Soul comforting food - Dal Chawal

My brother and I are great fans of dal chawal.. As kids we always wanted to eat dal chawal with different accompaniments like fried fish, Kofta, Shammi Kabab , Phaal ( lamb in a spicy green gravy), papad, achhar etc. The beauty of the simple dal is that it goes well with plain steamed rice, Khichdi or Khuska (Rice made with ghee & whole spices). In Muslim homes, the dal is often made for its simplicity and ease. The dish is different from Sambar and the dal served in North India. It is slightly similar to the khatti dal made in Hyderabad but the dal made in Muslim homes in Mysore is unique and tastes heavenly.

Here goes the recipe

Ingredients

Tur Dal - 1 small katori ( about 100 g)

Tomatoes - Small country tomatoes - 4 nos

Garlic - 3-4 cloves

Onion - 1 small

Curry Leaves - 1 spring

Coriander leaves - chopped

Turmeric - 1/ 2 tsp

Red chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Dhania Powder - 1 tsp

Tamarind - coin sized - soaked into 1/ 2 cup water.

Ingredients for dry roasting

Zeera - 1 tsp
Methi - 1/ 2 tsp
Rice - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 3-5 leaves
Channa dal - 1 tsp

Heat a tawa and dry roast the ingredients. Slightly cool and set aside.

For the Bagar or Tarka

Dry red chilli - 1 Broken into small pieces
Garlic - 2 cloves ( roughly crushed)
Onion - half - cut into thin slices
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Zeera - 1/4 tsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp. or refined oil

Method

1. Wash the dal and add water (enough to completely cover the dal)
2. To the dal, add chopped tomatoes, sliced onions, red chilli powder, dhania powder turmeric, dry roast spices, garlic, chopped coriander leaves.
3. Pressure cook the dal until tender
4. Blender the cooked dal. Add salt, tamarind juice and bring the blended dal to a slight boil. Taste the dal to adjust seasoning.
5. Heat ghee for Bagar. Add mustard and let it crackle
6. Add curry leaves, zeera, red chilli, onion and crushed garlic.
7. Add the bagar to dal.
8. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with steamed rice.