Kacche Aam ki Dal

Come summers and the vegetable and fruit shops are decked with my favorite fruit...Mango. As you all might know by now, I am an ardent fan of baking and cooking with seasonal bounties and so you will be seeing a lot of summer fruits recipes in the coming times. Coming to mango, this king of fruits is my all time favorite and I literally survive on sweet juicy mangoes when they are in season. Although ripe mangoes are available in market now, that sweetness is still missing. So instead of the ripe fruit, I got some raw ones and made an Aam Panna first thing :).

Unlike many people, who like to eat raw mangoes as such or with a sprinkle of salt and red chili powder, I get goosebumps at just the thought. But I relish the various preparations made using the raw mangoes which kind of subtle the sourness a bit yet retaining the typical flavor. Kacche aam ki dal is one of those recipes. Very gently flavored with the magoishness, this dal is one of my favorite summer time recipes.

Arhar or tuvar ki dal is cooked with slices of raw mangoes and then a tadka of cumin seeds, heeng and red chili is given. This dal can be enjoyed with rice or phulke or if you are like me, you will make a meal of it, sipping spoon after spoon of piping hot dal. Here is the recipe to make this delicious dal.

All you need is

Arhar dal \ Split yellow peas - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder - 1\2 tsp
Raw mango - 1\2 ( medium sized, peeled and cut into slices )
Ghee \ Clarified butter - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1\2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Heeng \ Asafoetida - 1\4 tsp
Dry red chilies - 2-3
Red chili powder - 1\2 tsp
Fresh coriander for garnishing

Method of preparation

Wash the dal and put it in a pressure cooker along with raw mango slices, salt to taste, turmeric powder and 4 cups of water.
Pressure cook it till done. ( Approximately 1 whistle on high and 2 whistles on low )
Mash the dal slightly with the back of a ladle.
Heat ghee in a small pan.
When the ghee is hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and heeng.
When the seeds starts to splatter, switch off the heat.
Add dry red chilies and red chili powder.
Pour the tadka in the dal.
Garnish with fresh coriander.
Serve hot with rice or phulke.