<![CDATA[Other people’s recipes: Mung ki dal]]>Some years ago, we did a pot-luck lunch at work, and my then-coworker Arthur (@hungryplanner) brought in a vegetarian lentil dish he called “mung ki dal”. I have no idea if it’s a real authentic Indian recipe, but it was the first time I had a savory vegetarian dish that was oh-my-god-I-could-eat-the-whole-thing delicious that wasn’t pizza or pasta. I asked Arthur for the recipe, and make it somewhat regularly now. It’s one of only two vegetarian mains that I make from scratch on a regular basis (ravioli in marinara sauce doesn’t count) — although I more often have it as a starch complement to a chicken curry (instead of rice or naan) rather than as a main dish. I asked him if I could publish it on the Web, so here goes (sorry, no pictures!). Arthur prefers yellow lentils in this dish, but I’ve never seen such a thing in the supermarkets where I live (green and black, yes, but never yellow) so I use red lentils.
Ingredients
| 1 cup |
yellow or red lentils |
| 2 cups |
cold water (slightly less for red lentils) |
| 1 tsp |
ground turmeric |
| ¼ tsp |
ground red pepper (I use cayenne) |
| 1 tsp |
salt |
| 4 tbl (2 oz) |
butter (or ghee if you have it) |
| 1 large |
onion |
| 1 tsp |
cumin seed |
| 1 tbl |
chopped parsley (optional) |
Procedure
- Pick over lentils to remove non-lentil matter, then rinse in a mesh strainer until water runs clear.
- Place lentils, water, turmeric, salt, and red pepper in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover partially; simmer until lentils are tender (about 25 minutes for red lentils, longer for yellow).
- Slice onion thinly from pole to pole. (I cut the onion in half, remove the core, then use my V-slicer, and it works well enough. Slicing radially would probably give better results but I’m lazy.)
- Melt 3 tbl (1½ oz) butter in a skillet until water has boiled off. Bloom the cumin in the hot fat for 15–30 seconds, then add sliced onions and sauté until slightly browned, about 8 minutes.
- Add cooked onion to cooked lentil mixture and simmer for another 2 minutes. If you overmix, the lentils will break down completely.
- Top with remaining 1 tbl butter and parsley and serve.
Nutrition
Arthur’s recipe doesn’t specify a yield. I get three servings as a side, which is how I’ve computed the data below; as a main dish it’s probably two servings (certainly would be for me, anyway, assuming I managed to stop before finishing the whole pot).
Nutrition Facts
| Serving size: about a cup |
| Servings per recipe: 3 |
| Amount per serving |
| Calories 399 |
Calories from fat 134 |
| % Daily Value |
| Total Fat 15g |
23% |
| Saturated Fat 9g |
45% |
| Monounsaturated Fat 0g |
|
| Trans Fat 0g |
|
| Cholesterol 40mg |
13% |
| Sodium 791mg |
33% |
| Potassium 114mg |
3% |
| Total Carbohydrate 47g |
16% |
| Dietary fiber 13g |
52% |
| Sugars 3.5g |
|
| Proteins 18g |
36% |
| Vitamin A |
14% |
| Vitamin C |
10% |
| Calcium |
5% |
| Iron |
25% |
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