This is the season when array of vegetables are out in their freshest form. I was longing for this bhaja moong dal which has peas and fried florets of cauliflower. Don’t get me wrong, but even a habitual foodie like me got flummoxed few years back when I heard the word “Radhuni” as an aromatic flavor used in preparation of dal. Till then for me Radhuni was a term used for domestic cook in Bengali household. Then what on Earth could it be? But when I got to know about this taste enhancing spice, then I realized how strong and powerful it is which boosts the tastes of Dal, Sukto and it’s veg additives but also does away with ginger and garlic as a tadka ingredients. The key of the taste is to add in right proportion and Voila ! You have your tadka dal with good taste in front of you.
This is how Radhuni looks like |
Wikipedia says: "It is a very strong spice, with a characteristic smell similar to parsley and a taste similar to celery. A couple of pinches can easily overpower a curry. In Bengali cuisine the seeds are used whole, quickly fried in very hot oil until they crackle. They are part of a local panch phoron (Bengali five spice) mixture, where they replace the more commonly used mustard seed; the other ingredients are cumin seed, fenugreek seed, fennel seed, and kalonji. In other places, a common use is in pickles or spice mixtures.
Ingredients:
1 cup Moong Dal (Yellow split Moong lentil)
1/4 cup Peas
1/4 cup chopped Cauliflower
1 tsp chopped Ginger
Pinch of Radhuni (Hindi name Ajmud)
1 tsp roasted cumin seeds powder
2 Green chilies (slit) or 2 Whole red chilly
1 tsp Turmeric
Pinch of Sugar (optional)
1 Bayleaf
Salt to taste
3 tbsp Ghee
Method:
Dry roast moong dal in a frying pan on low heat and keep stirring continiously till it gives a nutty aroma and becomes very light golden color. Turn off the heat and keep roasting the dal as the heat of pan is strong enough to burn the bottom of Moong dal. Wash dal in running water till 2-3 times. Then pressure cook it with turmeric, salt and double amount of water (2 cups + 1/2 cup) and cook till dal is tender (2 whistles). You can also boil dal in a heavy kadhai by covering the lid on low flame and cook for 25-30 minutes. Add more water if required and simmer until dal is cooked.
In a separate pan, heat ghee and fry the small florets of cauliflower by sprinkling some salt and turmeric powder. Fry till they turn golden brown. Keep aside. In the same pan add bay leaf, chopped ginger and radhuni. Fry for a minutes and you will get nice aroma of radhuni add chillies now and stir. Add cooked dal, peas and fried cauliflower, cover the lid and let all this give a boil on low flame. Add sugar (optional), check salt and add bhaja jeere guro (roasted cumin seeds powder). Serve with plain rice.
Tips:
- You can skip peas and cauliflower in this dal, the simplicity will still hold you for good.
- Roasting dal will bring out the sweet nutty aroma, so don't skip this step
- Just before serving you can also add few drops of lemon drops to bring out the best taste.
- You can add red carrots when in season and also add fried boris, the crunchy boris will definitely add more flavour.
- If you don't have radhuni then you can replace it with cumin seeds. Just to remind you that our Panch phoron has radhuni in it :-)
- Though this simple aromatic dal doesn't need garnishing as radhuni has such a strong flavor, still in absence of radhuni you can garnish with coriander leaves.
Amar Shoshur barite ei rokom kore Daal ranna hoe khub, Aro onek veggies meshae, like shim, beans, potato, Carrot etc.....LOved the container where u served the fried Cauliflower....
ReplyDeletewow....yummy n lovely clicks too
ReplyDeleteOmg, radhuni is quite a new spice for me..Btw Bhaja moongdal looks super comforting.
ReplyDeleteI just need a plate of piping hot rice to go with this gravy...
ReplyDeletedaal is a staple at our place.. nice recipe of dal for us.. radhuni is totally new to me!
ReplyDeleteLast weekend ei khelam eta.. ekhane to kono season er matha mundu nei.. we get evrerything all year round... which is really bad.. i forgot about the loging for winter vegies.........
ReplyDeleteby the way even I got to know about radhuni 2/3 years back.. when my mother moved to kolkata...she liked it in dal and other barir ranna.. so introduced it to me... infact mosur dal also tastes very well with radhuni....tomar ei dal tai banabo ami..
