Hello,
I tried to make dal with the following recipe (I live in the US) and
it came out quite sweet and hot. What did I do wrong ? hot was fine,
but I did not set out to make it SWEET!

1/2 finely chopped supermarket onion (these are rather large)
1/2 tomato chopped
1/2 cup whole moong dal (green)
1 pinch turmeric
1/4 tsp jeera
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tbsps oil.
1/2 tsp chilly powder

Cook dal in a vessel with water, till soft.

Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped onions to it and stir, add jeera and
coriander
seeds to it and wait till the onions turn transclucent then add the
tomato and mix it with onions. Do this till tomatoes become like a
paste. Add chilly powder and stir some more. Then add turmeric.
Add the cooked dal and salt to this mixture and add water and simmer
on low heat.

The dal was sweetish, and spicy and the sauce was very thick. not like
tomato soup consistency which it should have been. I tried to add
water but it became too weak flavoured, so I ended up reducing it to
the thick sauce.

Help
Thanks
Anita

On 3 Nov 2003 18:21:46 -0800, (anita) wrote:

>Hello,
>I tried to make dal with the following recipe (I live in the US) and
>it came out quite sweet and hot. What did I do wrong ? hot was fine,
>but I did not set out to make it SWEET!
>
>1/2 finely chopped supermarket onion (these are rather large)
>1/2 tomato chopped
>1/2 cup whole moong dal (green)
>1 pinch turmeric
>1/4 tsp jeera
>1/2 tsp coriander seeds
>2 tbsps oil.
>1/2 tsp chilly powder
>
>Cook dal in a vessel with water, till soft.
>
>Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped onions to it and stir, add jeera and
>coriander seeds to it and wait till the onions turn transclucent then
>add the tomato and mix it with onions. Do this till tomatoes become
>like a paste. Add chilly powder and stir some more. Then add turmeric.
>Add the cooked dal and salt to this mixture and add water and simmer
>on low heat.
>
>The dal was sweetish, and spicy and the sauce was very thick. not like
>tomato soup consistency which it should have been. I tried to add
>water but it became too weak flavoured, so I ended up reducing it to
>the thick sauce.

Couple of things are possible, but without being there they are SWAGs.

First, you may have cooked the onions over too high a heat and partially
caramelized them. Make sure you sweat the onions over a low heat and
only cook long enough to turn them translucent to prevent this.

Second, you may have cooked down the tomatoes too long and over too high
a heat. Again you may have caramelized them or you may have reduced the
tomatoes too much. Tomatoes do have sugar in them, reducing them too
much will emphasize the sweetness. If you used Roma tomatoes, they
tend to have more sugar in them than the globe tomatoes.

So, if you used Roma tomatoes, don't. Don't cook down the tomato and
onion mixture so much. That will reduce the amount of water you need to
add and will reduce the chance of caramelization. Remember all those
fragant smells are flavors just evaporating away. Save any juice from
the tomatoes that you can when you slice it, to add back in when you
need liquid.

Third, try roasting the cumin and coriander seeds. This will intensify
their flavor.

Last possibility, while you weren't looking, someone put sugar in the
salt cellar.

anita wrote:
>
> Hello,
> I tried to make dal with the following recipe (I live in the US) and
> it came out quite sweet and hot. What did I do wrong ? hot was fine,
> but I did not set out to make it SWEET!
>
> 1/2 finely chopped supermarket onion (these are rather large)
> 1/2 tomato chopped
> 1/2 cup whole moong dal (green)
> 1 pinch turmeric
> 1/4 tsp jeera
> 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
> 2 tbsps oil.
> 1/2 tsp chilly powder
>
> Cook dal in a vessel with water, till soft.
>
> Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped onions to it and stir, add jeera and
> coriander
> seeds to it and wait till the onions turn transclucent then add the
> tomato and mix it with onions. Do this till tomatoes become like a
> paste. Add chilly powder and stir some more. Then add turmeric.
> Add the cooked dal and salt to this mixture and add water and simmer
> on low heat.
>
> The dal was sweetish, and spicy and the sauce was very thick. not like
> tomato soup consistency which it should have been. I tried to add
> water but it became too weak flavoured, so I ended up reducing it to
> the thick sauce.
>
> Help
> Thanks
> Anita

Doesn't sound as though you did anything much wrong.
There's no salt mentioned in the ingredient list, but it is mentioned in
the instructions.

Moong (or mung) beans can cook up rather sweet.

As for the texture, the recipe might have assumed juicier tomatoes than
are normally available in the US at this time of year. Did you drain the
dhal before using? A bit of the cooking water could have helped. But I
don't see anything in the recipe to indicate it should be soupy though.

> First, you may have cooked the onions over too high a heat and partially
> caramelized them. Make sure you sweat the onions over a low heat and
> only cook long enough to turn them translucent to prevent this.

Great analysis, my mom will ROTFL if she finds me asking for help to
make dal. But hey what I am not born with (ie., talent to cook) I can
fake. Right ?

Note to self: 1. Dont cook onions over too high heat, low heat till
onions turn transcluscent.

I could do that, I was using high heat because I want the onions to
disintegrate and not get soft pieces in my mouth. how is that done ? I
can cook it till transluscent but then what ? do I need to cook it for
a little more with a little water ? Or cover the pan and cook ?

> So, if you used Roma tomatoes, don't.

BINGO!!! Yep roma tomatoes, they are banished from my kitchen till I
get the dal right.
Once again how to I get the tomato to disintegrate ? I try to cook it
till it disintegrates which is possibly caugin the caramelization...

>
> Third, try roasting the cumin and coriander seeds. This will intensify
> their flavor.

that I did, i already have them pre-roasted in my little bottles.


thanks
anita

On 5 Nov 2003 12:38:45 -0800, (anita) wrote:

>> First, you may have cooked the onions over too high a heat and partially
>> caramelized them. Make sure you sweat the onions over a low heat and
>> only cook long enough to turn them translucent to prevent this.
>
>Great analysis, my mom will ROTFL if she finds me asking for help to
>make dal. But hey what I am not born with (ie., talent to cook) I can
>fake. Right ?
>
>Note to self: 1. Dont cook onions over too high heat, low heat till
>onions turn transcluscent.
>
>I could do that, I was using high heat because I want the onions to
>disintegrate and not get soft pieces in my mouth. how is that done ? I
>can cook it till transluscent but then what ? do I need to cook it for
>a little more with a little water ? Or cover the pan and cook ?

For masoor dal I use sliced onions as I like the taste of the onions.

Start by dicing the onions fairly fine, but don't mince or pulverize
them in the blender. The onions will take on a greenish color if you
do. Although, for moong dal, I suppose it doesn't matter. Best is just
to add a little extra water and simmer the onion/tomato mix for a long
time to break down the onions.

>> So, if you used Roma tomatoes, don't.
>
>BINGO!!! Yep roma tomatoes, they are banished from my kitchen till I
>get the dal right.
>Once again how to I get the tomato to disintegrate ? I try to cook it
>till it disintegrates which is possibly caugin the caramelization...

Simmer in water a long time over a low to medium heat. Don't let it get
so thick that it will start to caramelize. Keep it soupy.


gauriwalla