Dal Kootu

Tompa loves dal. Zuzka loves Tompa and therefore Zuzka cooks dal as often as possible.
This is how simple it gets in our kitchen. The only little challenge is that I tend to get bored if I am asked to cook the same dish all over again, which often results into poor results. You know how it is, you pay less attention, a little this or that here and there and the next thing you know Tompa is knitting his eyebrows wondering where his favorite Dal Dish went...
So! In order to be the perfect luvable attentive wife soon-to-be, I need more.... (dal recipes). Here is one adapted from my favorite Dakshin cookbook that I bought on my last trip to Japan! I have extracted the masala from the recipe and tried it with different dals. Tastes different each time a different grain or tadka is added, which is what I really like about it!

Tompa s eyes were bigger than the ones of a tarsier ....

DAL KOOTU MASALA
(Poritha Kootu masala)

prep time: 20 minutes
serves: spice base for a curry for 2

• 1 tbsp oil
• 3/4 tsp cumin seeds
  
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 dried red chilies
• 1/2 tsp asafoetida
• 2 tbsp grated coconut (I used dried)
• a tiny splash of water

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet. Add the cumin, black peppercorns, chilies, asa and saute for 2 -3 minutes. Grind to a powder. Add the coconut and a little water. Grind to a smooth paste.

DAL KOOTU
(Poritha kootu)

• 1/2 cup cooked dal
• 1/2 onion
• 1 tbsp oil
  
• 2 cups chopped veggies
• 1 quantity of Dal Kootu Masala (see above)
• salt to taste
• tadka (Indian Tempering)
  

Heat the oil in a pan and brown the chopped onions. Add the masala and mix in evenly. Add the veggies, 1/2 cup of water, salt to taste and let cook until soft. Mix in the cooked dal and heat through.
Meantime, prepare the tadka and generously garnish the dal right before serving.

We had ours with simple whole wheat chapatti. They turn out somehow crispy, which was actually even better.

This is my contribution to this month´s Jihva For Ingredients hosted by Linda of Out of The Garden. This time, it is all about Dal....

Update March 15th - I have been blogged by Ramki as a model recipe for Kootu :-) Her "one-page cookbooks" are a fantastic mathematical fusion of different ingredients and seasonings. Please check out 1001 Kootu for more details.