Actress Shilpa Shetty dons many hats. Apart from acting in movies, she is a popular television personality, reality star, author and entrepreneur. She is also an avid practitioner of Yoga, and a YouTuber, where she shares her delicious recipes. Shilpa is a fitness icon for millions. She loves to eat clean, local, homemade food and is strictly against fad diets. On Saturday, when she dropped by at designer and politician friend Shaina NC’s residence, she had to make a tough choice between two dals, both equally popular and delicious. One appeared to be Urad and one appeared to be a bowl of Moong Dal. While we do not know which dal did she finally choose as both looked super tempting.
Dal is a staple across all Indian households. From North to South, East to West, there is at least one major dal specialty from every state and region that has fans all over. Maa Ki Dal, a Punjabi Dal delicacy spells comfort for many in and beyond Punjab. There are many conjectures as to why the dal is called Maa Ki Dal, but since the dal is ‘home’ to so many people, there cannot be a name more befitting. For the uninitiated, Maa Ki Dal, is made with Black Urad, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and a pool of masalas. It looks very much like Dal Makhani, sans all the fuss and frills. That is, you will not find copious amounts of cream or butter in the dal, it also takes much less time to come together as opposed to Dal Makhani which is slow-cooked for a long. It is also less spicy and often made with just one kind of dal, as opposed to Dal Makhani, which can comprise a mix.
To make this dal, make sure you take sabut urad dal (whole black gram with husks), and rinse in water 2 to 3 times. After draining the water, soak the lentils in enough water in a bowl for about 30 to 40 minutes. If you are using aged lentils, it is wise to soak them overnight.
Preparing the masala in ghee will lend authentic experience. Let the spices cook until they are fragrant, then add the cooked dal and cook both together. Here is a detailed recipe that you may like to try.