Menalina Saru (Peppery Pigeon Pea Stew)

I've been exhausted lately and Reiver is fighting a cold, so I threw together this simple dal for dinner last night. It takes very little effort and can be made entirely from pantry ingredients. And Iyer notes that the woman who gave him the recipe said that her mother used to make it for her whenever she got a cold, so it seemed particularly appropriate for the occasion.

Photo goes here.

Menalina Saru

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 c. skinned split pigeon peas (toor/toovar dal)
• 3 c. water
• 1 small (~400mL) can diced tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp. cumin seeds
• 2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 4 cloves garlic (or 4-5 tsp. garlic paste)
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 2-5 dried red cayenne or Thai chilies
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Rinse the pigeon peas well.
2. Add the peas to a pot with the water and bring to a boil.
3. Skim any foam from the surface, add the tomatoes, and allow to return to a boil.
4. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, add the cumin seeds, peppercorns, salt, and garlic to a food processor or molcajete and process into a damp, gritty blend. (Or, alternatively, grind the cumin, pepper, and salt in a spice grinder and then stir them into some garlic paste.)
6. Heat the ghee over medium to medium-high heat.
7. Add the chilies and toast until slightly blackened.
8. Add the garlic mixture and stir-fry until garlic is browned and mixture smells fragrant.
9. Once the peas are tender, stir in the garlic mixture.
10. Simmer, uncovered, for another 5-10 minutes to marry the flavours.
11. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve. (Preferably over rice with your favourite flatbread.)