Tadke vali Arhar – Our Daal for all seasons

Any day or time of the year, this daal, with phulka, is what Shri loves most to eat, I think. And when he says “I am a daal-chawal kind of person”, surely the daal he’d be happiest with would be this one.

It is made from the same lentil – arhar daal – that his other favorite, varan, is made from.

While the tadka is not very unusual, I have borrowed two little ideas from my mother in-law, and my sister-in-law Vasanti, who is another really excellent cook and her daal with tadka is the nicest I have ever eaten.

That I add jaggery to the daal is inspired by Ma’s varan; and I add the coriander leaves to the tadka towards the end of the frying process like Vasanti.

Tadke vali Arhar Daal

1 cup (200 ml measure) of arhar daal, soaked for 1-2 hours

2-3 tbsp of sunflower oil (you could replace half the quantity of oil with ghee for a great flavor)

1 large onion, or 2 small ones, peeled and chopped very fine

1 large tomato, chopped very fine

1 tbsp of chopped coriander leaves

a pinch of asafetida

1/2 -3/4 a tsp of turmeric powder

1/4 tsp of cumin seeds

1/4 tsp of mustard seeds

1/2 or 1 tsp of crushed jaggery

Pressure cook the daal in 3 cups of water, after adding salt to taste. When the daal is well-cooked (the grains should be fairly well blended), stir in the turmeric and jaggery.

While the daal cooks, in a frying pan heat the oil and add the asofetida and the mustard seeds. When the seeds begin to pop, add the cumin seeds. When these start to release their aroma, add the onions and fry them on a moderate heat until they begin to brown. Add the tomatoes and cook till they are quite soft. Now add the coriander leaves, fry for a few seconds, and add this tadka to the daal and boil everything together for 5-7 minutes. If the daal is thicker than you like, add some boiled water (sometimes this daal goes thick if kept for some time after cooking).

With the fresh taste of the coriander mingled with the richness of the tomatoes and onions, and the very mild sweet note from the jaggery, this daal really does have the most delicious flavors come together. I like to eat this one straight from the bowl, though it is great with hot rice too.

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Khatti-Meethi Daal

This afternoon, when I soaked the daal for the evening’s meal, I found myself thinking that I did not want to make varan yet again. As I mulled over the various ways in which arhar can be cooked, I remembered for the first time in a long while of a childhood favorite – a sweet and sour version of this lentil.

My mother sometimes made arhar flavored with tamarind and jaggery. And though the others at home -my father, my brother and my dadi – did not favor this variation, she made it quite often just for me.

I had never made it myself until today, but managed to achieve the same taste as in my mother’s version. And I was quite pleased to see that the girls liked it too.

Khatti-Meethi Daal

1 cup arhar

1 medium sized onion, chopped very finely

1 green chilly, sliced through(optional)

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds (methi)

1 clove of garlic, sliced in to thin slivers

5-6 curry leaves

1/2 tsp turmeric

salt to taste

2 tsp of thick tamarind paste

1tbsp of crushed jaggery (you can vary the amount)

Soak the daal with the fenugreek seeds for 2-3 hours, then pressure cook it in 3 cups of water, with the onion, the jaggery and the salt, till the grains are absolutely soft.

When the daal has cooled down a little bit, add the turmeric and the tamarind paste and stir everything together thoroughly with a whisk so that the grains dissolve completely.

In a small frying pan, heat the oil, add the mustard seeds, then when they start to crackle add the curry leaves, the green chilly, and the garlic and stir till the garlic starts to turn a very light brown. Add this tempering to the daal and boil it for 7-8 minutes to allow everything to really come together.

This daal is just great with plain white rice.  Add a little bit of ghee to that, and it’s heaven 🙂

Comfort in a bowl – Varan

Indira seemed both interested and amused when I showed her this blog a few days ago. Both the sisters now look forward to watching me take pictures of the food these days, and eagerly wait to see them on the computer.

Even so, this evening I was pleasurably surprised when she told me, watching me serve her varan to her, “will you please put this recipe on your blog too, since I really love this daal?”.

It’s true, she does, as does her father.

Varan is a Maharashtrian way of cooking arhar daal, and I learnt to make it from my mother-in-law.

Both the girls have pretty much grown up on the stuff and it continues to be their favorite food in the whole world. Just like when they were babies, even now when all else fails to appeal they never say no to a bowl of this daal.

One of the things I have come to appreciate about this staple food of our home is that its gentle flavor complements the spice-rich taste of many everyday subzis.

It really does have the most soothing,satisfying taste, and I LOVE how simple it is to make.

Varan

1 cup (200 ml measure) of arhar dal, soaked for 1-2 hours

A tbsp of ghee

a pinch of asofetida

1/2 a tsp of turmeric powder

1/2 tsp of cumin seeds (optional)

1 tbsp of crushed jaggery

Pressure cook the daal in 3 cups of water, after adding salt to taste. When the daal is well-cooked (the grains should be fairly well blended), stir in the asofetida,ghee,turmeric and jaggery, and boil the daal for 7-8 minutes till everything is well mixed.

If you want to flavor the daal with cumin seeds, then add only the jaggery and the turmeric directly to the daal.

Now heat the ghee in a small pan, add the asofetida and cumin seeds to the ghee, then pour everything over the daal before boiling it for 7-8 minutes.

Serve the varan over plain rice, or drink it straight from your katora like soup, as we do sometimes 🙂

I’ll post the picture tomorrow; I think I’ll let the girls click this one.