Masoor Daal...your average unpretentious everyday daal

Ingredients : 

Masoor daal : the pink colored daal 1 cup 

Red onions: 1 finely chopped

Tomato : 1 chopped

Chillies : the more the merrier but 4 is a good number

Coriander leaves : about a hand full 

Panch Phoron or Kalo jeere : a tea spoon 

Salt : according to taste

Turmeric: somewhere between a pinch and a tea spoon full. 

Masoor daal is easy peasy and was the first daal I made 9 months back when I had to start making bangali food for you-know-who . It started out as a disgusting yellow sludge but after several attempts and a smoke alarm , its almost as good as the one at home . 

Take a cup of daal and wash it . A lot of  mucky stuff comes out so wash it well. The pulses cook very easily so no need to break out the pressure cooker for this one and any saucepan with a bit of depth will do. Add 2 cups of water and a bit of turmeric and bring to boil . It takes about 15 minutes for the daal to cook. Add more water if it dries out. Continue till the daal is cooked completely, and  not looking up at you with wondrous eyes .i,e "cheye nei" . Total annihilation in geek terms, This bit is now done, move on. 

In a frying pan heat white oil. When warm add the panch phoron or kalo jire, which ever is handy. I like kalo jire , the panch phoron tastes weird if you ending up burning it. Add chopped onion and fry. Add tomato, green chilies, salt and continue till onion is tender but not brown. 

Now with deft maneuvering techniques  transfer the contents of the saucepan into the frying pan. I always end up spilling a quarter of the boiled sludge during this process. Add water depending on how thick or thin (patla) you want the daal to be.You might also need to adjust the salt accordingly.  Bring to boil. again. This bit is dull, switch on the telly and look for the remote. 

Add a handful of coriander leaves and some ghee and you are pretty much done. Remove from heat . 

Serve with rice preferably with some bhaja. This is the quintessential bhat er daal , not to be paired with a rooti if you can help it. 

Congratulations , you have now completed level 1 of daal making and you may now download another episode of the Mentalist.