As I embarked on my journey of cooking in the kitchen, everyday it is about new experiences and new learnings. These experiences and learnings lead to some adventures, which further push me towards my journey of creating masterpieces. Such is the journey, that you need not worry about success or failures, but the things that drive you is your passion and your excitement to create something everyday.
Yes, this is my everyday account in the kitchen. And talking about the dishes I prepare, not all the dishes I prepare are purely the outcome of memories from the past. Neither all the dishes I prepare are solely the outcome of tastes I have experienced. And not all the dishes I prepare, by following the rules & instructions informally taught by traditions. And yet, there are few dishes which I have created only through following my heart, but got accepted by the larger audience. So is my today’s recipe post called, ‘Roasted Moong Dal With Coconut’, which I have created straight from my heart, combining two of my favourite aromas, ‘roasted yellow split moong dal’s aroma’ and ‘aroma of fried grated coconut’.
Although, owing to my Bengali descent, the dish ‘Roasted Moong Dal With Coconut’ is very similar to the ‘Narkel Diye Bhaja Muger Dal’ (roasted moong lentil soup with coconut preparation), but the tweak is done with few curry leaves, which is probably the outcome of the influence of my current location (Bengalutru), that makes it difficult for someone to identify this dal exclusively with any particular region. Possibly, this is the reason that this ‘Roasted Moong Dal With Coconut’, is equally enjoyed by my father-in-law, who is a strict follower of traditional Bengali cuisine, and my husband’s Kannadiga friend, who considers this dal as something closer to his cuisine.
Hence, I am going to leave the decision of allotting a region to this particular dal on you. Try this simple and satiating lentil soup, and probably after helping yourself with two or three katoris (bowls), who knows, you might derive a conclusion.
Click here to get more dal and curry recipes.
Recipe: Roasted Moong Dal With Coconut
Preparation Time: Around 20 minutes Roasting Dal: Around 5 minutes Pressure Cooking Time: 13 minutes Cooking Time: 40 minutes on low flame Equipment Used: A pan or wok, a pressure cooker, a turner, a coconut grater, a normal grater to grate ginger and a knife Yield: Around 10 bowls (katoris)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups yellow split moong dal
- ½ cup grated coconut
- Around 9 cups water
- 2 & ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons & ½ teaspoon mustard oil
- 1/3 cup curry leaves
- 1 red chilli
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1.03 inches X 0.7 inch ginger
- 1 green chilli
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon ghee
Method:
- Heat a wok
- Once the wok is sufficiently hot, roast the split yellow moong dal for 3-4 minutes
- Switch off the flame when you get the aroma of roasted dal
- Leave the dal in the wok till it cools down
- In the meantime, grate the coconut
- Rinse the dal once the dal cools down to room temperature
- Transfer the rinsed dal to a pressure cooker
- Pressure cook the dal with 3 cups water, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon mustard oil till 2 whistles, with first whistle on full flame and second whistle on low flame
- Clean and keep the curry leaves ready along with 1 red chilli, ½ teaspoon mustard seeds and 1 bay leaf
- Heat a wok again
- Now heat 4 tablespoons mustard oil
- Temper the oil with mustard seeds, red chilli and bay leaf
- Add the grated coconut to the above ingredients
- Add the pressure-cooked dal when the coconut granules are fried and change colour
- Add approximately 6 cups water
- Add the curry leaves and turmeric powder
- Stir and let the dal cook on sim
- When the dal is almost done or when bubbles form all over the dal, grate or crush ginger and add into the dal
- Slit 1 green chilli and add to the dal
- Taste and adjust salt and sugar. I have added 2 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon sugar
- Switch off the flame and spread ghee with a spoon
Roast the split yellow moong dal for 3-4 minutes. Leave the dal in the wok till it cools down.
Grate the coconut.
Rinse the dal once the dal cools down.
Pressure cook the dal with 3 cups water, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon mustard oil.
Clean and keep the curry leaves ready along with 1 red chilli, ½ teaspoon mustard seeds and 1 bay leaf.
Heat 4 tablespoons mustard oil.
Temper the oil with mustard seeds, red chilli and bay leaf.
Add the grated coconut.
Add the pressure-cooked dal.
Add water.
Add curry leaves and turmeric powder.
Stir and let the dal cook on sim.
Grate ginger to the dal.
Slit 1 green chilli and add into the dal.
Taste and adjust salt and sugar.
Switch off the flame and spread ghee with a spoon.
Tips:
- Instead of mustard oil, you can also use refined oil for this recipe
- You can use dried coconut powder, if you do not have fresh coconut handy. In case you are using dried coconut powder, change the quantity to ¼ cup
- Either you use red mustard seeds or yellow mustard seeds, the choice is yours. I have used red mustard seeds
