Try this easy Bengali daal curry recipe

So, I decided I was going to learn how to cook the recipes my mother used to make and still makes from time to time. I tried asking her to show me and we attempted to work together while she showed me. We barely survived that. She also has this bad habit that some of you may be familiar with which is, quantities, ingredients and instructions when it comes to recipes that mothers make over and over are completely random and every changing. So frustrating! Even worse is she said she can’t remember them. OMG! How can you not remember what you’re cooking when you’ve been cooking it for decades?!? She clearly cooks from muscle memory, if that’s even possible! Anyway, instead of going through our usual Monty Python-esque routine every time I go over and ask her for a recipe, I decided to email her and ask her to write out the recipe for me. Below is the first of what I hope is one of many of my mother’s muscle memory recipes and my attempt at making it, daal curry.

daal curry with rose black tea — Daal with rose black tea

Daal Curry Recipe

Ingredients

1c split peas, lentils, mung beans
½ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp chili pepper
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground garlic
Pinch of salt
1 medium tomato
1 tbsp cilantro
1 onion
2-3 cloves

Instructions:

Wash split peas in a pan.
Put split peas in a pan with boiling water.
Add spices and bring to a boil
Turn heat to minimum and simmer until daal is soft and well cooked.
Chop tomatoes and add to daal.
Bring to a boil then cook at low heat. Add salt.
In another pan, saute onions and garlic in oil.
Add sauted onions to daal. Bring to a boil.
Granish with cilantro.
Let stand for 5 minutes.
Serve with rice.

In the picture I have served the daal over ordinary, not very special rice. I have asked my mother for her “fancy rice” or pilau recipe which will be coming in the near future. Until then, daal is best enjoyed with rice. I have also paired the daal with a rose congou black tea I got from Taotealeaf in Toronto, ON. This tea was very tasty and enjoyable. I have no idea if the pairing is the best one, but it was very enjoyable with the scent of rose while drinking the tea. And, for a black tea, it wasn’t very strong or astringent. A real treat.

Daal curry with rose black tea from Taoleaf

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Lani and Norm

I enjoy learning and sharing that knowledge.Sharing has been in many forms over the years, as a teaching assistant, university lecturer, Pilates instructor, math tutor and just sharing with friends and family.Throughout, summarizing what I have learnt in words has always been there and continues to through blog posts, articles, video and the ever growing forms of content out there!