Food is considered medicine in India. The dish you make is like a magic potion and the ingredients help you balance your mind, body & soul. I have learnt to love cooking and I have some firm favourites that I fall back on when I want something simple & wholesome. As I cannot share the food, I will share the recipes with you.
Protein rich lentils
Did you know the lentils used for Dal varies regionally.
The recipe for how you cook varies regionally too.
Ingredients:
- Red lentils Dal – 2 cups
- Onions (chopped) – 1 or 2
- Garlic (chopped) – 3 cloves per cup of Dal or so
- Turmeric – half a teaspoon
- Oil to fry
Optional ingredients:
- Tomatoes (chopped) – 2 or 3 ripe
- Cumin seeds – 1 tablespoon
- Star Anise – 2
- Bay leaves – 2
- Cloves – 4
- Cardamom – 2
- Dried red chillies or fresh green chillies – 2 (if you want spice)
- Salt as per taste
These ingredients are optional and use what you have. Adjust as per your taste.
Step by step instructions:
Part 1:
- Soak the lentils in warm water for at least 15 minutes before cooking.
- While it’s soaking, gently fry the cumin, star anise, bay leaves & cloves in a deep pan with oil.
- When it’s slightly brown, add in the onions and garlic.
- Fry till the smell makes you hungry and the onions turn brown.
- Add the red chillies or green chillies and keep frying for a minute longer.
- If you have tomatoes, add them in now. Fry till it goes a bit soft.
Part 2:
- Add in the soaked lentils into the pan.
- Add water. The water is generally double the quantity of lentils plus a little bit more.
- Add the turmeric and salt to taste.
- Let it cook.
- If you have a pressure cooker, then cook it all together.
- Cook till the lentils are soft and mushy. Its mushy when you can’t see the individual lentil grains
Serve with rice or with chapati. Or if it you add a little more water, you can serve it as a soup.
Let me know how you get on.
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