• 1 cup Toor Dal
• 1 cup Chana Dal
• 1 cup Moong Dal
• 1 onion - finely chopped
• 1 bunch of fresh dill - finely chopped
• 6-7 green chillies - finely chopped
• 2 tsp grated ginger
• 1/2 cup fresh grated coconut
• Salt as per taste

• Wash all the 3 lentils in water & soak them together for about 3 hours or overnight.
• In a mixed, grind the lentils coarsely along with green chillies without adding any water.
• In a bowl, mix together ground lentils, onions, dill leaves, grated ginger, coconut & salt.
• Make oval shaped dumplings & steam them for about 10 - 12  mins in a steamer basket. I used my Idli Steamer to steam them
• Do Not steam them in the microwave. 

HOW TO MAKE HASI MAJJIGE HULI 

You Will Need:

• 4 green chillies
• 1 tbsp Hurigadale or Chutney ka Dal
• A small piece of ginger
• 1.5 cupS fresh yogurt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup fresh coconut
• Salt as per taste

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 4-5 Curry Leaves
• 2 pinches of Hing

 

• 1 cup Sabut Masoor Dal
• 1 onion - finely chopped
• 1/2 cup tomato puree or 2 big tomatoes roughly chopped
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 green chillies - slit
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
• 1/2 tsp Kasuri Methi
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt as per taste
• 2 tsp + 1 tbsp Desi Ghee 
• Fresh Coriander for garnish
• A couple of dry red chillies
• A pinch of Asafoetida
• Onion Slices to Serve

• Pressure cook Toor dal along with chopped tomatoes with a pinch of turmeric
• Heat a small pan, & roast the ingredients mentioned in the list in a tsp of oil
• Gring the roasted ingredients along with grated coconut & Dalia into a smooth paste along with little water
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add mustard seeds & curry leaves, when they splutter, add the onions & saute until the onions turn transparent.
•  In a pan, add chopped drumsticks & potatoes with enough water for the vegetables to cook. Cover the pan with a lid
• When the vegetables are fully cooked, add cooked toor dal & tomatoes & the ground Sambar paste.
• Add a small piece of jaggery, Tamarind juice & salt to taste. Add some water, if necessary to get the desired consistency of a sambar
• Bring it to a boil & turn off the stove.
• Temper with mustard seeds & red chillies & transfer to a bowl.

• To make Sambar powder, roast all the ingredients mentioned in the list. Add roasted desicated coconut & powdered Dalia to this mixture & store in air-tight jars. Just add about 3 tsp of this powder to cooked vegetables & lentils & bring it to a boil. The sambar will thicken as you boil. This saves quite a bit of your time.
• Add copped Brinjal/Eggplant for enhanced flavors

• 1 cup Sabut Urad Dal - with skin
• 1/4 cup Chana Dal
• 1 big onion - finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes - chopped
• 1 tsp chopped ginger
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp Ghee
• 1 tbsp Butter
• Salt as per taste
• 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
• Coriander for garnish

• Soak both the Dals in water overnight. Pressure cook dal until soft & mushy. once done, give it a mash with the back of a ladle. Set aside.
• Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pot, add chopped ginger & garlic & saute for about 30 secs on low heat, Add onions & fry till it turns pink. add chopped tomatoes & red chilli powder. Cook till the tomatoes are soft.
• Add cooked dal, salt & butter. Add some water if required to get the desired consistency. Simmer on low heat for about 10 mins.
• Add garam masala & simmer for a couple of minutes more.
• Garnish with fresh coriander

• 1/2 cup Toor Dal
• 1/2  cup Moong Dal
• 1/2 cup Chana Dal
• 2 onions
• 2 tomatoes- chopped
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 4 green chillies - slit lengthwise
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• A handful of curry leaves
• 3  dry red Chillies - broken
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 1 tbsp Desi Ghee
• 2 tsp oil
• Salt as per taste

• Pick & wash the Dals & soak them in water for abiut 15 mins. Pressure Cook them until soft but NOT mushy & set aside
• Make a paste of onions & set aside
• In a kadhai, heat some ghee. splutter cumin & mustard seeds. Add asafoetida, ginger paste, garlic paste, green chillies & turmeric powder & saute for 30 secs.
• Add onion paste & cook till the raw smell disappears.
• To this, add chopped tomatoes & a tsp of oil & red chilli powder. Cook till tomatoes are fully cooked& oil separates.
• Add cooked dal & give it a gentle mash. Add water to get the desired consistency, Add salt & let it simmer fotabout 10 mins.
• Heat Desi Ghee & temper with red chillies & Garlic cloves & pour it over Dal.

I was never such a big fan of Chana Dal. I barely experiment with it. I had Chana Dal Tadka for the first time at an Indian restaurant in Paris.

While we were holidaying in Paris, we were starved beyond words, & were craving for some authentic Indian stuff. For how long can you eat Croissants & Baguettes afterall? When, we found a nice little Indian restaurant & I just couldn't wait to lay my hands on some lovely Rice & Dal Tadka. The restaurant had limited options for the vegetarians & they only served only chana dal. I had no choice but to opt for it & thought I wasn't going to like it one bit.

