This curry rules. Mung are one of those beans that are really good for you, but can be hard to find recipes for that aren’t the nightmare creations of health food hippies. Well, look no further! Here the bean gets its due.
Drain and add the dal to a pressure cooker. Add 3 cups of water, some salt, and the turmeric. Close the lid and pressure cook the dals on medium-high heat for about 10 mins. Remove from heat and open the cooker only after all the steam has escaped on its own. (Alternately, just cook them in a stock pot for about half an hour until the dal is tender).
While the dal is cooking, heat ghee/oil in a separate pan. Once the ghee is hot, add garlic, ginger, onions, cumin seeds, and salt. Sauté for 2-3 minutes till the onions start to turn soft and translucent.
Then add the asafoetida, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns and bayleaf. Sauté briefly, until fragrant.
Add the tomato purée, turmeric powder, coriander powder, and salt. Mix well and cook with the lid on, stirring frequently, until the mixture has deepened in colour, about 8 minutes. If you're using diced tomatoes, either canned or fresh, this will take longer. You want the tomatoes to break down completely. The tomatoes should taste rich and savoury, without that "raw tomato" flavour (this is a masala, not a pasta sauce!). This might require a few splashes of water as the mixture thickens and reduces to keep the bottom from burning.
Your dal should be ready by now, so add it with enough of the dal liquid to reach the desired consistency. Mix well. Cook for another couple of minutes to let the flavours blend.
Remove the whole spices. Serve hot with rice or roti.
This is an exceedingly delicious dish combining gooey deep fried vegetables with a spicy garlic sauce. It feels both very good for you and very bad for you at the same time. It probably is.
Slice the eggplant into ½ inch wedges and coat with cornstarch in a bowl (enough that they are no longer wet to touch)
In a wok, heat the oil up to 180C, then drop in the eggplant. Deep fry for ~10 minutes, keeping the flame on high. Stir periodically to make sure everything’s cooking evenly. Take out the eggplant when golden brown and place on a paper towel lined plate. You may need to do this in 2 batches. Pour out your oil into a metal or ceramic bowl (nothing that will crack with heat!), leaving only a tablespoon in the wok. Heat it back up, then add:
This is an innovation in both effort (minimal) and meal planning (balanced, satisfying). It’s our current solution to emergency dinner prep. Let’s hear it again for Lao Gan Ma chili crisp: may the spice always flow.
Optional additions: a sunny side up or soft boiled egg, sesame seeds, leftover stir fry, crispy garlic
Cook the rice in your rice cooker. Salt and boil some water. Quickly blanch and remove your greens, then simmer your tofu for a minute or so. Add your boiled ingredients on top of your finished rice, and serve with a spoon of chili crisp and scallions.