I have some val dal sitting on my shelf. This is purely an Indian dish and it is vegetarian and vegan friendly. Enough of chatter now on to the recipe.
I took 1/4 cup of val dal and washed it until all of the starchy bubbles were non existant and the water was clear. 1 added 1/4 cup of olive oil to the pressure cooker on medium high heat then 1 pinch each of hing, cumin seeds and mustard seeds. I watched it sputter and addeded 2 bay leaves, 1 clove, 1 dried red chili I crushed with my hand and sprinkled in the pot. I added 1 pinch each of corriander seeds and khash khash (poppy seeds) in my mortar and pestle and ground them and added it to the pot.
I added 3 dashes of cinnamon powder, if using a cinamon stick break off a tiny piece and add it to the mortar and pestle and grind it. Add this to the pot and add 3 cloves of garlic and 1 small slice of ginger that I washed and peeled and ground them in to the mortar and pestle and add it to the pot. I added 1 onion or shallot cut in half moon slices and cooked them until the rawness went away. I added 1 pinch each of pink salt, turmeric and red chili powder to the pot and stirred.
I added 1 tomato that I chopped and cooked it down till it was a mushy consistancy. I added 1 green chili cut in to tiny pieces, either or 1 pinch of shredded coconut or desicated coconut, 2 pinches of turbinado sugar and stir. I added 1 quart or 1 liter of water and brought to a boil. I closed the pressure cooker and let the safety button pop up and set the timer for 20 minutes.
When time was up I turned off the burner and let the pressure escape fully and opened the lid. I seen the val dal was mushy. Ok I wanted it like this. I added 1 pinch of cilentro and 2 tbs of either or lemon or lime juice at the end of cooking.
This is ready to consume with plain yogurt and choice of achar (pickle) on the side. It is also very nice dish during Ramadan or any other time you want some dal.
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