oil, roast it dry. Wash the roasted dal in several changes of cold water. Cook the Dal You can cook the dal two ways. If using a pressure cooker, put the roasted and washed lentils in the cooker with double amount of water and a little turmeric. Cook for 3-4 mins at full pressure. If you are not using the cooker, put the dal with about 4 cups of water and a little turmeric in a pot on the stove top. Let it cook. The dal will bubble and froth, skim the froth. Add more water if necessary and cook till lentils are soft and edible but not mushy. This will take a good half hour to get cooked   Temper the Dal I have used cauliflower and shrimp here. You can make this completely vegetarian by using cauliflower and green peas or just green peas. You can also use greens like finely chopped spinach though peas and cauliflower are more popular choices. Clean and devein 8-10 medium sized shrimp, sprinkle salt and keep aside for 5 minutes. Chop quarter of a cauliflower in small florets. We need about 10-12 small florets. Heat Oil(or Ghee) in a soup pot/kadhai. Fry the shrimp with a little turmeric. As soon as they turn a light orange, remove and keep aside. Fry the cauliflower florets till they get little brown spots, remove and keep aside. Add a little more oil to the pot. About 1/2 tsp of ghee at this point works very well. Temper the oil with   1 tsp of Cumin seeds,  2 small bay leaf,  1" thin cinnamon stick,  3 dry red chilli. When the spices sputter, add   1 heaped tsp of fresh grated ginger or ginger paste. Saute for half a min and add the cooked dal. Add salt and mix well. If the dal is too thick, add about 1 and 1/2 cup of water and let it simmer and come to a boil. Add 1/4-1/2 tsp of sugar and mix. Add the cauliflower and shrimp, mix and switch off the heat. If you have not used Ghee as the cooking medium stir in 1/2 -- 1 tsp of Ghee and let the dal sit for 10 mins to soak the flavors before serving.   Note: I do not add ghee when I am making this for just us, so you can skip if you want but it does lend a lot of flavor. I like a slight hint of lime in my dal and so I added a tsp of sliced lemon grass to this dal. This is definitely optional but lends a nice touch. Eat this dal as a soup or with white rice. This dal goes to MLLA 18 hosted by Srivalli and started off by dear Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook

Cholar Dal -- uppity chana dal

I have no time today, really none, nada, no time at all. And yet I need to post this, which I cooked for no reason, really none but for Sra who is hosting MLLA -- 17. You can never imagine things you would do for a blog friendship and that includes sneaking upstairs to a darkened room to make a call to one's favorite blogger while real life friends and family banter down.

Cholar Dal is the dal with uber arrogance. It is a bit of a snob, not the kind you would like to come home to every day but the kind you would like to glamorize your dining table with when you have company. Standing alone, presumptuous, it might not seem to be the best thing to befriend. But when it has company with Kachuri or Luchi or even a Pulao it will dazzle you.

Cholar Dal narkel diye or cholar dal with coconut is a very popular bengali dish and is a fixed item on the menu on wedding feasts or during Durga puja bhog. It is mostly cooked on special occasions and that could be the only-son's-getting-the-visa-day to the only-son's-homecoming-day. Usually it is not an everyday dal though you could have it everyday and there is no one stopping you.

When I made it last week, I did not have coconut and so skipped it, instead I adorned the dal with almonds. It was delicious and all I wanted with it was some Kachuri. Maybe another day, another time.

This Dal goes to Sra for MLLA --17, brainchild of Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook



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Cholar Dal

Pressure Cook 1 cup of Chana Dal/Cholar Dal with
almost 2 & 1/2 cups of water
1 green cardamom,
1 clove,
1/4 tsp of turmeric
and little salt
for 6 minutes after steam has built up in the cooker or say about 10-12 mins on the whole. The lentils should be soft and cooked by this time, if not you need to cook more. Note: Once cooked, you may fish out the whole cardamom and whole clove from the dal. I will sometimes skip the whole garam masalas while pressure cooking and add only later.

Heat 1 tbsp of Oil (or Ghee) in a Kadhai or in a soup pot. Note: Ghee works best for this dal, if you don't want to use ghee as the cooking medium, add half a tsp towards the end for flavor.

Temper the oil with
1 small bay leaf,
2-3 green cardamom/elaichi,
2-3 clove/laung,
1" thin stick of cinnamon
and 2 dry red chili

Add a pinch of asafoetidia/hing to the oil

When you get the aroma of the spices add the cooked dal to the pot and saute. Do not add the dal water at this point. Reserve the dal water for later use.

Add a fistful of golden raisins, salt to taste, a pinch or two of turmeric and mix well. You can add a little grated ginger, I don't necessarily do it always.

Add about 1/2 - 1 cup of water and let the dal simmer till it comes to a boil. This dal will be on the thicker side and not very liquid, so simmer till it reaches a thick consistency.

Just before taking off the heat add 1/2 tsp of sugar and mix. Add 1/2 tsp of ghee if you have not used ghee for cooking. Taste and adjust for seasonings. Tip: If you are not used to whole garam masalas in your dal, fish out the cardamom, clove, bay leaf and cinnamon from the dal at this point.

Garnish with fried pieces of coconut. Since I didn't have coconut I garnished with blanched slivered almonds. You can also add a little grated coconut as the garnish.

Tip: A friend suggested adding a little Kasoori Methi to the dal at the very end for non-Bong touch. Have never tried that myself but she said it lends a nice flavor.

Mator Dal ar Begun Bhaja

The Earth's population will surge to EIGHT BILLION by 2025. With increase in population comes an increased demand of food. When this surging population consumes more food that it is able to produce, food prices skyrocket as it did last year.

While we balked at the rice price last year we also gradually became accustomed to it. It is not the same for all people though, higher food prices push more people towards poverty. A's nanny says in Bangladesh food prices are so high that it is hard for the middle class to feed themselves unless one member of the family works in the western world and thus earns high wages.

To meet rising food demand, intellectuals say we need another Green Revolution, the kind that doubled the grain production in Asia especially India during the 60s and 70s. Really ? Aren't theHigh-yield grain varieties, pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and the works that worked wonders at the time showing there wrath now. Why do you think villages in Punjab, our one time 'bread basket' are suffering the wraths of cancer today ?

A Greener Revolution may work better says an UN Panel. Duh ? Sustainable farming methods such as composting, crop rotation and interplanting with legumes has been proved to better soil quality, increase yield and reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers.

