Lentil lore

Some of the fondest memories of home-cooked food are connected to simple recipes. Rice and dal have livened up innumerable mealtimes for countless people. With chapati too,dal is the perfect companion. The protein-powered legume was a favourite recommendation of mothers,easy to cook and mixed well with everything. “I think the beauty of dal is in the ease of its recipe. It was one of the first things I learnt when I started cooking,” reminisces Sharada Nair,a housewife who counts the plain yellow dal amongst her favourites,though cheru payar and sambar often rule her Malayali household.

The Maharshtrian dal list is expansive. Toor,moong,masoor and chana – all types of the lentil has a dal dedicated to it. Home-maker Sangeeta Vanpal is proud of her dal-making skills. “I didn’t know much about cooking when I got married. I learnt on my own and tried different dishes,” she laughs,as she bustles around her kitchen preparing aamti. Ingredients stand readily on the kitchen platform. A yellow mass of mashed dal sits grimly amongst chopped onions and a masala dabba. Sesame seeds crackle in ghee in the hollow kadhai,while the onions,turmeric powder,asafoetida,curry leaves,and coriander leaves are mixed in to form a lovely looking mesh. Once this mix changes hue,dal jumps in,with water following it to ease the consistency. “The onions are optional,and they can be cut in any way one wants.” Then she showers a palm-full of dessicated coconut on the liquid. “Optional again,but if you have something so good as this,then why not add it in?” Once the vessel’s contents start simmering,garam masala,salt and red chilli powder are put in. A mighty stir and then an unusual ingredient – a biggish lump of jaggery! “It gives the dal a sweetish tinge,” she says. Indeed,the final product is a delightful play of spice and sweet on the tongue.

The taste of jaggery can be replaced with tangy imli (tamarind) on other occasions. The tamarind is soaked in water and its juice squeezed out into the dal to give a lip-smacking zing to the bland lentil. Another variant is the Kairi ki Dal,made with channa dal,soaked overnight and ground to a pulp. Raw mango is grated and mixed to the pulp,and the usual ingredients are used to top it with a sizzling tadka. “The raw mango dal is a favourite amongst my friends and me. White rice goes famously with it,” says Priti Patil,a commerce student with a soft corner for cooking.

Reminiscent of the north-Indian kadhi-dal is ‘Vade ki Dal’. Three types of lentils – matki,moong dal and harabari dal – are mixed together in small quantities,soaked overnight,sieved free of water,ground with chillies,turmeric powder,hing and jeera powder,and pressed to form small vadis. The sundried little lumps are then mixed into traditional aamti recipes.