Rajma ke kofte

There was a time when I liked my dals, but I think years and years of eating urad ki dal with roti cured me of this addiction. These days, I find myself taking a bowl of dal only when heavily persuaded to do so.

But just the other day, my friend, Robi, came up with such a wonderful recipe of moong dal that I thought I needed to review my position on pulses. He had come home, and, with his instructions, we prepared a shona mooger dal with small cauliflower florets and baby stems.

The cauliflower had been lightly fried and added to the dal, which had been tempered with whole red chillies, ginger slivers and cumin seeds. A little sugar and a dollop of ghee went into the dal — and I have to admit it was so good that I wanted it for my lunch the next day. But then, precisely because it was so good, there were no leftovers.

As coincidences go, just when I was pondering over these mysterious items called lentils and pulses, I got a call from a friend at The Park hotel in Calcutta about a festival that they’d just hosted called ‘Dal se dal tak.’ I was told that some of the dishes they had — all cooked with dal — would now be a regular feature at its restaurant, Saffron.

Dhaba-style dal fry

Dals look innocuous — I’d say even boring — in their Pearlpets on the kitchen shelf, but actually have hidden talents that you can exploit rather innovatively. You can make a full meal with dals — starting with appetisers and soup, going on to the entrée, and then dessert.

Indeed, dals lead to wonderful desserts. Now that winter is upon us, I am going to make my regular trips to Old Delhi for moong dal ki halwa. A Rajasthani from Churu, who sits in a lane near the silver market, makes the most amazing moong dal halwa with pulses and a huge amount of ghee.

Then there’s a venerable halwai who is to be found at Khari Baoli in Chandni Chowk. Giani sells an urad dal halwa — rich and oozing with aromatic ghee — that you would have given both your arms for, but for the fact that it would have posed serious difficulties in eating.

Lentil cookies

But before the dessert, plan your menu. You could kick off an evening with dal balls (soaked, ground and then fried in little balls with chopped chillies), serve a lentil soup or a dal ka shorbah, and then woo your guest with dal gosht and rajma kofta, served with rice lightly garnished with boiled chickpeas. The Park chef bakes a chocolate chip cookie with lentils for dessert.

For dal ka shorbah, the chef tells us that we’d need 1kg black chana dal, 15gm ginger slivers, 20gm coriander leaves, 50gm chopped garlic, 10gm garam masala, salt to taste, 1tsp oil and 5litres water. Now wash the chana and boil it with the water and a little salt. Separately heat oil and add green chilli, garlic, ginger and salt to it. Pour this into the dal. Strain the chana, and keep the stock. This is the shorbah, which you serve with some of the boiled chana.

The rajma kofta is a more elaborate dish. For this, you have to first cook the koftas. Wash and boil red rajma. Strain and allow it to cool. Now add chopped green chilli, ginger and garam masala powder to the rajma. Put this in a grinder and make a smooth paste. Add a little cornflour if required. Then stuff it with chopped almonds, green chilli, chopped ginger and chopped raisins and make small balls. Deep fry the balls.

Now we need to make the gravy for the koftas. Wash and cut tomatoes into four. Take a thick-bottomed kadhai. Add butter, and when it melts, add whole spices. When the spices crackle, add ginger-garlic paste. Sauté for five minutes and then add the tomatoes. Stir till the tomato juices rise to the top. Simmer for a while. Strain, keeping aside cooked tomatoes and the juice.

Murg dal shorbah

When the tomato cools, turn it into a paste with the juice. Boil cashewnuts for 30 minutes and grind to a smooth paste. In the kadhai, add butter and then the tomatoes. Cook for quite a while and then add the cashewnut paste. Add salt and red chilli powder. Let it simmer. Once the gravy is thick, add the rajma balls to it.

Clearly, I have wronged the dal. Not only does it lead to all kinds of delicious dishes, it also helps in keeping peace when you are entertaining vegetarian and non-vegetarian friends together. Make your dal ka shorbah. Keep some aside for your cannibalistic friends, and then add some mutton stock to it. And the eggless dal ka halwa will, I promise you, keep both the sides happy. Who would have thought the dal was a peace broker?

Dal Gosht

Ingredients (for 4)

• 1kg mutton (chops) • 1kg sliced onions • 500gm chopped tomatoes • 2tbs ginger-garlic paste • 15gm whole spices • 20gm red chilli powder • 10ml oil • 350gm channa dal • 500gm hara moong dal • 1.5tsp chopped coriander leaves • 1tsp ghee • 1tsp garam masala powder • Salt, to taste

Method

Soak the dals. Wash the mutton chops. Heat the oil in a handi, add the whole spices. When they start to crackle, add the onions and sauté till translucent. Add the red chilli powder and tomato. Sauté for a while. Add ginger and garlic paste, and then the mutton and stir. Cover with a lid and keep on low flame for 20 minutes. Check the meat. If it’s 70 per cent done, add the dals. Cover till the mutton and dal are cooked. Add ghee, garam masala powder and coriander on top.