This Gujarati dish takes up to an hour to cook but requires only a few minutes of preparation and very little attention. It is nutritious and exceptionally easy to digest. If you don’t have chana dal , you could substitute yellow split peas. Try this with a…
In 1969, Srila Prabhupada and a handful of disciples were the guests of John Lennon and Yoko Ono at their estate near Ascot, England. During our stay, I was Prabhupada’s cook. Every day he would give me his lunch menu, and one day he told me exactly how he…
Sometimes called pongal , this South Indian version of khichari is juicy, thick and mildly seasoned. It is an ideal way to combine the complementary proteins of yellow or green split peas and rice. When eaten together, the peas and rice supply 43 percent more usable…
If you like Mexican chili, you will love this Punjabi vegetarian specialty. It is robust, nutritious, filling and spicy. Several variations of Rajma are popular in Northern India, and this one is my favorite. I first had this dish in a village in Punjab. It was part…
Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are large beige legumes shaped like wrinkled hazelnuts. They have a faintly nut-like flavor and are naturally rich in protein-nitrogen compounds, important for muscle-building and body growth. When they are combined with this…
A buttery, spiced tomato glaze coats tender chickpeas in this delicious dried bean dish, ideal for a substantial warm breakfast or brunch with Griddle-Fried Whole Wheat Bread , seasonal fruits and a beverage. Soaking time: 8 hours or overnight Preparation time (after…
This dish features a small, dark brown chickpea called kala chana dal . Generally, it is hard to find, stocked only by Indian or Middle Eastern grocery stores, so it’s a good idea to buy a few pounds at a time and keep it on hand for variety in your dal cooking….
Whole urad or muth beans are the traditional favorites, but you can also use sprouted chickpeas, aduki or mung beans in this dish. Sprouted beans are bursting with nutrition because they are a living, growing food. When left raw, their flavor may be unpalatable to the…
This Gujarati specialty requires home-sprouted mung or aduki beans in order to be authentic, because the market variety, with 2–3-inch (5–8 cm) tails, is waterlogged. Ideally, the sprouted beans should barely measure ½ inch (1.5 cm). Sprouting increases the vitamin…
This earthy, high-protein bean dish, typical in the Punjab, is ideal for the cold winter months, and can be the main attraction of lunch. Although it goes well with hot rice, I especially recommend it with hot flatbreads, perhaps Griddle-Baked Paper-Thin Whole Wheat…
In South India, sambar is always made with toovar dal but it can be combined with almost any vegetable. Besides the green beans, carrots and eggplant suggested in this recipe, you could try broad beans, radishes, fennel root, kohlrabi, parsnip, cauliflower, summer or…
As opposed to thinnish dal soup, this dish is “dry” and “textured”: each bit of dal stands tender yet plump, separate from the others. To achieve this, the dal is cooked in a small quantity of water until it is soft but not broken down. This…