Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

Sabzi of the Day - Lentil Love Meets Veggie Goodness: Fusion Sabzis

India is home to several types of lentils, and therefore, a wide variety of lentil-based dishes are found across the country.

Lentils, also known as daal in several Indian languages, are consumed almost every day in every Indian household. After all, lentils are a good source of vitamins, potassium, zinc, and several other nutrients. In India, lentils are usually used as a core ingredient coupled with spices to accompany rice, roti, or parathas. However, in this article, we have compiled a number of lentil recipes that also comprise the goodness of other vegetables.

Lauki-daal (Lentils with bottle-gourd)

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • Cubed bottle gourd
  • Moong daal
  • Dry red chillies
  • Cumin seeds
  • Turmeric powder
  • Asafoetida
  • Salt
  • Mustard Oil

Recipe

  • In a pressure cooker, start by heating the mustard oil.
  • Add cumin seeds and dry red chillies and let them get tempered.
  • Once done, add the cubed bottle of gourd and fry until it turns golden brown.
  • Add moong daal and give the dal and bottle gourd a good mix.
  • Sprinkle turmeric, salt, and asafoetida as per your requirement.
  • Allow the steam to escape five times from the pressure cooker (five whistles).
  • Let the pressure cooker cool down; there is no need to release the remaining steam forcefully.
  • Once done, drizzle a bit of mustard oil on top, and lauki wali daal is ready to be served with rice or roti.

(Credit- Instagram/@ ayla.cooks)

Bengali-style veg daal tadka

Cooking time: 60 minutes

Ingredients

  • Black urad daal
  • Chopped French beans
  • Chopped carrots
  • Peas
  • Onions
  • Tomatoes
  • Grated garlic
  • Grated ginger
  • Chopped green chillies
  • Garam masala
  • Coriander masala
  • Cumin masala
  • Salt
  • Kasturi methi dried leaves
  • Ghee

Recipe

  • Begin by boiling the urad daal and keep it separate.
  • In a pan, heat ghee and sauté onions, tomatoes, grated garlic & ginger, and chopped chillies.
  • Once the above-mentioned ingredients turn golden brown, add French beans, carrots, and peas. Keep sautéing everything.
  • Add all three masalas along with salt.
  • Cook everything well, and finally, add the boiled urad daal.
  • Close the lid and let the daal slowly cook on low flame for 30 minutes.
  • The consistency of the daal should be thick.
  • Once done, add kasturi methi leaves and serve with roti or parathas.

(Credit- Instagram/@ humbiharsehain)

Lentil vegetable soup

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • Green lentils
  • Minced garlic and ginger
  • Onions
  • Carrots
  • Celery
  • Red bell pepper
  • Broccoli
  • Zucchini
  • Cabbage
  • Spinach
  • Cumin powder
  • Garam masala
  • Red-chilli powder
  • Pepper
  • Coconut milk
  • Butter
  • Salt

Recipe

  • Begin by dicing or chopping all the vegetables.
  • In a pressure cooker, add a good quantity of butter.
  • Once heated, add all the vegetables, including garlic and ginger.
  • Saute for a minute or two.
  • Add the three above-mentioned spices along with salt as per your taste.
  • Add the green lentils along with cups of water. Measure the cups as per the quantity or consistency soup you require.
  • Add coconut milk to enhance the flavour. However, if you do not like coconut milk, you can add normal milk. You can even skip milk if you do not like it.
  • Close the lid and let everything cook evenly.
  • Before serving, sprinkle black pepper for a fiery aftertaste.

(Credit- Instagram/@ https://veganrecipes.io/)

Given daal is cooked too often in Indian households, family members often do not like the same monotonous daal recipes. We hope these unique daal recipes with the goodness of vegetables will woo your and your loved ones’ tastebuds.