lentils Archives | The Indian Foodie

In Recipes

Moth/Matki Sukha Sabzi (Sautéed Moth Bean Vegetable)

Dals are an integral part of an Indian meal, and we have a variety of them. With the abundance of dals and the many ways to season them, we could have a different dal every day of the month and not repeat a recipe!

One of my favorites is a small brownish bean, rather like a whole green moong bean, called moth (pronounced moat) or matki. These lentils are highly nutritious and can be prepared in a variety of ways.

This particular recipe uses sprouted moth beans. It makes a great anytime snack or a side dish to a meal. Sprouted beans can also be used in salads.

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Moth/Matki Sukha Sabzi (Sauteed Moth Bean)

Prep Time 2

Cook Time 20

Total Time 2 20

Servings 4

Moth/matki lentils make a great anytime snack or a side dish to a meal. Sprouted beans can also be used in salads.

Ingredients

1 cup moth beans
1 medium yellow or red onion (chopped)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp red chili powder (or to taste)
⅛ tsp garam masala
½ tsp amchur powder (or 1 Tbsp lemon juice)
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cooking oil
1 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro (coriander leaves) (for garnish)

Instructions

To Prepare the Dal

Sort the moth beans clean of any grit.
Pour into a medium bowl or pot. Wash the moth about 4 times, rubbing the beans gently between your fingers.
Add 4-5 cups of water. It should be enough to cover the beans by about 2 inches. Leave to soak overnight or for at least 4 hours. Strain the moat and wrap them in a moist muslin/cheesecloth. A clean kitchen cloth will also do.
Now, put the wrapped beans into the bowl or pot. Sprinkle water over them, cover them, and let them sit for two days. Be sure the cloth is kept moist so that the moth can sprout.
After two days, they should be sprouted. Not all of them will sprout sometimes, but that is fine. If half are still not sprouted, leave them for another day to continue sprouting.

To Cook

Lightly rinse the beans and set aside.
Peel and dice onions reasonably small. About ¾ cup is good.
Place a medium pan or skillet on medium heat. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan.
Add the chopped onion.
Sauté for 4-5 minutes until translucent and the edges start to turn golden.
Now add all the powdered spices and salt. Sauté for 30 seconds. Don't let the spices burn.
Add the sprouted moth beans. Stir gently so the beans are coated with the spices.
Add ¾ cup of warm or hot water.
Cover the pan with a lid, lower the heat to medium-low, and let simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans are soft but not mushy.
Sprinkle with lemon juice or amchur powder and gently stir the dal.
Pour into a serving bowl and garnish with the chipped cilantro.

Notes

This dish can be used as a stand alone snack, a roti side dish, or a wrap.

For salad, toss with some chopped onion, tomato, and cucumber.

To use as a chaat (street food): Toss with boiled potatoes and sprinkle some chaat masala over it with a drizzle of sont (sweet and tangy tamarind sauce).

If you have a bean sprouter, you can use that to sprout the moth.

Course: Side Dish, Vegetarian

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: moth, sabzi, sprouts

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In Main Dishes

Khichdi (Rice and Lentil Porridge)

By The Indian Foodie

A tasty one-pot meal that is satisfying, khichdi is one of my comfort foods. It is a porridge or thick soup made of rice and lentils. This was Mama’s go-to meal for us as kids anytime we were sick and had lost our appetite due to the antibiotics. She also gave it to us if we had an upset tummy, as khichdi is easy to digest.

I fix it to take a break after overindulging in too many fatty or fried foods!

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Khichdi (Rice and Lentil Porridge)

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings 4

A tasty one-pot satisfying meal, khichdi is a comfort food made of rice and lentils.

Ingredients

¾ cup rice
1 cup yellow lentils (dhuli moong dal)
5 cups water
1 inch ginger (peeled and finely chopped)
1 tsp Turmeric (haldi)
1½ tsp salt

Tadka (Tempering)

1 tbsp desi ghee, butter, or oil
½ tsp cumin (zeera) seeds

Garnish

2 tsp desi ghee or butter
1 tbsp chopped cilantro or parsley leaves (optional)

Instructions

To Cook

Pick and clean the rice and dal of any grit.
Wash the rice and dal thoroughly.
Soak for 30 minutes to reduce stove-top cooking time.
Strain and put the rice and dal into a deep heavy bottomed cooking pot.
Add water, ginger, turmeric, and salt.
Bring to a boil on medium-high heat.
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook partially covered as rice and lentil expand when cooked, and the broth might overflow.
Stir in between to avoid burning.
Simmer covered until rice and dal are well blended and tender—approximately 25-30 minutes.
The consistency should be like a porridge or thickish soup. (You can also add less water if you want it on the firmer side).
Remove the pot from the heat. Taste and add more salt if needed.

