Shim Mulo die Matar Daal (Lentils with Broad beans and Radish)
11:08 PM
It's amazing how smell can bring back much more than long lost memories. Often some scent on the road, fragrance of a specific flower or aroma of a dish makes us relive some old memory, it takes us right back to that moment. The feeling, the sound, the emotions just the way we felt at that very moment.
Science shows that the part of brain dedicated to memory and smell are closely located and chefs like Heston Blumenthal are creating multi sensory dining experience around this logic. But even before I became aware of it...food , smell and memory were something my life always revolved around. and now on the verge of 40 I am relying more and more on nostalgia and memory to bring on magic in our daily lives.
This shim, mulo die matar dal is one such dish...though as a kid I always hated it. Even a decade back I had not such big thoughts about this dish but now that Maa is gone I want to embrace all such recipes that she used to cook and feed us as kid. And funnily when I tried it with my kids the response was just the same...they hated it. My son being proper just said it's okay and let the words hand in the air but the daughter squuezed her nose, shook her hair and said not good at all mumma. it's another thing that I invariably fed her the same dal mixed with some tomato chutney.
On the contrary we simply loved it with our hot steamed rice and cabbage and peas curry.
Shim mulo die Mator daal
Ingredients:
Mator Daal: 1/3 cup
Broad beans or shim: 8-10 pieces
White radish: 1 small
Fresh coriander greens: handful
Garlic: 2-3 fat cloves (chop finely)
Green chillies: 3-4 (adjust as per your taste)
Nigella seeds: 1/2 tsp
Mustard oil: 1 tbsp
Salt
Turmeric
Sugar: 1/3 tsp
Method:
Wash the Daal and pressure cook with water, turmeric for one whistle on high. Let the steam dissipate in itself.
In the mean time wash, top and tail the beans and cut them in half if big or keep whole. Peel and cut the radish either in half moon shape or if small then cut in rounds.
Add this to the half cooked dal and again boil it with some salt till done (6-8minutes). Adjust water accordingly. (I used almost 2 cups water in total and boiled it to get my required consistency).
Heat mustard oil in a pan and add the nigella seeds and green chillies when seeds start to splutter add chopped garlic and stir. Once the garlic starts to change colour pour in the hot dal and immediately cover with a lid. Let the dal absorb the flavour. Adjust the seasoning by adding salt and sugar if required.
Finally sprinkle the chopped coriander greens and serve hot with rice.
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