There’s something incredibly comforting about the smell of a homemade broth simmering on the stove, filling the entire kitchen with warmth. This isn’t your average clear broth, though—my Brown Vegetable Stock gets its deep, complex flavor from slowly caramelized root…
Root Vegetable Stock
There is something incredibly grounding about simmering a pot of homemade Root Vegetable Stock on a quiet afternoon. It’s one of those kitchen staples that instantly elevates any soup or stew, adding a depth of flavor you simply can’t get from a store-bought carton. I…
Curried Red Kidney Beans with Panir Cheese RAJMA
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…
Curried Whole Brown Chickpeas CHOLE
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….
Mung Beans with Panir Cheese PANIR SABAT MOONG
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…
Sweet ‘n’ Sour Dal Soup with Mixed Vegetables SAMBAR
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…
Toovar Dal with Chopped Spinach TOOVAR PALAK DAL
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…
Hearty Five – Dal Soup PANCH DAL SHORBA
Here is a hearty, wholesome, thick dal soup. Although the cooking time is long, this recipe is by no means laborious, and the delicious result is well worth the time. Some of the spices and seasonings are cooked along with the dals to allow their qualities to permeate…
Three – Dai Delight MOONG URAD TOOVAR DAL
As vegetarian cooking increases in popularity, so will the use of dals , since they are cheap and high in protein. As people begin to explore the world of dals , they will find that each variety has its own taste, texture and appearance, creating a tremendous range of…
Herbed Split Pea Soup with Apple and Coconut MASALA MATAR DAL
Split peas are economical and require no sorting or washing. In this unusual dish, the flavors of the split peas, apples, coconut, spices and seasonings intermingle through very slow cooking. The result is a zesty, naturally sweet soup that’s very satisfying on…
Nutritious Whole Grain, Split Pea and Vegetable Soup SABJI MATAR DAL
This is a quick pressure-cooker soup that is warming, nutritious and very welcome on cold winter days. You can vary this recipe by substituting parsnips, green beans, zucchini or corn for any of the suggested vegetables. A nice stew can be obtained by adding large,…
Quick Cream of Split Pea Soup with Sliced Carrots GAJAR MATAR DAL
Here is an elegant, mildly seasoned dal soup that is good the whole year round. The ingredients are easily obtained, and the texture is light and pleasant. Yellow or green split peas are transformed into a smooth, creamy soup, and sliced carrots lend color and…












