Recipes
Warming Masoor Dal
Author:
Preeti Mistry
Servings
2-4
Prep Time
8-12 hours
Cook Time
45-60 minutes
"Masoor dal is a handy lentil due to its very quick cooking time, and the Rancho Gordo masoor dal is so aromatic. This warming dal is like a big cozy hug you don’t want to end. As a person of Indian origin I can eat dal in any weather, it feels like home. This recipe calls for chard but you could also sub spring & summer vegetables for lighter dish in warmer months."
Ingredients
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1 cup masoor dal
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¼ cup neutral oil (rice bran, sunflower, safflower, canola)
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½ yellow onion, small dice
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1 tablespoon ginger, minced
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1 teaspoon garlic, minced
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1 teaspoon serrano chili, minced
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1 tablespoon Dal Blend
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1 teaspoon turmeric
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2 tablespoons kosher salt
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1 bunch rainbow chard, roughly chopped
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1 cup basmati rice
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1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
Directions
Place dal in a bowl and rinse with cold water three times, to wash and remove excess starch. Put dal into a quart sized container and fill with cold water. Let dal sit overnight, it will double in size.
Strain off the water and put into a medium sized saucepan. Fill with water, leaving about two inches at the top of the pan and place on high heat. When water comes to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until dal is soft and breaking apart, about 20-30 minutes.
When dal is soft and easily smashed with the back of a spoon, remove from heat and let cool. Using either an immersion blender or standard blender, puree the dal and set aside. If dal is super thick, you can add a ¼ cup of water to loosen it up.
In a medium saucepan, heat oil on medium-high heat.
Add onion to the pan and stir until onions start to soften, about 3-5 minutes.
After onions start to slightly soften, add ginger, garlic and serrano chili. Stir to combine all the ingredients, and reduce heat to medium.
Add Dal blend, turmeric and salt. Continue stirring to combine ingredients. Some bits may start to stick to the bottom of the pan, that’s ok as long as they are not burning.
Pour pureed dal into the pan, and use liquid to scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add salt and let simmer at medium-low heat.
Stir in rainbow chard and simmer for about 10 minutes covered to soften greens.
Soak basmati rice in cold water for 20 minutes. Move to a rice cooker and cover with water about 2 cm above the rice. Cook rice as directed by the rice cooker.
To serve, place a 1 cup of rice in a shallow bowl on one side, ladle in the dal on the other side and garnish with cilantro.