To Tadka (Temper)

Heat the desi ghee, butter, or oil in a small frying pan.
Add the cumin seeds (be careful of oil splatters).
As soon as the cumin starts to splutter (30 seconds), turn the heat off. Pour into the cooked broth.
Stir and let it sit for 5 minutes to absorb the flavors of the tadka.
Pour into a serving dish or individual bowls.

To Garnish

Garnish with the desi ghee or butter and chopped cilantro leaves.
Serve with plain yogurt, Indian pickles, or papads (lentil wafers) from your local Indian grocery store.

Notes

1. Yo

u can start with the tempering, then add all the other ingredients and cook. This works well when using a manual or electrical pressure cooker. Just follow the cooking times on the manual and reduce the water to 3 cups.

2. If the khichdi gets too thick, you can adjust the broth by adding more hot water.

3. You can also substitute red lentils or split green moong bean lentils for the yellow lentils.

4. Different styles of khichdi involve vegetables and more spicy tempering—recipes I shall share later.

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: lentils, porridge, rice

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In Main Dishes

Dal Tadka

By The Indian Foodie

Dal Tadka is one of the favorite dals to be found at dhabas (roadside restaurants) along with ma sabat dal. The spicy tadka along with the ghee or butter or both makes it special. Whenever Cook was sick or on vacation and I was working late at the airport, my husband would pick up one of the dals along with tandoori rotis. It was always a treat as anyone who has tasted dhaba food will tell you. In spite of the visibly unhygienic look of the dhaba, we would sometimes pick up dals or rotis hoping the heat of the fire would kill all germs! Dal Tadka is traditionally a North Indian recipe and is enjoyed with roti or any kind of flatbread. I like it with rice. Once you serve any of the traditional relish, pickles, yogurt, and papads with the dals, it becomes a complete meal.

Though normally made with toor dal (ar-har/pigeon peas, today I am fixing it with a combination of toor dal and masoor dal (red lentils).

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Dal Tadka (Spicy Tempered Lentils)

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 35

Servings 6

A spicy, healthy lentil soup packed with nutrients and proteins.

Ingredients

1 cup toor dal
1 cup masoor dal
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp salt (or to your taste)
6 cups water

Tadka (Tempering) - Step 1

2 tbsp cooking oil
1 medium onion (chopped fine)
3 medium tomatoes (chopped)
1½ tbsp garlic and ginger paste
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
⅛ tsp garam masala (more or less to your taste)
½ tsp chili powder (more or less to your taste)
2 tsp Kasturi methi (optional)

Tadka (Tempering) for Garnish - Step 2

2 tbsp desi ghee
¼ tsp asafetida (heeng)
¾ tsp cumin seeds
2 small whole dry red chilies (If you split them in half, the seeds are going to fire up the tadka so be careful if you do not want the lentils too spicy, chili hot! If you prefer, you can use a little red chili powder instead of the whole dry red chilies—all to your taste!)

Instructions

To Prepare

Pick and clean the dals of any debris.
Rinse in fresh water several times to get rid of any grit.
Soak the Toor dal for at least 45 minutes and the masoor dal for 30 minutes. This will cut the cooking time, but you can skip this if you do not mind it simmering on the stove longer.

To Cook

Add the dals and the rest of the ingredients above into a 6-quart pot and bring to boil on medium heat. Lower the heat a bit, partially cover, and simmer for 35-40 minutes till nearly done. Remember not to cover the pot full as dals tend to expand while cooking and over boil. Any froth that forms on top can be removed.
If the water seems to dry during cooking, feel free to add more hot water. I say hot water as it does not interrupt the cooking process. You should be left with about 4 cups of dal, not too runny and not too thick unless it is your preference. Set aside.

Tadka (Tempering) - Step 1

Heat oil in a sauté or saucepan on medium heat.
Add the onions and saute for 4-5 minutes until it starts to brown.
Now add the spice powders, stir for a minute, and then add the chopped tomatoes. Let it cook, occasionally stirring until the oil starts to surface.
Pour into the cooked dal. Add a little hot water to the pan and be sure to scrape off the brown bits and add to the pan.
Set the dal pot back on the stove and let simmer for 5-10 minutes to absorb all the tadka flavors.
Pour into a serving dish.

