Minita Sanghvi is a Skidmore professor who’s running for office in my town. The long hours of campaigning have kept her from cooking for her six-year old son as often as she’d like, so when she made Minita’s toor dal for him he ate four plates of it. You may do the same—it’s simple but delicious. Makes 8 servings. P.S. If you would like to know more about Minita and her campaign, here is her website
Ingredients:
1 to 1 ½ c* dried toor dal (split yellow pigeon peas)
½ t nigella (kalonji) seeds**
½ t cumin seeds
3 T neutral cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced or grated
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped, or more if you like
½ c chopped cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
1 large tomato, chopped
¼ t turmeric
1 t Kashmiri red chili powder**
Salt to taste, maybe 1 t
1 T anchur (dried mango) powder**
Method: rinse the dal and simmer in 4 c water until they are tender but still hold their shape, maybe 25 minutes. Drain and reserve. Sauté cumin and nigella seeds in oil till fragrant, then add onion, garlic and ginger and sauté until onion is translucent. Add tomato, chili and cilantro and simmer until tomato softens and the mixture clears the bottom of the pan when stirred. Add turmeric and chili powder and simmer for several minutes. Add cooked toor dal, salt to taste and anchur powder plus a little water if too thick. Serve hot over basmanti rice, with a garnish of chopped cilantro.
*Minita starts with 1 ½ c dried toor dal, but I prefer the flavor balance with a lower ratio of dal to spice mixture.
**These spices should be easy to find at a well stocked Indian or Asian market. There are no substitutes.
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