Dal - Comfort Food...

Dal-Chawal is most comfortable food one can ever have. Every time we go to India, family and friends are so eager to have us over to their place for dinner and lunches and what not... They always ask us what is our preference so that they will make sure they cook that, and our answer would be the same each and every single time, Dal-Chawal. People in India (at least in my family) think that its a disgrace to guests if you only serve dal-chawal; but they don't understand our love for "homemade" dal-chawal, specially when our digestive system is about to burst, we are sick like hell, and time difference doesn't contribute to this situation in any good way. So we then say, "Okay, make whatever you want, but make sure you also make dal-chawal". 

Sometimes it is so hard for them to understand our love for dal-chawal. Some things are never explained in words, you have to experience it to understand the feelings. Likewise, for this simple homemade dal, you have to experience it to understand my craziness for this. 

Ingredients:

1. One cup toor dal - washed three times
2. One medium onion - thinly sliced
3. Three cloves of garlic - finely chopped
4. One tsp each - cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds
5. One tblsp each - red chili powder, coriander powder, ginger-garlic paste
6. A pinch of turmeric powder
7. Three tblsp oil
8. One medium tomato - chopped
9. One tblsp lemon juice
10. Salt per taste
11. Three to Four glass of water (your preference)
12. Fresh coriander leaves - finely chopped for garnishing

Process:

1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add in cumin seeds, mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. 
2. Once splutter, add in sliced onions and chopped garlic.
3. Once the onion turns slightly brown, add in tomato, red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt, and ginger-garlic paste. 
4. Mix well, cook till oil separates. 
5. Add in washed toor dal, lemon juice, and three - four glass of water. 
6. Mix well and close the pressure cooker. 
7. Let it cook till five whistles or you think till dal is done (this totally depends on how your pressure cooker works). 
8. Once the pressure comes down, open the pressure cooker and mix well. 
9. Dish out in a bowl and garnish with chopped coriander and serve with rice (chawal). 

ENJOY!!!