"Yogi Gupta" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Dee!
> I cant really read your post. It runs over into the next column. I did
> go to the URL you have given. First of all Urad is Black matpe and not
> what we normally call black beans. It is very close in characterstics
> with Negron beans from Mexico, and somewhat like Michigan Black Turtle
> beans. From my expeience, it would take 20 minutes to fully cook whole
> Urad which was not pre-soaked. Older beans take longer to cook. Most of
> the Urad imported from India and Africa is old. So I may adjust the
> next bath to about 25 minutes. After the beans have been cooked, I
> remove the cooker and put it under the water tap to let the pressure
> cease. In Indian cooking, the beans have to be tempered (Bhagaar) after
> they are cooked with sauteed onions, garlic, spices and heavy cream.
> After the beans are tempered, I leave them to simmer till I like the
> tenederness, may be about 10 minutes. They always thicken overnight and
> taste better.
> Dal normally refers to split beans. Many places on the internet tell
> you to use Pressure cooker to even for split beans. I advise against
> it, as the boil overs can occur blocking the steam valve and creating a
> mess specially if the split bean also happens to be decorticated.
> Even if I don't use pressure cooker, I rarerly pre-soak over night to
> make soups. You can bring them to a boil and let them rest for abot one
> hour, that would be same as pre-soaking them over night. I hope I was
> able to shed some light.
> Yogi
> www.IndiaCurry.com

Dear Yogi,
Thanks for your advice.
I don't like soaking beans at all, whether it be overnight or the
boiling/resting/1 hour. So after reading your thoughtful reply, I will not
soak them before I put them in the pressure cooker for 20 minutes. After
that I will create the tarka and add it and then probably simmer for
another 10 minutes. Some serve right away, but I like to simmer them for a
few minutes after I add the spices.

I have read that one should always add 1 Tablespoon of oil (to 1 cups of
beans to 4 cups of water) so that the beans will not foam up and mess up
the pressure cooker.
I have cooked urad dal many times, whole, split white, and split black and
white. I just was wanting to try them in a pressure cooker this time for
the whole urad dal. I would not use the pressure cooker for any of the split
dals.
Thanks, Yogi,
Nemaste.
Dee Dee