An interesting low cost project in norther Malawi in Africa, SFHC (Soil, Food and Healthy Comunities project) distributes legume seeds, recipes and technical advice for growing crops like peanut, pigeon peas and soy bean which enrich the soil by fixing nitrogen while enriching the diet as well. Farmers there say, that by crop rotation they have increased yield and cut down fertilizer usage by half.

The projects hogging the limelight however are those by the big shot foundations which focus on bringing Green Revolution to Africa with subsidized farming programs, fertilizers and hybrid seeds. (Source: NatGeo)

Which model will prevail will depend on the powers pushing them. But whatever it is, the surging masses needs to be fed and if that can be achieved with a lower ecological impact planet earth will have few more years of survival.



I love my legumes, a bowl or two of Dal a day keeps me happy. While my favorite is the Red Masoor Dal I rotate my legumes to take advantage of all. Mator Dal or Split peas are the dried peeled and split seeds of Pisum sativum. They come in yellow and green varieties. They have been mechanically split so that they will cook faster.

They are very different from the Indian Toor Dal or Chana Dal though they look similar

Though this dal is relatively common in Bengal, my Ma seldom made it except for in a Tak Dal and consequently I never did. A friend introduced this to me. And it is she from whom I got both the recipes. These are the two ways I have made Mator dal(Split peas) one with veggies the other without. For indexing purposes they are two separete posts.

Check out Sabji Diye Mator Dal or Mator dal with Veggies. Both these dishes go to MLLA # 12 hosted by Annarasa and initiated by none other than Susan

This lovely earthy Mator Dal was what I packed for lunch with some Begun Bhaja and a roasted grape tomato garlic salad. I always love having a bowl of Dal rather than a thick soup. Completely satisfying for both the soul and the tummy. The roasted tomato salad and the eggplants gave the Dal the color and pizzaz that it was missing being earthy and all

The Begun Bhaja or Fried Eggplant is a very simple Bengali delicacy. I see a lot of recipes where the Begun Bhaja is prepared with lots of spices but the ones I have had in my home or other Bengali homes and eventually make are always the simple ones with absolutely no spice other than turmeric. They do soak up some oil so I fry the slender japanese eggplants chopped in mini rounds to have smaller portions of begun bhaja, the oven baked ones are no where near in taste.

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Matar Dal/Split Peas

Wash and cook 1 & 1/4 cup of Yellow Split Peas in the pressure cooker with a little turmeric. You can cook in a pot too, it will take longer time though

In a deep bottomed pan heat 3 tsp Oil + 1/2 tsp Ghee

Temper with 1 tsp of Whole Cumin Seeds/Jeera, 3 cloves of garlic minced

When the spices splutter add half of a chopped red onion and 4-5 slit green chillies

Fry till the onion turns a nice pink and is softened

Add the cooked Dal and mix well

Add salt and desired amount of water. I think I added about 1-2 cups of water. Let the dal come to a boil

Just before taking off the heat add a little ghee and 1/2 tsp of Garam Masala powder


We enjoyed this simple Dal with some Begun Bhaja and a roasted salad.

Begun Bhaja

Chop a good quality eggplant in thick rounds or cut vertically

Wash well, pat dry and smear with little turmeric and salt. Set aside for 10-15 minutes

Heat Mustard Oil to smoking.

Slide the eggplant slices gently into the hot oil and fry till golden. Take out with a slotted spoon and drain on a kitchen towel

To make the roasted salad, in a decent sized aluminum foil throw together 12-15 grape tomatoes, quarter red onion chopped, 3-4 cloves of garlic, olive oil in fair amount and sea-salt. Close the foil to make a pouch. Bake in oven at 375F till the tomato skins are wrinkled up and garlic is soft

For lunch we had just the Dal with this salad and mini begun bhaja



Trivia: The yellow Split peas is the legume used to make Pease Porridge as in the popular children's rhyme "Pease Porridge Hot"

Mator/Motor Dal with Veggies

Mator Dal or Yellow Split Peas when cooked with vegetables like sweet red radish, yellow pumpkin and baby potatoes takes on a whole new avtaar. This recipe is from a friend and we thoroughly enjoyed this heart warming dal

Mator Dal with Sabji/Split YellowPeas with Vegetables

Wash and cook 1 & 1/4 cup of Yellow Split Peas in the pressure cooker with a little turmeric. About 5 mins at full pressure. You can also cook in a pot, only it will take some time.

In microwave cook 1/2 cup of chopped red radish, 1/2 cup of cubed pumpkin, 1/2 cup of tender-green cauliflower stalks. The stalks are optional, I did because I had some and my friend suggested I put them

In a deep bottomed pan heat 3 tsp of Oil + 1/2 tsp of Ghee

Temper with 1 tsp of Whole Cumin Seeds/Jeera, 2 cracked Dry Red Chilli and 10-12 methi seeds

When the spices splutter add the veggies and 3-4 slit green chillies

Fry for 3-4 minutes till you get a nice aroma of the veggies

Add the cooked Dal and mix well

Add salt and add water to get the desired consistency. Let the dal come to a boil

Just before taking off the heat add a little ghee. I did not add any this week but a little boosts the flavor

Garnish with lots of chopped coriander leaves

Update on June29th,2013: Today I cooked the same Motor Dal with Pumpkin and Edamame in pods. Also added some grated ginger towards the end. Awesome.

Masoor Dal -- revisited with Mangoes

So we all know about the rising food costs and the plunging economy. We also know about food wastage in the first world countries. Being born and brought up in a developing country we were not used to wasting food. Food or Anna was sacred for us, something to be revered. If I didn't eat up my food, my Ma reminded me about the kids who went without them and those kids weren't some that I saw in a magazine page, they were right outside my home. Food wasn't something to be thrown away unless it had gone bad or was spoiled beyond consumption and those situations were ardently avoided.

Here in my daughter's school they have this rule of throwing away leftover lunch. Even when the kids get home lunch, if they don't finish it up, they just throw it away. They cannot save leftover food for some quality adherence issues, and so perfectly good food goes to trash. Food that could have fed millions of hungry child finds its way in the compost heap. And this is not only with this school, I see a similar scenario in atleast all other pre-school/daycares.

