Quick cooking : Dry dal and some childhood memories

There are some dishes that define your childhood, that take you back to your childhood, make you smile mostly. But some make you cringe, not because they don’t taste good but because you have eaten them so much while growing up that the name itself puts you off. Dry dal is one such dish. My sister has always been a very picky eater, one could count on fingers (of one hand mind you) the number of vegetables she ate, and dals she would only eat only with rice and since we were majority a roti eating family that was always an issue and then my mum discovered “dry dal”. The sister would actually eat it and hence we had to eat it three times a week. Sigh you get why the name puts me off.

However some days ago when the child told me let’s make something new, I decided to give the dry dal a try again and guess what everyone at home loved it. I won’t be making it three times a week but I bet this is gonna be a regular at home now

Recipe – Dry Dal
Source – my ma

What I used
1 cup urad dal washed and soaked for an hour
1 onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 green chilly sliced
1 tsp jeera seeds
2 tsp oil

How I made it
Heat oil in a cooker and add jeera seeds, fry till they brown
Add green chilly and onions, fry till soft
Add tomatoes and fry till they are done nicely, leaving oil from the side
Add all powdered spices and fry further for a min
Add soaked and drained dal and cover it with just enough water
Pressure cook for 2 whistles
If you feel there is too much water after opening, cook further till it dries
Serve hot with roti’s