Have you shopped on Devon Street in Chicago? Yes? Then you
already know that it’s a little India – clothing, groceries, restaurants, and
people. We recently took a ½ hour detour on our way through the windy city to
visit Devon street and to purchase some spices and dal.
“What’s dal?” you ask. Dal, or dhal, or daal, is quite
simply a split, dried pulse.
“What’s a pulse?” you ask. A pulse is a pea, bean, chickpea,
or lentil.
The first time I ever entered an Indian grocery, I was
speechless at the variety of dal and beans and lentils and chickpeas. It’s
crazy how many types of legumes exist! And the spices! We are really limited in
choice in the American spice aisle when compared to the Indian spice aisle.
We ended up purchasing two large bags of dal (dried, split
beans): a mung bean and a chickpea, both dried and split, and so now called dal….
or daal, or dhal.
I’ve had to put on my detective cap and search far and wide
to learn how to prepare these tiny beans. Soup is the obvious first choice, but
last night, I made this Moong Dal Tadka.
“What’s tadka?” you ask. Tadka means ‘tempered’ …. in other
words, ‘all the spicy goodness you add to the dal to make it taste great.’ In
this case: ginger, garlic, jalapeno, cumin seed, garam masala, and pepper.
Moong Dal Tadka (adapted
from vegrecipesofindia.com)
For the Dal
¾ C moong dal (dried split mung beans)
1 medium onion, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 inch of fresh ginger, minced
¼ t red pepper powder
½ t turmeric powder
3 C water
1 medium onion, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 inch of fresh ginger, minced
¼ t red pepper powder
½ t turmeric powder
3 C water
For the Tadka
1 T butter (Earth Balance)
1 T vegetable oil
1 t cumin seeds
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
¼ - ½ t garam masala powder
¼ t red pepper powder
1 jalapeno, diced (with or without the seeds, depending how hot you want it)
1 T vegetable oil
1 t cumin seeds
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
¼ - ½ t garam masala powder
¼ t red pepper powder
1 jalapeno, diced (with or without the seeds, depending how hot you want it)
Place the dal ingredients in a pressure cooker and process
for about 10 minutes. I suppose you could simmer it all on the stove also.
Warm the butter and oil over medium heat. Add the tadka
ingredients being very careful not to burn the garlic! Just warm and soften it
all.
Mix together and serve with white rice. I also served frozen
peas with a bit of fresh spinach and fresh chives.
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