I tell my daughter that we don't throw away food and we try not to at home. If she doesn't finish her lunch or dinner, either I just eat it (and now you know why Google puts adds like "Cut 1lb off your stomach" on my page) or I save it for later. Usually I start off by serving really small portions, and giving her more only if she wants it. But that is not always possible when I pack food for lunch. So how much food do your kids waste every day and what do you do to control it ?

On the other hand have you ever tried to keep a tab on how much your every day food costs ? Go over to this blog to see how two social justice teachers tried to eat at just One Dollar a Day for 30 days. They say it wasn't healthy though and no one should attempt to repeat it, so eating cheap is not healthy.

But really in our effort to eat right and Organic (expensive at least in my area) and go Local (which is again expensive where I live) how much are we spending on food some of which we might just be wasting ?

With Masoor Dal you can never go wrong and not eat it. A bowl of Dal is also pretty cheap even when you add a green mango. I had blogged about Tak er Dal earlier but with Matar Dal/Yellow Split Peas. Since Masoor Dal is a staple in my pantry I made Tak er Dal with Masoor & Green Mangoes this time. As BWM said in her comment, the orginal Tak Dal has a phoron or is tempered with Mustard Seeds & Dr Red Chillies, here I have used Paanch Phoran & Dry Red Chillies instead.

This Dal is a staple at my home in India only during summer because thats the season for green mangoes. Here I am guilty of buying a green mango, not grown locally and out of season, but at least I just got one mango and didn't waste any of it.


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This goes off to Susan of the very well known Well Seasoned Cook for MLLA - 8, she is the creator as well as the hostess of this legumy affair

Masoor Dal with Mangoes (Tak Musuri'r Dal)

Serves about 4-5 adults when served as part of a meal

How I Did It

Peel a green mango and chop in smallish cubes. I used half of this the rest including the kernel was saved for a small serving of ambol

Wash 1 cup of Red Massor Dal(Red Lentil) and boil with 3 cups of water, 3 slit green chillies, 1/4 tsp turmeric and salt in a heavy bottomed pan. Alternately you can cook the dal in the pressure cooker as I did here.

The dal should be cooked well, so well that the legumes will be soft and mushed up. After it is done, whisk the Dal with a fork or a whisk

Heat Mustard Oil (or any other Oil) in a Kadhai or a deep frying pan

When the Oil is hot, add 1 tsp of Paanch Phoran and 2 Dry Red Chillies

As soon as the spices sputter, add about 1 cup of chopped cubed green mangoes and 1/4 tsp of turmeric

Saute for some time say 4-5 minutes at medium heat. The mangoes will be pale yellow in color and have softened a little by now

Add the cooked Dal and 1 and 1/2 cup of water (I like my dal soupy and add more water)

Stir well and cover & cook at medium heat till mangoes are done. As the dal simmers it soaks up more flavor.

Add 1 tsp of sugar and salt to taste

Just before serving, heat 1tsp of Mustard Oil and temper with 1/4 tsp of Paanch Phoron and 2 dry red chiilies. Pour this over the dal to get more zing. I would suggest do not sidestep this and definitely use Mustard Oil for at least this step.

Have it as a soup or with Plain Rice

Other Similar Dals from my Kitchen:

Tak er Dal -- Yellow Split Peas with green mnagoes

Musuri'r Dal or Red Masoor Dal

Trivia: Interesting article on Decision between Organic & Local itself is not easy

Thai Vegetable Soup

Live in Nannies are not fun. Especially if they tell you "C Didi to apnar theke double mota chilo" ( C Didi (her previous employer) was doubly fat than you)

While Bong Mom wonders if she should be thankful that her fatness quotient hasn't reached the full potential, the Nanny continues, "M Didi to apnar theke koto slim, monei hoyna duita bachcha" (M Didi(apparently the most favored of all past employers) is so much slimmer, doesn't look like she has two kids)

Bong Mom hastily drops the cookie she was munching on and proceeds to make some soup in mortal fear of her bulging anatomy being discussed in the next Didi's house.

Now to the Thai Vegetable Soup which is a delicious one that I first had at my friend N's place. I was apprehensive at the thought of consuming so many "good for me" veggies at one go. But my fears were allayed after the first spoonful. It was warm, delicious, with the subtle hint of spice and very comforting with the thought that consuming such liquids might put your waistline back to there rightful position.

I am out of sync with most events in blogosphere but just saw this one and thought this soup would be a good entry as it has Red Lentils as one of its main ingredients.
So this goess off to My Legume Love Affair brainchild of Susan and hosted this time by dear Srivalli

Also since I am getting comments saying "Yellow" this goes off to Sunshine Mom' FIC Yellow

Thai Vegetable Soup

How I Did It

Heat 3 tbsp of Peanut Oil.

Add 2 tbsp of grated fresh Ginger and 1 small Red Chilli pepper finely sliced. I added 3 hot green Indian Chillies. You can also add 2 crushed dry red chili pepper.

Add 1 small Red Onion chopped and saute till translucent

Add 1 small parsnip roughly chopped, 4 large carrots chopped, 2 stalks of celery thinly sliced and 1 medium potato peeled and sliced. You can play around with the veggies, I added turnip instead of parsnip.

Edited on 01/31/11: Roasted a butternut squash with olive oil, salt, pepper and little honey. Instead of above vegetables used the roasted squash and potatoes

Add 1/4 tsp of Cumin powder and 1/4 tsp of Curry Powder and saute for a couple of minutes. I added about 1 tsp of Curry Powder
Edited on 01/31/11: Use a pinch of Garam masala in absence of curry powder

Add 1/2 cup of Red Lentil (our very own Masoor dal). Mix well and add about 6 cups of water or vegetable stock. Add salt.

If you have Kafir Lime Leaves add two of them. Instead 1 tsp of lime zest will do just fine

Cook till the veggies and lentil is done.

Cool and puree in batches in a blender

Bring back to a boil on the stove top. Add 1 cup of coconut milk (less is fine).

I added about 1 tbsp of fresh lime juice at this point, add according to your taste. Garnish with fresh corriander and basil leaves.




Trivia: Curry powder is a mixture of spices of widely varying composition developed by the British during their colonial rule of India. Yeah they made everything fanous from "Curry Powder" to "Slumdog Millionaire"

Green Moong in the Microwave

Mommy is tired, it is late Thursday evening, there are no fresh fruits for the next day afternoon snack at school, so Mommy retrieves the lone chocolate pudding cup from the pantry and packs it for snack next day.

