Moong Daal with Vegetables(Bengali style)
I had never tasted Bengali style vegetable daal until we were in England in 1965. I became friends with a Bengali doctor, Bella Das, who worked at the same hospital as my husband. She and her husband both were doctors. and lived in our neighborhood. We became family friends. And I learned a lot of Bengali dishes "sweet and savory", from her. Bengali style daal with vegetables became my favorite. This recipe was not in our repetroire in Hyderabad. It is delicious, filling and easy to make. It is like a staple which we eat with rice which is another staple food in India.Her dishes kept me connected to Bengali food. When we move to the States, we ended up in western New York. I went to Alfred University, where I met a lot of young Bengali students. They were young and were very happy to have us as their family. They spend weekends with us and shared the cooking with me. They cooked Bengali food for us giving me time off from some of the weekend cooking. Here is the recipe for Bengali daal with vegetables.
Ingredients
- ½ cup split moong daal
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ginger/garlic paste(you can use powdered ginger and garlic ½ teaspoon each, because it is strong) available in Indian stores
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups water
- ¼ cup green peas
- ¼ cup carrots cut into discs
- ¼ cup green beans
- 1 Roma tomato, finely chopped
- 2 small green chilies
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
Thadka, or Tempering
- 3 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 2 dried red chilies
Instructions
- Wash and drain daal well. Add some fresh water to cover daal.
- Add crushed pepper, turmeric, ginger/garlic (you are using), cumin powder, sugar and salt. Stir and cook until daal is very soft. Add 3 cups water and stir to mix.
- Remove from heat and blend by using a potato masher or a blender. This daal is textured rather than very smooth; therefore stop blending when it is slightly coarse.
- Return to heat and add peas, carrots, beans, and tomatoes. Return to heat and bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 25 to 30 minutes on low heat or until all vegetables are cooked but not mushy.
- Add green chilies and cilantro and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a small saucepan, add mustard seeds and let them splurtter. Add dried red chilies and brown lightly shaking the saucepan for even browning.
- Transfer prepared daal to a serving bowl and pour the Thadka ( spiced oil on top).
- Stir gently to serve with Plain white rice