Dal, daal, dahl whatever you call it, it is just too good of a food engineered by nature. Dal is a generic word used in the Indian subcontinent to describe the preparation of various dried pulses such as lentil, peas, mung bean, and other dried beans. Dal is like an empty canvas and you build on according to your choice and taste. With just few spices or just salt, onion and garlic, dal never fails to provide consolation or a feeling of well-being, a comfort food at its best.
Dal is delicious and one of the most versatile food that I know of. Dal can be nostalgic, indulging, and, at the same time, the most convenient and healthy comfort food. The same kind of dal can be made into millions of variations.
During the chili autumn days, when cauliflower was just about to pop up in the bazaars in Bangladesh, my mom often made dal with cauliflower. The nutty and earthy flavor of mung bean mixed with spices and seasonal cauliflower makes this dish a balanced one item meal. However, a side of rice or some bread compliments the curried mung bean and cauliflower dish perfectly as well.
When the weather is chilly outside enjoy the warmth of dal with this the curried mung bean and cauliflower. Try varying the dish by adding spinach, zucchini, or carrots. If you don’t have all the spices in your pantry, go ahead and still try with just onion and garlic. Anyway you try it, you’ll get the warmth you need during mealtime.
If you are curious to find how versatile dal can be feel free to try any of these other dishes I shared previously. Though a “dal” dish is usually of soupy consistency, the underlying ingredients for all of these items are dal. Enjoy!
Split pea salad – Cholar Dal Salad
Chana Dal Burfi – Buter/Chola dal burfi
Piyaju – Lentil fritters
Shami kabab – Minced meat and chana dal kabab
Mashed Lentil – Dal bhorta
Lentil soup with green mango – Aam Dal
- 1 cup Moong/Mung bean
- 5 cups water
- 1 medium cauliflower, cut into medium florets
- ½ teaspoon fennel seed
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 small cardamom
- 2-3 cloves
- 1 small cinnamon stick piece, about 1 inch
- ½ tea spoon turmeric
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 green chilli
- 1 tomato, finely chopped
- 2 table spoon olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Cilantro for garnish
- Take all the spices from fennel seeds to cinnamon and dry roast for 3-5 minutes until aromatic and slightly darker. Let cool.
- Grind the spices. Set aside.
- Sort, wash and drain mung dal.
- Heat oil in a pan. Sauté onion until translucent.
- Add garlic and chilli and continue to sauté until fragrant.
- Add mung beans and fry until slightly golden and aromatic.
- Add water and boil beans with salt and turmeric until cooked tender but firm. Start with 2 cups of water and add as needed if beans become too thick.
- Add the powdered spices mix.
- Add cauliflower florets and tomatoes. Continue to boil until soft.
- Garnish with cilantro. Let the flavors absorb for about 5-8 minutes before serving.
Same can be made with lentil in place of mung beans.
Zucchini, carrot, spinach, pumpkin adds interestingly different variations for this dal dish.
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রেসিপি: ফুলকপি দিয়ে মুগের ডাল
উপকরন:
১ কাপ মুগ ডাল
৫ কাপ পানি
১ টি মাঝারি ফুলকপি, মাঝারি টুকরো করে কাটা
১/২ চা চামচ মৌরী
১/২ চা চামচ জিরা
১/২ চা চামচ ধনে
১/২ চা চামচ গোল মরিচ
২ টি ছোট এলাচ
২-৩ টি লবঙ্গ
১ টি ছোট দারুচিনি, প্রায় ১ ইঞ্চি
১/২ চা চামচ হলুদ
১টি ছোট পেঁয়াজ, কুচিঁ কুচিঁ করে কাটা
২-৩ টি রসুনের কোয়া, কুচিঁ কুচিঁ করে কাটা
২টি কাঁচা মরিচ
১টি টমেটো, কুচিঁ কুচিঁ করে কাটা
২ টেবিল চামচ তেল
লবন, স্বাদ অনুযায়ি
ধনে পাতা
প্রস্তত প্রণালী:
১. মৌরি থেকে দারুচিনি পর্যন্ত সমস্ত মশলা ৩-৫ মিনিট বা সুগন্ধি না বের হওয়া পর্যন্ত ভেজে নিন।
২. মশলা গুড়া করে নিন।
৩. ডাল বেছে, ধুয়ে, পানি ফেলে দিন।
৪. একটি প্যানে তেল গরম করে পেঁয়াজ একটু ভেজে নিন।
৫. রসুন এবং কাঁচা মরিচ তেলে ছাড়ুন এবং সুগন্ধি না বের হওয়া পর্যন্ত নাড়তে থাকুন। ধোয়া মুগের ডাল যোগ করুন।
৬.ডাল সামান্য সোনালী ও সুগন্ধ বের না হওয়া পর্যন্ত ভাজুন।
৭. লবন, হলুদ এবং পানি দিয়ে ডাল এমনভাবে সেদ্ধ করুন যেন ডাল খুব নরম না হয়ে যায়। প্রথমে ২ কাপ পানি দিয়ে শুরু করুন এবং যদি প্রয়োজন হয় আরও পানি যোগ করুন.
