Sunday, July 5, 2009

Dal with Fenugreek Leaves

The first time I had perfect dal was when I met my husband. The two dishes in his repertoire are dal and chicken curry. Since I'm vegetarian, I can only believe that the chicken curry is good. The dal, though, is sheer genius. Filled with protein, lentils are a sure delight for vegetarians.

I found this dal in a cookbook I bought recently, Pure and Simple: Homemade Indian Vegetarian Cuisine by Vidhu Mittal. The book is amazing. Every single recipe is simple and uses ingredients that are usually available in most Indian homes.


Dal with Fenugreek Leaves
(Recipe adapted from Pure & Simple by Vidhu Mittal)

1/4 cup split Green Gram, washed and soaked for 1/2 hour
1/2 cup Bengal Gram, washed and soaked for 1/2 hour
1/2 cup Red Gram (Masoor Dal), washed and drained
2 Tomatoes, cut into cubes
A pinch of Turmeric Powder
1-2 Green Chillies, chopped
1/4 tsp Dry Mango Powder (Amchur)
1/4 tsp Garam Masala Powder
1 cup Fenugreen Leaves, chopped and cooked
2 tbsp Cilantro Leaves, chopped
Salt, to taste

Tempering
1 tbsp Ghee (clarified butter) or Vegetable Oil
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
Red Chilli Powder, to taste
A pinch of Asafoetida

In a pressure cooker or large saucepan, cook all the soaked lentils with the water, salt and turmeric powder. Once cooked and lentils are soft, let simmer for a few minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes, green chillies, mango powder and garam masala and bring to a boil. Drop in the cooked fenugreek and cook for a minute. Remove from the stove.

Heat the ghee or oil for the tempering. Add all the ingredients and let cook for a minute. Pour the contents onto the cooked dal. Stir. Serve hot with rice or rotis.

28 comments:

Siri said...

that is one yummy looking dal Anu :)
Hope everything is going good on your end.

Siri

Lisa Turner said...

Sounds wonderful! I love simple, yet tasty and nourishing, dal dishes like this. Fenugreek leaves are a favorite too!

Pari Vasisht said...

Love the Dal -anything with Methi I have to try.If you are also very fond of Fenugreek do try the Methi baingan Bharta from my blog . I promise u will not regret the recommendation.

Priya Suresh said...

Wat a wonderful dal, simple yet healthy!

Vinod said...

not as good as the one i make. anyway, looks and tastes fine i guess ;-)
no matter what...you are an awesome cook!

Parita said...

So healthy and delicious, perfect with rice!

My Kitchen Antics said...

I am a total fan of dal of any type or form. Will definitely try this one out.

lubnakarim06 said...

Methi dal is my all time favourite dal combo...looks delish...love the addition of different varieties of dals....

Ranjani said...

This looks quick and easy, I'm bookmarking this and making it my mission to cook this over the wknd! This recipe should inspire me to make this.It's been over 3 months since I made anything and all that chipotle has made my jeans tight in all the wrong places:(

♥Rosie♥ said...

Your Dal sounds wonderful, I have used Fenugreek powder but not the leaves.

DK said...

I have made a similar recipe. I used only masoor..will try this with the other lentils too :)

Anonymous said...

would this suffer terribly without amchur? any substitutes?

also, i only have access to dried fenugreek - would that totally ruin the dish? i imagine i'd use less dried than fresh?

but maybe these two changes makes it an entirely different recipe!

Anonymous said...

Hi Arundathi,
Loved this dal vry much...liked the combination of dals...sounds sooo healthy...tnx for sharing...

Dewi said...

I love methi leaves very much. There is something about it that quite addictive for me. Your dal sounds scrumptious!

Chitra said...

this is the second methi dal post ..Looks too good!!

Raaga said...

I'd love to try this when methi is in season here next :)

Humaira said...

Hiya, Just found your blog today. U know what I can eat tons of tasty food but I always come back to dal and chaanwal. pic looks very good. Also I am new to blogging. Do check out my blog at http://humairasfoodpassion.blogspot.com/

Chef Jeena said...

Dal looks so tasty I bet teh methi leaves give it such a great flavour.

Unknown said...

My fenugreek plant is sprouting up! Will try out this recipe with those leaves in a few days!

Arundathi said...


Thanks everyone!!

Pari - am not a huge fan of baingan but will definitely give it a try. thanks.

Ranjani - LOVE chipotle! :)

Anonymous - Nope, leave the amchur out if you can't find it. And yes, you can use dried fenugreek - just that the taste will be slightly different.

Humaira - thanks for stopping by and good luck on the blogging!

Shwetha said...

Hey Arundathi,

I really like your blog and the way you write. I especially like to look all the stuff that you bake.
Thanks for sharing all these wonderful recipes and for your honest opinions about them.
I've been following your blog for some time now and I've recently started out my own.
I especially liked the blog about Khara bread it looks gorgeous just like the one I get to eat at V.B Bakery.
Thanks!

Jude said...

Another new-to-me ingredient. Do the leaves add a bit of bitterness the way the seeds or sprouts do?

Information said...

Very nice recipe

CHITRA said...

HI ANU,

I AM OFFICE GOING PERSON, SO I DONT GET ENOUGH TIME IN THE MORNING SO, IF I SOAK DAL AT NIGHT AND COOK IT IN THE MORNING, WILL IT TASTE GOOD AND SHOULD WE USE ONLY METHI LEAVES AND DISCARD ITS STEMS?

Arundathi said...


@ Shwetha - Thanks so much for the lovely comment!!

@ Jude - Yes maybe just a little bit of bitterness, but not very much.

@ Information - Thanks

@ Chitra - Soaking the dal overnight is always a good idea. And yes, pls use the leaves.

Naina said...

Yummy!
It is a mouth watering dish!
This recipe looks very easy.
And I will try it at my home with the help of my mamma.
Thanks for sharing

dasunrisin said...

Looks so good!

Joy said...

Thanks so much for the recipe for Milan cookies. Never thought I find a recipe for them. They are delicious.