Mix Dal

Mix dal is a combination of a variety of dals that are cooked with traditional spices to give a lovely spicy, tangy and slightly sweet flavour. This nourishing dal dish is a frequent source of protein for a lot of Indian vegetarians and it can be served as a main or accompany other dishes as a side. Its quick and easy to prepare and tastes great with hot chapatti, paratha or jeera rice. I love it with paratha!

Serves 5-6

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

50g split Bengal gram (chana dal)

50g split pigeon peas (tuver dal)

50g brown lentils (masoor)

50g split black lentils (urad dal without husks)

2 tbsp oil

1 large onion finely chopped

¼ tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp cumin seeds

Small dry red chilli

1-inch stick of cinnamon

8-10 curry leaves

2 ½ tsp garlic paste

2 ½ tsp ginger paste

¼ tsp turmeric

2 tsp chilli powder

4 tsp coriander cumin powder

1-2 tsp sugar

1 ½ tsp kitchen king powder (optional)

Salt to taste

1 medium tomato chopped

2 tsp tomato puree or 1-2 tbsp passata

1 cup of water

Fresh coriander for garnish

Instructions

Mix the dals, wash thoroughly, add a little salt, 1 tsp of ginger, 2-3 cups of water and boil for about 30-35 minutes.

Once cooked, drain out a little water if you need to.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let them pop.

Then add the cumin seeds, dried red chilli, cinnamon stick and leave to sizzle for a bit.

Add the curry leaves and chopped onions, fry until onions are golden brown.

Next, add the garlic paste, rest of the ginger paste and sauté for a few seconds.

Then add turmeric, chilli powder, coriander cumin powder, salt to taste, tomatoes and tomato puree or passata.

Add a touch of water to prevent masala sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Mix well, cover and leave to cook until the tomatoes have softened.

Stir in the sugar and kitchen king masala (if using).

Now add the cooked mixed dal to the mixture and add a little more water if you need to.

Stir well and leave to simmer for about 10-15 minutes until it has a thicker, creamier consistency.

Serve garnished with fresh coriander with chapatti, paratha or jeera rice.