“That is not a healthy snack”, pipes in the 4 year old whose snack is being packed
“Mmmmmm…” goes Mommy, “not very but it is ok to have once in a while”. Mommy reassures both the kiddo and herself. After all a chocolate pudding once in two weeks can do no big harm given bigger scheme of things like global warming or even tumbling economy, she thinks.

“Does it have sugar? More or less?”, the kid is relentless

“The sugar is high no doubt but it has some calcium too”, Mom tries to reach for the last straw frantically reading the nutrition content at the back of the pack. She has no other snack option left for Friday and it is either this or goldfish & pretzels at school

“Is calcium good?”

“Yeah calcium builds your bone and teeth and there is plenty in milk. But you are right about this pudding not really being healthy, maybe I will find you something else for tomorrows snack”, finally says Mom who is now guilty of her own doing

Am I glad or what? I like the 4 year olds awareness but I don’t want her or us to overdo it and then go on a junkfood binge in her teens. I feel a balance is necessary and if I deprive her of some things for too long, it will only be more coveted

I try to make her eat healthy but I am not paranoid about it. Edibles like chips, soda and candy were strictly prohibited till age of three. After that she was allowed some in moderation but since she does not like any kind of soda and chips are not stocked at home she gets to eat them only occasionally.

Given that she was a pretty picky eater initially and would not munch on her veggies, I see a great change in her however. For a long time the best way to get veggies into her were making her favorite chicken stew and rice. She liked eggs and also developed a strong love for fish by the time she was 3, and also became more experimental about eating around at that time. Though she wouldn’t still munch on a raw carrot she was more open to trying out new vegetables and even new dishes.

These days she eats a balanced Indian meal at home, ok maybe not everything that I cook but she tries out most of them. She is also more aware of the food she eats and even munches on baby carrots with a dip, piping in a question every now and then about the health benefit of the meal offered. Though aware of the golden arch, she is not really interested in them or their toys and happy to share a sandwich with us at Panera breads instead.

I think her school and her teacher also has an important role to play in her food and I am really thankful for that. ***Knock on Wood***.But for all moms who despair about their little ones meal habits, I can only assure it gets better so don't break your head over it.

This Whole Green Moong in the microwave is a quick and delicious way to get the goodness of the grain if you haven’t had the time to sprout them. You can soak them for a couple of hours or overnight. Since I did it for breakfast, I soaked them overnight.

This is usually eaten by itself and you can serve it for breakfast, lunch or snack whatever you prefer. Since my friend R~ taught me this we make it pretty often at home and you have infinite possibilities to jazz it up the way you wish.

I just realized I could send this for WBB#20 -- Balanced Breakfast at Mansi's Fun and Food. It has Whole Grains and also cucumber & onions, so it meets her requirement I guess, so there it goes.


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Green Moong in Microwave

What You Need

Whole Green Moong ~ 2 & ½ cups of the soaked moong

Whole Cumin/Jeera ~ 1tsp
Asafoetida/Hing ~ ¼ tsp
Green Chillies ~ 5-6 chopped fine

Fresh Ginger ~ an inch of ginger chopped in juliennes
Corriander Powder ~ 1 tsp
Amchur Powder ~ 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder (optional) ~ according to taste

Salt
Olive Oil ~ ½ tbsp

For Garnish

Finely chopped cucumber & red onions
Lime Juice ~ 2-3 tsp

How I did It

In a microwaveable bowl add olive oil, asafoetida, cumin seeds and chopped green chillies
Microwave for 2 minutes

To it add the green moong which had been previously soaked.
Add about 2 cups of water
Add fresh ginger, coriander powder, amchur powder and red chilli powder and salt
Microwave for about 10-12 minutes

Depending on the time you have soaked the moong, the amount of water and time to microwave may vary. This is the reason I do it in chunks of time.
After 10-12 minutes check the water and the moong. If it is not done and the water has dried up add some more water and microwave for 3-4 more minutes

Continue this till the moong turns soft and moist with no extra water

Garnish with lime juice, chopped cucumber and chopped red onions.

Have a healthy bowl


BTW, if you are a Mom and are on the verge of deciding on schools for your kid, you might find good information on Desi Momz Club this month. Most of them are about school admissions in India and you can send your input if you like.

Trivia: Mung bean starch, which is obtained from ground mung beans, is used to make transparent cellophane noodles

The Toor Dal Chutney

Toor Dal Chutney

I love filching from hotels. No not towels, linens, curtains or furniture but soaps and sometimes shower caps. Guess it is in my “purani jeans” that I inherited from my great Indian Middle Class brethrens. I am however no cheapo filcher, I carry away body wash and cutesy soap bars only from good and reputed hotels and not from every Days Inn owned by the patel brothers. (The days Inn might have recycled my soap but the better ones definitely trash them and don't re-use them if the wrapper has been torn and the soap sniffed at, so though filching is morally wrong I think I am helping the economy by not letting them throw away tiny unused soaps. God please forgive me)

The little S who according to the in-laws is 60% like my dear sis-in-law and remaining 39.99% like her Dad, the darling Hubby, has inherited the last but not the least 0.01% from me and that is alas the love for Hotel Toileteries. She goes gaga over the little soap bars that the Hotel has, treasures them, brings them back home and uses them on special days.

Now, the hubby who has been travelling extensively the last few weeks, came back home around midnight yesterday. The way he keeps fleeting in and out of the house, you would think it was his in-laws and not mine, who are visiting. But why do I complain, I get peaceful nights to sleep in, without the high pitched snoring that jolts me every now and then, isn’t that what every female wants?

Anyway, knowing little S’s love for those soaps and also because he did not have the time to get her anything, he had filched two white and green soaps from the hotel and gave them to the little girl along with a small stress ball with a lot of hype and excitement. The little girl’s face lit up when she saw them, excited she ran around showing everyone in the household the two precious soaps and the ball. She became benevolent and offered to share one of them with me too. She literally danced around and hugged D for her lovely gifts.

She hadn’t been half as happy seeing the puzzle and the Melissa&Doug magnetic board I got for her from Amazon two weeks back.

It was so beautiful to see her contented and happy with those tiny things. May she remain the same always, happy with what she gets and not asking for more. Amen.

Toor Dal Chutney added to Guacamole as a dip

India is an amazing country with 1.5 billion people, 28 different states, 7 Union Territories, and 1652 different languages.

