UDAD DAL WITH FENNEL (SOUNF) , GINGER AND GREEN CHILI

THE STORY

After eating  health food continuously, I was planning to cook a real healthy food in Badshahi style. A health food  ensures that you will die healthy but a healthy food makes you live healthy. So I thought once in a while I should eat healthy food. But my luck was  else where.

 I got a call from a friend and she wanted to know the recipe of a simple Dal, which she used to eat in her childhood days and liked it very much. Well that was a very difficult specification. How to find out a recipe of a Dal, which one used to eat in her childhood days and doesn't remember the name of the Dal even!!!

After doing a bit of cross examination like a lawyer, I could gather that it was Bengal origin, very thin, looked white with  some nice and very different fragrance and there were few green chili visible. I realized she was talking about a common Dal made from Udad dal ( Kalai and Biuli in Bengali and Biri Dali in Oriya). I gave her the recipe, she cooked and called back to thank me next day.

But by then the damage was done to my healthy food eating ..I also felt like eating this particular  dal ( like getting an  infection) even if I had at least well tried 2 Badshahi Udad dal recipes in my data bank.

THE RECIPE  

 The recipe is very old, well known and  simple , Udad dal ( de-husked, white ones)  boiled with SouNf  and  ginger paste and seasoning of  Sounf , dry red chili added at the end. Green chilis are put too. It has a unique fragrance,  very mild and quite flat, devoid of sourness, high spice and onion garlic influence. Normally needs a BaDa accompaniment , mostly, BaDas made from Khus Khus ( posto, popy seeds) base with coconut, green chili, a binder  etc. It is a thin  dal.
You can try the Badas mentioned in this blog " Mulo Badas and others". If you need a posto Bada recipe let me know or it should be available on the net.

While planning to cook the Dal I suddenly remembered, I had introduced, long back, a little variation ( not my original) to this Dal, which was appreciated by the Guinea pigs ( sorry, I mean the people on whom I had carried out the test of the recipe, 1st time) even my JFs liked it . The variations are minor and given below.

(Oh sorry ! JF means "Jealous Foodies ", to qualify as a JF  one has to be a friend to the other, in other respects except recipes . Like me and my wife are JFs. It improves the over all food development and leads to good food for the JFs too. )

Lets get down to business , I mean cooking .

INGREDIENTS

1. Udad dal 120 gms ( 1 standard cup, 150 ml size), de-husked white ones.

2, SouNf paste 2 tsp ( heap) alternatively use 1 and 1/2 level tsp powder 

3. Ginger paste 2 tsp heap

4. green chili 4 to 8 numbers, hot or mild , you decide

5, Arvi 6 numbers ( saru in oriya, Kochu-r mukhi in bengali..) (Optional not part of traditional dish, but many people add, some people add other vegetables too.) 

6. salt to taste

7. Sugar 1 tsp to taste (not to sweeten)

For seasoning 

1. fennel (sauNf) seeds 1 tsp slightly heaped

2. Jeera (cumin) 1/2 tsp ( optional , not part of traditional dish, I am trying a fusion from oriya style)

3. dry red chili 2 No

4. Bay leaf :one

5. Ghee (2 tsp for health food, 2 tbsp for healthy food , many tbsp say 3-5 for connoisseurs and JFs). I used 2 tbsp, 

6. Juliens of Ginger 1 tbsp 

PROCEDURE

1. Roast Udad dal ( variation,) (normally straight raw dal is used) in low flame and when it changes color ( faint brown and few will be brown) remove to a plate for fast cooling. DONT OVER ROAST. You will get that faint aroma of roasted Udad dal....Yumi...

2. When the Dal is cooled, wash thoroughly and soak in water for 2-3 hrs.

Soaked Dal

3. Peel the Arvi and cut into 4 pieces each, lengthwise and wash 2 -3 times.

4. Take a non stick pan or Kadai, add ghee and heat. Add the Arvi , stir fry for 3-5 min or when the sliminess goes and few brown spots arise on pieces. Remove and keep aside. Keep the ghee for seasoning.

  STIR FRIED ARVI

5. Take a pressure cooker, add water about 1.5 times the volume of soaked dal, start heating and bring to boil. Add dal, Fennel and ginger paste, salt and sugar and stir fried arvi..

6.  Cook for 5 minutes under pressure. The dal should almost melt away.

7. Cool and open lead.

8. Heat the pan used for stir frying ( the ghee will be there or make up). When hot, give seasoning of SauNf, Jeera, red chili, bay leaf reduce flame, add Juliens of ginger and stir fry for a minute and add to the dal.

THE SEASONING 

(This photo was taken when the bay leaf was blown away under fan)

9. Add green chili,.mix well and bring to boil for a minute and remove from heat. 

10. Add the balance Ghee for the connoisseurs ( optional)

FINALLY THE UDAD DAL WITH FENNEL AND GINGER

11 Eat with rice and  Bada / Alu bhaja accompaniment.

If you do any experiment with additional spices, vegetables etc please do let me know.


DISCLAIMER

This is a traditional dish. If you dont like it , I am not responsible. I like it. Even the JFs liked it.