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Originally Posted by newb
au contraire.....newb knows Google
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Had me there.
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Originally Posted by Ferox13
I'm really getting in to Indian Style cooking - there is so many non-meat dishes.
I love Dhaal and I love paneer dishes too.
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Great to hear.
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Originally Posted by Ferox13
V could you be so kindas to tell be the different types of Dhal there are and the major differences...cheers..
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Well I am no expert in our cuisine and my trips to the kitchen are only limited to brewing some hot tea or coffee or making the occasional omelette. But let me try this...
The best and most tastiest is Rahar dal (also called Tuar/Toor/Tuvar dal). Needless to say, its the most expensive too. The seeds of this lentil are about medium sized and almost completely round, and they melt and blend nicely into the preparation if they are boiled well.
Then comes Chana dal. Most of the Chana masala dishes are made using this. It is slightly more coarse than Tuar dal, and has a rough surface. Needs good boiling to get soft and easy to eat. Punjabis sometimes prefer to cook this lentil with its skin on, but its not advisable for those with weak stomachs or digestion.
A distant third is Moong dal. Inferior to both its cousins above, its much smaller in size (almost half in size to Tuar and Chana) and is almost tasteless. See this pic to have an idea of how it looks like...
The prepared dish looks like this...
It may end up being a sticky, blended mess if boiled too much. Also, there's no natural taste to moong dal so its advisable to spice it up as much as possible.
Then there's Rajma. These are big lentils, almost identically shaped like beans (kidney-shaped). Almost always cooked with its skin intact, and has great taste. You can either make a dal preparation of it, or deep-fry it with chopped onions and oil to make a splendid dish.
In addition to the above, there are plenty of pea preparations - black-eyed peas, yellow and green peas (dried), khichdi (made by mixing dal and rice together), and soups.
And so ends __V__'s cooking lesson 101. I m afraid thats all I know. I m sure Cheeba knows a lot more than me (even though he's an Aussie and I am Indian), because he's a certified cook, and has a great taste for Indian cuisine.