1 cup chick peas, soaked
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 each green chile
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cumin, ground
2 tbsp raisins
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 each bay leaf
1 each dried red chile
5 each cardamom pods
1 each 2 cinnamon stick
2 each cloves
1/4 tsp kalonji seeds
1 tbsp green chile, seeded & minced
2 tbsp coconut, shredded
1/4 tsp garam masala
1 ghee, optional
Directions
Cook chickpeas in water with turmeric & whole chile for about 1 hour
or until they are very tender. Discard whole chiles. Add salt & cumin
& remove from heat.
Puree one cup of the dal mixture in a blender, adding a little water
if necessary. Return to the pan, add raisins & bring back to a
simmer. Keep warm.
Heat oil in a small skillet. Fry bay leaf & red chile until the chile
darkens. Fry cardamom, cinnamon & cloves for 5 seconds. Add kalonji
& fry a few seconds longer. Turn heat to low & add minced chile &
coconut. Cook for a few seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from
heat & pour over the dal. Simmer a couple more minutes & remove from
heat. Garnish with lemon wedges, sprinkle with cilantro & ghee &
serve.
Bharti Kirchner, "The Healthy Cuisine of India: Recipes from the
Bengal Region"
Servings: 4 servings
Chholar Dal Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Indian
The History of Recipes
Written cooking instructions as a concept can be found way back into distant history, certainly as far back into history as the Egyptians, and quite possibly further than that. Interesting though that is, sadly, these old records were just basic hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for meal preparation.
Fascinatingly, the oldest recipe found, according to experts in ancient history are some tablets in the Sumerian language which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making drinkers feel `exhilarated, wonderful and blissful`. As our culinary historical trip moves to more modern times there were two recipe books from the fourteenth century - a book titled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary called `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are somewhat misleading tho`, these have no connection with the indian curry that is served today, but rather descriptions of the types of meals on the menus of the upper classes of the period. Over the following few centuries, the upper-class families of the West competed to serve up the best banquets, and as a result the best chefs and their recipes increased in prestige. However, it wasn`t until the 19th century that fine cooking and cookery books became really popular. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, devoted much of their lives to collating, trying out, and writing down recipes to help cooks of their time. By the advent of the twentieth century, cook books are starting to become popular mostly as a result of higher levels of literacy, leisure time and having more money to spend. The introduction of the TV gave us celebrity TV chefs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing everybody to access massive numbers of recipes like the ones you can find on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Chholar Dal recipe.