In a country with such diversity it is not surprising to have a vast difference in cuisines from the North to South, The East to West and basically from each corner to the other.

So while Toor Dal is a must in the South Indian cuisine and hugely celebrated there, it is not often used in the cuisine from the eastern Region. The Moong and the Masoor are the dals which are favored over Toor here. So while my Ma will never ever run out of Moong or masoor, she will have to run out FOR toor if you wish her to cook it on a random day.

Both me & D have developed a love for sambhar however and I do stock Toor Dal in my pantry and also make sambhar often. The other way I make Toor dal is the way a friend from the UP belt taught me. The UP belt also love Toor Dal with dollops of ghee with their chapatti and I love their dal tempered with red-chillies, whole cumin seeds and garlic.

Toor Dal Chutney with Idli

Since I have not tried Toor Dal any other way I wanted to give toor dal chutney a shot and googled thus “toor dal chutney blog”. I came up with this, this and this. So be it, I decided and made a mean toor dal chutney, combining everything I read and things I consider to be a stamp of South Indian Cuisine. Refer to these blogs for exact measurment. This is my entry for JFI-Toor dal hosted by Lovely Linda who blogs at Out Of The Garden


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Toor Dal Chutney

This is what I did

Dry Roasted toor dal and dry red chillies till the toor dal was slightly browned and I could smell the warm aroma. Soaked them in water for 15 minutes.

Heated 1tsp oil and lightly sautéed a clove of garlic.

Put the roasted toor dal, dry red chilies and garlic in a grinder and made a fine wet paste.

Added salt and tasted. It still lacked what I felt was the south Indian flavor

In the 1 tsp of oil added some mustard seeds, a pinch of asafoetida and few curry leaves. Added the seasoning to the paste.

Mmmmmmmm…something still missing

Added a little tamarind paste and a little sugar.

Yes, yes, yes…loved it. Had it with mini rava idlis that I made out of MTR mix. But I loved the chutney by itself too.

Day 3

There was still Toor dal chutney left, no more Idlis and the household kept saying "the chutney was interesting" whatever that meant

Also I had some avocado and had made some guacamole with finely chopped red onions, lots of corriander leaves, green chillies, lime juice, salt and a little olive oil.

Since I was going to send this to the innovative Linda, I thought why not and added the guacamole to the toor dal chutney or vice versa, in 1:1 ratio.

I actually liked the result though the corriander leaves dominated the flavor.

Give it a try if you have both in hand as the next dip for your chip

Trivia: Toor dal or split Pigeon peas is also known as tuvar dal and arhar dal. They contain high levels of protein and the important amino acids methionine, lysine, and tryptophan. The Indian subcontinent, Eastern Africa and Central America, in that order, are the world's three main pigeon pea producing regions.

Tak er Dal | Mango Dal

Tok er Dal | Mango Dal | Aam Dal

Tok er Dal or Tauk dal,  a Dal with green mangoes, slightly sour and sweet is a favorite Bengali dal to serve during the hot summer months. It is usually made with Mator Dal(Yellow spilt peas) though in my recipe I often use a mix of Red Masoor and Mator Dal.

Tak Dal with Masoor Dal -- This is another version of the Tok er dal but with Red Masoor and spiced with paanchphoron

Beginning of each week, I start off singing “A B C D…” to myself while little S looks on quizzically. No I am not trying to teach her alphabets and neither have I taken the role of Cookie Monster. I am trying to remind myself of the letter of the week for Nupur’s A-Z of Indian Vegetables.

I start the week searching for an Indian Dish with the said letter whatever that might be. But I want to think up a nice exotic Bengali Name, or maybe a more exquisite Sanskrit One, or even one in Pali in my search of something different. I want the name to be lyrical, difficult to pronounce, a name that would give others no clue as to what I am talking about. I might be talking about my every day dal-chawal but I want a name like Lens Culinaris to adorn it.

What’s in a Name you would say or rather Shakespeare would say. But then Shakespeare never knew about k – K – Kkusm did he? Neither did he know of some of my esteemed Blogger friends who took the extreme step to change their names mid-way of their dazzling Blogging careers and some who are contemplating to change theirs. So as I say theirs lot in a name.

When I hear a lyrical name like “Ghugra”, I have a vision of Rajasthani Women dancing in their colourful “Ghahgras” and I desperately want to eat whatever “Ghugra” is. Same with a name like “Mor Khuzambhu”, the name says it all, I want to yell “Dil Mange More” like Aamir Khan did and even add a “Aha” at the end.

So as I chomped on my “Lau Ghonto” last week I was still searching for the “L” word…
But this week I am adamant, I let Lau (Lauki in Hindi) pass just because the name seemed very next door-ish but no not this week. I am not going to search for any veggie dish with “M” and let the week pass. I am going to send Nupur whatever I am having for lunch and she better like my regular Dal-Chawal with M for Mango thrown in. And hey whats better the dal I cooked is Matar Dal (Yellow Split Peas) , one more M, so that makes it M squared for Nupur’s A-Z of Indian Vegetables.

Tok er Dal | Mango Dal | Aam Dal

Tak er Dal in Bengali means a Dal which is a little sour in taste. Tamarind not being used much in Bengali cuisine its the green mango which is used to achieve the desired sourness. Mango Dal is a simple Dal cooked with raw green Mangoes usually during the hot hot summer months in India. It had to be cooked during summer because that was the Mango Season of course. Its beautiful how we always associated certain foods with season in India because of their sole availability during those times.

My beloved “Patel Brothers” manages to get his share of Raw Mangoes all year round so I can afford to eat Mango Dal with my fireplace on. Doesn’t have just the same effect though. Mango Dal and White Rice on a hot summer afternoon with the windows shut, the draperies drawn to hush the harsh light and the fan on the ceiling humming and stirring the hot humid air is just another story

Updated on 05/11/2016: Both my girls love this mango dal, however they always insist that the tauk er dal made by Didun (my Mom) tastes better. I have been dilligently working on this recipe since last summer and appears I did hit the nail this time.n I have updated the recipe with the changes.



