Category: Dals or Lentils

Masur Dal with onion and garlic (Split red lentil with onion and garlic)

Masur dal can be cooked in many ways. This is a special recipe for Masur Dal or Split Red Lentil and was given to me by my mother. She had learnt it from her mother. Dals are made in most Indian homes but each home has their own way of seasoning and Tempering.

Generally there are 3 steps in cooking Dal :

  1. Wash and cook the dal in a pressure cooker or a pan till the grains a soft.
  2. Add the seasoning, like salt, sugar, chillies or any other spices to this cooked dal
  3. Temper the dal, by adding some fried spices to the Dal. Tempering is called Tarka in Hindi and Phoron in Bengali.

How to make this Dal

First we cook the Masur Dal with some water and onions, garlic and the cinnamon, cloves and, in the pressure cooker. If you do not have a pressure cooker then cook it in a saucepan. If you use a saucepan then do check often that the water does not dry out. You could add some more water if needed. The consistency of the end product will be like a thick soup.

Masur Dal ( Red Lentil).

This is what the Dal looks like before it is cooked. This has to be washed and then cooked with some water and spices.

Chopped garlic, and ginger and sliced onions and cinnamon broken into pieces, and cloves are added to the washed and cleaned Masur dal and then cooked with enough water in a pressure cooker or in a saucepan

After the Masur dal is cooked in the pressure cooker it will look like this.

Now add Sugar, Turmeric, salt and Slit green chilies (optional) to the cooked dal and let it simmer for a few minutes. Taste to see that the seasoning is right.

This is now ready for tempering.

Tempering is frying some spices in oil or ghee and then adding it to the boiled Dal. It makes a huge difference in the flavouring and taste of the Dal.

These are the spices that we use for tempering this Dal. whole Jeera seeds, some cinnamon pieces, some cardamom and dry red chilli. Always tear or slit the whole red chilli before adding it to hot oil or it may burst and splatter all over. Same with adding cardamoms, open them up a little before adding them to hot oil.

Tempering

There are 2 ways to temper,

  1. Heat the oil or ghee, add the spices, fry a little and then add the boiled and Dal to it . OR
  2. Heat the oil, fry the spices and pour the hot oil and spices onto the Boiled Dal.

I usually temper the second way, by pouring the oil and spices onto the dal.

After Tempering the dal it has to be simmered for a few minutes so that the flavours get incorporated well .

The Masur Dal is now ready to be served. You can garnish with chopped Cilantro ( Dhania Patta).

Serve hot with Roti or Rice.

The Recipe

Ingredients

  • Masur Dal (red lentil) 1/2 cup
  • Onion (Piyaj ) peeled and sliced. 1/2 cup
  • Garlic ( Lasun). peeled and chopped 1 teaspoon
  • Ginger ( adrak)peeled and chopped 1teaspoon
  • Cinnamon ( Dalchini) 2inch broken into pieces
  • Cloves ( Laung) 6
  • Sugar ( Chini ) 1/2 teaspoon
  • Salt ( Namak)1/2 tsp
  • Turmeric powder ( Haldi ) 1/4 tsp
  • Green chilies ( hari mirch )slit 2 or 3
  • Water ( Paani ) 2cups

Spices for tempering ( Tardka )

  • Ghee 1 tablespoon
  • Cinnamon ( Dalchini ) 1 inch piece broken into smaller pieces
  • Cardamom.( Elaichi ) 6
  • Dry red chilli ( Shukha mirch ). 1
  • Cumin seeds ( Jeera) 1/4 teaspoon

