Maura Dal Chawal

Which means Bland Lentils and Rice and is my least favorite food (other than tofu and cottage cheese[paneer]). I am not averse to eating it, but it wouldn't be one of the things I'll happily make. You might wonder why anyone would make food bland tho'. The reason is, that its usually served with a 'patio' (pronounced paateo) which is a tomato based gravy usually containing some kind of fish or shrimp and the patio is made SPICY so I guess it balances things out.

Now, since this was hubby's request (even tho' I was in no mood to eat it) I decided to make it. But of course, I had to modify the traditional one into something more palatable. Here's my take on it.

I decided I'd document it 'properly' this time so here's a picture of the ingredients I started out with. But then as I started actually making it, I added more stuff and my determination to take pictures went out of the window. Sorry!

Other than whats shown in the picture above, the only other ingredients I used were baby spinach, mustard seeds, 1 tsp oil, chicken franks cut diagonally into long pieces and curry leaves.

The Dal I used is a 40-60% mix of Masoor Dal and split Moong Dal (see link)

The way I made it :

Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds and let them 'splutter'. Add 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and let those get fragrant and brown but not burnt. Then add 4-5 curry leaves ( I wash and dry the ones I bring from the store and then keep them in an air tight box in the refrigerator. They get crumbly-dry after a few weeks but still keep their aroma and taste when added to food and the best part is, this way they don't spoil even with sitting 2+ months in the fridge !) Add finely chopped garlic (about 3 cloves) and the two finely chopped spring onions. Saute until the garlic and onion turn golden-ish. Then add finely chopped tomato. Saute some more. Toss in the chicken franks and saute for a few more seconds. Now add the chopped baby spinach. I buy a HUGE bag but don't use enough of it before it spoils in the fridge. So I store it in the freezer. All I do is take out a handful and crush it with my hand (no need for chopping hah !) works pretty well but the hands do kinda freeze lol. Now add the dal mix, salt and water. Shut the cooker lid and cook it until its completely cooked - about 3 steam lift-offs from the old-fashioned weight cookers.

This dal is usually served with plain white Basmati rice

Hubby said it would be super quick and easy for me to make (since I wanted something hassle free) and he was right because it took about 25 minutes total time and 10 minutes active chopping/sauteing time. Nice for a week night dinner followed by a quick lunch leftover recipe see below.

Add the left over dal into whole wheat flour (removing any left over chicken frank pieces from it) and knead it into a playdoh consistency ball adding very little water if required. Break this into 1.5 inch balls and roll these into quick protein filled lunch tortillas. Roast on a dry pan and have plain or with your favorite spread !