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Tok er dal | Mango Daal

What You Need

Matar Dal (Yellow Split Peas) ~ 1/2 Cup (In absence of this try only with Masoor Dal)
Red Masoor Dal ~ 1/2 Cup
Water ~ 2-3 cup to cook the dal in pressure cooker

Raw Green Mango ~ 1 chopped into thick slices. Depending on your love for sourness and the sourness of the mangoes you might want to increase this amount. Decerasing is not a good option though
Green Chillies ~ 4 slit

Mustard seeds ~ 3/4th tsp
Turmeric ~ ½ tsp
Salt ~ according to taste
Sugar ~ 2 tsp. More if you are a sweet Bong :D like my Ma
Mustard Oil ~ to cook

Water ~ 2 cups or more
Ghee ~ 1 tsp to finish off

How I Did It

Wash the Dal and pressure cook with twice the amount of water. Time taken to pressure cook is little more than Masoor Dal but less than Toor Dal. Now go figure.
In my Futura pressure cooker it took 4 minutes. In a regular pressure cooker about 3 whistles.

Meanwhile peel the green mango and chop into longitudinal thick pieces
Heat Oil in a Kadhai/Frying Pan
Add 3/4th tsp of Mustard seeds and 4 slit green chillies
The mustards will splutter so cover it if you are afraid
Add the mango pieces and sprinkle 1/2 tsp of turmeric.
Sauté the mango for a 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle little water and cover to cook mangoes until firm but almost done..

Whisk the pressure cooked Dal with a Wire Whisk or Spoon and add it to the Kadhai
Mix well and cook for a minute.
Add about 2 cups of water and salt and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook. You may need to add a little more water if the dal turns too thick. The result should not be watery though.
Cook till the mangoes are fully mushy.

Add 2 tsp of sugar and take it off the heat
Have it with White Rice and any other veggies on the side. A tsp of Ghee adds to the taste of this Dal.

Note: Matar Dal is not same as Chana Dal though both look almost same. You can also try this recipe with Masoor Dal but never with Chana Dal . When using Masoor Dal a popular spice for tempering is Kalo Jeera or Kalonji



Trivia:The yellow Split Peas or Matar Dal have an earthier flavor than green peas. Scandinavians like to use them in soups, while the British use them in their pease pudding. It's best to buy them split, since split peas don't need to be soaked and cook fairly quickly. Source:Cook's Thesarus

My Comfort Soup ~ Red Masoor Dal

Ok so I have missed all deadlines, couldn’t submit an entry for JFI-Potato and I wanted to send a soup for Alanna, but am too late and have missed that too, almost, unless I really try hard tonight.

To console myself and to make good of the little time I had, I made my all time favorite comfort soup, a dal actually, the Bangali Musuri’r Dal or the Masoor Dal.
This is the Dal we, as in my family, look forward to when we are down, depressed, tired, anxious, worried or hard pressed for time. We make it quick, there’s no way you can lengthen the process anyway, have it with White Rice & Alu Seddho (mashed Potatoes) with green chillies and a quarter of a lemon on the side and bask in it’s warmth slowly forgetting the gloom that had shrouded us and feel content.
If I am in a good mood and do not need all that carb to lift my spirit, I have this Dal as soup and again feel contented.

This Dal is like my husband D, whom I can trust to warm up my car in the cold mornings even though we have fought the night before and googled for “marriage for dummies” earnestly.
This Dal is like my dear friend who lends me a patient ear and hears me bitch about D though I trust her not to believe anything I uttered while in an acerbic mood.
This Dal is like my Ma, whom I can call up at any time of Day or Night to complain about how hard a day I had and how the little one was throwing a tantrum and trust her to say how good little S actualy is and how I threw more tantrums when I was small.
This Dal is like me who lounges in a faded pajama watching inane serials in Sony (yeah we have that now, courtesy my parents) and scrambles at the nth moment to write up a post for an event which is almost over.
This is Comfort personified.

So here’s My Comfort Soup ~ Red Masoor Dal for Alannas’s Soup Fest hosted at her abode A Veggie Venture



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My Comfort Soup ~ Masoor Dal

What You need

Masoor Dal or Split Red Lentils~ 1 cup washed thoroughly
Onion ~ 1 red onion medium sized, sliced in thin long slices
Tomato ~ 1 firm red tomato chopped fine
Green Chilies ~ 2-3 finely chopped

For Tempering
Panch Phoron or Panch Puran (a Bengali Five Spice Mix) ~ 1 and ½ tsp

For Garnish
Lime Juice ~ 4 tsp of fresh lime juice
Corriander Leaves~ 3-4 sprigs

Oil
Salt ~ according to taste
Sugar ~ 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder ~ ½ tsp

How I Did It

Pressure Cook the 1 cup Masur Dal with 2 and ½ cups of water and a pinch of turmeric. Once it is cooked mix it well with a whisk. The time to cook depends on your cooker. I use a Futura which needs 3 minutes after the full steam build up.
Heat oil and add the phoron, or as we say temper with Panch Phoron. You can also use Kalo jeera/Kalonji/Nigella Seds if you do not have Panch Puran
Add the finely sliced onions and fry till they turn pink in color. Add the chopped green chillies.
Add the chopped tomatoes and cook till they become a fine pulp
Add the previously cooked dal.
Mix well.
Add salt, sugar and about 3-4 cups of water. If you feel you need to add more water do so.
Cook till you hear a nice bubbling sound. Remember to stir infrequently during this process.
Also continue cook till the thickness of the dal is according to your liking
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and lime juice

Also check out:
My Alu Posto and Musuri'r Dal
Another post Masoor Dal with BokChoy

Trivia : The optical lens is so named after the lentil (Latin: lens), whose shape it resembles (Source: Wiki)

Ma er Tetor Dal ~ Dal with Bitter Gourd

…or My Mother's Bitter Dal is a Dal or Lentil Soup with veggies like Lauki or Bottle Gourd and Karela or Bitter Gourd. This is also an entry for this week’s WHB from both me & my Mother.