Method

  1. Wash the Masur Dal ( Red Lentil ) well, and put it into Pressure cooker, add the sliced onions, the chopped ginger and garlic, and the cinnamon pieces, and cloves. Add the 2 cups of water and close the lid. Place the cooker on the stove. Once it whistles, start counting till it whistles 4 times more, then switch off the stove.
  2. Open the pressure cooker lid after the cooker has cooled, then add salt, sugar, turmeric, and slit green chilies to the cooked dal and place the cooker on the stove again, without the lid. Let the dal simmer for 5 minutes, stir a few times.
  3. Now it is ready for Tempering ( Tarka, or Phoron ):
  • Heat the ghee in a small saucepan or frying pan, add the Cinnamon pieces, Red chilli and cardamoms and the jeera seeds. Let the spices brown a little, then pour in onto the simmering dal in the cooker and let it simmer for another 5 minutes, before taking it off the heat.
  • OR
  • The other way is to heat a wok or a big saucepan and add Ghee, and Cinnamon pieces, and cardamom and the Jeera seeds, and Red chilli. Once the spices brown a little, pour the dal from the cooker to the Wok, then let it simmer for 5 minutes more before taking it off the heat.

Garnish with chopped Coriander leaves ( Dhania Patta) before serving. if You add a spoonful of Ghee when you eat the dal it will definitely taste better.

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Bhaja Mooger Dal. ( Roasted Moong Dal)

There are so many kinds of Dals in India and there are numerous ways off cooking them. Dals are basically beans, but smaller in size than the Kidney bean( Rajma) or Garbanzo beans ( Chola).

Whole Moong dals have a green outer skin which is removed to get the yellow Moong Dal. In Bengal we use the yellow Moong Dal (Mooger Dal) and very rarely use the whole green moong. In this recipe the yellow moong dal is first Dry Roasted and then washed and boiled unlike in most other recipes where the Dal is first washed and boiled and then seasoned. We Call it Bhaja Mooger Dal ( Roasted Moong Dal).

You can find the recipe for Moong Dal that is not roasted in this Blog Moong Dal.

THINGS WE NEED TO MAKE THIS DAL

Yellow moong dal looks like this

Other than Moong dal we will also need, Turmeric powder, salt and sugar and,

Ghee, and green chilies which are slit on one side.

For the TEMPERING we need Bay leaf (Tej patta), Cinnamon (dalchini), cardamom ( elaichi), Cloves ( laung), Cumin seeds ( Jeera), dry red chilies ( lal mirch).

Ingredients

Yellow Moong Dal 1 cup

Turmeric powder (Haldi) 1/4 teaspoon

Salt 1teaspoon

Cumin seeds (Jeera ) 1/2 teaspoon

Sugar ( Chini). 1 teaspoon

Bay leaf (Tej patta) 1

Cardamom (Elaichi). 2

Cloves ( Laung) 5

Cinnamon ( Dalchini) 1inch piece broken into small pieces

Ghee ( Clarified butter) 2 tablespoon

Red chilies ( Lal Mirch) 2

Green chilies (hara mirch) 3 ( Optional)

Water 2&1/2 cups

Method

  1. Heat a pan and put the 1 cup of yellow moong dal in the pan and keep stirring to dry roast it. Keep the heat to medium and continue till it starts to turn brownish, you will also get a nutty aroma. When you see a few seeds turning brown switch off the heat and immediately pour some water in the pan to stop it from browning further. If it becomes too brown or burns then the dal won’t cook.

2. Wash the roasted Moong dal well and put it in a pressure cooker with 1 cup of water. Close the lid and cook it for 2 or 3 whistles then switch the heat off and wait till the pressure cooker cool down.

[You can cook the dal without a pressure cooker too, but it will take about half an hour or so. In case you want to cook in a pan and not in the pressure cooker then put the roasted moong with 2 cups of water in a pan, add 1/2 tsp of salt and bring it to a boil on high heat, then lower the heat and let it simmer gently till the dal is soft and cooked. You may need to add more water too, do not let the water dry out. Once it is cooked follow the instructions as below]

3. Once the cooker has cooled down open the lid to check and see if the dal grains are cooked well and are soft.

4. Add the salt, turmeric powder and sugar to the dal in the cooker and put the pressure cooker on the stove. Add the rest of the water and let it boil for about 5 minute on lowest heat.

