My Comfort Soup ~ Red Masoor Dal

Ok so I have missed all deadlines, couldn’t submit an entry for JFI-Potato and I wanted to send a soup for Alanna, but am too late and have missed that too, almost, unless I really try hard tonight.

To console myself and to make good of the little time I had, I made my all time favorite comfort soup, a dal actually, the Bangali Musuri’r Dal or the Masoor Dal.
This is the Dal we, as in my family, look forward to when we are down, depressed, tired, anxious, worried or hard pressed for time. We make it quick, there’s no way you can lengthen the process anyway, have it with White Rice & Alu Seddho (mashed Potatoes) with green chillies and a quarter of a lemon on the side and bask in it’s warmth slowly forgetting the gloom that had shrouded us and feel content.
If I am in a good mood and do not need all that carb to lift my spirit, I have this Dal as soup and again feel contented.

This Dal is like my husband D, whom I can trust to warm up my car in the cold mornings even though we have fought the night before and googled for “marriage for dummies” earnestly.
This Dal is like my dear friend who lends me a patient ear and hears me bitch about D though I trust her not to believe anything I uttered while in an acerbic mood.
This Dal is like my Ma, whom I can call up at any time of Day or Night to complain about how hard a day I had and how the little one was throwing a tantrum and trust her to say how good little S actualy is and how I threw more tantrums when I was small.
This Dal is like me who lounges in a faded pajama watching inane serials in Sony (yeah we have that now, courtesy my parents) and scrambles at the nth moment to write up a post for an event which is almost over.
This is Comfort personified.

So here’s My Comfort Soup ~ Red Masoor Dal for Alannas’s Soup Fest hosted at her abode A Veggie Venture



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My Comfort Soup ~ Masoor Dal

What You need

Masoor Dal or Split Red Lentils~ 1 cup washed thoroughly
Onion ~ 1 red onion medium sized, sliced in thin long slices
Tomato ~ 1 firm red tomato chopped fine
Green Chilies ~ 2-3 finely chopped

For Tempering
Panch Phoron or Panch Puran (a Bengali Five Spice Mix) ~ 1 and ½ tsp

For Garnish
Lime Juice ~ 4 tsp of fresh lime juice
Corriander Leaves~ 3-4 sprigs

Oil
Salt ~ according to taste
Sugar ~ 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder ~ ½ tsp

How I Did It

Pressure Cook the 1 cup Masur Dal with 2 and ½ cups of water and a pinch of turmeric. Once it is cooked mix it well with a whisk. The time to cook depends on your cooker. I use a Futura which needs 3 minutes after the full steam build up.
Heat oil and add the phoron, or as we say temper with Panch Phoron. You can also use Kalo jeera/Kalonji/Nigella Seds if you do not have Panch Puran
Add the finely sliced onions and fry till they turn pink in color. Add the chopped green chillies.
Add the chopped tomatoes and cook till they become a fine pulp
Add the previously cooked dal.
Mix well.
Add salt, sugar and about 3-4 cups of water. If you feel you need to add more water do so.
Cook till you hear a nice bubbling sound. Remember to stir infrequently during this process.
Also continue cook till the thickness of the dal is according to your liking
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and lime juice

Also check out:
My Alu Posto and Musuri'r Dal
Another post Masoor Dal with BokChoy

Trivia : The optical lens is so named after the lentil (Latin: lens), whose shape it resembles (Source: Wiki)

Shorshe Chingri Bhape

When I was waxing eloquently about Mustard and Mustard Paste in my post MySpice -- Mustard, my dear blog friend Indosungod raised her eyebrows (ok I didn't see but am sure she did) said (to the effect) "You use mustard paste in your cooking". That hit me hard, I have blogged for almost 6 months now and have not conveyed to the world that Bongs adore Mustard paste and their most keepsake recipes are the ones that have Mustard paste or Sorshe Bata in it.

What am I, a disgrace to the Bong Culture? Am I the prodigal bong female that Bong Gurus gossip about and dismiss with a nod of their head while gulping their hot-hot tea and chicken pakodas? Am I that abhorred Bong Mom in the night-time stories told by the millions Bengali mothers to their little ones, the one who went across seven seas and forgot the mustard paste ? Or maybe I am the one who forgot her "Shankha-Pola"(Red& White Bangles symbolic to marriage in Bengal) and her sorshe bata and became "Amrikan" and lost her roots as the Ma-in-law in one of the many Calcutta homes would be whispering to her soon to be NRI daughter-in-law.

