Shobji Dal Lentils With Vegetables Recipe

Ingredients

• Dal
• ½ cup red lentils
• 3¼ cups warm water, divided
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup finely chopped cauliflower
• ¾ cup chopped zucchini
• ½ cup finely chopped onions
• ¾ cup diced carrot
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon chile powder
• ½ cup frozen peas
• ¾ cup diced tomatoes
• 4 green Indian chilies
• ½ cups chopped cilantro
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• Bagar
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
• 2 dried red chiles
• 1 tablespoon whole panch phoron

Directions

1. Make the dal: Rinse the lentils thoroughly in a colander, then transfer to a small bowl and add ¼ cup of the warm water. Let soak 10 minutes.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the lentils, cauliflower, zucchini, onion, carrot, ginger, coriander, cumin, salt, turmeric and chile powder, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add the remaining 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking until the lentils are soft, about 35 minutes. Stir in the peas and tomatoes, and cover, and continue to cook for about 5 minutes.
4. To make the bagar: In a small frying pan over high heat heat the oil. Add the the ginger, red chilies and panch phoron. Cook until the panch phoron seeds have browned and the mixture is fragrant, about 4 minutes. Ladle a spoonful of the dal into the frying pan and stir quickly to combine. Pour the bagar and dal back into the pot of dal, and stir to combine.
5. Trim the ends of the green chilis, then make an incision about ½ inch deep into the tops, as if you were about to cut them in half lengthwise. Toss the chilies into the pot with the dal and stir. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes time, then remove from heat, stir in the cilantro and garnish with cumin.