Hara Moong dal | Indian style spicy mung beans | Hesaru kaalu thovve (Without garlic)

December is going to be all healthy food at my blog. I have decided not to make any deep fried sins for a month & also to avoid sugar/desserts as much as possible. We are going good so far with the deep fried foods, but we are sometimes cheating on desserts. Being a holiday & festive season, it is very difficult to say "no" to holiday cupcakes :)

So, to keep us going with the initial plan of eating healthy, I made these mung dal. It is a very simple, nutritious & yet a tasty dal that goes well with roti, plain rice, lightly flavored rice or a paratha. This dal is very forgiving. You could add/remove some of the ingredients according to your choice.

Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 45-50 mins (including the beans cooking time)
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
Split mung beans | Hara moong | kesaru kaalu: 1.5 cups
Turmeric powder: a big pinch

For the dal/tempering:
Oil: 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida: a big pinch
Green chilli: 3-4 nos, slit
Onion: 1 medium sized, finely chopped
Curry leaves: 3-4 nos, torn
Turmeric powder: a pinch
Garam masala: 1/2 tsp
Salt: As needed
Water: As needed

For the garnish:
Coriander leaves: 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Lemon juice: 2 tsp

Method:
Wash the mung beans thoroughly. Add about 2-2.5 cups of water, a pinch of turmeric to the mung beans/dal.
Pressure cook the mung beans for 4-5 whistles. Let the cooker cool until all the pressure is released.
Once cool, mash the cooked mung beans/ dal gently.
Heat oil in a broad sauce pan. When oil is hot, add cumin & mustard seeds. When mustard seeds crackle, add the asafoetida, green chilli & curry leaves.
When leaves wilt, throw in the onion.

Cook the onion on medium heat until it turns translucent & light brown.

Add the mashed dal, water, turmeric powder, garam masala & salt.

Mix well & allow the dal to boil on a medium heat. Keep stirring in between to avoid burning of the dal.
Once the dal boils, turn off the heat. Throw in the coriander leaves, lemon juice & mix.
Serve it hot with roti, rice or paratha.

Notes:

• This dal sits at the bottom & burns easily. Keep stirring the dal once a while to avoid that.
• I normally keep the dal a little thick when I serve roti or paratha with it. I make it a little thinner for rice.
• You could add 1 tsp of grated ginger to this dal to enhance the flavor. Add the grated ginger along with the green chilli.