Golden beet and split-pea dal

Yesterday I went to a supermarket called Morrisons, which I visit only occasionally. It turned out to be very exciting, in the event, because I saw display after display of vegetables and fruits that I'd only ever seen in "ethnic" markets before... bittergourd (albeit the Chinese kind), colocasia, bottlegourd, plantains, curry leaves and so on, along with even more exotic heirloom items - tomatoes and golden beets and pink beets.

To say that I was thrilled is an understatement - Pete was amused by my ecstatic squeaks of joy as I came upon more and more things, some of which I'd only seen in Singapore, or heard of from other food blogs. My first instinct was to buy everything in sight, but in the end I restricted myself to buying some heirloom tomatoes and beetroots (and some spiky looking rambutan. I just couldnt resist those fruits).


To get back to the beets, they looked absolutely lovely when they were peeled - a sort of golden orangey pink, all the shades of a glorious sunset. The intensity of the colours lessened somewhat when the beets were cooked, but they were still very apparent. I have to say I prefer these heirloom beets to the regular red ones because they don't turn everything they touch to a lurid pink. And they still taste like proper beets. They definitely made my dal look pretty in pastel shades! Don't you think so too?

PS. The rambutan? Pete and I ate them. They were beautifully sweet.

Recipe for: Golden beet and split-pea dal
Ingredients:

2-3 medium heirloom golden/pink beets, cooked
 
1 cup green split-peas, cooked 2 medium red onions, sliced thinly
-5 fresh green chillies, sliced thinly
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, sliced
 
1 tsp cumin-coriander powder
1 tsp Kitchen King masala (or other garam masala)
1 tbsp oil
Fresh coriander leaves for garnish
Salt to taste
1-2 cups water

Method:
1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the chillies and garlic cloves. Fry for a minute or so, until it's fragrant, then add the cumin-coriander powder.
2. Add the sliced onions and fry till they start to become soft
then add the chopped tomatoes and fry till they're mushy and soft.
3. Add the chopped cooked beets and mix them in with the masala,
then add the cooked split-peas.
 
Pour in a cup or two of water, depending on how thick you want the dal, and stir well.

4. Bring to a gentle boil, then stir in the Kitchen King/garam masala. Add salt to taste.
 
5. Turn off the heat after a couple of minutes, then stir in the chopped coriander.
 
Serve hot over rice or with rotis.

RECIPE: GOLDEN BEET AND SPLIT-PEA DAL

Ingredients:
2-3 medium heirloom golden/pink beets, cooked
1 cup green split-peas, cooked
2 medium red onions, sliced thinly
4-5 fresh green chillies, sliced thinly
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tsp cumin-coriander powder
1 tsp Kitchen King masala (or other garam masala)
1 tbsp oil
Fresh coriander leaves for garnish
Salt to taste
1-2 cups water

Method:
1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the chillies and garlic cloves. Fry for a minute or so, until it's fragrant, then add the cumin-coriander powder.
2. Add the sliced onions and fry till they start to become soft then add the chopped tomatoes and fry till they're mushy and soft.
3. Add the chopped cooked beets and mix them in with the masala, then add the cooked split-peas. Pour in a cup or two of water, depending on how thick you want the dal, and stir well.
4. Bring to a gentle boil, then stir in the Kitchen King/garam masala. Add salt to taste.
5. Turn off the heat after a couple of minutes, then stir in the chopped coriander. Serve hot over rice or with rotis.

Simple chana dal fry

Chana dal is one of my favourite dals for making sundal. It’s easy to cook in that it doesn’t need soaking for hours, and even if you undercook it, all it takes is a few tbsp of water and a few minutes steam-cooking in a covered pan, and it obligingly softens to the texture you want. It makes great tasting savoury dishes and is just as good cooked into a payasam. In fact, chana dal payasam (milky sweet dish) is one of my favourites, as long as there’s no coconut (whether as flesh or milk) added to it.

*sigh* I rather wish I hadn’t mentioned the payasam, now… I’m getting a craving for my mother’s kadalai paruppu payasam. (Did you non-Tamils guess that kadalai paruppu is chana dal? How perspicacious of you!)

*There. Finally used that fabulous word in a sentence. At least one of my ambitions can now die happy*

All that talk of payasam apart, today’s recipe is a sort of sundal, I guess, except that I like to think of it more as a dry dal fry. Less South Indian and more North Indian. It was really mouth-watering, considering that the ingredients are minimal (compared to some other recipes I can think of). I ate it topped with some cool Greek yogurt and enjoyed every bit of it. It even went to work with me the next day, and made a great snack. Really nice with curd rice, too.

Recipe for: Simple chana dal fry



Ingredients

1 cup chana dal
2 medium red onions, sliced fine
1/2 tsp ghee
1/2 tsp oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp garam masala/Kitchen King masala
2-4 green chillies, sliced very thin (optional/to taste)
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped, for garnish

Method:

1. Soak the chana dal in water for 30 minutes, then pressure cook with enough water to cover the dal in the vessel.



The dal should be cooked but still hold its shape (a little undercooked is ok - that can be remedied). Set aside to cool.

2. Heat the oil and ghee in a pan.



3. Add the green chillies and cumin seeds and let them fry for a minute or so.



4. Now add the sliced onions and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, till they start to become soft.



5. Throw in the sliced garlic and stir it in, cooking the mixture till the garlic begins to soften but not brown.



6. Add the garam masala or Kitchen King masala when the onions have softened and are cooked.



7. Now add the cooked dal to the pan.



Mix it in with the onions, without mushing up the dal. If it is undercooked, add 3-4 tablespoons of water now and cover the pan, steam-cooking the dal for 5 minutes or till done.



8. Garnish with coriander leaves, and eat as a snack with yogurt, or as a side dish with rice and a vegetable curry.