Mustard greens with lentils/mustard greens dal

Mustard greens are a tad bitter & I used to mix them with spinach to make palya/stir fry or saag/curry. Mustard greens are rich in Vitamins & very low in calories. They have the properties to detox our body & prevent cancer. I used to get these greens easily at Singapore & after moving back to Bangalore, I could not find it. Now, after moving here, I get these greens in abundance. This time made a dal/thovve types with mustard greens & my family loved it.

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 30-40mins

Serves: 3 people

Ingredients:

For cooking the lentils:

Toor dal/Pigeon peas/Arhar dal/Thogaribele: 1 cup, washed

Turmeric: a big pinch
Salt: 1/2 tsp

For tempering 1:

Oil: 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp

Onion: 1 no, finely chopped

Green chillies: 3 nos, finely chopped

Tomato: 1 no, (optional)

Mustard greens: 3 leaves, yielded around 2 cups of chopped greens.

Coriander powder: 1 tsp

Turmeric powder/Haldi: 1/8th tsp
Salt: Adjust to taste

For tempering 2:
Ghee/Clarified butter: 2 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Asafoetida: 1/8th tsp or a big pinch

Before serving:
Lemon juice: 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves/Cilantro: 1 tbsp finely chopped

Method:

• Wash the toor dal 3-4 times in water. Add 2 cups of water, turmeric, salt & cook in a pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles.  Let it cool.
• Meantime, wash the greens, tomato. Finely chop the greens & dice the tomato.
• Heat oil in broad pan. When oil is hot, add cumin seeds. When seeds turn brown, add green chillies followed by onion. Saute till the onions are translucent.
• Add the tomatoes, salt, turmeric, coriander powder & saute till the tomatoes are soft.
• Throw in the finely chopped greens & cook till the leaves are tender(Around 4-6 mins).
• Mash the cooked dal & pour the dal to the greens mixture. Add 1/2 cup of water & adjust the salt.
• Cook the mixture on a medium heat for another 10-12 mins. Turn off the heat.
• Prepare the tempering. Add ghee to a small pan, when ghee is hot add cumin seeds. When seeds turn brown turn off the heat & add asafoetida. Pour the tempering over the dal prepared & cover it. Do not disturb for 2-3 mins, let the flavors soak in. 
• Just before serving, add lemon juice, coriander leaves & mix well. Serve it with rice or roti.

Notes:
Addition of garlic could add a nice twist to this dal.
Since the mustard leaves are a tad bitter, it is better to add lemon juice at the end.
Toor dal could be replaced with split green gram/moong dal or mixture of 2-3 dals.