This has been a humbling meal for as long as I can remember. A simply spiced Moong Dhal which is hassle-free to rustle up and full of flavour. It brings back fond memories from my childhood, as I remember my mum used to make this weekly (on a Thursday!!). It was so delicious that I’ve continued cooking this lentil curry using her recipe. She often made this with a potato curry and so it was either a saag aloo or fararli potatoes with rice and chappati on the menu.
You can cook Moong Dhal in a pressure cooker, I remember my gran and aunties often used this method to cook beans and lentils, however I prefer a saucepan on most occasions. A pressure cooker is quick, but I really can’t stand the noise and steam/water that comes out of it when the whistle blows. For that reason, think I’ll stick to soaking the lentils and using a saucepan as my cooking method!
Upon boiling the moong dhal, in a separate pan prepare the masala. Temper tomatoes with whole and ground spices and then transfer it into the dhal to cook on a low heat until combined. This is such as perfect accompaniment to a dry curry but also does well as a main meal, if you want something easy and wholesome.
Moong Dhal
Ingredients
- 100 g Moong beans
- 700 ml Water
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 Red chilli (dried)
- 2 Cloves
- 4 Curry leaves
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 4 g Ginger (grated)
- 1 clove Garlic (large, grated)
- ½ tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Ground coriander
- ½ tsp Garam masala
- 4 tbsp Tomatoes (blended)
- ½ tsp Dried Fenugreek leaves (crushed)
- Coriander to garnish
Instructions
- Wash the moong beans and cover in a bowl of warm water for approximately 4 hours.
- Rinse the water. Transfer moong beans to a saucepan and boil with 700ml water and salt for approximately 25 minutes or until cooked. Add more water (to the consistency you prefer) if it evaporates too quickly.
- In a separate small frying pan, temper the whole spices: cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon stick, red chilli and curry leaves.Mix the whole spices in with the cooked moong dhal.
- Add blended tomatoes, ginger, garlic, salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala and dried fungreek leaves.Let this cook for 5 minutes.
- Garnish with coriander and serve