Tadka (Tempering) for Garnish - Step 2

Heat the ghee on medium heat in a small saucepan.
Add the red chilies and give them about a minute to darken in color.
Add the asafetida (heeng) and immediately after that the cumin seeds. Give it 30 seconds and then add the chilies (or and powder). Stir for 15 seconds and pour it over the center of the dal in the dish.
Serve with rotis or any flat bread or rice accompanied with any of the usual arrays of Indian pickles, relish, raitas, plain yogurt, or papads.

Course: Main Course, Vegetarian

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: dals, lentils, toor dal

–Photo by Priyadharshan Saba on Unsplash

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In Main Dishes

Moong Dal

By The Indian Foodie

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.

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Moong Dal

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 5

Servings 4

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 ghee
½ medium onion, chopped fine
1 medium tomato, chopped
¼ 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 seeds
½ tsp cumin powder
½ tsp garam masala
¼ 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.

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: dals, lentils

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In Main Dishes

Dals (Lentils)

By The Indian Foodie

One of my favorite meals is dal, plain boiled rice and pickle. While growing up, Mama had different dals for each day of the week. Each dal had its own seasonings, and we children had our own favorite dal.

Dals (including the larger legumes and beans) are a staple in the Indian diet. They are easy to prepare and add protein to vegetarian fare. The dals are mostly boiled with ginger and garlic and then tempered or seasoned (called Tadka, Baghar, or Chaunk) depending on which part of India you are raised. Dals taste great spooned over rice or eaten with rotis or any other flat bread.

I remember our Peace Corps friends, back in the 60s, said they survived on dal and rice until they got used to the other spicy food. There were no fancy restaurants in the villages and small towns where they worked, and with their meager salaries, lentils were cheap, wholesome and easy to prepare.

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Dals (Lentils)

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings 6

Dals are a staple of Indian diet and are packed with protein and nutrients.

Ingredients

1 cup lentils of choice
4 cups water (or 6-7 cups, depending on dal)
2 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
1 tbsp fresh ginger (chopped finely)
1 whole green Serrano chili (slit half-way)
1 tsp tumeric powder
1 tsp salt (or to taste)

For Tadka / Tempering

2 tbsp cooking oil
1 medium tomato (finely chopped, optional)
½ onion (finely chopped)
1 tsp garam masala (optional)
½ tsp red chili powder (optional, or to your taste)
2 tbsp fresh cilantro (finely chopped)

Instructions

Sort and clean any grit in the dal. Rinse well. A friend, Lilani who is a fantastic gourmet chef, suggested washing and rinsing through a strainer so that any little bits of grit get washed away. But make sure you sort through the dal so you don't have any tiny stones that can crack someone's tooth!
Ina deep saucepan or cooking pot, add the dal, chopped garlic, fresh chopped ginger, whole Serrano chili or a whole dried red chili, turmeric powder, and salt to taste.
Add water and boil until it resembles a thick soup.
Stir every 15 minutes. Initially, the scum(froth) will rise to the top, you can remove it with a spoon. Half cover the pot with a lid so that some steam escapes and the dal water does not overflow.
Cooking time will vary from 45 minutes to 3 hours depending on the size and type of lentil.
Set aside and use any of the following ways to temper the dals.

Basic Tadka / Tempering for All Lentils

Heat oil in a small pan.
Add onions and sauté them until half browned. About 4-6 minutes.
Add tomatoes (if you like). Once they start to soften and curl, in about 3-4 minutes, turn off the heat and add the spice powders. Stir a minute or two and pour over the cooked dal.
Stir the dal and let the spices cook for another 3- 5 minutes to absorb the flavors of the tadka. Turn off the heat and let the dal rest for 5 minutes.
Pour the dal into a deep dish and garnish with chopped green Cilantro.
Serve with cooked white rice and a vegetable or a spicy meat dish and pickle.
The lentils are poured over the rice. If you are eating it with roti, flatbreads or bread, then pour the lentils into individual cup-sized dishes for easy dipping or the use of a spoon.

Notes

You can vary the seasoning by eliminating the onions or tomatoes and just season it with the spices.

I use different seasonings for different lentils, as you will see when you check my other dal recipes, but there are no hard and fast rules. The lentils should be the texture of a hearty soup, blended but not mushy.

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Indian, Vegetarian

Keyword: dals, lentils

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