The Goodness of Dal

I have never been a huge fan of Dal (Lentils). Mostly because, as a kid, I was forced to have Dal almost every day of my life. I have been living away from home for the past 5 years. Needless to say, in these 5 years, I have had very few encounters with Dal. Every now and then, I would have Dal at restaurants or whenever I visited my parents back home.

I was recently inspired by one of my good friends, Neha to start cooking Dal. Her arguments were simple- It is really fast to cook and is really healthy. I finally gave in and let her show me how easy it was to make it. Funnily enough, the day she was showing me how to make Dal all hell broke lose. A 45 min max cooking time turned into a 2 hour long fiasco because I ended up dropping Dal all over the kitchen and cleaning the mess up. But I saw her point- its one of the simplest, fastest things to cook and extremely tasty and healthy if you don't spill all the Dal on the floor that is :).

After a month later, I finally cooked some Dal myself and totally loved it.

Ingredients:
1 Cup Dal (I used Toor Dal, but you can use any Dal)
1 Small Onion
1 Tomato
4 tbsp of Shan Dal Mix
1 tbs Ginger Garlic Paste
1 Green Chili
3 tbsp Oil/Ghee/Butter
Salt to taste
Red Chili powder to taste
3-5 Cups of water (Depending on what consistency you like)

Steps:

This is what it should look like after Step 5

1) Rinse the Dal (lentils) thoroughly. Soak the Dal in water for 15-20 mins. Do this first and then start the prep.
2) Cut the onions, tomatoes and green chili.
3) Heat the oil in a pressure cooker for 2 minutes.
4) Add the onions and saute for 2-3 minutes on medium flame. Then add the ginger- garlic paste, a pinch of salt and mix for 1 minute.
5) Add the tomatoes, green chili and mix for 2 minutes. Add the Shan Dal Mix and stir for 2 minutes.
6) Add the soaked Dal and water. Add Salt and Chili powder to taste (optional).
7) Cook in pressure cooker until 2-3 whistles.
8) Serve with Basmati Rice.

Serves up to 4-6 people.

Try it for yourself and let me know what you think. Enjoy!! :)