Mixed Lentil Curry / Mixed Dal Tadka.

January 28, 2014

Namastey !!!!!

Today i will be showing you how to cook an authentic punjabi food in its easiest way !!! All punjabi aunties please do forgive me if i have made it too easy and not fulfilled all the criteria of its authentic cooking process. But this is the way i am . I try and make cooking as simple as possible. This dish is cooked almost every fortnight in all punjabi families. I have a fascination for punjabi food. I love its color , texture and its consistency neither too thin nor too thick. And i also have a punjabi influence in all my cooking as i grew up amidst them. I would here like to mention the name of my moms closest friend mrs. neelam talwar kapoor whom i have seen cooking the most complex dishes with such ease and calmness right from my childhood that you will get to see little bit of punjabi touch in all my dishes ( even the way i prepare my tea ).

Today i will be preparing mixed dal tadka , one of my favourite dish not only because of its flavour but also because it takes such less time to cook. Now people would mostly advice you to soak the dal overnight or atleast 6 to 8 hours prior cooking and so on. But for people like me who decides what to prepare for dinner just before entering the kitchen ; therefore soaking the dal overnight is just not an option . I mean who decides a night before what they are going to prepare the night after (Spare Me ). So don't we have the right to cook and enjoy these delicacies?? Ofcourse we do !!! So here take a look how to prepare this recipe without the soaking part and cooking it instantly.

Cooking time : 30 mins
Serving : 4

Ingredients :

mixed dal ( 1 cup )
onion (4)
tomato (4)
green chilli (6)
ginger paste (1 tablespoon )
garlic paste (1 tablespoon )
oil ( 2tablespoon )
clarified butter/ ghee (1tablespoon )
salt to taste
cumin seeds (1 teaspoon )
turmeric powder ( 1 teaspoon )
red chilli powder ( 1 teaspoon )
coriander powder ( 1 teaspoon )
cumin powder ( 1 teaspoon )
kasoori methi (1 teaspooon )

Now the recipe :

Step 1 : Take a cup of mixed dal . Wash it and keep aside. ( its a mixture of mung dal , masoor dal , urad dal , arhar/tuvar dal , split mung dal & rajma ) as you can see.

Step 2 : Clean and chop the tomtoes , onions , green chillies , ginger & garlic as shown in the pic.

Step 3 : Make a ginger-garlic paste in a grinder or you may even crush them as shown in the pic.

Step 4 : Heat oil/ghee in a pressure cooker. ( i mixed 1tablespoon mustard oil , 1 tablespoon sunflower oil and 1 tablespoon of ghee/clarified butter ).

Step 5 : Once the oil is hot add 1 teaspoon cumin sedds to it , let it crackle.

Step 6 : Now when you start getting a nice aroma of the cumin seeds , add the onions and saute it till it becomes transculent. Then add the green chillies and the ginger-garlic paste as shown in the pic.

Step 7 : Mix the ginger garlic paste and saute for about 3 to 4 mins. on low heat . Now add the tomatoes.

Step 8 : At this stage mix and mash the tomatoes and continue to saute it until the tomatoes become soft.

Step 9 : Now add the spices (coriander , cumin , red chilli and turmeric ). Take a look.

Step 10 : Mix the spices well. See how quickly the color changes.

Step 11 : Now add kasoori methi . Have a look at kasoori methi.

Step 12 : Crush the kasoori methi in betwen yore palms and add to the masala.

Step 13 : Add the dal and salt .

Step 14 : Mix the dal well and saute dal for a minute .

Step 15 : Add 3 cups of water . ( adjust the measure of water depending upon the thickness you want for your dal ).

Step 16 : Now cover the lid , put on the whistle and let it cook for about 8 whistles.

Step 17 : After 8 whistles open the lid , check the seasoning and the softness of the dal. If you want your dal to more soft then you can cook it for another 2 whistles. ( normally 8 whistles are enough.)