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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

Here is a quick pressure-cooker soup. The rice and legumes complement each other nutritionally and—with the vegetables, seasonings and powdered spices—make a full-bodied creamy soup. Practically a meal in itself, this dish needs only a fresh flatbread and salad to…

This creamy smooth pumpkin and dal soup of the Gujarati cuisine has a rich reddish-gold color, and a distinctive flavor. The lemon juice and bay leaves introduce a tart, pleasantly bitter element in contrast to the mildly sweet burst of flavor from the warm chaunk…

I first came across this dish at the famous Radha-Ramana Temple in Vrindavan, India. The cooks there are excellent and the kitchen standards are high. The balance of textures and flavors so impressed me that I immediately inquired about the recipe. The two featured…

My cinematographer friend, Yadubara Das, was part of a small traveling party that accompanied Srila Prabhupada to Rishikesh in May 1977. Though Srila Prabhupada’s health was not good on this trip, he took the time to show Yadubara how to make this urad dal ….

Although one type of dal can be successfully substituted for another in many recipes, the particular flavor and texture of the urad dal in this recipe, enhanced by the combination of selected seasonings and vegetables, cannot be obtained with any other. The…