Indian lentil dal with fenugreek is a popular dish in the “vegetarian states” of India, since both fenugreek and lentils are sources of vegetable protein.
The boring and unpresentable name “fenugreek hay” in our area was replaced by the ringing word “Shambala”. It is under this name in the stores of Oriental spices you most often meet this ancient spice. Eat leaves, stalks and seeds of Shambhala. I do not advise you to gnaw the latter, you can break your teeth. Seeds, or shamballa beans give soups and main dishes a light nutty flavor. They can be added to the dal in a ground form, but note that without the help of a machine, it is unlikely that you can grind the beans manually - they are very tough and ribbed.
Shambala is a classic seasoning for dishes from legumes, but in addition to this India also makes surrogate coffee from it, in Africa ground beans are added to the dough, in the USA they flavor rum and maple syrup. Most often fenugreek comes across to us in a dry curry mixture - there its content reaches 20%. Another name for Shamballa is fenugrek, a transcription of the English word, which can sometimes be found on packages of spices.
- Cooking time: 1 hour
- Servings: 3
Ingredients for Indian Lentil Dal with Fenugreek:
- 250 g of green lentils;
- 30 g of fenugreek seeds;
- 90 g onions;
- 180 g carrots;
- 120 g tomatoes;
- 4 cloves of garlic;
- 1 chili pod;
- 3 bay leaves;
- salt, vegetable oil.
Cooking method of Indian lentil dal with fenugreek
For cooking lenticular gave the best fit thick-walled soup pan or a deep chafing dish. At the bottom pour refined sesame or any vegetable oil. Add the chopped onions and crushed garlic cloves, fry for a few minutes.
Then pour the fenugreek seeds. Fry them together with vegetables for 1 minute. If the fenugreek is overcooked, it will zagorchit and spoil the taste of the dish.
Clean the carrots, cut them into cubes, add them to the roaster. Cut carrots rather large, so that when cooked, it does not turn into mashed potatoes.
Add some fresh tomatoes to give a sour note. Cherry tomatoes, I usually cut in half, with ordinary tomatoes, it is better to remove the skin and cut into small cubes.
We're sorting out green lentils - always do this. Small pebbles that perfectly mask themselves as lentils, although rare, are found. Therefore, it is better to spend a few minutes turning over lentils than to get an unplanned visit to the dentist.
Then wash the lentils with cold water, add to the roaster.
Pour 450 ml of cold water. The amount of water depends on what you want to get as a result. For thick soup, that's enough. If you need a crumbly lentil porridge, then pour about 300 ml.
Add finely chopped chilli pod, bay leaves and salt to taste, increase the heat, close to boiling after boiling. Cook on a quiet fire for 45 minutes, it is advisable not to open the lid.
Serve with green onions and bread cakes. Thick gave can be served in a pita.
Indian lentil dal with fenugreek is ready. Enjoy your meal!
