Dalitoy (Konkani Dal)

Dalitoy, is the main staple of Konkani cooking. Most Konkani household cook this dish on a daily basis. It was one of the first dish I learnt to cook when I got married.
On any special occasions, be it wedding or religious event, no meal would be complete without Dalitoy. The seasoning which comprises of chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida gives an aromatic and distinctive fragrance to this dish. Some Konkani communities add haldi (turmeric) while cooking toor dal. They also season with ghee and then garnish with coriander leaves before serving.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup toor dal (split pigeon peas)
2 green chillies
1 tsp sasam (black mustard seeds)
2 dried red chillies (I use byadgi), broken into pieces
1 sprig curry leaves
1/4 tsp hing (asafoetida)
1 1/2 tsp oil/ghee (coconut oil can be used, but I use canola)
salt to taste

How it's made:

Wash and rinse dal. Add enough water to cover dal and pressure cook for 10-12 minutes. (To speed up cooking process, dal can be soaked in water for an hour or two before pressure cooking). To make the dal a little spicy, green chillies can be added while pressure cooking dal.
Once dal is well cooked, transfer to a saucepan. With a hand blender (smart stick hand blender), blend dal until creamy and smooth. Add enough water to make a medium thick soup like consistency. Add green chillies and salt. Bring to boil.
In a "Phanna Davlo" or small frying pan, heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add red chillies, curry leaves and hing. Season to dal.

Cover and let it rest for 2 minutes before serving. Serve hot with white rice and a side dish like - Bhenda Upkari, Kori Sukka, Palak Kulitha Kodel or just pickle and papad.

Serves: 3-4