Musur Daal Paanchphoron Diye

This is one of those simple foods, which the Bengali heart craves for now and then. After our super long 6000 km road trip to California where we ate all kinds of stuff from across the world, what I really wanted when I stepped into our home was some simple daal. This simple dal flavored with our very own paanchphoron, sukno lonka and accompanied with begun bhaja becoms delicious.

Ingredients

• 1 cup musur dal (red lentils)
• 1 pinch turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. paanch-phoron (generally available in Indian grocery stores)
• 2-3 dry red chilies
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. mustard oil
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Wash dal thoroughly and pressure cook it with a pinch of turmeric powder, salt and 2 cups of water on high heat till the first whistle. Let the pressure settle down on its own.

In a pan heat mustard oil till it smokes. Temper it with broken red chilies and paanch phoron. Wait till you get a sharp fragrance of the spices. Be careful as to not burn them. Turn off the heat immediately and pour the spices along with the oil  in the dal. Season with sugar and salt and mix them well. Let it simmer on high heat for a minute.

Serve with plain rice with a wedge of lemon and begun bhaja.