Recipe - Saagwalla Dhal

6 ounce Skinless split moong dhal or
yellow split peas
2 tablespoon Heaped ghee
1 lg Onion fine cut or sliced up
1 Fresh green chili
2 Cinnamon sticks, broken up.
One half teaspoon Turmeric
One half teaspoon Garam masala
One fourth teaspoon Chilli powder
1 teaspoon Salt to taste
1 teaspoon Ground cumin
2 Ripe tomatoes, skinned,
chopped
20 ounce Warm water (Brit pint)
2 tablespoon Cooking oil
One half teaspoon Mustard seeds
2 Or 3 cloves garlic, fine
chopped
1 Or 2 dried hot chillies
coarsely chopped
4 ounce Frozen or 10 ounce fresh
spinach, finely chopped.

1) Wash and soak the dhal for 2 hours and drain well.

2) Melt ghee over medium heat in a nonstick pan and fry the onions, green
chilli and cinnamon until onions are slightly browned, about 6 to 8
minutes.

3) Add the turmeric and garam masala, stir and mix well.

4) Add the dhal, chilli powder and salt, stir and fry for 8 to 10 minutes
over a low heat.

5) Add the cumin and tomato, stir and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

6) Add the water, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes,
stirring occasionally.

7) Meanwhile, heat the oil over a medium heat and fry the mustard seeds
until they pop.

8) Add the garlic and allow it to turn slightly brown.

9) Add the dried red chillies, then the spinach, stir and mix thoroughly.
Cover the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.

10) Add the spinach to the dhal, cover and cook over a low heat for 10
minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat.

Serve with rice, parathas/rotis. Kebabs, tandoori chicken accompany well.

Variation. Use chunky cauliflower florets instead of spinach less
preparation.

From Complete Indian Cookbook. Mridula Baljekar ISBN 0 86283 802 9.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini