Mh... delicious (:

I'm already a big fan of "Batata Poha" and "Mattar Poha" (with additional potatos and/or peas), and always wanted to try out some "Upama"-recipe (usually, made of semolina - sooji). This one looks very nice!

Greetings!

Looks pretty exotic  ;D

Welcome Cooperman 

Wow, sounds like living the dream, haha 

Welcome 

Most dals are beans or peas*, but are called, for unknown reasons, lentils  ;D

Haha, wish I could! (: They look similiar to the leaves, so you're talking about a pea with pod and everything? The seeds do remind me of whole urad, though. Also called "black lentils". (here again - no real lentil, haha)

Mysore sounds very nice, btw (:

* legumes

Dal means the dish, made of lentils, legumes or beans (split or whole), or refers to any split variety of those. They are both called 'Chan(n)a', because they are both chickpeas ;D Indian chickpeas differ from the european ones,  so they have a slightly different look. (especially being hulled and split)

Whole lentils, legumes or beans are called "sabut" in India.

Don't doubt that some places translate "Chana dal" as "yellow split lentils", but that should be "Masoor dal" (whole ones are green or brown) (:

Yes ;D

He seems to be a very likeable guy (: His other entries are very interesting and worth reading, too!

Reminds me of Ajoy Joshi's blog entry: http://thoughtsfromajoy.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/%E2%80%9Cadd-turmeric-for-colour-%E2%80%9D-what-utter-ru-ish/

An interesting read, but I have to disagree when it comes to turmeric rice not being indian. Seems that Ajoy hasn't heard of "Tahar" (kashmiri turmeric rice) before ;D

Hi goncalo!

Don't know about the BIR chef, but I cook dals almost daily for myself. Authentic Chole should contain some sour notes, so you could use amchoor, tamarind, lime juice or even a pinch of Chaat masala. Preferable, some pomegranate seeds. This will also add the colour. People boil their dal with approx. 2 bags of black tea, if they don't have them, but still want to achieve that colour. Some add Sodium bicarbonate. One easy recipe for a homemade "Chana Masala"-spice mix:

2 tbsp. coriander seeds, 1 tsp. cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp. black cardamom seeds, 5 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 dried red chilis, 8 black peppercorns

Hope that helps, somehow ,)

Greetings!

Quote from: Ketman on March 28, 2013, 07:23 AM
That must be where I got the habit of adding sultanas to the sauce. But, looking around here at other people's recipes, I can't see anyone else doing it. Am I weird?

It's quite common to add many different sorts of (dry) fruits, like raisins, sultanas and nuts, to dishes that belong to the Mughlai / Nawabi cuisine (like Navratan Pulao, different Biryanis or Korma, e.g.), and other north-indian specialities. Nothing wrong or weird about that! (:

Greetings!