Moong Dal with Ginger and Cilantro
P and I are planning to stick to a diet of moong dal this week.
It is the simplest thing to whip up, really.
You soak one cup of moong dal (for two people) for half an hour or so, add twice the amount of water, cook on stove top or in the pressure cooker. As the water is absorbed, the dal gets cooked and attains a semi-solid consistency. Turn off the heat. Add water and puree (I use a hand-blender) so as to get a liquid of pouring consistency. Place the pan of dal back on the stove, bring to a boil. Add chopped ginger, curry leaves, salt to taste. In a smaller pan, warm ghee. Add cumin, mustard seeds, turmeric. As the seeds splutter, turn off the gas and add to the dal. Before serving, add lemon/lime juice, garnish with chopped cilantro leaves. Serve piping hot.
A sip of this steaming dal takes me home, hundreds of miles away, many years ago. Dinner with my maternal grandparents, freshly showered, piping hot rotis with ghee, vegetable sabzi, mango pickle, Doordarshan News, cotton bed sheets, sleeping dorm style with my darling cousins side by side, early morning temple visits, delicious breakfast from Mani’s Cafe, steel tumblers of coffee, plump yellow mangoes, juicy jackfruit, scent of sandalwood, home.