৮. গুড়া মশলা দিন।
৯. ফুলকপির টুকরা এবং টমেটো দিন এবং সেদ্ধ হলে চুলা হতে নামিয়ে নিন।
১০. ধনে পাতা ছিটিয়ে দিন এবং ৫-৮ মিনিট পরে পরিবেশন করুন।
প্রয়োজনিও কিছু টিপস্ এর জন্য দয়াকরে আটির্কেল অথবা ইংরেজি রেসিপির নোট সেকশনটা একটু দেখে নেবেন।
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The best food engineered by nature indeed, this is delicious 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
No denying, Uru. Thank you for stopping by.
What great pictures showcasing the main ingredients of this dish, Lail!!! Wishing you a fun weekend! xx
Thank you, Denise. You have a fabulous weekend as well.
This does look like a comforting dish!
Thank you!
I have never had this combination, but my mom always made a mung dhal + brocolli combination, much drier more like a bhaji, which I make when I’m in a rush and using frozen veggies. I have to give this a try soon.
Thank you! Would love to try auntie’s dal and broccoli bhaji. Thank you for stopping by.
It is such a yummy looking dish. Never tried anything like this, can’t wait to try it out sometime.
Thank you! The mung dal and cauliflower curry is indeed very very yummy.
Nice vegetarian dish Lail…like the idea of lentil and cauliflower…delicious!
Have a great week and yes, I am back 😀
Great to have you back, Juliana. Yes, it’s a great protein rich vegetarian dish.
Lovely blog and tempting clicks. Never tried cauliflower and mung combination before, looks very delicious! I am surely going to give it a try!
Thank you. The mung bean and cauliflower is a childhood favorite of mine. I hope you would give this a try.
I’ve never tried cauliflower daal before. Looks really good!
You won’t regret if you try 🙂 Thank you for stopping by.
Looks so delicious…I’ve never had mung beans before!
Mung bean is more flavorful than lentil. I hope you get to try it sometimes. Thank you so much for stopping by.
I am a big fan of cauliflower and your curried dal and cauliflower looks terrific. I’ll have to try this soon. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Yi. If you like cauliflower, you’ll love the warmth of this dish too.
This looks absolutely delicious!! I just mashed all of my beautiful fresh cauliflower with gruyere cheese…. This looks just as wonderful and much healthier! 🙂
There’s always a “next time”. The dal is very healthy and tasty too. I like your mashed cauliflower too 🙂
Thank you!
Gorgeous dish with great flavors. I love what you have done with your website – it’s great – and beautiful photos.
Shanna – THank you so much for your kind, heart-warming words. I greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much. I hope to see you around again.
Of course, Lail. I will be visiting your blog often. Have a lovely day! – Shanna
I’ve never met a dal I didn’t like! Such great stuff. And cauliflower is one of my favorites too. So you know I love this combo! Thanks so much.
Exactly, how can dal be ever bad? Thank you, John 🙂
I love dal – and this looks like a delicious dish 🙂
Thank you, Rachel. The dal is very comforting and delicious as you said 🙂
I love cauliflower but dont cook with it enough but I really like the idea of this combo esp as it has my fav ie cardamom in it.
We eat cauliflower a lot. If you like cauliflower, I would recommend you try this dish. Thank you, Bintu.
Love those warming spices and the dal…My family is not a big fan of cauliflower but I would love it with any vegetable instead. Wishing you a super weekend. BAM
Thanks a bunch, my friend. The dal would be as tasty with spinach, carrots, pumpkin or any other vegetable or just as is. Wishing you a wonderful weekend as well!
Ah the bliss of home cooked meals. I love th esimplicity of dhal too Lail, never tried with cauliflower (as dhal is relatively new to me), so this goes for my weekend must-have ! Thanks for sharing this, I love your writing 🙂
Yes, the bliss of meals made with love 🙂 Thank you, Jehanne.
Mung beans with cauliflower looks and sounds so delicious! I’ve never had any, but can’t wait to try 🙂
It’s deliscious and very comforting. You’ll love it. Thanks, Kiran.
Never tried mung dal with cauliflower! What an absolute pleasure to know about this comforting recipe! And thank you for the delicious, yummy pictures; I had a fun time on your blog 🙂
Thank you for gracing my space with your presence and your lovely words. Much appreciated!
I love cauliflower dishes and the spices in here sound fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
I love how the spices of this dish adds a subtle flavor in the dal. Glad you like it. Thank you so much.
Looks so interesting. I have to buy mung beans and… cauliflower of course.My husband loves cauliflower.
It is very comforting too. Hope you’ll give it a try. Thank you for coming over.
Looks wonderful. D
Thank you Dena.