GMT: Whole Green Lentils with Cilantro and Mint

Whole Green lentils (whole green mung dal) with cilantro and mint. 

I was a picky eater growing up. The only lentil dish I would eat was maa ki dal – a lighter version of the popular dal makhani. My mom tried her best to make me eat more varieties but I just wouldn’t. She had a tough time cooking for me – rajma chawal, aloo parantha, ande ki bhurji (indian scrambled eggs), bhindi
(okra), dal makhani, cholle bhature made 90% of my Indian food diet. Anything else generally met with a lot of resistance.

So while I have been experimental with my cooking and baking, I have been pretty restrictive with Indian cooking, focusing mainly on stuff that I have grown up eating. The only lentils I generally cook are urad saboot (whole unskinned black lentils that I use in my dal makhani recipe) and toovar dal (yellow pigeon pea). Toovar dal only made an appearance in my diet post marriage since V, being from UP, is a big fan of it.

When my mom was here she used the other lentils that were in my pantry and made different dals for us and both of us really enjoyed. And I realized I should start including them in our diet more.

The other day when I was menu planning, I came across this recipe for whole green lentils with cilantro and mint in Madhur Jaffrey’s Quick and Easy Indian cooking . Although not the most attractive looking dish, it definitely is tasty and a perfect healthy side for your indian meals. You can also make it a little more watery and have it as a lentil soup. I served it with indian flat breads and my favorite achaari paneer recipe.

I loved the flavor that the mint gave to this lentil dish. This dal is perfect as a side with naan or indian flat bread. The original recipe calls for a pressure cooker and even though I have one I just cooked this in a saucepan, to avoid cleaning the pressure cooker.

A lot of lentil dishes use asafoetida/hing in their cooking. A pinch of asafoetida is enough to impart that special flavor an indian dish needs. Asafoetida has a very distinct flavor- some people associate it to aged garlic, but I just think it has its own flavor that can not be compared to any other. It might not smell pleasant if you take a whiff off it in its packaging, but once it hits hot oil or ghee, just a small pinch will make your house smell of Indian cooking. For most indian dishes that use this spice, its the first spice that is added in the recipe. You can easily find asafoetida in Indian grocery stores and the smallest container will last you pretty long enough, so no need to go for any big packaging.

Besides adding another layer of flavor to your indian dish, asafoetida also helps aid digestion and prevents gas. A pinch in pulses, beans, lentils helps combat the flatulence nature such dishes carry with them.