Musur Dal / Lentil Soup

Dal or Pulses – a very significant source of protein, is a part of the daily Indian meal. There are variety of dals (refer to the Glossary section for further reference) and lots of variations in their cooking (mainly in their tempering). I will try to highlight a few of them in this post.

Ingredients:

Musur Dal – 1 cup
Salt – to taste
Sugar – optional and to taste
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Ginger paste -
Garlic cloves
Slit green chillies
Tomatoes -
Turmeric powder – 1/4th tsp
Oil/Butter/Ghee – 1 tbsp + for garnishing
Water
Chopped coriander leaves – for garnishing.

Method:

Note: It is quicker and easier to use a pressure cooker to boil the lentils.

Wash the dal thoroughly, and pressure cook (or boil) it with 2-3 cups of water, salt, garlic cloves and green chillies. (You can add the tomatoes at this stage or later). Simmer until the dal is cooked, which in my case is 5-6 whistles, but can vary.
This step is called tempering. Heat oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds and let it sizzle.
Add ginger paste, turmeric powder, and tomatoes (if not added in the pressure cooker).
Add the boiled lentils and mix well.Add more water if required as per the desired consistency.
Check and adjust salt and add sugar if required.
Garnish with 1 cube of butter or 1 tsp of ghee and chopped coriander leaves.

Variations:

While tempering, add some onions with or without ginger and garlic. (It is not always necessary to use ginger and garlic).
Add a pinch of asafoetida while tempering.
Temper with mustard seeds, curry leaves and a pinch of asafoetida.
Use any other dal (lentil) or a combination of dal to get varied flavors.
Use Panchforon or Panch Puran for tempering.


Filed under: Pulses & Beans, Soups & Salad Tagged: Daal, Dal, lentil, masoor, musur, Pulses, soup