Is it evident that I am extremely fond of legumes, and I that I love stews? It should be, and if it isn’t, I shall put matters to rest by sharing many more soon. The traditional method to cook legumes for an Indian stew would be to let them simmer and cook all night in read more…
Bhaja Muger Dal ~ Roasted Mung Lentil soup

‘Bhaja muger dal’. When I first read the name of the dish I wanted to repeat the words again and again. Bengali, spokenby the people of Bengal in India is a very lyrical, melodious language, bhaja muger dal is a melodius tweet. I made muger dal today for the love of the language, and all read more…
Masoor ki dal ~ Red gram lentil soup

A dal is definitely not exotic in modern Indian terms (which is limited to anything that contains cream, double cream, milk, ghee, paneer or cashew paste) but I bet if a bowlful of masoor dal was placed on your table, you won’t stop with just one sip. This one will have you slurping till read more…
Chane ki dal OR Bengal gram lentils

It’s an Indian home so we can’t help having dal almost twice a week. Blame it on the taste but I just cannot do without my daily bowlful of lentils. On days I don’t make dal we have rasam with a protein packed veggie. Dals can never be boring as we have a wide read more…
Step by step making of Arachhu utta sambar – Lentils & vegetables in tamarind, coconut sauce

(The meanings to the italiced words are given at the end of the post. It would have been blasphemous to replace those words with translations for they would not have done justice to the meanings they convey in Tamil). Aracchu utta sambar Though Arachhu rhymes with Machu-Picchu, it is not a place. It is just read more…
Moth makhani

Known as matki in Maharashtra, the lentil variety used in this dish is best understood as moth (sounds as in ‘moat’ but with a heavy accent on ‘t’ and not the same as the insect moth) beans or dew beans. Matki is mostly steamed or sprouted and used in salads and snacks. However, I use read more…