Dal Sukhno/ Dried Masur Dal

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I have found that Masur dal post on my blog has become the most popular post. In most Bengali households masur or red lentil is the most important of all pulses served. Whenever there is some left out masur dal in the refrigerator my mom always makes the Sukhno dal (Bengali for dried pulses), though it can be prepared with fresh masur dal also. It is a best accompaniment of warm rice served at first of the meal. This preparation had been one of my favorite dishes in lunch. Its simple to cook and absolutely yummy.

Ingredients:

Masur dal (Red lentil): ½ cup

Onions (Peyaj): 2 medium sizes

Turmeric powder (Halud guro): ½ teaspoon

Green chili (Kancha lanka): 2

Mustard oil (Sarser tel): 2 tablespoon

Salt to taste and 3 cups of water

Preparation:

• Wash the masur dal well and cook as instructed here
• Simmer the dal for further 5 -6 minutes so that the dal gets absolutely dried up
• Serve with freshly chopped onions and mustard oil

My tip: While simmering the dal to dry, constantly stir it so that it doesn’t get stick to the bottom of the vessel.

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Masur Dal/Red Lentil Recipe

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Legumes are a very important part of our meals. In my family, I have seen my mom cook dal for every meal. Be it an accompaniment for paratha, roti or rice, dal is always there. Among the all types of legumes found in the market, the one that is very popular in my family is the masyr dal, that too it is cooked in a very simple but special way. It tastes so good.

Masur dal is a lentil which is also a part of the  legume family. Lentils have a very high percentage of  proteins, and also essential amino acids like isoleucine and lysine. But, they lack in the other two essential amino acids, viz.,  methionine and cystine. Iron which is an important source of nutrition is present in high quantities in lentils and is adviced for pregnant ladies, adolescents or those who suffere from iron deficiency.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Red lentil (Masur dal): 1 small bowl

Onion (Peyaj): 1 small, finely chopped

Green chili (Kancha Lanka) : 1 or 2, chopped

Turmeric powder (Halud guro): ¼ teaspoon

Mustard oil (Sarser tel): 1 teapoon

Water : 2 cups

Salt to taste

Preparation:

•·        In a pan pour in the water and masur dal with the salt and put to boil

• Let it boil for 10 to 12 minutes, add water if necessary
• Heat the oil in a wok and sauté the onions
• Pour in the now boiled dal
• Add turmeric powder and green chilies and stir so that the turmeric powder gets mixed well
• Bring to boil and let it remain for 2 to 3 minutes, then take out of flame

Masur dal tastes good with naything, so just try it with anything you want. Check for more updates here, till then .Happy Cooking and Happy Eating.

I am sending this post as a second entry to My Legume Love Affair, Seventh Helping! hosted by Srivalli, the event actually is the brain child of Well-Seasoned Cook Susan.

Also sending the recipe to Sara for her Weekend Cookbook Challenge: 36

The post on way to the FIC-January event hosted by Sunshinemom, the color of the event being Yellow this month.

Also sending it to Ramki’s  “Recipes for the rest of us” .

My fiancee is in love with this dal, he just licks his fingers whenever I cook it, so here it goes for the lovely event, Just for you hosted by Alka.

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Masur Dal and Alu Posto: A whole lunch

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

Posto or poppy seeds is always a delicacy in all Bengali household. It is extensively used as a spice in various dishes, be that in potato or chicken curry.It is said that poppy makes you feel cool, I am not sure of this saying though. I mom believes in it and so come summer there has to be some kind of a curry consisting of poppy seeds. The range varies from simple poppy seed paste sauted to poppy seed grind with cashew to make chicken curry.

As with poppy seeds, masur dal also takes up a very important place in Bengali kitchens. whenever I taste masur dal, I go down memory lane. every day when I came back from school for lunch, mom always prepared masur dal, my all time favorite among all lentils.  Even till now, when I go home in my vacations mom always cook masur dal for me.

All this I was telling because I had the best combination of veggie delight last night. It was steamed rice with masur dal and alu posto. If you are a Bengali or if you are not, then ask any Bengali , you’ll come to know that anyone would kill for this platter.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For Alu Posto:-

Potato (Alu): 3 large size

Nigella seeds (Kalonji): 1 teaspoon

Poppy seeds (Posto): 2 tablespoons

Green Chili (Kacha Lanka): 2

Mustard oil (Sarser tel): 1 teaspoon

For Masur dal:-

Masur dal: 50 gms

Onions (Peyaj): 2 small sizes

Green chili (Kacha lanka): 2

Mustard oil (Sarser tel): 1 teaspoon

Cilantro leaves (Dhaniya pata): 2 tablespoon of chopped leaves (optional)

Preparation:

Alu Posto:-

• Grind the poppy seeds and green chili in a grinder to make a paste
• Cut the potatoes into small one inch squares
• Heat oil in a wok, and throw in the nigella seeds as the oil gets heated.
• Immediately add the potatoes and toss for a while so that the oil gets mixed with the potatoes.
• Now add turmeric and salt along with a cup of water and let the potatoes get half cooked.
• Put in the poppy seed paste and stir so that the paste gets mixed with the half cooked potatoes. You can add more water if the curry gets dried up.
• Cook till the potatoes get cooked properly and the water disappears.

Potato in poppy seed paste

Here is a slide show to show the stages of the cooking:

Masur Dal:-

• Thoroughly wash the dal and put in a deep pan with salt and water so that the dal remain almost 3 inches under water. Let it boil till the water and dal becomes inseparable.
• In a separate heat the oil and throw in the onions and green chili. Saute till the onions turn golden brown
• Add the sauted onions to the boiled dal along with the turmeric powder and cook for two to three minutes more.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Masur Dal

Masur dal and poppy-potato curry tastes best with steamed rice, but you can also try it with chapatis and rotis. The curry also looks good without turmeric, so you can try out that too. About masur dal, it depends what concentration you want for it, depending on that you can keep the water or make it dry.

Sending this to Challenge Event hosted by Veda of Iyengar’s kitchen

Check for more updates here on this blog, till then Happy Cooking and Happy Eating

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