Simple Rice and Chana Dal

by mcgraff

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Tread the lanes of the home cooked foods with this Simple rice and chana dal recipe. The spicy and delicious chana dal works wonders when served with steamed rice.

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Simple Rice and Chana Dal recipe - How to make Simple Rice and Chana Dal

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Indian Party

Preparation Time: 1 hour Cooking Time: 1 hour Total Time: 1202 hours 4
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Ingredients

3/4 cup chana dal (split Bengal gram)
3/4 cup long grained rice (basmati) [for a lower glycemic index, substitute barley for some or all of the rice]
6 1/2 cups water
1 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1/2 tbsp dill (shepu / suva) seeds or 3 tablespoons of fresh dill (shepu / suva bhaji)
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 to 3 tbsp ghee or oil [I use olive oil and find 2 tablespoons to be sufficient]
2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/2 to 1 whole dry kashmiri red chillies [I use fresh red or jalapeño pepper]
1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing)
2 medium sized tomatoes, chopped into 8 pieces
1 tsp salt

Method

Soak the chana dal in 3 cups of hot water for 5 hours, then drain.
Place the dal, rice, water, turmeric, dill and garam masala in a 3-4 quart nonstick heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce the heat to low, partially cover, and slowly cook for 1-1 1/2 hours or until the dal is butter-soft and the liquid is absorbed.
Remove from the heat.
Heat the ghee or oil in a small saucepan over moderate to moderately high heat.
When it is hot, stir in the cumin seeds and red chili.
Fry until the cumin seeds are brown.
Sprinkle in the asafetida powder and immediately add the tomato pieces.
Fry for 1-2 minutes or until the tomatoes soften and glisten with ghee or oil.
Pour the fried seasoning into the cooked dal, stir in the salt and serve.