How could I have done this, such shame and dishonor and so I decided to rectify it "Right Here, Right Now" -- the recipe with mustard paste I mean

So I bring to thee Steamed Prawns in Mustard Sauce or Sorshe Chingri Bhapa. As you eat this the strong and sharp flavor of the mustard will clear any doubts you had earlier about this mustard loving clan, as you press the green chillies (that is what you should do, not discard them) and mix the light yellow gravy with white rice and tears run down your face for the all the "Hotness" which is sharp and pure you will be filled with joy and Thank The Mustard

Sorshe Chingri Bhape is a popular and traditional Bengali dish. Best enjoyed with white rice it has satisfied numerous Bengali palates at lunch as well as dinner. Simple and easy to cook it plays on the taste and flavor of mustard.


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Shorshe Chingri Bhapa ~ Steamed Prawns in Mustard Sauce

What You Need

Prawns ~ 12-14 large sized ones. I used fresh ones, you can use frozen too

For the Paste
Mutard Seeds ~ 3 tbsp
Posto or Poppy Seeds ~ 3 tsp
Green Chilli ~ 3
Salt ~ a pinch
Soak in warm water for 30 minutes and then grind to a paste
The Mustard-Poppy Seeds Paste ~ use almost 3/4th of the paste, makes little less than 1/2 cup. If the paste is too pungent for you, you can sieve the paste and use the more liquid mustardy water mixed with a little of the thick paste.

Narkel or Grated Coconut ~ 1/2 cup fresh or frozen. You can use more if you want
Yogurt ~ 1/4 cup thick beaten yogurt. Use 1/2 cup of yogurt for more gravy-ish dish.
Sugar -- 1/4 tsp for a light sweet edge



Turmeric Powder -- 1/2 tsp
Sorsher tel or Mustard oil ~ 2 tbsp
Green Chilies ~ 8-10
Salt -- to taste


How I Did It

Wash and shell the prawn and devein them as explained here in an earlier post on Prawn Malaikar
Mix the prawns with salt and turmeric and keep aside for half an hour
Make a smooth paste with mustard seeds, poppy seeds, 3 green chillies, a little salt and water.

In a container which you can steam or which you can put in the pressure cooker, mix the prawns with mustard paste, yogurt and salt according to taste. I also add just a pinch of sugar.
Slit 4/5 green chillies and add to above
Add 2tbsp of Mustard Oil to this, drizzle liberally on top that is
Add some fresh grated coconut to this. If using frozen grated coconut defrost and then use.

Now put water in the pressure cooker bottom and put in this container.
I have a Futura Pressure Cooker and I steamed for 1 minute. In this pressure cooker, after the full pressure is built the time has to measured (no whistles), so I kept for 1 minute after the build up of full steam. In a whistling pressure cooker, you have to allow one whistle I guess
Take it out and serve with hot white rice. For an extra kick drizzle little mustard oil before serving

Note on making Mustard Paste: When I didn’t have a wet grinder to make my mustard paste I used to dry grind the seeds in my coffee grinder and then mix the dry powder with a little vinegar, salt, and green chillies and keep for an hour or so. The wet grinder serves the purpose much better and makes a nice smooth paste with green chillies, and salt
Alternate Recipes: The same recipe can be applied to Paneer and is called Bhapa Paneer. I think this is what Ashwini meant, when she left a comment about Bhapa Paneer she had at her friends place.
SJ has a recipe for Bhapa Ilish or Steamed Hilsa in Mustard Sauce another Bong favorite. That doesn’t need the Posto or poppy seeds though
You can also try this with Salmon. Though I have never steamed Salmon. I use this same method and then bake the salmon, covered at 375F.

Trivia: Darius, King of Persia, sent Alexander a bag of sesame seeds, meant to suggest the number of Darius’ troops. Alexander, in return, sent Darius a bag of mustard seeds, not only more numerous because of their smaller size, but also more potent and fiery than sesame.(Source: Mustard facts from Plochman)

Ma er Tetor Dal ~ Dal with Bitter Gourd

…or My Mother's Bitter Dal is a Dal or Lentil Soup with veggies like Lauki or Bottle Gourd and Karela or Bitter Gourd. This is also an entry for this week’s WHB from both me & my Mother.