After the dal is boiled it will look like this. Now we have to do the Tempering.

5. Tempering: Spices are heated and fried in a little oil or ghee and then added to the boiled dal to enhance the flavour and taste. Each Dal has a different combination of spices. There are 2 ways to do the TEMPERING :

1) Heat the Ghee in a pan or kadai. Add Bay leaf ( tej patta), cinnamon (dalchini) broken into smaller pieces, cloves (laung), cardamom ( elaichi) dry red chilies ( lal mirch) and cumin seeds( Jeera). Once the Cumin and the Red chillies start to brown a little, pour the contents of the Pressure cooker on the ghee and the spices in the kadai. It will sizzle and splutter so please be careful and stand a little away from the stove. If you want to add green chilies add them now and let the Dal simmer about 5 minutes on medium heat before switching off the stove.

2) Take a small saucepan or frying pan and heat the Ghee in it. Add the Cumin seeds( jeera), Bay leaf ( tej patta), Dry red chilies, cinnamon (dalchini) broken into smaller pieces, cardamom ( elachi), Cloves ( laung). Once the Cumin starts to brown a little and the red chilies also brown a bit, pour this tempering onto the Dal in the pressure cooker and then let it simmer about 5 minutes before switching off the stove. If you want to add the green chilies add them after you add the tempering .

Serve the Dal Hot.

NOTE: the chilies in the dal are not eaten unless you are fond of HOT food, they are added for flavouring and to add a little spiciness. Some like to squeeze out the chilies in their dal if they want hot spicy dal.

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Khichuri

Khichuri ( in Bengali) or Khichdi ( in hindi), is a porridge like one pot meal. This is very easy to make in a pot or in a pressure cooker.The main ingredients are rice and dal ( lentils) which are cooked together, with a few spices. There are various types of lentils and any one or a mixture of different types of lentils are used with the rice. Often some vegetables are also added to make the Khichuri more tasty and nutritious. The simplest type of khichuri is to cook Rice and yellow Moong dal, ( this is Moong dal where the green skin is removed and the yellow bean is split) with some salt and turmeric powder, and then a dollop of ghee added for taste. This is the healthy, easy to digest khichuri.

In Bengal Khichuri is made mostly with Moong dal and Gobindo bhog rice. Khichuri made as an offering to God during our festivals and Poojas are made with moong dal and no onions and garlic is used.

The recipe here is the khichuri I like to make and it is made with rice and a mixture of Masur ( the pink lentil) and yellow Moong and I add onions to it too. I have added Cauliflower and Peas and Potatoes, but you could add some more vegetables like carrots, and beans if desired. Or even cook the khichuri with no vegetables added.

Khichuri is served piping hot with a variety of Pakoras ( fritters), or with simple mixed green salad or just pickle and papad or potato chips, or fried fish or a mixed vegetable mish mash called Ghant. The Bengali tomato chutney goes very well with it too.

It was a very cold and foggy day so this is what I made for Lunch.

KHICHURI

Serves 6 to 8 people.

INGREDIENTS

  • Rice 1&1/2 cups (any kind of rice, Basmati, Jasmine, I used small grain Gobindo bhog)
  • Yellow moong dal. 1/2 cup
  • Pink Masur dal. 1/2 cup
  • Onion sliced 1 cup
  • Cumin ( jeera) powder 2&1/2 Tablespoons
  • Coriander (dhania) powder 3 Tablespoons
  • Salt 3 Tablespoons
  • Sugar. 3 teaspoons
  • Turmeric (haldi). 1 teaspoon
  • Chili ( mirchi) powder. 1/2 teaspoon
  • Oil 1/2 cup ( any vegetable oil)
  • Ghee or butter 2 Tablespoon
  • Garam Masala powder 1/2 teaspoon ( cardamom, cinnamon and cloves ground together)
  • Ginger grated 1 Tablespoon
  • Green chilies slit. 4
  • Cardamom whole 6
  • Cloves 6
  • Cinnamon stick 2 inch piece broken
  • Water 12 cups

I added these vegetables, but you can add more or less.

