Methi Dal
Prep Time : 20 mins
Serves: 3
Recipe Category: Dal-Side Dish
Recipe Cuisine: North Indian
Author:Padhu Sankar
Ingredients needed
Fresh Fenugreek leaves/methi – 2 cups
Tur dal – 1/2 cup
Onion – 1
Garlic – 4 cloves
Ginger – 1 inch piece
Green chilli – 2
Tomato – 1
Salt as required
Spice Powder
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
For the Seasoning
Oil – 1 1/2 tbsp
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Red chilli – 1
Hing/asafoetida – a generous pinch
Curry leaves – a sprig
For the Top Up Seasoning
Ghee – 1 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp
Garlic – 4 cloves
Red Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
For Garnishing
Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp finely chopped
Slivered ginger – 3-4 ginger strips
Preparation
Pick and clean methi leaves. Rinse it 3 times in plenty of water as it contains dirt and mud. This is the only difficult part in this recipes. Once cleaned and rinsed, chop it roughly (if needed) and keep it aside.
Pressure cook tur dal with 1/4 tsp turmeric powder for 3 whistles. I normally soak tur dal in hot water for 15-20 minutes before cooking as it reduces the cooking time and dal also gets cooked to a mush. Once the pressure subsides, open the cooker, mash the dal well and keep it aside.
Finely chop onions, green chilli and ginger.
Method
Heat oil + ghee in a pan/kadai, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chilli and hing. When cumin seeds sizzles, add finely chopped garlic, curry leaves and green chilli. Saute for a few seconds.
Add finely chopped onions and saute stirring continuously on medium heat until onions turn light brown. Add a little salt to speed up the process.
Add chopped tomatoes, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder and little more salt.
Cook until tomatoes becomes mushy and leaves out oil.
Add the methi leaves and cook until it wilts.
Add the mashed dal and around 1/2 cup of water.
Mix well and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in between to prevent the dal from getting burnt. Check for salt by tasting it. Add if required.
Now we will do the top up seasoning which will take the dish to a different level. This is optional but I love it.
Heat ghee, add cumin seeds, when it sizzles, add finely chopped garlic and saute until garlic turns a little brown. Turn off the heat and add chilli powder. Mix well and pour the tadka over the dal.
Delicious and flavorful methi dal is ready. Serve it with plain steamed rice, jeera pulao, parathas, phulkas or chapatis.
If you love methi and dal, you will love my methi and dal recipes –
Dal Recipes
Methi Recipes