Kala aur Kabuli Chana (Black and Yellow Chickpeas)

I really enjoyed the variety of legumes in this dal. Given that only chickpeas are mentioned in the title, I wasn't expecting to see kidney beans and black lentils (mapte beans) on the ingredient list. It made for a lovely combination!

Kala aur Kabuli Chana

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. dried black chickpeas
• 1/4 c. dried (yellow) chickpeas
• 1/4 c. dried red kidney beans
• 1/4 c. whole black lentils (mapte beans/sabud urad)
• 3 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 2 tsp. cumin seeds, 1 tsp. ground, 1 tsp. whole
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. ground asafetida
• 2 dried red Thai, cayenne, or arbol chilies
• 1 large tomato, cored and chopped
• 2-4 fresh green Thai or cayenne chilies, stemmed and halved lengthwise
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine dried legumes and rinse thoroughly.
2. Cover with hot water and let sit, covered, for at least 8 hours.
3. Drain legume mixture and place in pressure cooker with water.
4. Cook on high pressure for ~1 hour. Allow for a 15 minute natural release (75 minutes total).
5. Meanwhile, heat ghee over medium-high heat.
6. Add mustard seeds and cook, covered, for 30-60 seconds. (Mustard seeds will pop like popcorn.)
7. Remove from heat and add both whole and ground cumin seeds, sugar, salt, coriander, turmeric, asafetida, and dried chilies.
8. Add tomato and fresh chilies and return to medium heat.
9. Cook for ~2 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside until legumes are done.
10. Stir tomato mixture into cooked legumes.
11. Simmer over medium heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for ~15 minutes.
12. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.