This is a dish I cook quite often and I do love the flavour cinnamon adds to the overall taste. As I do for almost all dishes I cook, I puree the tomatoes and this adds body to the finished dish. I also as per normal adjust the heat level to my preference that day.

Taken from : Gordon Ramsay’s Book, Great Escape

Ingredients :
250g dried black-eyed beans(lobia), soaked in plenty of water overnight
1.5 litres water
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 cinnamon stick
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Sea salt
350g tomatoes, skinned and chopped
Pinch of asafoetida(optional)
2 tbsp chopped coriander

Method:

Soak the beans overnight in water. Pressure cook the beans with sufficient water, till they are tender.

While the beans are cooking, heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and tip in the cumin seeds and cinnamon stick. Add the onions and garlic. Fry for 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and a dark golden brown.

Add the ground cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper and a generous pinch of salt to the pan. Stir for a minute then tip in the chopped tomatoes and asafoetida, if using. Stir well, cover, and turn the heat down to a simmer. After about 10 minutes, add the cooked black-eyed beans and leave to simmer, uncovered, for a further 20 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Stir in the chopped coriander just before serving.

This is a dish that is my comfort food. I use yellow moong dal. I usually love adding a teaspoon of cumin seeds fried in ghee with the onions, this adds to the comfort and deliciousness of the dish to my taste buds anyway! I usually puree the fried onions along with the cooked dal to give the dal a smooth consistency. This dish fills me with deep joy.

Taken from : Bhicoo J. Manekshaw’s Book ‘Parsi Food and Customs’

Ingredients :
1 1/2 cups husked pigeon peas, green beans or Egyptian lentils
1 large onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic
1 tsp turmeric powder
800 ml water
Salt to taste

Vaghar (Seasoning) :
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp ghee

Method :
Place washed dal and all the other ingredients including onion, tomatoes, garlic, turmeric and pressure cook it till the dal is  soft.
Fry 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds in some ghee and along with onions till golden brown. Liquidise the dal with the onions till smooth.

This dal is hearty and tastes lovely. I do like to puree my tomatoes when I add it to any Indian dish I cook, as I feel this adds more body to any dish, whether it be a vegetable dish, a dal or bean dish.

Taken from : https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/chana-dal-recipe-chana-dal/

Ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml) :
For pressure cooking chana dal:
¾ cup chana dal (bengal gram)
2.5 to 3 cups water
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)

For tempering the chana dal:
2 medium sized tomatoes – chopped
½ cup finely chopped onions
1 inch ginger – finely chopped (adrak)
4 to 5 garlic – finely chopped (lahsun)
1 green chili – chopped (hari mirch)
¾ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
½ teaspoon red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
1 teaspoon coriander powder (dhania powder)
½ teaspoon garam masala powder
½ teaspoon dry mango powder (amchur powder) or add as required
1 teaspoon kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
2 tablespoon oil or ghee
salt as required
a few coriander leaves (cilantro) for mixing towards the end or garnishing

Method:
Pressure cooking chana dal:
1. pick and rinse the chana dal well in running water.
2. soak the dal in enough water for an hour.
3. drain the lentils and add them to the pressure cooker along with turmeric powder. add 2.5 to 3 cups water and stir well.
4. on a high flame, pressure cook the lentils for 7 to 8 whistles or more, till the dal is softened and well cooked.
5. keep the cooked chana dal aside.

Making chana dal fry:
1. in another pan, heat oil or ghee.
2. add the cumin first and fry for a few seconds till they splutter.
3. then add the garlic and fry till they become light brown.
4. now add the onions and fry till they get golden.
5. now add the tomatoes, ginger and green chili.
6. stir and add all the dry spice powders – turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, asafoetida, dry mango powder and coriander powder.
7. saute till the tomatoes get cooked and the oil starts to leave the side of the mixture.
8. add the kasoori methi and stir.
9. pour the cooked chana dal along with its stock to the sauteed masala mixture or vice versa. season with salt.
10. stir and simmer the dal for 6-8 minutes till you get medium consistency of the dal. the dal is neither thick nor thin.
11. garnish chana dal with chopped coriander leaves.
12. serve the chana dal hot with some basmati rice or rotis or bread.

Bok choy are slightly bitter chinese greens. Using them with Indian spices is uncommon but the way this has been combined, it is a delight to eat.

Taken from: http://malayali.me/veg-recipes/bok-choy-thoran-stir-fried-bok-choy-with-coconut

Ingredients :
Chinese Bok Choy – 4 clusters
Sliced Shallots (Kunjulli/Pearl Onions) – 1/2 cup
Grated Coconut – 3/4 cup
Crushed/Finely Chopped Garlic – 3 or 4 cloves
Slit Indian Green Chillies – 3 or 4
Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
Salt – to taste
Coconut Oil – 1.5 tbsp
Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves – A sprig

Method :
Wash the bok choy clusters thoroughly. Trim the base of each cluster and chop the leaves and stem into small pieces.
Mix together coconut, turmeric powder, shallots, garlic and green chillies using hands or you can coarsely grind everything in a mixie.
Heat 1.5 tbsp coconut oil in a non stick pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves and saute for a minute.
Add the coconut mixture and saute for 2 minutes.
Next add the chopped bok choy to the pan and stir fry for a minute. Add more salt if needed.
Cover the pan and cook on medium-low heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. The vegetable will begin letting out water.
Remove the lid and stir fry for another 4-5 minutes on medium-high heat so that the water evaporates. Once cooked, the stems should be tender. Serve with rice.

This is a hearty dish and the flavour’s are unusual but go well together. I often make it in winter time as black beans tend to be more substantial to eat, compared with other lighter dals.

