Toor Daal with Bay Leaf and crisp Cilantro (Pigeon Pea soup) with Jeera Rice. vegan glutenfree

Good old Toor Daal (Pigeon Pea soup) and Chawal(Rice) today. Comfort food any day. I remember sneaking out to my neighbors' house every few days when I was 9 or 10, to eat some Daal Chawal. They used to make Toor Daal every 3-4 days and mostly the same recipe. It was a simple preparation, sometimes with tomatoes, sometimes without, and just a mild Chaunk/Tadka with bay leaf and red chili. A very few times there would be mustard seeds. But mostly It was the Toor Daal(split Pigeon Pea) in all its glory.

Like all Daal(lentil soup/stew) recipes, this is very flexible to taste. Add more spices or herbs, spice mixes, different types of chili, add garlic and/or ginger. Try out Paprika, dry whole red chili or green chili, Aleppo pepper flakes, poblano.. the taste of the Daal will change.

It was sunny in Seattle after a bunch of cloudy months! That means its almost like a state holiday. Everyone is on the road. And the city looks so gorgeous.

More Daals/Lentil stews collection here.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Toor Daal(Split pigeon Pea)

2 cups water

Tadka/Chaunk/Tempering:

2 Teaspoons organic canola oil or coconut oil

1/2 teaspoon black mustard seed (Raee)

2 bay leaves (tejpatta)

a generous pinch of asafetida (hing)

1 whole red chili broken into 2, or 1 green chili chopped

3-4 Tablespoons cilantro chopped

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 medium tomato chopped

3/4 - 1 teaspoon salt or to taste

Variations:

Add 1/4 teaspoon paprika or 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder to the tadka

Add greens with the cilantro.

Add 2-3 tomatoes. 

Add a teaspoon of Tamarind pulp

Method:

Wash and soak daal/lentils for half an hour. If not using pressure cooker then soak for atleast 4 hours.

In pressure cooker or a medium deep pan, add oil and heat on medium heat.

Test the heat by adding a few mustard seeds to the oil; if they crack immediately, the oil is ready.

Add mustard seeds, and after a few seconds, add bay leaves and red chili/green chili, stir for 10-15 seconds.

Add the chopped cilantro and cook for a minute or so until it crisps up.

Add the tomatoes and turmeric. Mix well and cook covered until tomatoes are half done.(3-4 minutes)

Rinse Daal and add with water and salt. Mix.

Pressure cook for 2 whistles on medium, or cook covered for 20-30 minutes on medium-low, or until daal is starts to mix with the water.

Serve hot with fresh cumin Rice.

Add lemon juice if needed. Or serve along with some Indian Pickle/Achar.

Cumin Rice:

In a deep pan, add a teaspoon of oil, add 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds, heat on medium till fragrant. Add washed 1/2 cup of Basmati rice.

Mix and add 1 cup of water, 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste. Mix and cook partially covered until rice is done. Serve hot.

This Daal Chawal is being shared at Ricki's wellness weekend. Allergy Free Wednesdays, Hearth and soul blog hop, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Glutenfree wednesdays.

If you have 2 hours to spare, then here is a fantastic Debate on Intelligence Squared’s 2012 series of debates. A look at the ethics of eating meat. Six speakers are divided into two teams for lively and insightful arguments for and against the proposition, ‘Animals Should Be Off the Menu’.

Speaking for the proposition are Peter Singer, Philip Wollen(who is a patron and on the Advisory board of VSPCA, India). And Veronica Ridge; against it, Adrian Richardson, Fiona Chambers and Bruce McGregor. Their cases are followed by questions from the floorand finally, the audience vote. Though I hoped that the for speakers would stick to vegan terminology more than vegetarian, it is still a very well spoken debate with amazing points by the audience too.

You can watch the debate here.