As you may know I get raves about my dal (lentils). This time it is an Afghani dish and not an Indian or Pakistni dish. However it is still delicious. Mr. Riaz said it tastes like Appa’s. Appa is my late mother in law but everyone called her Appa including us. Also this is an inspiration I got from an Afghani blogger whose recipe is pinned on my pinterest but this has my touches on it completely.
Actually I do not messure but my accuracy is always spot on. I added 3 cups of either moong, masoor, toor or I would mix all 3 of them but if you are going to combine all 3 types of dal then it is 1 cup each of masoor, toor and moong ki dal respectively. This goes in to a pot and it gets rinsed until the water is clear. Add 2 quarts or 1 liter of water and set on the stove to boil at low heat with the pot covered. A coldero is a decent size pot to cook the dal in. I used the medium size one which is sufficiant. The ones I bought as a set are from large, medium and small. Target and Walmart has them. Also you can buy them on Amazon.
While this is cooking on regular stovetop grind 1 pinch of cumin seeds in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder until it is corsley ground then add this to the dal. 1 pinch each of turmeric and red chili powder, 3 dashes of maggi or knorr aroma, and 1 bullion cube also get added as well. Cook this for 30 minutes.
Add 1 small piece of ginger washed peeled and cut in to tiny pieces. This is what I experienced at the end of cooking time. The dal itself was soft but it was still whole in one piece. If this happens to you too like it did to me then this is what I did, I used an immersion blender and blended it until it is smooth. Do not worry about that piece of ginger. It is a digestive aid and it helps get rid of gas.
Add 1/4 cup of olive oil to either a wok or a cast iron skillet, turn it on to high heat, 1 onion or shallot sliced in to half moon slices and 3 cloves of garlic crushed in a mortar and pestle, add to oil and fry until they are brown. Returning your attention to the pot a add 1 tbs of either lemon or lime juice, the tarka of onion and garlic and gentley add to the pot, stir add 1 pinch of mint as a garnish. For instant pot method doing the reverse tarka on saute function is recommended then add the dal after you make the reverse tarka. Turn off sauté function and turn on pressure cook and add the dal. Close the instant pot and let cook for 15 minutes. It will turn off when done and press the quick release valve.
The reverse tarka is added to the pot before the dal turning it in to a one pot meal.
This is perfect to eat with chapati or naan with some creamy desi yogurt.
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