Rajasthani Khatti Meethi Dal

At times you feel, time just flies and you go so slow in this fast race of life, realizing that you missed some very important milestones at your back and ufff, you can't manage to go back to them, too. And then sometime, someone you left behind in this run awakens you from your deep grazing sleep and you feel so refreshed taken back to those platinum times of history. Life never stops and never should be, because in its lap rests so many memories.

I've never been a good writer and those skills have always been missing in my personality, though I never did mind that because who said I wanted to be it. :)

Now, this post is for you, my dear Abbu/ Abhilasha who has taken my journey back to the college times; the days of bunking classes, being caught while running from the college, watching movies, going nuts after actors like Hrithik or Salman, gossips on who's dating whom, Anatomy lectures, human body dissections, pricking your own fingers for Physiology practicals, arranging notes just 5 days before exams, shouting in the library instead of whispering, noticing who is wearing what and who's looking 'hot', from fights amongst friends to patch ups, from make-up to touch-ups, life just changed, and now I see all that as a flash-back with water in my eyes. 

Change, change, change....topic change else this post fill be flooding with my tears.

Well, coming to the point, the exact focus point, 'Khatti Meethi Dal': Abhilasha requested for this basic yet extremely special recipe because this is one of my mom's best recipes and we all love it to the core. She had joined us for lunch long back and she reminded me of this dal and duppad/split roti, a speciality of Rajasthan. So, here it comes for you sweetie. :)

RAJASTHANI KHATTI MEETHI DAL:

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 2

Health Meter:

Like other legumes, lentils are low in fat and high in protein and fiber, but they have the added advantage of cooking quickly.  Lentils have a mild, often earthy flavor, and they're best if cooked with assertive flavorings. 

Whole toor lentils are yellow with tan jackets, but they're usually sold skinned and split.  They have a mild, nutty flavor, and they're often cooked as a side dish or ground into flour.  They're sometimes sold with an oily coating, which you should rinse off.

Ingredients:

1. Toor/ Arhar Dal/ Yellow Lentil: 1 small cup

2. Water: 300 ml

3. Salt: 2 tsp or as per taste

4. Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp

For Tadka/Tempering:

1. Oil/ Ghee: 2 tbs

2. Tomato: 1 (finely chopped)

3. Green Chilly: 1

4. Mustard Seeds: 1/2 tsp

5. Jeera/ Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
6. Asafoetida/ heeng: a pinch

7. Red Chilli Powder: 1/2 tsp

8. Coriander Powder: 1 tsp

9. Cumin Powder: 1 tsp

10. Citric acid crystals/ Nimbu ka satva: 1/4 tsp

11. Sugar: 1 tbs or as per taste

For Garnishing:

1. Fresh coriander leaves

Method:

1. Wash and rinse the dal/lentil well before use. 
2. Pressure cook it with water, salt and turmeric for 3 whistles (or adapt the way you generally do).
3. Chop the chilly and tomato on the other hand.
4. Now take oil/ghee in a pan and heat it. Add mustard seeds followed by the cumin seeds and wait till they splutter. Add asafoetida/ heeng to it.
5. Now add chopped chilly and tomato to it and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add all the spices and cook for a minute more, till the oil separates.
7. Now add the boiled dal/lentil followed by sugar to it and take a boil. 
8. At last, add the nimbu ka satva/ citric acid crystals and put off the flame. 
9. Give a stir and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
10. Serve hot with duppad/ chapati/ roti/ rice. 

Suggestions:

1. In place of nimbu ka satva/ citric acid crystals, you can also use lemon juice/ tamarind/ raw mango/ kokam.
2. If adding citric acid crystals/ lemon juice, immediately turn off the flame after adding to avoid any bitterness to enter.
3. You can also add garlic, but we generally avoid it in this particular dal. 
4. The dal has to be slightly runny and not gravy style/thick, so pour in more boiling/hot water if required. 
5. Fresh coriander leaves are almost a must here because of the special aroma they carry.
6. I have used dry red chillies while preparing this instead of green ones because my hubby has a penchant for them. Traditionally they are the green ones who conquer.

Submitting this recipe to:
New U  by Vardhini
Legume Love Affair by Chez Cayenne
Any One Can Cook by Ayeesha