I wanted to highlight the vegetable Karela or Bitter Gourd for this week’s WHB hosted by Anna of Anna's Cool Find. Karela or Korolla as we say in Bengali and its smaller cousin Uchche, which I can rarely find in the stores here, is a very popular vegetable in Bengali cuisine. As I said earlier (in Shukto post) the first course of a Bengali meal is usually bitter to cleanse the taste buds. The Bitter Gourd serves this purpose delightfully and so is much loved in Bengali households. Uchche Bhaja - Thinly sliced Bitter Gourd and then fried, Uchche Begun – Bitter Gourd and Eggplant chopped in small pieces and then sauted, Uchche-Alu Seddho – Bitter Gourd and Potatoes simply boiled and mashed with little mustard oil and salt are almost every day part of a typical Bengali cuisine. And Bengali cuisine doesn't want to get rid of the bitterness of Bitter Gourd, no way, they need that bitterness in full volume.
Me who did not love this bitter tasting veggie much had a hard time growing up as any one can imagine. Even now while D chomps on boiled Karela gleefully I swallow it down with water and sugar!! I guess it's an acquired taste and not everyone can appreciate the bitterness. However as I grow older or old as is the case, I appreciate this veggie more and try to incorporate it in some form in my diet.

Since my Ma is here, over the weekend I tried out this Dal with her narrating the steps and also judging each of my steps. Bitterness is mellowed down in this Dal and though it is called Tetor Dal or Bitter Dal, bitterness is just a mellowed fleeting taste intermingling with the subtle sweetness of the lauki or bottle gourd and the taste of the yellow Moong Dal itself. The "T" in Tetor is pronounced as "T" in Tai-chi with the tip of your tongue touching the base of your teeth

This Dal is best enjoyed with white rice accompanied with a veggie side or with some veggie fritters and usually served at lunch. This is served not only as an everyday dal but also if you are serving a traditional Bengali lunch.

You can also have it by itself like I did yesterday, a bowl of this Dal with some crisp salad of finely chopped cucumber and carrots in lime juice.

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Tetor Dal

What You Need

Split Yellow Moong Dal ~ 1 cup
Lauki or Bottle Gourd ~ 6oz cut into large cubes as seen in the above pic. I used a little less than half of a medium sized lauki
Karela or Bitter Gourd ~ 1 cut into small pieces as seen in the pic
Ginger ~ 2" grated

For Phoron or temperingMustard seeds ~ 1/2 tsp mustard
Green Chillies ~ 4-5 slit

Salt
Oil
Ghee ~ 2 tsp

How I Did It

Wash, Peel and chop the Lauki or bottle gourd in large pieces a seen in the pic.
Wash & Chop the karela or bitter gourd in small pieces as seen in the pic
Heat a Kadhai or Frying Pan
Dry roast the split yellow moong dal till you get that nice roasted smell and see the dal has browned very lightly
In a pressure cooker, cook the now roasted dal and the lauki with twice the amount of water i.e. dal : water in ratio of 1:2
Heat Oil & 1 tsp of Ghee in a Kadhai/Frying Pan. My mother uses Ghee but I used Canola and a little bit of ghee for that flavor. You can do this in ghee if you want
Sauté the chopped karela till they are lightly browned and remove and keep aside
Add 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds to the oil
When the Mustard starts sputtering add the grated ginger and slit green chillies
Sauté for a couple of minutes and add the pressure cooked dal and lauki
Sauté a little and add the fried karela
Add about 3-4 cups of water
Add salt and bring to a boil
Add about ½ tsp of Ghee before you take the Dal off the heat
Enjoy with white rice and other veegie sides. We had this with thinly sliced potato fries and hot white rice


Why Bitter Gourd is Good For you

This is a tropical and subtropical vine, which is widely grown for edible fruit. The fruit is among the most bitter of all vegetables. This is also known as Bitter Melon and there is a Chinese as well as Indian variety
The bitter melon more typical of India has a narrower shape with pointed ends, and a surface which is ridged. It looks like the one shown in the above pic and is known as Karela in Hindi and Korolla in Bengali. There is another smaller variety which is commonly known as Uchche in Bengal and is supposed to be more bitter.
Bitter Gourd aids or stimulates digestion. It is also very useful in treating Diabetes Melitus and helps control Blood Sugar. Compounds in this bitter vegetable may also be effective for treating HIV. Check Wiki here for more info.
Another Good Source of Bitter Gourd info -- here

Note: Pressure Cooker tips from IndoSunGod


Trivia:Other than India the Bitter Gourd also known as Bitter Melon is very popular in China, Vietnam, Phillipines, Bangladesh and Pakistan