Have you ever walked into the kitchen, determined to cook dal, and felt overwhelmed by the number of lentils in your pantry? Well, we have all been there, which is why we are in awe of this child who is going viral on social media for his immaculate knowledge about the varied lentils and spices that you commonly find in Indian kitchens, but are only able to differentiate them by colour, size or shape.
In this short clip shot at a supermarket, the toddler named Abir, is able to correctly identify names of spices like cinnamon sticks, laung, black pepper by merely looking at the jars. Further, when his mother asks him about the ‘Hindi names’ of bay leaf and black cardamom, he confidently replies “tej patta” and “badi elaichi”.
Even the jar of lentils does not baffle him a bit, for he is seamlessly able to differentiate between Masoor Dal, Tuvar Dal, Chana Dal and Moong Dal, making his mother proud, one question after another. Even his mother admits to being confused about ‘Masoor Dal’, but little Abir knows his dals and how.
Wondering what made him such a pro? In the caption of the viral video posted by Abir’s mother Sonika Bhasin on Instagram, Sonika writes that “Abir loves going to @adrish_lokhandwala to shop for groceries! And of course, he knows all of them.”
The video has clocked more than 483k views and the internet cannot stop gushing over Abir’s cuteness and confidence. “Such a cutie!! He knows more lentils and masalas than I knew. I used to call them yellow and orange and black daal...”, read a comment. “He definitely loved cooking in his past lifetime”, wrote another user. “Such a star!” wrote another impressed user.
India loves its lentils, and combining many lentils to make one dish has been an ancient practice across the subcontinent. This Panchmel Dal, as the name suggests, is made with a combination of five lentils, such as Toor, Bengal gram, Moong Dal, Black Urad and Green Moong. This Rajasthani dish is one tempting way to get to know your dals. Here’s a step-by-step recipe for the same.
Try it at home and let us know how you liked it. Serve it hot with rice, topped with melted ghee for the best experience.