Tomatillo (Green Tomato) Dal

The weather is looking up these days and the sunshine and warmth are most welcome. It had been a while since my last visit to the Farmers Market and this time around I bought some Green Tomatoes or Tomatillos. I've used them before to make Salsa Verde for Enchiladas. I usually make Daal with ripe tomatoes and I was out of them so used the Tomatillos.

The tomatillos lend a natural tartness to the daal which is needless to say, flavorful.

You will need:

¼ cup Tuar Dal

¼ cup Yellow Moong Dal

½ tsp Turmeric powder

1 tbsp Oil

1 tsp Cumin seeds

6 Green chillies, cut lengthwise

¼ tsp Asafetida

1 onion, chopped

3-4 medium green tomatoes (tomatillos), husked and rinsed

A few sprigs cilantro, chopped

Salt to taste

Pressure cook the Tuar and Moong daal together with the turmeric powder. Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds and sauté for a few seconds, then add the cut green chillies and asafetida. Add the chopped onions and cook on medium heat till the onions are done. Cut the tomatillos into bite size pieces and add them to the pan. Cook till the tomatillos are soft and well done. Now add the cooked daal and a cup of water. Season with salt and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, turn off heat and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Taste the daal and if you feel its too tart,add a small piece of jaggery when bringing the daal to a boil. This will cut back the tartness a bit and balance out the flavors.

We had this daal with rice as well as chapathis and it tasted good with both.