Serves: 4
Total Calories: 311

1/4 cup Tamarind Paste
1/2 cup Coconut Milk or store-bought
3/4 to 1 cups split pigeon peas (toor dal), sorted and washed in 3 to 4 changes of water
4 to 4 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 cups fresh vegetables, such as tomatoes, okra, potatoes, zucchini, eggplant, cauliflower, carrots, and bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons peanut oil
3 to 5 whole dried red chili peppers, such as chile de arbol
1/4 cup grated fresh coconut or unsweetened dried shredded coconut
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon , yellow split garbanzo beans, (channal dal), sorted
1 tablespoon white urad beans (dhulli urad dal), sorted
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon ground asafoetida
2 tablespoons minced fresh curry leaves
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, including soft stems

1. Prepare the tamarind paste and coconut milk. Then, place the dal, water, salt, turmeric, and vegetables in a pressure cooker. Secure the lid and cook over high heat until the regulator indicated high pressure, then cook 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and allow the pot to depressurize on its own, 12 to 15 minutes. Carefully open the lid and stir lightly.

2. Heat the oil in a small nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat and cook the red chili peppers and coconut until the coconut is golden, about 1 minute. Add the mustard, cumin, fenugreek, and coriander seeds, and the channa and urad dals and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Add the cayenne pepper, asafoetida, and curry leaves and stir another 1 minute.

3. Let cool, transfer the spice mixture to a blender or a food processor, and process to make a paste, adding up to 3 tablespoons water, as needed. Mix the paste into the dal, then add the tamarind and coconut milk and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and summer about 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl, mix in the cilantro, and serve.

From "1,000 Indian Recipes." Copyright 2002 by Neelam Batra. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 4
Total Calories: 311
Calories from Fat: 91

More Recipes from the 1000 Indian Recipes Cookbook:
* Dried Beans, Lentils, and Peas
Basic South Indian Soupy Split Pigeon Peas
Black Beans in Traditional Curry Sauce
Black Chickpeas with Chickpea Masala
Black Chickpeas with Sizzlilng Ginger and Cumin Seeds
Black Urad Beans in a Slow Cooker
Black-Eyed Peas in Yogurt Curry
Canister Chickpeas (or Dried Yellow Peas)
Chickpeas in Traditional Curry Sauce
Chickpeas with Ginger, Garlic, and Chaat Masala
Chickpeas with Spinach and Potato Wedges
Chutney Chickpeas with Tamarind
Classic Kidney Bean Curry with Onions
Classic No-Onion Kidney Bean Curry
Crispy Split Pigeon Pea Cake
Curried Black-Eyed Peas
Dry-Cooked Green Split Peas
Dry-Cooked Red Lentils with Cumin Seeds
Falguni's Gujarati Split Pigeon Peas
Fresh Green Chickpeas with Lentil Nuggets
Garlicky Dried Green Peas Curry
Garlicky Yellow Mung Beans with Zucchini Wheels
Green Lentils with Sautéed Onion
Gujarati Green Mung Beans with Green Masala Paste
Hazram's Soupy Pigeon Peas
Kashmiri Fennel-Flavored Black Urad Beans with Yogurt
Kashmiri Small Red Beans
Madras-Style Pigeon Peas with Vegetables
Mustard-Roasted Adzuki Beans
Parsi Mixed Lentils, Beans, and Vegatables
Pickle-Flavored Chickpeas
Punjabi Black Urad Beans
Punjabi Dry-Cooked Yellow Mung Beans
Punjabi Green Mung Beans with Sizzling Ginger
Punjabi Red Beans with Mango Pickle Masala
Punjabi-Style Split Pigeon Peas
Rajasthani Mixed 5 Beans and Lentils
Red Lentils with Bengali 5-Spices
Roasted Green Lentils with Tomatoes
Roasted Yellow Mung Beans and Potatoes
Sindhi Dry-Cooked Yellow Mung Beans
Small White Beans with Indian Spices
Smoked Black Urad Beans
Soupy Split Pigeon Peas with Jaggery
Spicy Adzuki Beans
Spicy Chickpeas with Pomegranate Seeds
Spicy Dried Yellow Peas
Spicy Dry-Cooked Split Green Mung Beans
Spicy Mixed 5 Beans and Lentils
Spicy Soybeans in Yogurt Sauce
Spicy Split Black Urad Beans with Split Chickpeas
Spit Pigeon Peas with Coconut and Vegetables
Split Urad Beans and Yellow Split Chickpeas with Spinach
Stir-Fried Black Urad Beans
White Urad Beans with Fresh Lemon Juice
White Urad Beans with Roasted Fenugreek Leaves
Yellow Mung Beans with Fresh Curry Leaves
Yellow Mung Beans with Sautéed Onion and Ginger
Yellow Split Chickpeas with Spinach
Yellow Split Chikpeas with Opo Squash