Cauliflower cut into florets. 200 g ( you can add more or less)

Peas ( fresh or frozen) 1 cup

Potatoes peeled 200g ( cut into big pieces)

HOW TO MAKE KHICHURI

Put the rice and dals in a bowl and wash well with cold water two or three time, then drain out the water and keep aside

Heat a big heavy bottom pan and add the oil. ( a dutch oven is a good vessel to use to make the khichuri)

Saute the potatoes first and then the cauliflower florets, remove them from the pan and keep aside.

To the remaining oil add the whole broken Cinnamon, 6 cardamoms and 6 cloves. Stir

Add the sliced onions and fry till they are soft.

Add the washed rice and dal, stir well to mix the onions into the rice and dal

Now add 2&1/2 Tbsp. Cumin (Jeera) powder, 3 Tbsp. Coriander (dhania) powder, 3 Tbsp. of salt, 1 tsp. Turmeric (haldi) powder, 1/2 tsp. Chili ( mirchi) powder, 3 tsp. of sugar and 1 Tbsp. of grated ginger (adrak paste)

Stir everything well for a minute or two then add 8 cups of water , keep the remaining water to add whenever the khichuri gets too dry. Stir and cover with the lid and bring it to a boil on high heat. Once the khichuri starts boiling reduce the heat to medium and let it cook. You need to stir the pot once in a while or the rice will stick to the bottom.

After about 10 minutes, add the sauteed cauliflower and potatoes and the green chilies . If you are using fresh peas then you have to add it to the khichuri now, but if you are using frozen peas then add it when the rice is cooked and soft. Cover again and let it cook. Add some water if needed. The consistency of the Khichuri should be like oats porridge not dry.

Once the rice is cooked and soft and the potatoes and cauliflowers can be cut with a spoon, add the 2 Tbsp of Ghee and 1/2 tsp of garam masala powder.

Serve hot.

Any left over Khichuri stays well in the fridge and can be easily heated in a microwave. If you need to heat it on the stove then just put it in a saucepan with a little water and bring it boil.

POTATO STICKS

Peel a couple of potatoes and cut them into sticks. Soak the sticks in a pan of ice water for an hour or so. Drain out the water and dry the sticks a little on a dish cloth or paper towel and then deep fry them in hot oil on high heat. Remove with a slotted spoon when slightly brown and keep them on a plate lined with paper towel. Sprinkle some salt on them. Serve

FRIED FISH

I used Carp, ( Rui or Rohu) pieces, but you can use any firm fish, like king mackerel, or pomfret, or even Tilapia steaks.

Marinate the fish with salt and Turmeric ( haldi) for an hour or so and then just deep fry them in oil. The oil should be very hot and smoking before you add the fish otherwise the fish will stick to the bottom of the pan. Fry the fish on reduced heat till it is brown on the outside.

PAPAD

There are various types of papad available, I chose a spicy moong dal papad.

Heat some oil a pan or kadai ( wok) . It should be very hot. With the help of tongs hold the papad in a corner and dip it in the hot oil, it will fry immediately, so quickly turn it once with the help of the tongs and take it out of the oil before it burns and turns dark brown. Keep the fried papad on a plate lined with paper towel.

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Sprouted Moong and Chick peas salad.

In the hot summer months of India this is a very refreshing salad to eat.

Vegetable sellers offer sprouted Moong and the sprouted chick pea (kala chana, not the bigger white ones). However, I like to make the sprouts at home. Chick peas come in many varieties. The big white ones used to make Chole and Hummus are also chick peas. They may be called Garbanzo or Kabuli chana too. Then there are the smaller ones, which can be light brown to green to dark brown. I have used the smaller dark brown chick peas.

