Farmers daal

Take a deep, heavy bottomed pot. The farmers use an earthen pot or a narrow mouthed brass pot. Add 200g of deshelled split moong daal and a combination of chana daal, arhar daal and deshelled urad daal made up to 200g.

Pour 3 litres water into the daal pot, then 3 tsp salt, 2 tsp turmeric and 2 tsp coriander powder. Next add 2 tbsp crushed garlic, 1 tbsp chopped ginger (peeled, washed and cut into little pieces) and 3 roughly chopped green chillies. Stir with a ladle, cooking slowly on a low to medium heat. Partly cover to allow the steam to escape otherwise the daal will rise out of the pot.

After about an hour, check that the daal grains easily mash with the back of a spoon, if so, it’s ready. Once off the heat, discard the chillies.

Tempering:

Heat a shallow pan or a long armed metal ladle. Add 2 tbsp ghee. When the ghee heats up, add 1 tsp cumin seeds. Once they are spluttering, take off the heat and add 1tsp hing. Carefully immerse the ladle in the daal pot and cover.

Remove the lid after a minute, emptying the tempering oil into the daal. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves and serve.

SERVES 12