Food tastes keep evolving, especially for me. For years, I avoided dals except when eating out. I was used to have something sour with my rice – and the South Indian dishes invariably used tamarind as a base. For the past two years, however, I have begun enjoying dals with no tamarind. Rajma (kidney beans) had not entered my home for well over three decades. I just disliked the very popular rajma chawal (kidney beans and rice). The past few months have seen a complete reversal of this. I now actually enjoy kidney beans. I am indeed delighted as my cuisine has much more variety now.
I, therefore, am constantly searching for new recipes. This Sindhi dal was the outcome of one such search. It turned out so well that even Hari, normally taciturn, commented upon it!

Ingredients
1 cup split green gram (moong dal, paasi parupu)
A pinch of turmeric powder (haldi, manjal podi)
1 small tomato, chopped
1 green chili, chopped
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnish
To Temper
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (sabut jeera, jeeragam)
A pinch of asafoetida (hing, perunkayam)
Method
Wash and soak the green gram for 15-20 minutes
Place on flame and bring to boil, adding turmeric powder and salt
Cook till the green gram is soft and mushy
Mash to a smooth consistency
Place it back on the flame and add enough water to achieve a medium consistency
Add tomato and green chili
Cook till tomato is soft, about 7-8 minutes
Remove from flame and set aside
Heat a wok and add cumin seeds and asafoetida
When the cumin seeds begin to splutter, add this seasoning to the cooked split green gram
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with red/brown rice or Indian flat breads
Enjoy!