For the past month or so, my boyfriend and I have been eating this almost everyday for breakfast. We both were concerned about our cholesterol after a stint of eggs and bacon every morning, but wanted something with enough protein to keep us going all morning and with enough flavor to keep us interested. I usually make a big pot on Sunday and we eat it the rest of the week. There are so many variations on this Indian classic, but this is the one we’ve been enjoying of late. Some easy variations we like to use: add a fried egg on top or stir in some spinach if you want more vegetables. I think this is already a little spicy, but Tabasco goes well with it too!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup moong dal
- 1/2 cup split yellow peas (aka toor dal or split yellow pigeon peas))
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 3/4 teaspoons tumeric
- 3 tablespoons ghee (butter or olive oil can be substituted, but ghee really has the best flavor)
- 1 small-medium onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 1/2 inch knob ginger, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon aleppo peppers (i know, not very traditional, but delicious! a slightly lesser amount of regular chili flakes works too)
- Salt and fresh ground telicherry pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Place moong dal and toor dal in a medium pot with water and tumeric. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook at a moderate simmer until moong dal has lost its shape and toor dal is very tender. Make sure to stir the pot every once in awhile to make sure the dal isn’t sticking to the bottom. If the peas start to look dry (it should become about the consistency of oatmeal), add more water. This should all take ~30 minutes.
- When peas have reached desired consistency, remove from heat. In a frying pan (I like to use a wok), heat ghee over medium heat until melted. Add onion, garlic and ginger and fry until they begin to soften and just faintly brown. Add cumin and chili and fry another two minutes. Stir into dal and season with salt and pepper.
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