Yellow Moong Daal

Comfort food at it’s best! That’s the only way to describe yellow moong daal. We all grew up eating it, damn near weekly. It’s creamy, flavorful, light on the stomach, and incredibly easy to make.

Daal is an Indian staple, but yellow moong daal is the most authentic Punabi dish there is. Whether you’re pairing this with rice or a roti, this daal is the perfect dish for winter or summer. Like all comfort food should be, it’s really easy and fast to make, but still flavorful and delicious. I can’t really stress just how often we ate moong ki daal with roti, salad, and raita. It was sort of like chai, in that our parents were convinced it could cure a cold, the flu, stomach aches, hang overs, and the list goes on.

Like so many things in this world that annoy me, on the top of the list is awful recipes. Ones that claim greatness in 15 minutes or require you to sacrifice your first born for authenticity. There are a lot of recipes that are stove top and still only take 15-20 minutes, but the truth of the matter is, I really don’t think the dish comes out that well when made in a quick fix manner. It’s a bland flavor to begin with so you really want to cook in the ginger and cumin to make it robust and flavorful. You could easily speed the process up by sticking it into a pressure cooker, but that’s not the same as a shitty hack. Personally, I stick the daal on the stove on medium-low heat, work on the next dish, catch upon a show, etc. and just let it do it’s thing. Also, this is a staple comfort food and farm dish. We don’t put a million things in it or serve it for parties.

Moong ki daal is such a simple, savory, and hearty dish. Super fast to make. Lasts in the fridge for a week. And can be served with plain basmati rice, roti, or anything else you’d like. And if you have left over daal, even consider making daal paranthas.

How about a couple more favorites:

Yellow Moong Daal

Course: Main CoursesCuisine: PunjabiDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

1

hour 

5

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• Daal:

• 2 cups yellow moong daal

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

• 2 tbsp whole cumin

• 4 tbsp ginger, minced

• 1 Indian bay leaf

• 2 dried whole red chilis

• 1 serrano pepper, minced (optional)

• 1/2 tsp turmeric

• Salt, to taste

• 10 cups water

• 10 springs cilantro, chopped

• Tadka:

• 1/4 cup ghee/oil

• 1 tbsp whole cumin

• 1 tbsp chili flakes

Equipment/Specialty Items

• Moong DaalMoong Daal
• Cumin SeedsCumin Seeds
• Indian Bay LeafIndian Bay Leaf
• Dried Red Chili PeppersDried Red Chili Peppers

Directions

• Daal:
• Rinse the moong several times with cool water and set aside.
• In a 8 or 10 qt nonstick pot heat oil over medium-low heat.
• Add cumin, saute till fragrant and golden brown – about 1 minute.
• Add ginger, saute till fragrant and golden brown – about 1 minute.
• Add bay leaf, dried pepper, and serrano pepper, saute till fragrant – about 1 minute.
• Add turmeric, moong daal, salt, and water. Bring to a boil on high heat and continue cooking for approximately 60 minutes. Stir occasionally.
• You’ll notice it gets a weird frothy head, have no fear, that’s normal. As the daal starts to cook and homogenize you’ll have to stir it more often to prevent it sticking on the bottom.
• Once the daal is cooked prep the tadka. It should have the consistency of a thick chowder.
• Tadka;
• Heat ghee in a small sauce pan.
• Add in cumin and cook till lightly smoking.
• Add chili flakes and cook until lightly smoking.
• Pour the tadka over the daal.
• Serve:
• Garnish with cilantro and serve with roti.

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