Tetul Diye Masoor Dal

I used to be a dedicated avid player of community games on FB - Farmville, Cityville, Gardens of time etc. My addiction was so unbounded that in order to get some leverage over the other players, I had even made purchases of monthly packages to bag some extra points. I have over 50-60 friends added just for the sake of expanding my network of community players to remain ahead in the games. There was one of my colleagues who was equally in league with me in playing games. So what started on a note of helping my colleague to keep his gaming afloat later on turned into an obsession for me as well. Though late but finally God has knocked some sense of realization into me about the uselessness of playing these games on a continuity basis.  I have quit playing finally after being hooked for over a year time period because for all intents and purposes, logging into FB everyday just to play the games like a daily routine was useless, time which could be spent doing other productive work like reading and writing. Now I find my former enthusiasm inordinately preposterous. I must have been completely out of my mind.

The recipe of Tetul Diye Masur Dal I collected from a Bengali magazine that featured some of the traditional recipes of Tagore family on one of its editions. I tried one of the recipes covered there at home. Very light, healthy yet a gorgeous fulfilling dal, I just love it. 

Ingredients:                                                          Cooking time: 30 minutes ü  200 gm masoor dal or red lentil ü  1 inch long ginger ü  1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds ü  1/2 cup of grated coconut ü  4-5 green chillies ü  1 string of curry leaves ü  1 tbsp tamarind pulp (you may adjust the amount according to your taste bud) ü  Salt to taste ü  1 tsp sugar ü  2 tbsp Ghee Method: 1) Cook dal in a pressure cooker with green chillies up to one whistle. Meanwhile, grind ginger, coriander seeds and grated coconut into paste. 2) Heat ghee in a wok and add curry leaves. When curry leaves begin to crackle, add the paste made above and sauté for 2 minutes. 3) Add tamarind pulp, salt and sugar. Pour the cooked lentil in and add water if required to dilute the consistency. 4) Cook till lentil comes to a boil. 5) Serve hot with steaming rice.