Indian Masala Dosa(Rice and Lentil Crepe) - A Challenge I Tackled!

Masala Dosa with 3 different kinds of chutneys.

Making Indian Dosa was a challenge for me.  Challenge?  That's what my Indian co-worker would say.  He said that his wife makes it all the time.  It's easy, he says.  Well, yeah, it's easy if you are an Indian.  It was not for me since it is not my culture and my food.  Dosa is a South Indian rice and lentil crepe served with chutneys such as  mint chutney, tomato chutney, and coconut chutney. The filling is potato masala or aloo masala which is a semi mashed potato spiced with Indian masala spices.  It is vegan, gluten-free, economical, and delicious!  

This blog is meant to be about sharing my experience instead of sharing my recipes since I didn't create a recipe.   There is not much variation of the ancient recipe of making the crepe.  The proportion of rice to lentils is basically 2:1 or 3:1.  According to VahChef, to make a crispy dosa, increase the amount of rice (use 3:1 ratio of rice to lentil) and to make a softer dosa use more lentil (use 2:1 ratio of rice to lentil). Some people use fenugreek seeds and some people don't, depending the kind of lentils or urad dals used.

I am sharing here about the scientific details what will work and what won't work.  Also, this information is for all of you who don't live in India, live in the US, or in other colder climate.  I assure you everyone will have a different experience depending on the surrounding environment.  This is a blog of what I experienced in making dosa at my home.  Also, by the time you finish reading my blog, you will know all about 'wild yeast.'

Out of all the International dishes I tried, making Indian Dosa (the crepe) was the most challenging one.  My challenge was in the fermentation of the batter.  I followed the instructions very carefully and still my batter didn't do anything.  No fermentation after 6 hours of waiting!  Pheeeuwww!  It was very frustrating since I was hoping for a success and the batter went flat.  Usually, we ended up just going to a South Indian restaurant about 1/2 a mile away to satisfy our dosa cravings .  My husband and I love Indian dosas very much and there are plenty of South Indian restaurants in my area.  In Little India, Artesia, California, 30 minutes from where I live,  a restaurant sells a plate of dosa for $4.99.  Cheap!  Why making it at home, right?  Well, it became a challenge for me to make it at home by myself.  It is not about saving money, time, and effort.   It was something I want to tackle and to overcome.  I want to understand WHY it didn't work for me?

I kept harping at it and learned from the Internet.  Isn't Internet wonderful?  What will I do without the Internet?  I learned cooking other cultures' food from the Internet: blogs, youtube, cooking websites, cooking web tvs, and facebook.  If you are a cooking blogger or a presenter in cooking web tv or youtube videos,  read this:  THANK YOU!  Keep up your great work since you are helping and inspiring others to learn and to cook.  Without all of you my knowledge about food and culture would be narrow.  I would not have cooked a variety of International dishes.

I perused  blogs and watched videos for hours in the Internet looking for techniques and tips.  I saw several cooking videos of making dosas and idlis at youtube.  There are lots of them.  It looked so easy to make dosas and idlis in the videos.  However, when I copied it at home, step by step, the result was not the same as it was in the videos.  There were tricks and tips that were not mentioned in recipes and videos.   I compiled what I found and divided them into 4 categories:

1. The Planning.
2. Ingredients.
3. Preparation of the batter.
4. Cooking the dosa.

The blogs that I found useful are these:  one from VeggieBelly's The Perfect Dosa Recipe(Rice and Lentil Crepes) and  one from VegRecipesofIndia.  I summarized the tips from these blogs:

1)The Planning:

• I soaked the ingredients 1 day ahead before I made the Potato Masala filling, Mint Chutney, Tomato Chutney, and Coconut Chutney.
• On the same day I made the filling and chutneys, I processed the ingredients for the crepe in the blender late in the evening and let it ferment overnight.
• I made the dosas the next day and reheat the filling in the microwave. That was Plan A. Hopefully, the batter was not flat.  If the batter was flat, then I went to Plan B, I added a little bit of yeast (see the tip under Preparation of Batter) and let it ferment for another 4-5 hours (breakfast will become lunch or dinner at this point). One day, I may be able to ferment the batter without the additional yeast, hopefully.

2) Tips on ingredients:
Below are the tips from VegRecipesofIndia (in Italics). My notes are in normal font.
.

