Yellow Mung Dal Soup - Dal Shorba

"I found this recipe on a blog written by a Lithuanian woman who now lives in India - she found the love of her life while studying in the US, he is Indian and so now she lives in India, and publishes the "Virtuve su indisku prieskoniu" blog (Kitchen with an Indian flavor). The author of the recipe is Sanjeev Kapoor."
 
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photo by PalatablePastime photo by PalatablePastime
photo by PalatablePastime
photo by briannedhogan_12593 photo by briannedhogan_12593
photo by FLKeysJen photo by FLKeysJen
photo by KateL photo by KateL
Ready In:
1hr 20mins
Ingredients:
13
Serves:
2-3
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ingredients

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directions

  • Note: I used 1/2 tsp of dried thyme and just crumbled it between my fingers. (That's before I realized the recipe actually called for turmeric, not thyme). If you don't like things too hot, slice the pepper in half and seed it and toss in the halves - retrieve them before pureeing/serving. The recipe called for water, but I used vegetable broth, which I think added to the flavor of the soup.
  • Wash and rinse the mung dal. The first package I bought was artificially colored - I washed it repeatedly until the water was quite clear, so check your package before buying!
  • Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onion, sauteing until it becomes translucent. Add the garlic and ginger, stirring, and cook briefly.
  • Add the turmeric.
  • Add the mung dal and 4 cups of broth or water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. If you are using water, add salt at this point. Also add the chili peppers. Stir from time to time and skim off any foam. Add additional water, as needed. Simmer until the mung dal are quite soft, 30-45 minutes.
  • Puree at this point, if desired. If you are using chili halves, remove before pureeing. (The last time I made this I used a ripe jalapeno, and left it in . I did not puree it to the very end, leaving some texture and very pretty red chili flecks in the soup).
  • In a small skillet heat the butter until it foams. Add the cumin and stir it in for just a few seconds, then scrape it all into the saucepan. (The last few times I made this, I just sprinkled a little cumin on top, and that worked just as well, less work and fewer dishes to wash!).
  • Add the lemon or lime juice and ladle into bowls. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
  • This made two servings for me, but will probably make 3 to 4 for others.

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Reviews

  1. Very good if not quite authentic (I am used to using things like whole cumin seed and asafoetida). I did use toor dal in mine which is similar type of yellow dal which cooks the same way and tastes similar as well. I did add a little salt, but I did not use the broth, only water, as I am used to. Thanks for sharing!
     
  2. This was great! and hot! I didn't have/couldn't find YELLOW lentils so used what I had that was just labelled lentils. I think yellow don't have the skins on. I pureed it with my immersion blender though, so it was ok. I just had ginger in a jar and used a spoonful as my estimate of 3/4" of fresh ginger and I might have overestimated because that was the predominant flavor. Also used one habernero pepper that I froze in the fall, with a few seeds. Made for Rookie Recipe Tag Fall 2013.
     
  3. My first time trying Moong Dal Lentils, and they are so tender. I recommend the Ajika brand that you can get at http://www.ajika.com/ or on Amazon. Looking forward to making this again (a double batch next time).
     
  4. Mellow cumin taste, as I made it with 2 mild Anaheim (aka New Mexico) chili peppers; next time I will use 1 jalapeno as I slowly climb the Scoville scale. I used 2 tablespoons butter. I did not puree, so the texture reminded me of soupy grits. I ended up with 4 cups of soup from 4 cups of chicken broth (I let the soup cook down an extra 10 minutes as I prefer a thicker soup). My photo shows the total output. I ate all 4 cups of soup, it was such a pleasant taste combination. My neighborhood Indian grocer commented that he usually uses Toor Dal instead of Mung Dal because he thinks Mung Dal causes gasiness; I experienced some in a few hours. Made for Please Review My Recipe tag game.
     
  5. It's a good thing that this soup is so healthy - because I can't stop eating it!! 2 servings yes, maybe, or only 1 serving before the evening is gone. I keep going back for more.I used only 1 tsp for sauteing the onions and what aroma when the onions, garlic and ginger were cooking. Yum. I used green mung dal and chicken broth. I also cut back the butter in which the cumin was fried to just 2 tsp and I finished off the soup with some lemon and cilantro. The recipe has been updated since I made the soup and I used thyme instead of tumeric. I will keep on using thyme because it works with the onion, garlic and ginger. This is such a keeper if you like lentil type soups. In my favorites of 2011 it goes.
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

My screen name is a diminutive in Lithuanian for bread, so you won't be suprised to learn that I love to bake bread. In recent years I have been baking a lot of sourdough breads and have several starters sitting in my refrigerator. But I like to cook a lot of other things, as well, especially from various cultures. The cat wishes I would concentrate on meat and fish... I joined a few years ago but started posting recipes and participating in forums just recently - I wish I had done so earlier. Recipezaar is a great community! Right now I am a co-host for the Breads and Baking and the Eastern Europe forums - I hope to see you there!
 
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