Split Pigeon Peas (Toor Dal) with Vegetables and Rice

October 12, 2024

Split Pigeon Peas (Toor Dal) with Vegetables and Rice - Ultimate Comfort Meal

This is the ultimate comfort meal. It's inspired by sambhar from the region of south India and Gujarati dal from northwest India; however I made it much more simple than it is traditionally made. Maybe my pictures don't portray it, but this was the ultimate hearty plant based comfort meal! Hope you get to try it. Thanks for reading!

Ingredients:

1 Cup Toor Dal: You can get a bag of toor dal at any Indian store. The bag will say Toor Dal. Wash it 3 times and soak for 3 hours. Note that any dal you do not use needs to be stored in an airtight glass jar.

1 Cup Rice: I like the rice from our local grocery store, ShopRite. I think we got long grain rice. Wash 3 times and soak for 1-3 hours.

You can use any vegetables that you have in your refrigerator. However, you will need to consider the cooking times for that vegetable and you could microwave it for 2-3 minutes before adding it to the dal.

Veggies I Microwaved:

1 Green Pepper: Remove the inside of it and chop it to any size you like. Add a little bit of water and microwave for 2-3 minutes.

2 Small Carrots: Peel it, and chop off the ends and don't use the ends. Then chop the carrots to any size you prefer. Add a little of water and microwave for 2-3 minutes.

1/4 of a Bottle Gourd: This is an Indian version of zucchini or squash. You can use peeled zucchini or squash instead. I had a leftover 1/4. Peel it and chop it as you prefer. Add a little water in a glass bowl and microwave for 2 minutes.

Veggies I Added Directly to the Dal:

1 Tomato: Chop as preferred.

3 Green Chillies: Chop off ends and don't use the ends, and then chop to any size you like. You can skip adding this if you don't want it to be spicy.

Spices:

Spices to Add to the Dal:

Salt to taste

1/4 Teaspoon of Red Chilli Powder (or even less if you don't want it spicy, as this is more to make the dal a certain color). You can even add black pepper instead of red chilli to get a kick without the actual spice.

1/2 Teaspoon of Tumeric Powder

1/2 Teaspoon of Corriander Powder

1/4 Teaspoon of Garam Masala

Spices to Add to Tempering Oil:

1/2 Teaspoon of Mustard Seeds

1/2 Teaspoon of Cumin Seeds

A pinch of Asafoetida

Steps for the Toor Dal with Vegetables:

1. Remove the soaking water of the toor dal, and add the dal to the cooking pot. Add plenty of water and cook on medium to high for 20-30 minutes. Once the dal is cooked, we'll be ready for the next step.

2. Put oil, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds in a tempering pan or pot, which really can just be a regular small cooking pot or pan, but it can't be wet. Heat on medium. When you hear a mustard seed pop, add a pinch of asafoetida. Turn off the heat and add the oil and tempered seeds to the cooking toor dal.

3. Now keep the lid of the cooking toor dal open. Add all of the spices, microwaved veggies, and non-microwaved veggies. In the picture below you can see how the dal looks after this step. Notice how the veggies will have softened even more in the final picture in 4.

4. Close the lid for 5 minutes and let the dal and veggies cook one final time. You can see the color of the dal and the veggies coming together deliciously below.