Bengali Style RedLentils / Musurir Dal /Bengali Style Masoor Dal

On 15th August we came home late. After leaving the Embassy we went to Benjerville which is a little way from Vallon, where we live. Benjerville is actually the highest point of Abidjan. It is situated on top of the plateau. When the French invaded Ivory Coast, they made Benjerville their centre because its on top, so its very easy to spot any invation or any kind of other abnormality. There is a very beautiful view of Abidjan from Benjerville. The lake, the plateau, the beautiful valleys in between and innumerable houses signifying the locality.
Currently, time has stopped for Benjerville right after the French left the country. This city is now inhabited by local people with very low development. There is no concrete road in this place and the buildings and church are very old and without any touch of renovation for a long time. However, from the perspective of nature its very beautiful. There are rows of palm trees and lots of greens everywhere. If you see as a whole, Ivory Coast is a beautiful country, and it would have been much more beautiful if it would have properly taken care of and development would have taken place properly.

Coming back home, we both were starting to be hungry. So wasting no time I came to the kitchen and made a quick meal. In my opinion its the quickest anyone can get and the food that I prepared will never go wrong. I made plain rice, aloo zeera and musurir dal/masoor dal. Bengalis love musurir dal / masoor dal / red lentils. It is the red lentils that we prepare mostly. In my home this musurir dal / masoor dal /red lentils used to be prepared almost 5 days a week and my favourite was plain rice, musurir daal / red lentils with mashed potato. Every Bengali household prepares this musurir daal/ red lentils and there is another point, we Bengalis consider it as amish / non-veg. I do not know the reason but this red lentil is not prepared in any pious occasion.

If you ask any Bengali, be it young or old, almost most of them will have a memory with this red lentils. It is such a common and important item in our food habit and life. Besides Bengalis prepare the masoor dal in a different way from others. Compared to the dals of the other cuisines its a little runny and soupy and its the soup of the daal that we love to eat.  In my version, I prefer to make it thick. However, every household has its own version of masoor dal/musurir dal.The masoor dal recipe is more or less similar everywhere and you can choose the consistency.
So, come lets cook Musurir Daal / Bengali style masoor dal / bengali style Red Lentils.

Step by step procedure for cooking Bengali Red Lentils / Musurir Daal.

• In a pressure cooker put the lentils with water, salt, little oil, turmeric powder and red chili powder.
• When the pressure cooker blows 4-5 whistles put the flame off and keep aside.
• In a pan heat oil and put panch phoron  and dried red chilies.

• When they start sizzling add the sliced onions and ginger -garlic paste and sauté until they are golden brown.

• Now add the chopped tomatoes and cook until they are soft and mashed.

• Now put all the green veggies and chopped green chilies and sauté for some minutes.

•  Now add the cooked daal and simmer until the consistency of the daal reaches a certain thickness. You can thicken more if you want.

• Now add the chopped coriander and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Dish Reminder:

• You can add more veggies or you can omit them altogether. Its your choice.
• Try to use mustard oil. But of course you can use any unflavoured oil.
• You can omit the tomatoes and green peas, but the onions are must in this dal. 
• You can add lemon juice in it. But that is optional. 

Bengali Red Lentils / Musurir Daal
Serves 4/5

Ingredients:

• 1 cup red lentils
• 1/2 onion - sliced
• 1 tomato chopped
• 1/2 capsicum - chopped
• 1/4 cup beans - diagonally chopped
• 1/4 cup green peas
• 2 green chilies - chopped
• 2 garlic - paste
• 1 inch ginger - paste
• 1 bunch of fresh coriander leaves - chopped
• 1 tsp panch phoron
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 2 tsp. red chili powder
• 2 dried red chilies - broken into pieces
• 1 tbsp. mustard oil

Method:

• Boil the red lentils and moog daal until they are soft and tender with water, salt, turmeric powder and red chili powder.
• Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds/ kalonji (kalo jeera) and dried red chili.
• When they start sizzling add the sliced onions and sauté until they are translucent.
• Now add the ginger - garlic paste and sauté until their rawness of flavour is gone and the onions have become golden brown.
• Add the tomatoes and cook till they are soft and mashed.
• Add the green veggies with chopped green chilies and sauté.
• After 2/3 minutes add the cooked daal and simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Add chopped coriander leaves and taste and adjust the seasoning.
• Put off the flame.