Taken from : https://foodandspice.blogspot.com/2012/06/curried-black-beans-with-tomatoes-and.html

Serves : 6

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups dried black beans
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
4 cups of water
3 tablespoons ghee or a mixture of butter and oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced or crushed
1-inch piece of ginger, minced or grated
2 fresh green chilies, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (methi)
1 tablespoon dried curry leaves, crumbled
1 1/2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard powder
pinch of asafetida
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped
garam masala for garnish

Method:
Rinse the black beans and soak for 8 hours or overnight covered in several inches of water with a little yogurt whey or lemon juice added. Drain and rinse, then transfer to a large saucepan and add the turmeric and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour or until the beans are tender.

Heat the ghee or butter and oil over medium heat in a frying pan. When hot, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and stir and fry for a minute or until the mustard seeds turn grey and begin to pop. Add the onion to the pan and stir and fry until it begins to brown. Now toss in the garlic, ginger and fresh chilies. Stir and fry for another minute or two.

Now add the dried leaves, spices and salt, and stir and fry for another minute. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are reduced and the sauce has thickened. Pour the tomato spice mixture into the pan of beans and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until the beans have thickened. Stir in most of the parsley or cilantro, reserving a little for garnish, and continue to simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with the remaining parsley or cilantro and a sprinkle of garam masala.

I love the addition of fennel seeds to this recipe. It gives it a very unusual taste and quite enjoyable. If you are in a rush frozen chopped green beans offer a quick way to get this on the table as it cuts down on the trimming and slicing of the green beans. I puree the tomato to give a thicker consistency to the finished vegetable.

Taken from : Madhur Jaffrey’s book World Vegetarian
http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/green-beans-with-cumin-and-fennel-4819

Ready In: 28mins

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons peanut oil or 3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
1 teaspoon fennel seed
2 good-sized shallots (1 1/2 oz.) or 1 small onion, peeled and cut into fine slices (1 1/2 oz.)
1 garlic clove, peeled and cut into fine slices
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and cut into very fine slivers
1 lb green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1⁄4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne
1⁄2 cup water
1 1⁄4 teaspoons salt
2 ounces tomatoes, chopped (1 small)
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

Method:

Put the oil in a large frying pan and set over medium-high heat. When very hot, add the whole cumin and fennel seeds. Stir for a few seconds.
Quickly add the shallots, garlic, and ginger. Stir for about a minute, or until lightly browned.
Add the beans and stir for another 2 minutes.
Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne and stir a few times.
Add 1/2 cup water and the salt and bring to a simmer. Stir and cover. Turn the heat down to low and cook gently for 5 minutes.
Add the tomato and cilantro. Stir, cover, and cook for another 4-5 minutes, or until the beans are tender.

This is a simple and unusual recipe. As beets take a long time to cook in the oven, I often use cooked beets that are sold abroad in vacuum sealed packets. This short cut makes the recipe much quicker to prepare. I puree the tomatoes to a thicker sauce, that will coat the beetroot.

Taken from : Madhur Jaffrey’s book, Indian Cooking.

Serves: 3 to 4

Ingredients:

350 g(3/4 lb) raw beets(weight without stems and leaves)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 clove garlic, peeled and very finely chopped
1 large onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon plain flour
1/8 – 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and very finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
300 ml (1 1/4 cups) water

Method:

Cut the beets into bite sized pieces.
Put the oil in a medium-sized saucepan and set over medium heat. When hot, put in the cumin seeds. Let them sizzle for 5 seconds. Put in the garlic. Stir and fry until the garlic pieces turn golden. Put in the onion. Stir and fry for 2 minutes. Put in the flour and cayenne. Stir and fry for a minute. Now put in the beets, the tomatoes, salt, and water. Bring to a simmer. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes or until the beets are tender. Remove lid, turn up heat to medium, and cook uncovered for about 7 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly.

This is a wonderful recipe that tastes fantastic. It goes with pretty much any side dish. The coconut milk adds a mildness and sweetness and the chilies add a bit of heat. I adjust the heat according to my liking and you should adjust it as per your fondness of heat.

Taken from: Madhur Jaffrey’s book, A Taste of India.

Serves : 6

Ingredients:
7 oz/200 g/ 1 cup skinned toovar dal or yellow split peas
1/8 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbs/ 15 ml peeled and very finely chopped shallots
1 tsp/ 5 ml ground cumin seeds
3-4 whole fresh, hot green chillies, slit down their middles
4 tbs/ 60 ml vegetable oil or 2 tbs/30 ml coconut oil and 2 tbs/ 30 ml ghee
1/2 tsp/ 2.5 ml whole black mustard seeds
10-12 fresh or dried curry leaves
1-2 whole, hot, dried red chillies broken up into 2-4 pieces each
2 tbs/ 30 ml peeled and finely sliced shallots
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
5 oz/ 150 g, 1 medium-sized tomato, chopped
3/4 – 1 tsp/ 4-5 ml salt
1/2 pint/ 300 ml / 1 1/4 cups, tinned or fresh, unsweetened coconut milk.

Method:
Place washed dal in a pressure cooker with sufficient water, chopped shallots, green chilies, turmeric and ground cumin and pressure cook it till it is a thick consistency, similar to soup. If it is too thick add some water to thin it out. Adjust the chilies to your heat level, as well as, per to your taste.
Heat the oil in a small frying pan over a medium flame. When hot, put in the mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop, (this takes just a few seconds), put in the curry leaves and the red chillies. When the red chillies darken (this happens almost immediately), put in all the sliced shallots and garlic. Stir and fry until the shallots turn a reddish-brown colour. Now add the tomato pieces. Stir and fry until they soften.
Pour the entire contents of the small frying pan into the dal. Add the salt and mix. Add the coconut milk and stir it in.