Short Grain Rice called Idli Rice or Sona Masuri rice in Indian markets.

Rice:

• Generally, there are two types of starch in rice:- Amylose and Amylopectin
• Long grain rice has 22 % Amylose and 78 % Amylopectin,
• Medium to short grain rice has 18 % Amylose and 82 % Amylopectin.
• So its better to use short to medium grain sized rice. If you don’t have access to parboiled rice, you may use a good quality rice.

A few tips for making soft idlis and crisp dosa.

• Basmati or Sona Masoori rice also work well. I have made idlis and dosas both with Basmati rice and Sona Masoori rice.
• You could also use a combination of parboiled rice and regular rice.
• To get a crispier and brown dosa, add some chana dal.
• Please do not use rice flour as it gives a poor texture.

Note: I read in this blog by Alternative Vegan that short grain brown rice was use. I haven't tried that yet. It improved the taste. That's what was said.

Split Urad Dal or Black Lentils

Urad Dal or Black Lentils:
I have seen people using skinned, spilt urad dal. I myself use these. But you can use whole urad with the black skin. The only problem will be that the black fragments of the skin will be seen in the batter once the dal is ground. You also won’t get white colour in the idlis.
Skinned whole urad lentil is better to use. If you are using spilt and skinned urad dal, then add fenugreek seeds.
In the spilt urad dal much of the wild yeast is destroyed in the splitting process. So you have to add fenugreek seeds to help in the fermentation process.
You can use Urad Dal flour. The only problem you have is that some of the wild yeast is destroyed by heat during the milling process. So you will need to add fenugreek seeds.
Fenugreek Seeds


Fenugreek seeds are also called Methi seeds in Indian markets.

Fenugreek seeds catch the same type of wild yeast as the Urad Dal. So, using fenugreek seeds just adds more yeast to the batter.


Adding Yellow Split Peas, also called Chana Dal in Indian markets, improved the color and crispiness of dosas.

3) Tips on Preparation of the batter:

• After ingredients are soaked for 6-8 hours.  Do not throw away the soaking water.  The water may contain 'wild yeast'  that was floating in the air and then resided in the soaking water after 6-8 hours soaking.  Therefore,  the ingredients need to be soaked in open bowls (no lids).  There is a proof to this science. Read this article about how 'wild yeast' is floating in the air can be used to ferment batter.  Remember,  dosa was invented thousands years ago (6th century AD) before the invention of packaged yeast.
    
• Use a powerful blender like Vitamix (that's what I have) or a powerful food processor.  Just a regular small blender you used to mix margaritas won't work well.  Your small blender may be overworked, jammed, and the motor may burned out.  The Indians seem to use this type of wet grinder.  I tried it with my powerful  Vitamix blender and it works just fine.  A powerful food processor like Kitchen Aid may also work well.
• Use your clean hands.  Even after the ingredients were grounded, with a powerful modern machine, use your hands for several minutes to mix the ingredients, stir up and down, round and round.  This is important to start the fermentation which is from the warm of your hands.  Remember, I told you above about the 'wild yeast'?  This yeast needs to be started with warm hands.
• Since we rely on 'wild yeast' floating in the air,  do not cover the bowl during the fermentation process.
• Even after using your hands, the fermentation only works if your kitchen environment is warm.  Using your hands just helped to start it.  To continue the fermentation, the batter needs to be stored in a warm oven with the light on.  Turn the oven on for 180F, turn it off, turn the light on, open the oven door, put a bowl of batter in, close the oven door.
  Note:  Indians make dosa in 30-32C or 80-90F which is probably a normal temperature in India. I live in an area in Southern California where the temp is mostly between 65-75F almost all year long.  Well. sometimes it goes up to 85F but it is not very often.  I do need to create a warm environment between 80-90F or 32C as suggested by VeggieBelly. 
• Now, I like this tip from Chef Vinod because I needed this help after all.  I read this tip at VeggieBelly blog.  After all those tips above, my batter was still flat at the end of 6 hours.  I guess I live in a sterile air due to air filter in our house.  There was no 'wild yeast' in our air or oven.  Southern California air tends to have less moisture.  Maybe in India, where it is warm and humid, wild yeast exists.  After I applied a little bit of yeast, after 6 hours of nothing, my batter started to ferment.  I let it go for another 4 hours.
  
