Mung Bean and Tamarind Dal

Yet another recipe adapted from Dakshin, a treasured cookbook focusing on traditional South Indian culinary delights. Easy to prepare, it's sure to please those who crave spicy dals, though you can reduce the number of chilies used if you want a milder version. I served this fiery mung dish alongside a tempering Tamarind Rice.

This is my submission to the March edition of No Croutons Required. The challenge this month is Indian or Indian-style soups or salads. You have until the 20th of this month to send in your entry.

Mung Bean and Tamarind Dal

1 cup of whole mung beans
3 cups of water
a lemon-sized piece of tamarind pulp
1 cup of hot water
6 fresh green chilies, seeded and cut into strips
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of sea salt

For tempering:

2 teaspoons of ghee, or a mixture of butter and oil
1 teaspoon of brown or black mustard seeds
1 dried red chili, broken into bits
1/2 teaspoon of asafoetida powder
a handful of dried curry leaves

Rinse the mung beans in a stainer. Cover with water and soak overnight. Drain, transfer to a large pot and cover with three cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low, and partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally and cook until the beans are buttery soft - roughly 45 minutes. Set aside without draining.

Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of hot water for 20 minutes. Strain the tamarind water into another bowl, and squeeze as much liquid out of the tamarind pulp as you can. Discard the tamarind pulp and set the tamarind liquid aside.

For tempering, heat 2 teaspoons of ghee in a heavy saucepan. When hot, add the mustard seeds, red chili, asafoetida powder and the curry leaves. When the mustard seeds turn grey and begin to pop, add the green chilies, tamarind juice, ground turmeric and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes or so. Add this mixture to the cooked mung, return the pot to the stove over medium-low heat and simmer for another 10 minutes to blend the flavours.

Garnish with some curry leaves or fresh parsley or coriander if desired.

Serves 4.

Other Mung Bean dishes you will want to try:
Spicy Mung Bean Soup with Coconut Milk
Indian Sour Mung Bean Soup
Indian-style Spicy Mung Beans