HOW TO MAKE SPROUTS AT HOME

It is very easy to make the sprouts at home.(

Take about 1/2 cup of the green moong dal. Take 1/2 cup of the dark brown chick peas (kala chana). After sprouting the quantity usually doubles.

Put them in separate bowls. Wash each one well so that all the dust is removed. Add 1 cup full of water to each bowl. Let the seeds soak for at least 6 to 8 hours. I usually soak in the evening and leave it overnight.

Next day it will be swollen now wash again thoroughly .

Take two pieces of cheese cloth or cotton napkins

Place the Moong in one cloth. Put the Chick peas in the other cloth. Make a loose bundle with each cloth and tie the top of the cloth bundles. You use a rubber band to close it too.

Place the bundles back in their bowls and leave them in a place with less light for another day.

The next day open the bundles. You will find the moong has sprouted well, but the chick pea has very small roots. You can use them at this stage or wait another day to let the roots grow longer. If you are in a hot dry place, sprinkle some water on the bundles. Do this if you keep them for another day.

Before you use the sprouts wash them again well and very gently so that the roots don’t break.

After washing, spread them out on a plate. Remove and discard all the seeds that haven’t sprouted and are hard.

Now we are ready to use the sprouts in the salad.

INGREDIENTS

  • Sprouted Moong – 1/2 cup
  • Sprouted chick peas – 1/4 cup
  • Onions peeled and chopped small -1/4 cups
  • Tomatoes diced small -1/2 cup
  • Cucumber peeled and diced small – 1/2 cup
  • Coriander leaves chopped (dhania) – 2 or 3 tablespoons full
  • Green chilies chopped – 1 or 2
  • Mint leaves a few to garnish

For the dressing

Lemon or Lime juice -2 Tablespoon

Salt – 1/2 teaspoon or according to taste.

Sugar – a pinch

METHOD

  1. Add all the vegetables and sprouts in a glass serving bowl
  2. Mix well
  3. Add the lemon juice, salt and sugar to the salad and mix well.
  4. Cover and store in the fridge for at least half an hour before serving.
  5. Garnish with Mint leaves before serving.
  6. TIP: If you are going to serve the salad after more than an hour, wait before adding the salt. Add it only half an hour before serving. Otherwise, the vegetables will become limp. Taste to adjust seasoning before serving.

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Dal charano or Motor Dal torkari diye. (Yellow split peas with vegetables)

DAL CHORANO OR DAL WITH VEGETABLES.

When my mother in law asked one day if I would like to taste some ‘Dal Chorano ‘, I was surprised, as it literally translates to ‘dal spread’ in English and I had not heard of this strange dish before. As it turned out though, it is actually a few vegetables spread or “Chorano” in the Dal. Sambar which is made in South Indian homes also is a dal and few vegetable combination, but sambar is hot and spicy and this Dal Chorano is bland, the only spice used is green chilies, turmeric, and Nigella seeds ( kalojire/Kalonji). This is usually made with vegetables that are available in the hot summer months so they are mainly gourds, and eggplants, potatoes, and some Danta. Danta is usually the stems of the pumpkin plant (Kumro Danta) or the bottle gourd plant( Lau danta) or drumsticks ( Sajne danta) . Sajne Danta are the long stick like fruits of the Moringa tree. The stem of the banana plant Thoar is also used as it has a nice crunchy texture . The Dal that forms the base of this dish can be either Yellow Moong or Motar Dal ( yellow split peas).

It is a simple and easy recipe but the taste depends a lot on the Cow’s Milk Ghee, that is used liberally and the spicy green chilies. Ghee or clarified butter is made out of either Buffalo Milk butter or Cow’s milk butter. There is a difference in the taste and the flavor and in Bengal the Cow’s milk ghee is preferred.

HOW TO MAKE THIS DAL

  • First we boil the dal a little
  • Next we add the vegetables to the dal and cook till the vegetables are cooked.
  • Then just prepare the seasoning ( Tardka, Phoron) and add to the dal and vegetables
  • Add a dollop of Ghee.