  Chef Vinod: Fermentation is always a problem in colder places. Our modern living with air filters etc. also inhibits the capture of wild yeast from the air. Sometimes indoor air, particularly in winter with all the doors and windows shut will be low in air borne yeast cells. When all else fails, I would recommend using some yeast. Use half teaspoon in half cup water and a teaspoon of sugar to kick start yeast growth. Add to a gallon of batter.
  
  From now on, I will just add yeast to my batter to prevent failures.  I think Dosa restaurants are using the previous batter as a 'starter' for the next batter.
   
• Keep leftover batter in the fridge.  If it is left outside, the fermentation continues.  This is actually great if you want to make dosa or uttapam or Indian thick pancake/pizza the next day.  However, you will need to take the batter out of the fridge about 1 hour before you start making dosas or uttapams since the batter needs to be in a room temperature.  I read that the batter cannot be kept more than 3 days but some said that the batter can be kept for 1 month.  I am not sure what's correct yet.  Then, I saw dosa idly batter is sold in the fridge in the Indian store near me.  I have to give this a test too.
• Keep the batter thick if it is to be stored in the fridge. To make dosas, add water to a consistency of crepe batter.  To make uttapams, the batter needs to be as thick as American pancake batter. See the VahChef's tips on consistency in his Dosa or Dosai video.

I was so happy to see my dosa batter fermented to the rim.  Success!

4)Tips on cooking the dosa:
The one video that I like the most is  the VahChef.  I watched his video:  Dosa or Dosai.  His recipes are located in this site: http://www.vahrehvah.com/  

• VahChef uses a large non-stick pancake griddle.  I like this one and I have a large griddle like that, similar to what he used.  It's Presto Cool Touch Tilt and Drain Griddle  I bought from WalMart for about $40.  This works perfectly for dosas and really great for making a large dosa.  I never cook meat(even soy meat) or eggs on it and only use this griddle for vegan pancakes and dosas.  Or, a tava can be used, too.
• The griddle was heated up to 375F. To test, sprinkle water on it and it should dance and disappear quickly.  This means that it is hot enough.
• I don't use oil on it except after I already spread the dosa batter on it.  I sprinkled oil with a teflon brush just as was done on the video(not brush but sprinkle).  My co-worker told me to never put oil first when pouring dosa batter on a hot griddle or tava.  The batter will slide and will not spread thinly.
• Spread the batter using the back of a ladle or a small glass bowl (as seen in the video) from center outward in circle motions.
• Clean the griddle or tava with a damp paper towel after dosas are made and griddle/tava is cool to the touch.
• At times the griddle or tava may become sticky due to oil that was sprinkled on it while making the dosa.  To get rid of the stickiness, follow this instructions How to fix a Sticky Dosa Tava from ShowMeTheCurry.  It really WORKS!

Recipes I tried successfully are:

Note: The only thing I did different with the recipes of potato masala and chutneys was reducing the amount of vegetable oil I used.  I used only about 1-2 Tbsp. oil. 

Dosa or Dosai from VahChef:  Video and Recipe

Potato Masala from VahChef:  Video and Recipe

Mint Chutney

Mint Chutney from VahChef:  Video and Recipe

Tomato Chutney

Tomato Chutney from VahChef:  Video and Recipe

Coconut Chutney

Coconut Chutney from VahChef:  Video and Recipe

I am so proud that I was able to overcome making dosas at home.  I am still learning and will update this blog in the future when I learn new tricks and tips.

Indian Kale-Cabbage Thoran & Balinese Soy Fish

Continuing my Indian cuisine blog, this one is a South Indian cuisine.  It is a common dish in Kerala (South Indian region).  Thoran is a dry vegetable dish cooked with grated coconut, black mustard seeds, cumin seeds,  turmeric, curry leaves, shallots, chillies, and salt (see my masala dabba).  A thoran dish can have any other combination of vegetables such as spinach, young jackfruit, collard, green beans, etc. cooked with the ingredients or spices I just mentioned.  This time I used the combination of cabbage, kale, and carrots.  I've been told to eat more kale, eat more kale, eat more kale.....so here it is.  This dish is so delicious and nutritious.  It is a good way to cook kale and collard or any other nutritious green vegetable and a good way to get green vegetables into my system.