ReplyDeleteI can learn so many new varieties of recipes dear. Yummy and delicious looking dal...
ReplyDeleteThat is so comforting and so homey!!!
ReplyDeleteSowmya
Ongoing Event - Breakfast
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perfect spiced dal.
ReplyDeleteWow..Looks so yummy...inviting too
ReplyDeleteComfort dish,flavors are exotic..yum
ReplyDeletenew spice to me,comfort & inviting dal!!
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Never heard of Radhuni. but after hearing it, I would like to taste it. looks so yummy!
ReplyDeleteLove any kind of dal and this looks so good.
ReplyDeletehealthy and tempting dal dear..
ReplyDeleteWow. This looks so yummy n wonderful clicks too:)
ReplyDeleteIs Radhuni different from ajwain? YOur pic seems to look like ajwain to me.
ReplyDeleteDish must be so unique and fragrant - lovely use of seasonal vegetables.
Heard about radhuni recently in one of the facebook forums....love the dal...looks so fragnant.....
ReplyDeletenever heard of Radhuni - I also wondered if it's same as ajwain seeds. Dal looks delicious - great picture too.
ReplyDeletethis is very interesting, first time seeing this radhuni seeds...dal looks too delicious n inviting!
ReplyDeleteDal looks wonderfully delicious. I make something similar with moong dal and gobi but never heard of Radhuni. Will see if my Indian grocery store knows about it.
ReplyDeletehealthy and delicious recipe... perfect with rice and rotis...
ReplyDeleteThx for introducing rudhuni...curry looks superb...new look to the blog ig gud...nice colour
ReplyDeleteThks for sharing info abt radhuni, delicious n healthy makeover!!!
ReplyDeleteLooks so yum n flavorful .. adding ajmod in dal is great idea
ReplyDeletevery flavourful ! thats a new spice to me...
ReplyDeleteKalyani
Sizzling Tastebuds
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Looks delucious.....
ReplyDeleteHelen
http://myworldmyhome2012.blogspot.in
Comfort food.
ReplyDeleteYummy dal..
ReplyDeletelooks very inviting. Amazing clicks.
ReplyDeleteThis is a combination of such unique flavours, am sure its delicious!
ReplyDeletesuper tempting daal. A new ingredient Radhuni - never used at all.
ReplyDeleteAmar favorite dal, sabji diye roasted moonger dal. Asadharon baniyecho. Know the special aroma of radhuni and roasted jeera powder, can guess the aroma of this dal from here.
ReplyDeletetoday's recipe:
http://sanolisrecipies.blogspot.in/2013/01/sojne-phuler-torkari-drumstick-blossoms.html
Deepa the blog header is very nicely designed and the logo too.
ReplyDeleteAmi mung dal ei bhabei banai koraishuti r phulgobhi diye tobe jeere phoron di. radhuni eita te use korini. nxt time kore dekhbo. dekhte chobi ta darun hoyeche
It is nice to try a new dish belonging to a different region. We get Maharashtrian "Godamasala". I wish we get the aromatic spice "Ajmud" too.
ReplyDeleteDal is always a comfort food. Your recipe "toor/tuwar/arhar dal without onion and garlic" is regularly prepared in our home. Thanks for sharing this moong dal.
What an amazing dish! Very good flavor and spices in the dish.
ReplyDeleteLove d soup,especially the props.
ReplyDeleteLove this roasted moong dal. Never heard of Radhuni. But I'm going to look for it and make this dal soon. I do have Panch phoron- hopefully will find out what Radhuni looks like. Ypir header really looks awesome. Clicks are gorgeous and inviting.
ReplyDeleteAjmod is new to me.. Love the shots.. So yummy http://great-secret-of-life.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteReally nice to see recipes from different regions. Interesting one Deepa!
ReplyDeleteNever heard about ajmod before but this dish looks so good, I can complete than bowl by myself!
ReplyDeleteInteresting recipe..Looks awesome
ReplyDeleteLoved the recipe and loved your presentation too :)
ReplyDeleteDear Deepa
ReplyDeleteSimply awesome! You have given a great twist to this traditional recipe ..the randhuni and jeere combo....
will try soon
kaku
Deepa, bookmarked these. I wonder if we get these in the Indian stores here.
ReplyDeleteNice daal
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