RCI - Rajasthani Teenmel Dal

Yes, you heard me correctly, ‘Teen’mel Dal. If you are thinking, wait a minute, the Rajasthani Dal is called Panchmel Dal, you would be right. However, being miles away from an Indian grocery store, I was forced to use what I had on hand, and unfortunately, I only had three kinds of lentils. Normally, Rajasthani Panchmel Dal has five (five = panch in Hindi) kinds of lentils: chana, moong, urad, toor, and masoor. My Teenmel Dal has three (three = teen in Hindi) kinds of lentils: chana, moong, and urad. I hope, even though it isn’t authentically Rajasthani, that this dish will be acceptable for the RCI: Rajasthan event created by Lakshmik of Veggie Cuisine and hosted this month by Padmaja of Spicyandhra.

This recipe was sent to me from Ms. Nadeem Qureshi all the way from Calcutta, India. I had called my mother-in-law to ask for some advice regarding a Rajasthani recipe. I had traveled throughout Rajasthan on my first trip to India, however, was very unfamiliar with the cuisine that we had. My mother-in-law asked Ms. Qureshi to send me some recipes, and even though she was a little under the weather at the time, she most graciously did. So thank you Ms. Qureshi for these wonderful recipes from Rajasthan. I hope I did the dish justice, even though I was two lentils short.

Rajasthani Teenmel Dal

¼ c. chana dal
¼ c. moong dal
½ c. urad dal
½ t. turmeric
3 T. oil
4-5 cloves
½ t. cumin seeds
1 in. piece of ginger
2 dried red chilies
2 T. coriander leaves
2 green chilies
1 t. coriander powder
1 t. cumin powder
½ t. red chili powder
2 medium tomatoes diced
pinch of asafetida
½ t. garam masala
salt to taste

Soak lentils for 3 ½ hours, then cook in salted water with turmeric until done. In the meantime, make a paste out of the green chilies and ginger. Heat oil in a pot on the stove and add asafetida, cumin seeds, dried red chilies and cloves. Once cumin seeds start to turn brown, add green chili/ginger paste along with coriander leaves. Let cook for 2 minutes. Add cumin powder, coriander powder and red chili powder and cook until brown. Add tomatoes and cook until oil separates. Add lentils, salt and water if necessary and cook for 10 minutes. Add garam masala and serve hot over rice.