This basic legume soup is eaten in one form or another with almost every Indian meal. Serve with rice, chapatis and your favorite Indian dishes.
Ingredients
1 cup dal (use moong dal, toor dal, or yellow split peas)
4-5 cups water (varies with dal type and desired thickness)
2 tsp turmeric
4 TBL light oil or ghee, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
1 TBL Monsoon Balti
1 TBL ginger, minced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
Salt to taste
1-2 TBL Kerala Chaunk (depending on desired heat)
Small bunch cilantro or parsley, chopped
Yoghurt
Instructions
Wash your dal in several changes of water and drain.
Combine the dal and water in a heavy saucepan, cover and carefully bring to a boil.
Lower heat, add turmeric and simmer gently for about 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally until the dal is soft. Add more water if it gets too thick during that time.
Whisk the mixture to a smooth consistency
In a separate frying pan over medium heat, add 1 TBL ghee or oil.
Add onions. Sauté 2 minutes.
Add Monsoon Balti. Sauté 1 minute
Add ginger and tomatoes. Sauté 2 minutes.
Add to the saucepan and simmer for 15 mins.
Add the remainder of the oil to the frying pan and bring to a medium heat.
Once the oil is hot, add Kerala Chaunk and stir constantly until the seeds darken and begin to sputter. For a hotter dal, simply increase the amount of Chaunk.
Fold the oil and Kerala Chaunk into the saucepan and let sit for five minutes. Salt to Taste.
Garnish with cilantro or parsley and a bit of yoghurt.
Categories: Kerala Chaunk, Monsoon Balti, India & South Asia, Low
Buy Spices Used: Kerala ChaunkMonsoon Balti