Two Dal Damaka with Whole Wheat Parathas

This Two Dal Damaka is a combination of two previous recipes that I have made - the Tomatoey Masoor Dal and Spiced Moong Dal. In this recipe, I added both the masoor dal (red lentils) and moong dal (yellow lentils) together to make a one pot wonder. To make dinner even easier, I served the dal with packaged frozen whole wheat parathas. Here's the recipe ...

3/4 cup masoor dal

3/4 cup moong dal

3 cups water

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

Pinch of asafoetida powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 tsp red chili powder

1/2 tsp ginger paste

1/2 tsp garlic paste

1/4 tsp green chili paste

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

2 dry red chili bits

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 lemon, juiced

Big handful of spinach, chopped

Chopped cilantro for garnish

1. Heat up oil in pot. Add the dry red chili bits and cumin seeds and let the seeds sizzle. Remove from heat and add the asafoetida powder next followed by the onions. Cook onions until translucent.

2. Add the ginger, garlic and green chili pastes and cook for 30 seconds. Next, add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, salt, sugar, and red chili powder as well as the water.

3. Bring the dal to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 25 minutes, adding more water depending on the consistency you prefer. Add the chopped spinach and lemon juice at the last 5 minutes.

4. Stir in the chopped cilantro and the dal is ready!

Dinner was scrumptious. The leftovers were even better for lunch the next day. I changed things up by pureeing the dal to make it soup-like consistency. (I added 1/2 tsp sambhar masala and 1 tsp of lemon juice for added flavor.) Instead of parathas, I served with jeera rice and onion raita. We loved it because the "new" dal tasted a bit different than what we are used to, tasting more South Indian than Gujarati. This one's a keeper, guys!