Dal (South Indian Homestyle)

Disclaimer: The present works are the sole copyright of the Author. All rights are reserved and no part of this article/publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior explicit written permission of the Author. Any enquiries for permission to reproduce must be addressed to the Author at [sitara.cariapa@gmail.com]. ‘The Drunken Pig’ and the logo are jointly and severally the exclusive trademark of the Author, [Sitara Cariappa/The Drunken Pig] and no part of it, whether jointly or severally, can be reproduced by any third party without the explicit prior written permission of [Sitara Cariappa]

---

I have been invited to lunch with several South Indian families, and there was always this particular dal that always stayed in my memory. Runny, a lemon yellow colour, garlicky, topped with mustard seeds. I finally replicated it this week, no idea why it took me this long.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 cup Dal, preferably use Split Moong Dal or Toor Dal (Pigeon Pea)

I used whatever I found at home, Chana dal (Bengal Gram) and Split Urad Dal for this recipe

2 tsps Grated Ginger

3 tsps Mustard Seeds

3 tsps Cumin Seeds

1 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 sprig Curry Leaves

2-3 Green Chillies, slit lengthwise

Salt to Taste

1 tsp Ghee

Optional 2 tsps minced garlic or garlic powder

1 tsbp Oil

This recipe has no onion, tomato or coriander leaves.

Method

Wash dal and cook in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water, until fully cooked and soft. Use finger to check for softness.

In a small wok or cheenchatti or kadhai, add oil, followed by cumin, then mustard, then chili, and finally salt. Allow them to slutter, crackle, use a laddle to mash in the chilli with oil and salt. Fry these on low flame, till the chilies turn whitish. Now add the ginger and garlic, fry again till it is aromatic. Add curry leaves and fry again. This entire process has to be done with patience on a low flame, even dal needs respect for method to taste like home :)

Add the cooked Dal, with turmeric and stir fry on low to medium flame. Add a cup of water or two or three and bring it to a slight boil, keep stirring and mashing the dal with ingredients till it is a thick runny consistency. Finally add ghee and turn off.

Please note: depending on the lentil or dal used, the dish will be a mash and runny. If using split white dal like I did, the lentils will be whole and won't result in a mash. So it entirely depends on what you have at home and what you prefer.

---

About Author

Sitara Cariappa is a writer, cultural ethnographer and an archivist from Coorg, in India. She takes interest in documenting food, stay, culture and traditions from Coorg and other places that she has travelled to and lived in. She was born in Coorg and raised in New Delhi. A large part of her life was spent in different countries like France, South East Asia and largely in Coorg and New Delhi. Her blog @thedrunkenpig_ reflects her life and stories with her grandmother, cooking heirloom recipes and foraging activities of her Coorg community. In her spare time she curates travel itineraries for Coorg.