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Thuma wali daal - Daal with Garlic

Here's another Sindhi recipe that's super easy, but super satisfying. It's for those days when you don't have the energy to cook, but need something nutritious and delicious. You can serve this with plain white rice, or traditional Sindhi Khichni, which has some green mung daal added to the rice.

Wash ~1 cup yellow moong daal and add to a pressure cooker with ~2 cups of water. Add salt, turmeric, a drop of oil (literally), and 1 or two tomatoes roughly chopped in big pieces. Close the pressure cooker and cook for around 4 whistles. In the mean time, peel around 3-4 large garlic cloves, and either mince or crush using a garlic press. (This is usually the time I get the rice going, and maybe fix up some salad for the side). Once the pressure is released, use either a hand blender, or more traditionally, a wooden hand blender (called as Mandheera in Sindhi, Ravai or valonu in Gujarati) to blend the daal to slightly less than super smooth consistency. I remember the first time my mom-in-law taught me this recipe, she said that you should churn it with the wooden hand blender to the extent that it should be heard by the mom-in-law sitting in the living room :-). A quick blitz with the hand blender does the job fine. Now, turn on the heat again, adjust the consistency to your liking by adding some more water, and start simmering the daal on a low heat. In a small pan (The tiniest pan in your kitchen), heat ~2 tbsp oil, add the minced/crushed garlic, and let it cook on a low-medium flame, stirring frequently. You're looking for the garlic to turn a nice golden brown (be brave, don't chicken out early, but also don't burn the garlic). Once you reach that point, add ~1/2 tbsp paprika to it, and then immidiately add the mixture to the simmering daal, and cover it with a lid. This helps the smokey flavor of the garlic tadka to set in the daal. Uncover the daal, mix it, and let it simmer for a few more minutes. Hopefully, by now your rice is ready, and you're ready to serve it. It's also really nice with something like potato chips, or any other papads, etc. to add some crunch on the side. 

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