This is my mother’s recipe for cooking Mysore dal, a curry that is a regular at home.

Mysore dal curry

Time taken: 15 – 20 mins

Serves 4

Ingredients

• Mysore dal – 1 cup
• Green chilli – 1
• Onion – ¼
• Curry leaves – 1 sprig
• Rampe leaf/ pandan
• Non-fat milk (for lacto vegetarians and better for those having cholesterol issues) or Coconut milk (for vegans) – ½ cup
• Turmeric – ¼ tsp
• Crushed chilli – 1 tsp
• Garlic – 1, crushed
• Pepper – ½ tsp
• Salt, to taste

Method:

1. Wash and clean the dal.
2. Cook the cleaned dal in 1 ½ cups of water, together with the chopped green chilli, onion, curry leaves and rampe.
3. Once the dal is cooked and the water dries up, add ½ cup of non-fat milk or coconut milk along with the crushed garlic, chilli flakes, turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt to taste.
4. Let the dal cook for another few minutes till the ingredients combine.
5. Remove from heat and serve with rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.