Mango Moong Dal

With the Federal shutdown out of the way we can move on to other important things. Living in the shadow of the Nation's capital like we do a shutdown would paralyze a large portion of life around here. Memory of the last one not a distant memory and what it could do the personal life of a president still lingering another one was not very welcome.

If you live in the NE US and are starting a backyard garden, now is the time to start the seeds indoors. They will be ready to be transplanted outside end of May. If you are lucking to be living in the South (US) you are probably already well into your growing season.

Now to the recipe,
I had bought a raw mango hoping to make some mango pickle but it was not meant to be. So the next best thing was making dal out of it before it became completely unusable. I usually make sambhar with mango and drumstick but with the Andhra influence big I decided to make mango pappu (or mango dal). Toor dal can be used but I like the taste of moong dal and I was making a side dish for idli. Combined the method my mom uses to make breakfast sambhar for idli.

Mango Moong Dal Recipe
Ingredients
1. 1 cup of split moong dal (preferably without skin)
2. 1 cup of raw mangoes cut into small cubes (peel the skin if it is tough)
3 1 medium sized ripe tomato
4. 1/4 cup chopped onions
5. 4 slit green chilies or 1/2 tbsp sambhar powder
6. 1 tsp turmeric powder
7. seasonings: mustards seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves
8. 1 tsp of oil and salt to taste
9. handful of chopped coriander leaves

Method
1. Pressure cook the moong, onion, tomato and mango with 2 cups of water, turmeric powder, sambhar powder(or green chilies) and few drops of sesame oil for 2 whistles, cool and mash it with a back of a spoon.
2. If the cooked dal is too thick add a cup more of water if required (or as much water as you'd like) and let it come to a boil (3-5 minutes)
3. Add salt and coriander leaves
4. In a small pan heat the oil add the cumin and mustard seeds followed by the curry leaves. Pour over the dal

Tastes good idlis or dosais but I bet it tastes good with rice as well.