When the waiter served, Dal Tadka, It looked really bland & had no traces of either onions or tomatoes or any other seasoning.
(I gave him a stare as though I am the Czarina of Indian Cuisine, implying that one can't just whip up something in an alien country & serve it as authentic Indian Stuff. )

But I was sooo terribly wrong. The dal tasted great & had an amazing texture. It was actually more than perfect. Yes, I ate one of the best Dal Tadkas in Paris. And, I knew that I was going to recreate this at home some day.

We got together to guessing what all might have gone into the Dal & I think we got most of it.

Here's how it was made,

You Will Need:

• 1 1/2 cups Chana Dal
• 1 red onion - chopped
• 2 tomatoes - chopped
• 2 green chillies
• 2 green cardamoms
• 2 cloves
• A small stick of cinnamon
• A handful of cashewnuts
• A small piece of ginger
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 dry red chilli - broken
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp red chilli powder
• cilantro for garnish
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp desi ghee

Method:

• Soak chana dal in water for about 15 minutes & pressure cook the dal until completely cooked. See to it that the dal does not get mushy & retains its shape
• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan & add slit green chillies, cardamoms, cloves & cinnamon. Saute for about 20 seconds.
• Add chopped onions & saute till they turn transpatent. Add turmeric, red chilli powder & tomatoes & cook until oil separates & tomatoes turn pulpy
• Switch off the stove & allow it to cool. Once cool, grind this along with ginger & cashewnuts.
• Heat oil in a pan & add cooked chana dal & the ground paste & bring it to a boil. Add water to get the desired consistency. Add salt as per taste.
• Temper with cumin seeds & broken red chilli. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro.

Serve Hot with Rotis/Rice. Enjoy !!!

This one was really close to the one we had in Paris & enjoyed it quite a bit. The spices were mild & cashews added their bit of sweetness & gave a nice creamy consistency to the dal. I loved the texture & taste of chana dal too.

All the credit goes to Shankar for patiently listening to me on how to got about the whole thing & creating some lovely comfort food.

Hope you guys are going to try this too.

NOTE: While grinding the ingredients, we let a few rustic pieces of onions & tomatoes remain, since we like biting into tiny bits of veggies. But you could grind it into a smooth paste as well.

• 1 1/2 cups cabbage - shredded
• 1 cup - moong dal
• 1 onion - finely chopped
• 1 tomato - finely chopped
• 1 green chilli - slit lengthwise
• 1 tsp - red chilli powder
• 1 tsp - ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tsp - cumin seeds
• A handful of curry leaves
• A pinch of turmeric
• Salt as per taste
• 2 tsp oil

Method:

• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, When hot, add cumin seeds, once the seeds pop & splutter, add green chilli, ginger garlic paste, turmeric, curry leaves & saute
• Add onions & fry until transparent.
• Throw in chopped tomatoes & add red chilli powder. Cook till oil separates & the raw smell disappears.
• Add moong dal & saute for a minute
• Add about 2 cups of water & cover the pan with a lid & let the dal cook for a while. Keep stirring in between.
• Once the dal is half cooked, add shredded cabbage & add another 2 cups of water.
• Add salt & mix well, cover the pan again & let it cook. Keep stirring in between. Add additional water, if necessary,
• When done, check the taste & mix well. Transfer into a bowl.

Serve HOT with rotis or steamed rice. Enjoi !!!

NOTE: The proportion of Dal:Cabbage is entirely upto you. If you want a creamier taste. You could add more of Dal. Or, you could even keep the proportions equal.

• 1 cup toor dal
• 1 onion - finely chopped
• 1 tomato - finely chopped
• 1 green apple - cut into cubes
• 2-3 green chillies - finely chopped
• 1 tsp - mustard seeds
• 1 tsp - cumin seeds
• 2 tsp - oil
• A few curry leaves
• 2 tsp - sambar powder
• 1 tsp - corinader powder
• 1 tsp - red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp - kitchen king masala (optional)
• A pinch of Turmeric
• 1/2 tsp - Garam Masala
• Salt as per taste
• 2 tbsp - lemon juice

Method:

• Pressure cook Toor dal with a pinch of turmeric & salt
• Soak apple cubes in water mixed with lemon juice for about 15 mins
• Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan & add mustard & cumin seeds
• Once the seeds pop & splutter, add chopped green chillies & curry leaves
• Add chopped onions & saute till they turn transparent
• Add apple cubes & cook for 5 minutes
• Now, add chopped tomatoes
• Add Sambar powder, Red chilli powder, Coriander powder, Kitchen king masala, & saute till the raw smell disappears
• Add cooked toor dal & mix well
• The apples will be fully cooked my now & will be soft & mushy
• Add salt as per taste & add a pinch of Garam masala
• Give the mixture a gentle mash & mix well
• Cook on low flame for 10 mins

Transfer to a serving bowl & Serve with HOT rice or rotis .. Enjoi !!

I loved the slightly sweet & tangy taste of apples mixed with spices .. It had all the right ingredients to tickle our taste buds. We had our Dal with HOT steamed rice, accompanied by roasted papads, Yogurt & pickle. It was one complete meal we thoroughly enjoyed . .

NOTE:

• You could consider cooking the apples along with toor dal in a pressure cooker.
• If you do not like biting into apples, you could mash them into a paste or just boil them separately & puree them using a blender. This will keep people guessing about the secret ingredient.
• Addition or Deletion of spices is entirely upto you.

When are you making Apple Dal?