I found a great way to cook thoran without water at this blog.  I increased and changed the amount of spices since I like them stronger.  It is so EASY and QUICK to make.  The hard work is in cutting up the vegetables.  The kale, cabbage, and carrots need to be cut up thinly (as pictured below).  The hard ingredients to find for most people are the grated fresh coconut and curry leaves.  Unfortunately, they are pertinent to the dish.  Dry unsweetened grated coconut can be used.  I have also seen dry curry leaves being used.   I found the ingredients and spices at a small South Indian market near me.  The small market always has fresh curry leaves (lucky me).  I found the grated coconut in their frozen section.


Thoran ingredients (clockwise from top left):  kale, cabbage, shallots, grated coconut, carrots, red chili, green chili, curry leaves.



Kale and Cabbage Thoran

Serve 4-6

Adapted from Salt and Pepper Cabbage Thoran

Note: try it with any other kind of vegetables

Printable Recipe

Vegetables and spices:

1 bunch kale, about 13-15 stalks, remove the ribs and cut thinly, 1/4 inch thick

     Note: about 4-5 cups cut kale, lightly packed

1/2 medium cabbage, shred or cut thinly, 1/4 inch thick

     Note: about 4-5 cups shredded cabbage, lightly packed

1 cup shredded carrots

1 green chili, slice thinly (or more to add spicyness)

1 red chili, slice thinly

1 cup grated fresh coconut (can use dry unsweetened grated coconut)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp salt

Saute ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped shallots or onions

1/2 tsp black mustard seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric

15 curry leaves

1 tablespoon vegetable or coconut oil

More salt to taste

A large vessel such as a pot or pan with a tight lid.

1. Take out the masala dabba.  Combine the ingredients under Vegetable and spices section above in a very large bowl (such as a large salad bowl).  I use my clean hands to mix them well and distribute the spices and grated coconut among the vegetables.
2. In a very large pot or pan, add oil onto the pan on a medium high heat flame.  When the oil is hot add the black mustard seeds.  Wait until they start to pop and splutter.
   Note: this method in cooking South Indian is important.  It is important to temper the spices in hot oil to bring out the aroma of the spices.
3. Add the shallots or onions, saute for 3 minutes until they are brown.
4. Add curry leaves, saute for 1 minute.
5. Add turmeric powder, mix with the shallots/onions and curry leaves.
6. Add the vegetable and spices mixture (from no.1).  Mix well with the sauted spices.
7. Set a timer for 2 minutes, put on the lid tightly.
8. When the timer goes off, stir the vegetables, set the timer for another 2 minutes, put on the lid tightly again.
9. When the timer goes off again, do no.8  one more time.  Taste for more salt.
10. When the timer goes off again, check if vegetables is done.  Usually it is.   I think 6 minutes are good enough. I don't usually wait until they are completely done because, the vegetables still continue being cooked when they are still hot.  However, if you like them very done, you can add another 2 minutes with another tight lid cooking.  Serve with steamed basmati or brown brown rice.

Now, I also found that Thoran is a great accompanion of a soy fish dish and steamed rice.  Therefore, I present my Balinese Soy Fish recipe below.  The combination of thoran, soy fish dish, and steamed rice is hhmm...hhmm...hhmm....good.

I can get Vegan Fish Steak from my local health food store in the frozen section.  There are a few on-line Asian soy meat suppliers such as VegeKing,  MayWah Veggie World, or Veggie World who sell vegan soy fish steaks.  The vegan fish steak usually looks like the picture below, comes in a box in frozen section:

Balinese Soy Fish is not an Indian dish.  It is an Indonesian dish from the island of Bali.  However, Hindusm is a huge influence in this island.  I suspect that there is an influence of Indian cooking in this island.  Being surrounded by ocean, Balinese eats a lot of fish.  I veganized this dish by using soy fish steaks.

What's good about this dish is that it is sweet, spicy hot, and lemony.  It has the addition of galangal or blue ginger (or lengkuas or laos) which is a spice root like ginger.  This root makes this dish tastes really unique.  I can find fresh galangal at a nearby Asian market.  I usually buy a whole 4-5 inches long and slice them thinly and freeze them, sliced.  When I am ready to use  them I just picked a few slices and defrost them.  It works well this way.  Galangal permiates strong flavor.  A few slices go a long way. 

