Another quintessential Bengali dish, this recipe is my mother’s – though I suspect it is the same across most bengali households. Daal is a part of a bengali’s daily lunch however the masoor daal is more common. This yellow moong daal dish is made occasionally and is considered a delicacy somewhat – a king among daal if you will. It’s called sona moong because of its bright golden colour – sona means gold or golden. This golden variety of the moong is indigenous to Bengal.
Ingredients:
Yellow Moong – 6-7 tbsp.
Salt – to taste
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp.
Oil – 1 tsp.
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp.
Cumin powder – 1.5 tsp.
Ginger, grated – 1 tsp.
Green chili – 1, sliced
Sugar – 1.5 tbsp.
Water – 3-4 cups
Method:
- Dry roast the daal in a pan till they are deep golden in colour.
- Boil the daal with salt and turmeric powder, either in a pan or in a pressure cooker.
- Heat oil in a pan. Fry cumin seeds till they crackle and give off their aroma.
- Add chilli, cumin powder, grated ginger and fry.
- Now add the boiled daal and sugar and bring to a boil.
- Adjust taste and thickness as required. This is supposed to a sweet and salty daal with the sweet being slightly heavier.
- Serve with hot rice and enjoy!
Tip: I generally add a step after (2) and beat the boiled daal to a smooth mixture.
This post was written for Blogchatter A2Z challenge; Day 25 – Letter “Y”.
Hi
It’s different from the moong deal we cook in Punjab. Here moong daal is considered one of the lightest foods among all the other stuff. The main difference is
1. We don’t roast before cooking.
2. We don’t add sugar.
3. Moong daal is cooked almost everyday (in dinner)!
Loved the Bengali version, shall give it a try:)