There are some ingredients in the kitchen that make me very happy. Yes, I am a loser. But it’s true. Those ingredients that evoke a lot of memories, whet your appetite, or just smell amazing. A lot of Indian ingredients, especially spices, do that for me. The smell of toasting fenugreek, cumin frying in oil, the pop of mustard seeds – I love all of these things. Recently on Twitter, Maunika from the fabulous Cook in a Curry asked people what their favourite Indian ingredients are. This got me thinking. As I’ve listed above, there are lots of ingredients I love.
However, one of the ones that I love more than most is urad dahl. You’re probably thinking “a lentil – boredom to the max”. However, urad dahl is not your typical lentil. Rather than just use it as any other dahl, in large quantity as the base of a dish, urad dahl is often used as a seasoning, in many ways, a spice. It comes into its own when used in combination with mustard seeds. Fried till brown and nutty, it has the most wonderful crunch, providing a brilliant textural contrast in all manner of dishes. I wouldn’t be lying if I said I often try and fish out as much remaining cooked urad dahl from a dish – now that’s a satisfyingly crunchy mouthful.
One dish it is essential for, in my eyes, is uppama. This is one of my favourite breakfast foods. It may sound strange, but semolina just cooked up with onions, chillies, curry leaves, mustard seeds and urad dahl is a thing of wonder. I can eat vast quantities of this.
I also use it in all manner of dry vegetable dishes – from my go to Indian potatoes to green beans with coconut, which I’ve listed the recipe for below (if you can call it a recipe).
Whilst urad dahl may not be one of those familiar ingredients, I would urge you to try it out – it is definitely deserving of some mighty praise.
Uppama (serves 2)
Half an onion, roughly chopped
2 green finger chillies, finely sliced
2 tsp urad dahl
1 tsp mustard seeds
8-10 curry leaves
couple of handfuls semoliina (I apologies for this measurement – I never measure this)
salt to taste
a pinch of sugar
1tbsp groundnut or vegetable oil
1. Heat the oil in a frying pan, wok or kadai. When hot, add the mustard seeds and urad dahl.
2. When the urad dahl are turning a darker shade, and the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the curry leaves, which will splutter a bit.
3. Add the onion and chilli, and fry till the onion has softened
4. Add the semolina, stir to coat in the spices and oil. Then add a steady stream of water to the pan, stirring as you go. Now, you need to do this steadily, as you do not want to waterlog the semolina. Pour in around 150ml. Stir until the semolina starts to thicken. If it feels too thick, add some more water, bit by bit. You are looking for a fluffy consistency, which is still a bit stodgy, a tiny bit sticky.
5. When you’re happy with the consistency of your uppama, add salt to taste, a pinch of sugar, stir and serve.
South Indian green beans (serves 2)
2 large handfuls of green beans, topped and tailed and chopped into 1cm pieces (I use anything from runner beans to french beans to long beans)
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp urad dahl
Pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chilli powder
Small handful of grated coconut (you can get frozen grated coconut from many Asian food stores – it’s very handy)
Salt to taste
1tbsp groundnut or vegetable oil
1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok. When hot, add the urad dahl and mustard seeds.
2. When the dahl has turned a shade darker, and the mustard seeds begin to pop, add a good pinch of asafoetida.
3. Add the green beans to the pan, stir to combine.
4. Add the coconut to the pan, stir, cover the pan with a lid and leave the beans to cook for 5-6 minutes or until they are tendr.
5. Uncover, stir to ensure all the coconut is combined. Add salt to taste, and serve.
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