Kon Bilahi Dal (Lentils with Cherry Tomatoes)

An Assamese kitchen serves a variety of dals (lentils), each with a distinct and subtle taste.  In fact, if you choose to have Assamese food on all 30 days of the month, you'll still have a different dal to savour each day. Among the plethora of dals cooked the Assamese way, dal with cherry tomatoes (kon bilahi) is quite popular and a personal favorite too. Great to have during the summer months, here's one way to prepare this particular dal.

What's required:

·    3/4 cup Masur Dal

·    1/4 cup Moong Dal

·    10 cherry tomatoes (approx.)

·    1/4 onion (finely chopped)                                                                               

·    4 green chillies

·    1 pinch pas phooron (5 spices comprise fennel seeds, fenugreek  seeds, cumin seeds, black mustard seeds and nigella seeds)

·    Salt to taste

·    One pinch turmeric powder

·    Coriander leaves (optional)

·    1 teaspoon mustard oil

Method:

In a pressure cooker, add the washed dals, water (about 4-5 cups or as per your requirement), cherry tomatoes, 2 chillies, salt and turmeric powder. (many people add the tomatoes while doing the tempering too).  Remove from cooker after two whistles.

Heat a pan and add the mustard oil; once hot, add the five spices, followed by the chopped onions and then the chopped coriander leaves.When the onions turn brownish, pour the boiled dal. Heat it for some time;cut two green chilies and add to the boiling dal.

Ou Tenga Dal (Lentils with Elephant Apple)

Elephant apple (ou tenga) is one of the most popular fruits in Assam, used as a sour enhancer in traditional curries; but whenever I talk about this hard-shelled fruit to people here in North India, they give out an expression of “Now what on earth is this?”

For the uninitiated, elephant apple or wood apple is native to South East Asia and has a tangy flavor that adds a unique taste to your dal (lentils), fish and other curries. Back in Assam, we grew up on a lot of mythical stories surrounding this intriguing fruit too. So when my husband got me some during his last visit to the state, I rushed to my kitchen and prepared tangy dal with  this fruit. This is how:

Ingredients:

•    Half elephant apple (washed well)
•    250 gm lentil (masoor)
•    3-4 chopped green chillis
•    1-2 pinch mustard seeds
•    Salt to taste
•    One pinch turmeric powder

Method: This is one of the easiest things to cook. Just cut the fruit into pieces and crush them. Keep aside. Wash the dal and add in a pressure cooker, along with the crushed ou tenga pieces, salt and turmeric powder. Pressure cook and remove after two hoots.In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds and chopped green chillis. Pour the dal into it. Remove after some time.

Health benefits: The fruit is very effective against diabetes.

Mango Dal (Aam Dal)

Delhi’s sweating it out. What better way to beat the heat than relax indoors and have some nice food to please your ‘summer palate’. Something like ‘aam dal’ that's not just soothing for your taste buds but is easy on your stomach too. The best part is it’s so easy to cook – reducing your kitchen time in the process. This is not exactly an Assamese preparation; people have this all over the country, more specifically in Andhra and West Bengal:

Ingredients:

• 1/4th cup toor lentil (rohor dal)
• 1/4th cup masur dal
• 1 medium sized raw mango
• 1/4th onion (finely chopped)
• One tomato (diced into small pieces)
• 2-3 pinch of mustard seeds
• 2-3 green chilies
• 2 dried red chilies
• Salt to taste
• 1-2 pinch turmeric powder
• Two teaspoon oil

Method:

Peel and grate the mango and keep aside. Wash the lentils properly; place it in a pressure cooker, add salt and turmeric powder and the chopped tomatoes. Boil it. Remove from gas after a couple of hoots. In a pan heat the oil, add the mustard seeds, red chilies and onions (in this order). When the onions get a golden tinge, add the boiled dal and heat for some time. Then add the grated mango; remember not to over boil the mango because if you do so there are chances the color of your dal may turn brownish.