Teen Taal Dal (Three Tune Dal)

I needed something quick and easy for dinner last night and this fit the bill. The added bonus was supposed to be that it'd use up some cream and yogurt that needed to be eaten but, sadly, the yogurt had already gone off. Oh well, at least it used up most of the cream!

Teen Taal Dal

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. whole black lentils (mapte beans/sabud urad)
• 1/4 c. dried chickpeas
• 1/4 c. dried red kidney beans
• 3 water, divided
• 2 bay leaves¹
• 2 black or green cardamom pods²
• 1 (3") cinnamon stick
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 red onion, minced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1-3 fresh green Thai chiles³, minced
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 tsp. Dhania-Jeera Masala
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Pick the legumes over for stones and rinse well.
2. Place legumes in pressure cooker/InstantPot with 2 2/3 c. water as well as bay leaves, cardamom pods, and the cinnamon stick.
3. Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes and allow a 15-minute natural release at the end of cooking.
4. Meanwhile, melt the ghee over medium heat.
5. Add onion, garlic, ginger, and chilies and cook, stirring occasionally, for ~10 minutes.
6. Add the turmeric and 1/3 c. water and deglaze the pan.
7. Remove from heat and stir in tomato paste and salt.
8. Once the legumes are cooked, stir in the tomato-onion mixture.
9. Cook, uncovered, on medium heat for ~5 minutes.
10. Stir in the yogurt, cream, and jeera masala and cook for another minute or so.
11. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with rice and/or roti.

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¹ I chose to use "Indian bay leaves" (which I believe are actually cassia leaves), but regular (bay laurel) leaves work fine here too. ^Back
2 I opted to use one of each. ^Back
3 I used only one chili as I wanted it to be mild enough for the Kidlet to enjoy, but I think this made it a little too mild. Next time I'd go with two chilies. I think that'd make the flavour a little more interesting while still being plenty mild enough for the Kidlet. ^Back