I wanted to highlight the vegetable Karela or Bitter Gourd for this week’s WHB hosted by Anna of Anna's Cool Find. Karela or Korolla as we say in Bengali and its smaller cousin Uchche, which I can rarely find in the stores here, is a very popular vegetable in Bengali cuisine. As I said earlier (in Shukto post) the first course of a Bengali meal is usually bitter to cleanse the taste buds. The Bitter Gourd serves this purpose delightfully and so is much loved in Bengali households. Uchche Bhaja - Thinly sliced Bitter Gourd and then fried, Uchche Begun – Bitter Gourd and Eggplant chopped in small pieces and then sauted, Uchche-Alu Seddho – Bitter Gourd and Potatoes simply boiled and mashed with little mustard oil and salt are almost every day part of a typical Bengali cuisine. And Bengali cuisine doesn't want to get rid of the bitterness of Bitter Gourd, no way, they need that bitterness in full volume.
Me who did not love this bitter tasting veggie much had a hard time growing up as any one can imagine. Even now while D chomps on boiled Karela gleefully I swallow it down with water and sugar!! I guess it's an acquired taste and not everyone can appreciate the bitterness. However as I grow older or old as is the case, I appreciate this veggie more and try to incorporate it in some form in my diet.

Since my Ma is here, over the weekend I tried out this Dal with her narrating the steps and also judging each of my steps. Bitterness is mellowed down in this Dal and though it is called Tetor Dal or Bitter Dal, bitterness is just a mellowed fleeting taste intermingling with the subtle sweetness of the lauki or bottle gourd and the taste of the yellow Moong Dal itself. The "T" in Tetor is pronounced as "T" in Tai-chi with the tip of your tongue touching the base of your teeth

This Dal is best enjoyed with white rice accompanied with a veggie side or with some veggie fritters and usually served at lunch. This is served not only as an everyday dal but also if you are serving a traditional Bengali lunch.

You can also have it by itself like I did yesterday, a bowl of this Dal with some crisp salad of finely chopped cucumber and carrots in lime juice.

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Tetor Dal

What You Need

Split Yellow Moong Dal ~ 1 cup
Lauki or Bottle Gourd ~ 6oz cut into large cubes as seen in the above pic. I used a little less than half of a medium sized lauki
Karela or Bitter Gourd ~ 1 cut into small pieces as seen in the pic
Ginger ~ 2" grated

For Phoron or temperingMustard seeds ~ 1/2 tsp mustard
Green Chillies ~ 4-5 slit

Salt
Oil
Ghee ~ 2 tsp

How I Did It

Wash, Peel and chop the Lauki or bottle gourd in large pieces a seen in the pic.
Wash & Chop the karela or bitter gourd in small pieces as seen in the pic
Heat a Kadhai or Frying Pan
Dry roast the split yellow moong dal till you get that nice roasted smell and see the dal has browned very lightly
In a pressure cooker, cook the now roasted dal and the lauki with twice the amount of water i.e. dal : water in ratio of 1:2
Heat Oil & 1 tsp of Ghee in a Kadhai/Frying Pan. My mother uses Ghee but I used Canola and a little bit of ghee for that flavor. You can do this in ghee if you want
Sauté the chopped karela till they are lightly browned and remove and keep aside
Add 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds to the oil
When the Mustard starts sputtering add the grated ginger and slit green chillies
Sauté for a couple of minutes and add the pressure cooked dal and lauki
Sauté a little and add the fried karela
Add about 3-4 cups of water
Add salt and bring to a boil
Add about ½ tsp of Ghee before you take the Dal off the heat
Enjoy with white rice and other veegie sides. We had this with thinly sliced potato fries and hot white rice


Why Bitter Gourd is Good For you

This is a tropical and subtropical vine, which is widely grown for edible fruit. The fruit is among the most bitter of all vegetables. This is also known as Bitter Melon and there is a Chinese as well as Indian variety
The bitter melon more typical of India has a narrower shape with pointed ends, and a surface which is ridged. It looks like the one shown in the above pic and is known as Karela in Hindi and Korolla in Bengali. There is another smaller variety which is commonly known as Uchche in Bengal and is supposed to be more bitter.
Bitter Gourd aids or stimulates digestion. It is also very useful in treating Diabetes Melitus and helps control Blood Sugar. Compounds in this bitter vegetable may also be effective for treating HIV. Check Wiki here for more info.
Another Good Source of Bitter Gourd info -- here

Note: Pressure Cooker tips from IndoSunGod


Trivia:Other than India the Bitter Gourd also known as Bitter Melon is very popular in China, Vietnam, Phillipines, Bangladesh and Pakistan

Masoor Dal with Bok Choy

I love my Dal, not the “Dal Dal pe Chiriya baithe…” kind of Dal but “Meri Ma ki Dal ki kasam” kind of Dal :-). This reminds me, does anyone know how to make Ma ki Dal , like if I make your recipe of “Ma ki Dal” won’t it be “Tumhari Ma ki Dal” when I serve it and vice versa , is there a global one, like “Sab ki Ma ki Dal” ? Ok, that's it. Enough PJ’s on a dull day and let’s move on to my daily dose of dal.

Ok, so let me reiterate I simply love Dal, maybe not all kinds but most kinds. I think every region in India have their own choice of Dal, like in the Northern Region, Arhar Dal or Tur Dal is very common as a regular dal for everyday dal-chawal, in the Southern Region Arhar still holds strong being the Dal for Sambhar (correct me if I am wrong). In Bengal, the most popular Dals are Red Masoor, Yellow Moong and Chana Dal or Cholar Dal. Everyone eats the other kinds of course but I am talking about what you would cook everyday. Check out this site to know about all these dals or lentils in detail.

For me, I simply love Red Masoor Dal or Musuri’r Dal as I would say. Now Masoor Dal is generally made on its own and not cooked with veggies or greens in a Bengali home, it’s the yellow moong dal which is allowed to socialize with the veggie family.

Some years back I think I had first seen Sanjeev Kapoor cook Red Masoor Dal with Green Spinach or Palak and when I tried it, it turned out to be pretty good indeed. It was also a nice way for me & my family to get our daily dose of greens. My little one who is not exactly a veggie fan, eats this unaware and I am satisfied.

With the recent Spinach scare, I thought of an alternative and tried out Bok Choy the green much loved by the Chinese. I don’t know if it was the healthy benefits of Bok-Choy or the fact that “eating Bok-Choy keeps Chinese women thin” theory of mine which egged me into trying this rich green leafy vegetable.

So I made Masoor Dal with Bok Choy (as an alternative to Spinach) and I tell you it is very very good.

