Dali Ambat

One of the side benefits of having relatives come over and spend time with you is the food. We had some very yummy amchi food. Simple, yet tasty. Dali Ambat is one of those dishes that is not widely talked about, but made quite frequently in most amchi homes. I forgot to take a picture of this dish when it was made and remembered when it was almost over. So I quickly took a picture of my plate halfway through dinner. Please forgive the near lousy picture and believe me when I say this picture doesn't do the dish much justice.

1/2 cup Toor Dal, pressure cooked in 3 cups water

1/4 cup Coconut, scraped

4 Red Chillies

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds, fried in oil

1 tbsp Tamarind paste

Salt to taste

1 Onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp Oil

Grind the coconut, red chillies, turmeric powder, tamarind paste and the fenugreek seeds to a fine paste. Add this paste to the dal. Add salt and bring the mixture to a boil.

In a small kadhai, heat the oil. Add the chopped onions and fry till the onions turn brown. Add this to the boiling mixture. Serve hot with rice.

If you're looking for a no onion/garlic version, you could use this tempering:

1 tsp Cooking Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
½ tsp Asafoetida (Hing)
7-8 Curry Leaves

In a frying ladle, heat the oil and add the mustard. When the mustard splutters, add the asafoetida and turn off the flame. Add the curry leaves. Fry for a minute and add this to the boiling mixture.

I am sending this to Linda for this month's JFI: Toor Dal.