Moong Dal

Our local grocery store has greatly expanded the "ethnic food" product line and there are many items I have never seen or used before. I went to get a bag of besan (chick pea flour) and saw an interesting package of split legumes called moong dal. They are split mung beans and are yellow in colour. I have only seen mung beans used for growing bean sprouts. I looked up a couple of recipes on the internet and made this modified dish which was very tasty and easy to make.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups dried yellow split peas
• 5 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• chunk of fresh ginger root or grated ginger to taste
  
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or diced jalapeno peppers to taste
  
• 1/2 large fresh tomato, diced
  
• juice and grated rind of 1/2 lemon
  
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed (I ground mine with a mortar and pestle)
  
• 1/4 cup or more chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 cloves chopped garlic (optional)
• 1 tsp garam masala (optional)
  

Soak beans in water for 30-60 minutes, rinse and cover with fresh water and salt and ginger chunk. Simmer until they are tender, about 30 minutes or longer if you want them softer. Watch that they do not stick and burn, adding more water if necessary. There should not be a lot of water left by the time the beans are done. Add the other ingredients and serve over rice. This recipe can be changed according to your tastes and what ingredients you have on hand. Like any spicy dish it tastes great the next day. Other vegetables can be added during cooking if desired such as carrots, peas, and onion.