No one at my house is a big fan of chola dal. But I make it a point to rotate all the pulses and lentils and not get stuck at the favorite which is masoor dal for both of us. One of our acquaintances who have now moved to Japan were really good at this particular dish but I never asked for the recipe because I was too busy eating and praising the dish.
This week I made a chola dal the way I wanted to.
Ingredients:
Chola dal- 1 cup
mixed vegetables (beans, carrots, peas and corn)- one cup
onion- quarter of a medium
ginger- 1 in slice
tomato- 1 small one or medium
dry red chilli- 2
turmeric- 1 tsp
cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
coriander- 1 tsp
coconut shredded and sliced
garam masala- 1 tsp
pepper- crushed a pinch
green chillis
salt to taste
Procedure:
Boil the dal with a pinch of turmeric, salt and a green chilli.
Heat a wok, add oil let the cumin seeds splutter, then put the onions and dry red chilli's. when the onions have softened and turned transparent add the tomatoes and let them fry. keep stirring for balanced cooking. add the turmeric, coriander powder, crushed pepper, crushed ginger slices. let this fry for a minute or two. Now add the mixed vegetables. and fry for a couple of minutes. Also add the sliced coconut which will get fried and cooked along with the veggies.
When you feel that the vegetables are slightly fries add the dal and a glass of water or as needed.
this dal is just as good when made slightly dry or with more gravy. Add salt to your taste and the green chillis. Also add the shredded coconut. this makes the dal slightly crunchy and tasty.
Before serving add some ghee to make it even more delicious. A simple meal becomes just a fabulous experience on the dining table.
