My youngest sister is visiting. She and her family have just returned from Basel, Switzerland. I am planning the menu with some of her favorites. As a little girl, she used to love Moong dal or Masoor dal mixed with rice, a little curry gravy, and butter until it was mushy. Mama would make the mix into little bite-sized balls to feed her. It was an easy way to get her to eat, and the tradition was continued with the grandkids.
Moong Dal
A hearty lentil soup, packed with flavor and tempered with aromatic spices to satisfy the pickiest eater!
Ingredients
- 1 cup moong dal ( )
- 5 cups water
- 1 tbsp tumeric powder
- 1 oz fresh ginger (grated or finely diced)
- 4 pods fresh garlic (grated or finely diced)
- 1 medium Serrano chili (finely chopped)
- Salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Sort lentils and clean of any grit. Rinse at least 3 times. Placed in a large pan, cover with water, and let it soak 30 minutes. This will hasten the cooking process.
- In a large pot (at least 4-5 quarts as lentils expand when cooked), add the lentils, tumeric powder, fresh ginger, garlic, Serrano chili and salt.
- Cook on medium-high heat for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the lentils are well blended but not too mushy. Approximately 30 mins. If the lentil appears too thick, you can add some hot water to bring it to the desired consistency. Dals are like thick soup and not runny.
- Turn heat down to very low and tadka (temper) using one of the following methods.
Tempering #1
- 2 tbsp cooking oil or ghee½ medium onion, chopped fine1 medium tomato, chopped¼ teaspoon red chili powder (optional)
- Heat the oil. Add the chopped onions and sauté for 3-4 minutes until the onions are half brown.
- Add the tomatoes and sauté for another 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes lose their moisture and the oil rises to the surface.
- Add the chili powder (optional) and stir.
- Pour the seasonings into the prepared dal. Stir the dal mixture and let it cook again for 3-5 minutes so that the seasoning is absorbed.
- Garnish with fresh green coriander before serving.
Tempering #2
- 1 tbsp cooking oil or clarified butter (ghee)1 tsp cumin seeds½ tsp cumin powder½ tsp garam masala¼ tsp red chili powder (optional)
- Heat the oil. Add the cumin seeds and brown lightly for a few seconds.
- Turn off the heat, and add the cumin powder and garam masala.
- Pour the tempering over the prepared dal and stir. Cook for another 5 minutes to absorb the spice flavors.
- Garnish with fresh chopped coriander before serving.
Notes
You can also add cumin seeds and the cumin powder and garam masala to Seasoning #1. There are no hard or fast rules. Just a matter of your taste!
Dal is usually served with a sabzi, rice, or roti and condiments like pickles, papads, or raita.
I love this dal with just plain boiled Basmati rice and spicy Indian pickle.
Remember, cooking times may vary depending on your altitude (it affects the boiling point of water as well as cooking time—no kidding!) and, of course, there is the amount of heat from your stove. If you want to cut the cooking time, you can also first boil the dal in a manual pressure cooker or Instapot. Follow the manual's directions for cooking the lentils. I time it less than the manual indicates, that way I can control the consistency of the dal to my liking.