Curried Green Lentils with Mushrooms and Red Pepper Dal or Soup

Ingredients:

Part One:
1 cup large green lentils or whole masoor dal (can use combo of both)
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon oil or ghee
3 cups water for dal 6 cups water for soup
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
2 cardamom pods
2 cloves
1/3 teaspoon turmeric
1 inch ginger, grated
2 green chiles, chopped fine (can use jalapeño)

Part 2:
1 large onion, chopped, with a few slices for garnish of soup later
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 plum tomato, diced
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
1/2 red bell pepper, large chop
4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon jaggery or brown sugar
few squeezes of lemon
cilantro for garnishing
salt to taste

Instructions:

Part 1:
Wash lentils with water, drain and set aside. Get 3 cups of water or 6 cups of water ready on the side.

In a pot under medium heat, put 1 teaspoon of oil. When heated, put in the cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cardamom pods, cloves and just coat with oil. Immediately throw in the lentils and mix up well. Add the water and mix again. There may be some scum or foam, which you should skim off the top and throw. Once the foam stops, add in the ginger, turmeric, chiles and salt to taste. Bring the pot to a boil and then to a simmer. The lentils should cook in about 30 minutes. While cooking, you can choose to add more water, depending on what consistency you are going for. Turn off the heat. (At this point, I taste the lentils to see if it’s hot enough for my taste. If not, I usually add a little red chili powder in the next step of cooking.)

In a separate sauce pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil at medium heat. Add in the chopped onions and cook until translucent. Mix in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add in the tomatoes and give a good stir. Mix in the cumin powder and garam masala (can add some chili powder at this point if you want some more heat) and cook mixture until tomatoes start to break down. Add in the red bell pepper and mushroom with some salt to taste and cook for about 5 minutes or until soft. Turn off heat and pour contents over the lentils.

Turn the heat on under the lentils to medium. Add a teaspoon of the sugar and make sure the ingredients are mixed all together. Heat lentils for a few minutes, adding more water to get to the consistency you want. Turn off the heat and add a few squeezes of lemon and mix in fresh chopped cilantro to your liking.

For serving, ladle into bowls for soup and spoon over rice for dal. Garnish with some cilantro, raw onion slices and a dollop of yogurt.

From abcdsofcooking.blogspot.com