There was rice, bread,
papad, achaar and then there were dhals..a great variety of dhal from different
parts of India. All dhals were carefully cooked with great interest and all
tasted good! Rushina Ghildiyal, the main flame behind this event of celebrating
Dal Divas, invited us all to her APB Cook studio to showcase our speciality.
How could I miss?…since
I was in Mumbai this time, I was keen to attend this one.
Rushina has been
promoting Indian cuisine since some time now and there have been series of
events organised by her, observing different days like Biryani day, pickle day,
bhajiya day, masala day, vadi day, but I have always missed it for some reason
or other….
Although I have blogged on it..whenever I could... you could read it
Chutneys my family enjoys around the globe
Dhal Divas too, I would have missed because there was another commitment that got cancelled and luckily I was able to attend.
It was a potluck with
all the women showcasing their speciality. Rushina made a list so that there
were no repeatition.
I was asked to make
green split dhal. Now dhal is a comfort food, not that I eat everyday (no, not
when I make Chinese, Italian or continental, not even when I make non-veg) when I eat
dhal..its only dhal. A complete meal by itself.
I was asked to share my
recipe…so..here it is…I cook with instinct, no measurements, no fixed methods..
I boiled 2cups of green
split dhal, adding 1tsp of turmeric powder in a pressure cooker. After 3
whistles, I put off the gas and went for a bath.
Till then dhal had
cooled off and it was safe to expose it. Mixed it well, added 2 cups of water
and kept it back on the burner. Boiled dhal also tastes good, if I would just add
salt and black pepper and eat as salad,it would be nice but I decided to
cook it.
Added 3 chopped
tomatoes, 2 inch grated ginger, 5 green chilies and a small bunch of chopped
coriander leaves. The phone began to ring.
“What are doing? Are
you free today?”
“No, I am making dhal
for Dal Divas day”
“I want too”
“Ok ..will send you.”
Went back to the
kitchen to mix the dhal. Chopped spring onions and garlic.
Another phone call for
another small chat. This one wanted to taste too. I must remember to make
bigger quantity next time. (Or not answer the calls when cooking small
quantity)
Also must remember to
keep my phone away from kitchen.
Kept a tiny deep pan on
another burner. Deep fried spring onions in 2tbsp of ghee. Added the burnt
spring onions to the dhal.
Added more ghee to the
pan and deep fried chopped garlic till it was dark brown. Added this to the
dhal mixture.
I must taste to check
if it is proper. Added salt to adjust the taste, added mango powder to add
sourness, added peri peri sauce for pungent taste and added cardamom powder for
flavour.
If I like it, its good
enough.
Got dressed and left
for the potluckparty. Reached the venue after one hour, a bit delayed because
of too much traffic.
I was in for a
surprise. Chef Ashish Bagul of BKC Trident was to demonstrate four different dhals from
East, West, North and South of India.
There were cholar dhar
Mohini moong dhal fit
for royalties
Vala chi amti
Khade maash ki dhal
I am reminded of my NRI friend who had visited India and was amused when she heard series of pressure
cooker whistles from different kitchens at lunch time. Dhal is best cooked in
pressure cooker and then there is tempering done that is not only for flavours but also
for improving the nutrient value of the dish and helping to absorb many hidden
nutrients in the vegetables.. Pure ghee is the perfect choice for tempering
dhals and different regions of India use different combo of tempering depending upon the climate and the culture of that place.
I am not sure if any
other place in the world has such a big variety of dhal preparation like in
India. But it’s the tempering that makes Indian dhal so interesting and so
aromatic.
The kitchen was filled
with strong aroma of food..such lovely fragrance of ghee and spices, that I
couldn’t wait to taste.
I wanted to taste all
the dhals…24 different dhals. I tasted them all and relished it. All these
ladies are great cooks. (You might wonder if I have large appetite to try them
all..but I did not eat accompaniments, no rice, rice, no bread, no roti)
Made new friends,
learnt new techniques, a great day to celebrate.
DalDivas was fun…….
What did you cook on 25th Jan?..do share the link of your dhal if
you did…..
