Recipe Category: Soup
pagect=recipes,popular-recipes,soup,:recipes,popular-recipes,most-popular,popular+soup
Ingredients
SERVES 4 as a main dish – Cooker: 5- to 8-quart – Time: 18 minutes at HIGH pressure
- 1 cup dried moong dal
- 5 cups water
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 2 tablespons ghee or olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and crushed or grated
- 2 medium plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- about 2 to 3 cups mixed vegetables, cut into even-sized small chunks, such as broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, green beans, radish, eggplant, Napa cabbage, potatoes, green bell pepper (do not use zucchini or Swiss chard; they don’t taste good in this dal).
- 1 bunch fresh spinach, washed well, heavy stems discarded, and leaves cut across into thick ribbons
- 1 tablespoon tamarind juice or juice of 1 small lemon
- sea salt
Method
- Rinse the dal and remove any stones or debris
- Place in a small bowl and cover with water; let soak 4 to 6 hours at room temperature
- Drain and place the dal in a 5- to 7-quart pressure cooker with the 5 cups water and turmeric
- Close and lock the lid
- Set the burner heat to high
- When the cooker reaches HIGH pressure, reduce the burner heat as low as you can and still maintain HIGH pressure
- Set a timer to cook for 18 minutes
- If using an Indian pressure cooker, pressure cook for three whistles (this is fast and will lead to a very creamy dal)
- Meanwhile, in a deep skillet (because the cumin seeds will pop), heat the ghee over medium-high heat
- Add the cumin seeds and let them sputter, then add the ginger
- Stir in the tomatoes and saute for a few minutes until soft
- Remove the pot from the heat
- Open the cooker with the Quick Release method
- Be careful of the steam as you remove the lid
- Add the contents of the skillet to the pot
- If the gravy is too thick, add some boiling water to thin it to your liking
- Add the coriander and vegetable chunks
- Partially cover (do not lock the lid) and simmer over low heat until the vegetables are tender, but not mushy, 15 to 20 minutes
- Stir in the spinach and tamarind juice
- Taste for salt
- Cover (do not lock the lid) and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes to cook the spinach
- Stir once and serve
- Keeps in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator and up to 4 months in the freezer
- Dal, or dahl, refers to the dried peas and beans that have been part of Indian cuisine since ancient times
- The brain twister is that all lentils are dal, but all dal are not lentils
- Dal soups are seasoned with ginger, to aid digestion, and a fried spice blend known as tadka or chaun, for added flavor
- The most popular dals for soup are the diminutive pale green or yellow mung dal (moong dal), whole or split without skins
- Green or yellow split peas (matar dal), golden lentils (toovar dal), or black gram (urad dal) can be substituted, but will taste slightly different and have a different texture and color
- Dal should be rinsed with cold water and sorted before soaking
Full List of Soup Recipes
Full List of Vegetables Recipes