These are the vegetables I chose

The vegetables I have used in this recipe are, Aloo ( potatoes), Jhinge ( tori/ridged gourd), Potol ( pointed gourd), a few slices of Thoar (banana stem) and Kumro Danta ( pumpkin stem ).

All the vegetables have been cut in wedges or long, except the Thoar which is cut in thin slices.

The photo above is a piece of young Pumpkin stem . The tips of the stems and a few young leaves are used. The Video shows how to cut the stem.

How to cut the Vegetables:

Kumro Danta ( pumpkin plant stem): The tips of the vine is usually eaten, the thicker older stems are not good. The tip will have some young tender leaves and also the tendrils. Snip off the tendrils then cut off about 3 inches from the top with the young leaves, that is one piece. the rest of the stem is cut into about 3 inch pieces and the transparent outer skin is peeled off. The whole twig need not be used, but if there are some tender young leaves then that can be used. These stems are not swallowed when eating, only the young leaves can be eaten. The stems( danta) soak up the dal and when you chew these while eating the dal it has an unique taste. So when we eat this stem we chew on them, and suck the juices then throw away the stem.

Potol ( pointed gourd): scrape the skin of the potol first with your knife, then cut off the tips of both ends . Peel the green skin lengthwise so that there are alternate strips of green left. DO NOT remove the green skin totally or potol will lose its shape. After you peel cut into half length wise then each half again lengthwise. So 1 potol is cut into 4 long pieces. If the potol is very small then just cut it into half.

Jhinge ( ridged gourd): cut off the tips at both ends. then divide the Jhinge into 2 or 3 inch pieces. Next peel off the ridges, you can peel some of the green skin too, but not all . Cut each piece into half.

Aloo ( potato): Peel off the skin, then cut into 4 to 6 wedges depending on the size of the Potato.

Thoar ( Banana stem): Peel the outer layers then slice the stem into thin rounds. These a nice and crunchy and retains its shape. All the other vegetables are soft so this adds the special taste and bite.

HOW TO CUT THOAR OR BANANA STEM. How to cut Thoar or Banana plant Stem.

Banana stem or Thoor

These Photos will be helpful or please see the post on How to cut thoar in my blog.

Wash all the vegetables and keep aside. While I am cutting the vegetables I usually cook the Dal in the Pressure cooker.

Then Add the vegetables to the Dal and also the salt, Turmeric ,chilies. Then once the vegetables are cooked I add the seasoning.

RECIPE

Ingredients

Matar Bal before cooking
Matar Dal ( split yellow peas) after cooking in the pressure cooker.

Matar Dal ( yellow split peas) 1 Cup

Vegetables

Potol ( pointed gourd) 1

Jhinge (ridged gourd) 1

Aloo ( potato) 1

Thoar (Banana stem) 5 or 6 slices

Kumro Danta ( Pumpkin plant stems) 8 pieces

Kancha Lonka ( green chilies) 6 slit.

[There is no need to have exact measurements. ]

Other vegetable that can be used in addition to the above or instead of the above ones are, Begoon ( eggplant), Lau (Bottle gourd), and Sajne Danta ( Drumsticks).

For the Phoron (seasoning or Tarda)

Ghee Preferably from Cow’s milk. 3 tablespoons

Salt 1/2 teaspoon or as required.

