Our family can eat this every single day of the week. It is my soul food. I love this with Plain Basmati Rice and any vegetable I feel like that day. I also love to add Lemony Ground Lamb with Mint and Cilantro.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4¿6

　　1 cup (7 ounces) moong dal (hulled and split mung beans), washed and drained

　　1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

　　3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

　　2 tablespoons olive oil or ghee

　　1/8 teaspoon ground asafetida

　　1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

　　1–2 dried hot red chilies (the short cayenne type)

　　1 medium shallot, peeled and cut into fine slivers

　　

Step 1

Put the dal in a medium pot and add 3 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil. Skim off the white froth and add the turmeric. Stir to mix. Cover partially, turn heat to a gentle simmer, and cook 45 minutes. Add the salt and stir to mix. Turn off heat.

　　

Step 2

Pour the oil into a small frying pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot put in the asafetida, cumin seeds, and chilies, quickly in that order. As soon as the chilies darken, a matter of seconds, add the shallots. Stir and cook until the shallots brown and then quickly pour the contents of the frying pan over the cooked dal. Stir to mix.

　　Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Buy the full book from Amazon.