What You Need

Red Masoor Dal ~ 1 & 1/2 cup of dal washed
Onion ~ 1 small finely chopped
Tomato ~ 1 medium chopped
Garlic ~ 1 clove finely chopped
Ginger ~ grated about 1 tbsp
Bok Choy ~ I used 3 bunches of small Bok Choy nicely chopped
You can use spinach instead and it tastes as good, even better.
Green Chillies ~ 3/4 your choice, chopped. I didn't use any because this was also my daughter's dinner

Turmeric powder
Jeera or Whole Cumin Seeds ~ for tempering
Salt

How I Do It

Pressure cook the Red Masoor Dal with Tomatoes and a pinch of turmeric.
Since I have separators in my pressure cooker, I cook dal in one and the chopped bok-choy in the other. You can also pressure cook them together
Heat oil in Kadai/Frying Pan
Temper with the whole jeera.
When it starts sputtering add the chopped garlic.
As soon as you get the fragrant smell of garlic rising add the onions. Take care so that the garlic does not burn.
Saute the onions with a little sugar added until they turn a nice pink with a hint of brown
If you have steamed the dal and greens separately add the greens now, not the water only the greens and sauté else jump to next step
Mix the cooked dal (if it has the greens in it fine) well with a whisk so that the dal is all nicely mashed up and you don’t see the individual entities i.e. the dal grains. Now add it to the Kadai/Frying pan
Add the freshly grated ginger
After you have cooked them for a few minutes, add water to get your desired consistency.
Add Salt and allow the dal to come to a rolling boil.
I don’t like this dal to be very thick, but not very watery like say Rasam either. When your dal has reached the consistency you want, you are done.



Friday night this was our simple dinner, rice, masoor dal with bok choy and Cajun catfish baked with tomatoes. The Cajun Catfish was cat fish in Cajun marinade bought from the super store. I browned the catfish a little in a frying pan and then simply baked it with olive oil and tomatoes.

All this Bok-Choy compels me to discuss an author of Chinese origin I have grown to love. She is Amy Tan and her first book I read was "The Joy Luck Club". I loved it because of the interplay between immigrant Chinese mothers and daugter. Recently I bought "The Kitchen God's Wife" from our library book sale for a mere 5oCents and I liked this one too, albeit "The Joy Luck..." I liked better. Maybe because I am an immigrant mom with a little daughter, I could foresee the feelings, the tension I would face when she is growing up.

Trivia: Masoor Dal is considered as aamish or non-vegetarian in a traditional Bengali household. It is never offered during Pujas, whereas yellow Moong Dal is popular as offerings or as an ingredient for the prasad prepared during Pujas. Would love to know a plausible reason.

Alu Posto and Musuri'r Dal for lunch

Aloo Posto | Alu Posto

Aloo Posto or Potatoes in a poppy seeds paste is a favorite Bengali vegetarian dish which is more popular with Bengalis from western part of Bengal, the Ghotis. This dish is usually served with white rice and a light soupy Masoor dal or a Kalai er dal.

Aloo Posto is also very widely served with Kalai Dal or Biulir Dal

Loosely translated that’s Potato in Poppy Seeds and Red Lentil Soup for Lunch. Ok, that’s it, I would rather have my Alu Posto than this tough sounding dish.
Posto or Poppy-Seeds or KhasKhas is a popular ingredient for several dishes in Bengal, particularly in the districts of Bankura, Birbhum etc. I don’t know whether I loved it because it “induces euphoria and sleep” but I tell you it’s yummm and if you doze off to sleep after the above lunch that’s bliss too.

While Aloo Posto is the main side dish, the poppy seeds paste is also used to make another favorite called Kaancha Posto Baata or raw poppy seeds paste. This uncooked poppy seeds paste is mixed with finely chopped onions, green chilies, salt and mustard oil and had with rice

Aloo Posto | Alu Posto

What You need

For Posto:
Potato chopped in cubes ~ 3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed
Poppy seeds (Khaskhas/Posto) ~ 1/2Cup of the Poppy seeds paste or posto bata
Green Chillies – 2-3
Dry Red Chillies ~ 2 (optional)
Whole Jeera (Cumin seeds) ~ 3/4th tsp loosely packed
Salt
Turmeric Powder

Sugar ~ 1/2 tsp or none according to taste
Mustard Oil ~ 2 Tbsp for Cooking
Mustard Oil ~ a dash i.e. about 1 tsp of mustard oil to sprinkle on the top

For Dal:
Red Masur Dal
Finely Chopped Onions
Fresh Coriander Leaves
Chopped Tomatoes
Green Chillies
Kalo Jeera/Kalonji

How I do it

Grind the posto/poppy seeds to a fine powder. I use the coffee grinder which can be used to dry grind only. So afterwards I mix it with water to make a paste. The consistency of the paste should not be too watery. If you are wet grinding make a paste at one go.
Cut the potato in cubes and soak in water , else they develop black spots.
Chop or slit the green chillies.
Heat oil in a Kadai/Pan. Mustard Oil is preferred.
Add the whole Jeera/Cumin seeds and wait till they sputter. You can add 2-3 dry red chillies too.
Add the potato cubes in the oil with a pinch of haldi/turmeric powder.
Saute the potato lightly till they develop a golden tinge. Do not over or deep fry them.
Add the posto/poppy seeds paste
Cook on medium heat till the paste has uniformly coated the potatoes
Add little water (around 3/4 cup), adequate salt, and the chopped green chillies.
You can sprinkle very little sugar if you want.
Cover and cook till the potatoes are done. Also I make it dry so I wait for the water to dry up.
At this point you can add about 1 tsp of mustard oil and stir well before you remove from heat. Take care that the potatoes don't get mashed up though

Pressure Cook the Masur Dal with a pinch of turmeric
Heat oil and add the phoron, or as we say temper with Kalo jeera/Kalonji
Add the finely chopped onions and fry till they turn pink in color. Add slit or chopped green chillies
Add the chopped tomatoes and cook till they become a fine pulp
Add the previously cooked dal and mix well.
Add salt, little sugar and water.
Cook till you hear a nice bubbling sound. Remember to stir infrequently during this process.
Also continue cook till the thickness of the dal is according to your liking
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

The alu posto and musur dal go very well with plain white rice. My Ma used to make Urad Dal (or Kalai er Dal ) as an accompaniment with posto. Post that another day.

Updated on 3rd August, 2007: The original post did not have measures as I was still new to blogging. This post has been updated with the measure for alu posto. For the Masoor dal check my post on Red Masur Dal.

Trivia: Only unripe poppy seeds contain narcotic substances, not the ripe ones