Holud ( turmeric Or Haldi) !/4 teaspoon

Kalo jire ( onion seeds or kalonji) 1/4 teaspoon

Ghee for garnishing. 2 tablespoons full

FOR PHORON / TARDKA/ SEASONING

How to make the Dal

  1. Wash the dal at least 2 or 3 times and then put it in the pressure cooker with 1 and 1/2 cups of water. Close the lid and place the cooker on the stove on high heat. After 1 whistle switch off the stove and keep it to cool down.
  2. Cut all the Vegetables according to the detailed instructions given above, wash, and drain out the water.
  3. Slit the green chilies length wise.
  4. When the pressure cooker cools down open the lid, and add the vegetables, salt, 4 green chilies, and turmeric to the dal and cook it till the vegetables are cooked and can be cut with a spoon.
  5. Add some water if the dal thickens too much. It should be like tomato soup consistency.
  6. In a pan or wok heat the 3 tablespoons of ghee on medium flame till it is hot.
  7. Add the 2 green chilies and the Kalojire, and let the chilies blister and brown a bit.
  8. Now either you (1)pour the Dal with the vegetables on the seasoning in the wok, OR (2) pour the ghee with the phoron (seasoning) onto the Dal in the pressure cooker. In the first method there is a lot of splattering so I prefer the second method even though the first method is the traditional way of seasoning Dals.
  9. Let it boil for a couple of minutes, taste to see if you need more salt. Pour it out into a serving bowl and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of ghee and serve. Tastes best with plain rice.

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Chapra (Split Yellow peas patties)

These lentil patties or Chapra as they are called, are not eaten by itself. They are added as a garnish to other dishes to make it more interesting. I learnt about these from my mother- in- law. She used it in many preparations like Chalkumro jhal, Chapor ghanto, or Thor bhaja and even in Shukto. These are very easy to make and I have found that they freeze very well, so usually when I make them, I make extra and store some in the freezer.

Motor dal which is used to make these are actually dried peas. They are called yellow split peas and are available in most supermarkets in the US. In Delhi this dal is not available every where but is available in areas where the Bengalis frequently shop, like in the Chittaranjan park markets, Gole Market, and even INA Market.

The procedure is very simple, just soak some of the motor dal for about 4 to 6 hours, then grind it into a paste and make these patties.

Ingredients

Motor Dal ( yellow slit peas) 1 cup

Water 1&1/2 cups

Salt 1/2 teaspoon

Oil ( Mustard or any edible oil)

Method

Rinse the dal and soak with 1 and 1/2 cup of water for 4 to 6 six hour.

Then drain out the water, and grind it in a grinder. You will need to add a little water maybe to make the grinding easier, but try NOT to add TOO much water, just as much as is needed to make a thick paste.

Add the salt and mix it well.

Heat a frying pan, preferably a non stick one, or a iron tava. Put 1 tablespoon of oil, tilt the pan so that the oil spreads all over .

Take a tablespoon of the ground dal and spread it into a fairly thin patty. Let it cook on low heat for a few minutes, till the dal paste is set, then flip it over and cook the other side. You may need to put a tablespoon of oil around the patties so that they don’t stick to the pan. It has to be cooked on low heat so that the patties are not raw in the center. You can make more than 1 patty at a time as long as the frying pan is big enough. When both the sides of the patty is slightly brown take it out of the frying pan and leave it on a plate to cool.

Motor Dal or Yellow split peas look like this picture.

It can easily be confused with Arhar Dal ( Pigeon pea) and with Channa Dal ( split chick peas).

I have noticed that the Motor dal is something in between the Arhar dal and the Chana dal in thickness.

Soak 1 cup of dal for 4 to 6 hours. Then drain out the water and grind it to a paste like this on the left. Mix in the salt.

Heat a frying pan and add a couple of tablespoons of oil and spread it around by tilting the pan.

Pick up 1 teaspoon of the dal and put it on the pan, spreading it evenly to make a flat patty.

Add another spoonful beside the previous patty and spread it to make another one. Put a little oil around it .

You can make as many as can fit in the pan. I make 4 at a time . Keep the heat low or the patties will not cook in the center.

After a couple of minutes the ground dal paste will set and start to get brown. Flip it over and cook the other side. Add a teaspoon of oil.

Both sides should be brown like this. Take them off the pan and keep it on a plate to cool.

These are now ready to be used in the dishes or stored.

To store them you need to cool it and then keep them in an airtight box or Ziploc bags in the freezer.

You need to defrost the patties for a couple of hours before using them in the dishes.

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