Nepali Dal Bhat

For the second day of BM#56, I am bringing a comfort combo dish from Nepal to the table. Dal, a simple, flavorful lentil dish along with bhat, the cooked rice forms the traditional, everyday meal of Nepal besides being it's national dish. Just as in it's neighboring countries of India and Bangladesh, dal-bhat forms the staple diet of the majority of the people in Nepal. If served along with a vegetable side dish, the dish would be dal-bhath-tarkari, tarkari referring to the vegetables. From an Indian context, I found the dal preparation simple yet flavorful and loved it served along with Basmati rice. The dal preparation varies region wise in Nepal and I found this version more appealing and authentic.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. ghee / oil
3 dried red chilies 
1 big onion, finely chopped
1 or 2  garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp. finely grated ginger
1 tsp. crushed coriander seeds
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
1 cup toordal / yellow lentils (or other colored lentils can be substituted.)
Salt to taste
2 tbsp. minced cilantro leaves to garnish

Method:
* Heat ghee / oil in a pan or directly in a pressure cooker, if using the cooker to cook lentils.
* Add chili and saute for few seconds. Then add onion, garlic, ginger and ground coriander and continue to fry on low flame until onion turns translucent.
* Wash lentils in two exchanges of water and drain. Add the rinsed lentils, turmeric and about 2 cups of water to the pan / pressure cooker.
* Cook for 2 - 3 whistles if using pressure cooker. If using a sauce pan, cook until lentils are done, stirring and adding water intermittently as needed.
* Add salt and minced cilantro to the cooked lentils and mix well to combine. (If the pressure cooked dal appears thick, add some water and bring it to a boil.)

Note:
Squeeze and add juice of half a lemon / lime to the dal if desired.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 56

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