METHIWALI ARHAR KI DAL

 METHIWALI ARHAR KI DAL

It is essential that we have a fair amount of lentils in our daily diets for better health. Spilt Pigeon Peas, is one of the most popular of these lentils in our Indian cooking. It is called Toor Dal or Arhar Dal in Hindi; Togaribele in Kannada; and Thori Dali in my mother tongue, Konkani. Toor Dal is considered to be a great source for proteins, carbs and dietary fibres as detailed in this article in NetMeds. 

Often the simple, comfort foods taste great especially after the festival season when we tend to eat a lot of rich food. 

Today's recipe is for an easy to make dish from North Indian cuisine made with Fenugreek Leaves (Methi Leaves) and Arhar/Toor Dal. I have adapted this from "Methiwali Arhar Ki Dal" from the YouTube video in Sanjeev Kapoor's Khazana. 

We enjoyed this immensely with hot rotis! 

Ingredients:-

• Arhar/Toor Dal (Split Pigeon Peas), 1 cup 
• Methi (Fenugreek) Leaves, 1/2 of a medium bunch
• Turmeric Powder, 1/4 tsp
• Jaggery, grated, 1 tsp or to taste
• Chilli Powder, 1/2 tsp
• Garlic, chopped, 1 tbsp
• Hing (Asafoetida) Powder, 1/4 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Ghee, 1 tbsp

Method:-

Remove the methi leaves from their stems, wash thoroughly in several changes of water

Finely chop the methi leaves

Chop the garlic 

Grate the jaggery

Wash and soak the arhar dal in a vessel with 3 cups of water for about 2-3 hours

Add turmeric powder to this and keep this vessel in a pressure cooker

Cook for 3-4 whistles or till the dal gets fully cooked

When the cooker cooks remove the cooked dal, mash it lightly 

Add the grated jaggery, chilli powder, salt and 1/2 cup of water

Mix well and bring to a boil

Heat ghee in a thick-bottomed pan and add the chopped garlic and saute till it turns a golden brown and gives off a nice aroma

To this add the asafoetida powder and saute

Now add the chopped fenugreek leaves and saute for 1 minute till they wilt

Add a little salt, (the methi leaves will shrink in volume), mix well and cook for 1 minute 

Next add the cooked and mashed arhar dal, mix well and add water to get the desired consistency 

Cook for 1-2 minutes 

Switch off the gas and transfer to a serving bowl

Serve the Methiwali Arhar Ki Dal hot with rotis, naan etc