Masoor Ki Daal

Masoor ki daal is the easiest and fastest to prepare among all the daals/lentils, it's my second favorite daal after sabout masoor daal. I make this daal the way i have seen my mother making it and love to have it with plain boiled rice, mango achar and pickled onions...

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups masoor daal (red lentils)

1 medium onion sliced

4-5 cloves of garlic (peeled and chopped)

1 ½ tsp red chili powder

1 ½ tsp salt (or to taste)

¼ tps turmeric powder (optional, I normally don’t use it in massor dal)

1 large tomatoe chopped (optional, I mostly make massor dal without tomato)

1 larg green chili

3-4 cups water

Chopped fresh coriander

For tempering/ tarka

1/3 - ½ cup oil/desi ghee

1 tsp cumin seeds

4-5 button red chilies (or use 2-3 green chilies chopped)

Method:

1) Take a pan add the daal and wash it 2-3 times, then add 3-4 cups of water, red chili powder, salt, onions, chopped garlic (also add tomato and turmeric powder if you prefer) and  bring it to a boil.

2)  Once the daal starts to boil turn the heat to medium and partially cover the pan. let it simmer for 45 minutes or until dal is very tender.  Make sure that the dal doesn’t become thick, keep stirring after every 10 minutes.

3) Mash the daal, and garlic cloves with the back of spoon while stirring. When dal is cooked it should look like thick creamy soup, (you can add more water if the dal is not creamy and let it cook for further 10 to 20 minutes).

3) For the tarka, heat oil in a frying pan once the oil get hot add the cumin seeds and chopped green chilies or button red chilies, fry for a few seconds and pour over the dal, give it a stir, add in some chopped coriander and let it cook for a few minutes  Pour in a serving dish and garnish with coriander and green chilis. Serve with plain boiled rice or chapati, achar and pickled onions.

Note:

If you want to make khatti masoor ki daal then you can add in 2-3 table spoon of tamarind pulp or 2 tbsp of lemon juice when dal is  almost done and let it cook for 5 more minutes before adding the tarka.