I understand that it will be hard to find galangal in western hemisphere.  Even if it is omitted, this dish is still delicious.

Kecap manis is also used in this dish.   It is Indonesian sweet soy sauce can be found in Asian market.  We use a lot of kecap manis in our cooking.  For a substitution, combine soy sauce and brown sugar/pam sugar, 1 to 1 ratio.  However, a few spices were added in making kecap manis so it is unique.

Balinese Soy Fish
Serve 4-6
Printable Recipe

6-10 slices vegan soy fish steak (see the above picture), cut into halves
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 medium onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup shallots, finely chopped
1-2 teaspoons Chili Garlic Sauce or Sambal Oelek
         Note: use less for less spicy
2 tablespoons Kecap Manis
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1/2 large lemon)
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon rind (from 1 large lemon)
2-3 slices galangal
water or vegetable broth(1/2 -1 cup)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
canola oil spray

1. Turn oven to 400 F. Spray soy fish with canola oil and layer onto a foiled baking pan.  Bake for 10 minutes, turn them over and bake for another 10 minutes.  This is to brown them with less oil.  Deep frying them in hot oil is also another good way to make them crispy and brown.  However, I prefer the bake method.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a hot wok or frying pan on a medium high heat.  Add garlic and ginger, stir fry for 1-2 minutes until brown and fragrant.
3. Add onions and shallots, stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add chili garlic sauce or sambal oelek, kecap manis, lemon juice, grated lemon rind, and galangal, stir fry and combine for 1 minute.
5. Add baked soy fish slices and 1/2 cup water/broth or just enough to cover the entire fish slices.  Lower the heat to simmer.
6. Let it simmer and combine for 15-20 minutes until the water/broth evaporates.  This dish should have a lot of liquid but enough spices and sambal coats the soy fish slices.  Serve with steamed rice.

Enjoy!

Indian Tofu/Tempeh/Soy Curls Masala

It's time for me to blog about vegan Indian dishes.  I have done some experiments in the last year or two cooking strong-flavor Indian dishes.  I aimed to make them as good as authentic Indian cooking that Indian house wives make at home or Indian chefs cook at restaurants.  This means lots of spices added to the dish. This means 1-2 tablespoons and not just 1 to 2 teaspoons of spices or even less than a teaspoon.  No siree!  This recipe is for those who love spices like me.  I guess this kind of a warning to those who don't really like too much spices. This recipe may not be for you.

I learned cooking Indian dishes from cookbooks and TV shows.  After searching and trying recipes, I discover that I love Bal Arneson's recipes.  She has a TV cooking show called Spice Goddess in the Cooking Channel.   With a name such as Spice Goddess, she really does put a lot of spices in her cooking.  I like that!  Unfortunately, she doesn't cook all vegetarian or vegan meals so I decided to veganize her recipe.  The recipe below is originally for chicken, named Chicken Masala.  However, I substitute the chicken with tofu, tempeh, or soy curls.  I made it several times now and was never disappointed with the result.

I would also like to share about a cute spice dabba or masala dabba I bought.  It comes with a lid and a tiny spoon (1/4 teaspoon measurement).




My Indian Masala Dabba (from left hand corner, clockwise):  coriander, cumin seeds, chili powder, garam masala, amchur power, black mustard seeds, turmeric

   At first I bought it as a novelty but it turned out that I use it every time I cook Indian dishes.  It is so easy just to take the dabba out and spoon out the spices without searching for all my spice bottles.  It is very handy.

Indian cuisine is my husband's favorite cuisine.  I love Indian dishes too but I still prefer Thai or Vietnamese.  We also love Indian classical music and dance.  Last week was an Indian Culture week for us. Not only I cooked Indian vegan dishes, we also had tickets to attend Anoushka Shankar concert at UC Irvine, promoting her new CD, Traveller.  The first time we were introduced to Anoushka was when we watched Concert For George DVDs.  We were so mesmerized by her sitar skills.  When we learned that she will be playing nearby, we bought our tickets months in advance.  It was a FANTASTIC concert!

Indian Tofu/Tempeh/Soy Curls Masala
Serve 4-6
Veganized version of Bal Arneson's recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely minced garlic
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
1 green chili, finely chopped
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
   Note:  I don't like these seeds whole so I crushed them a bit with a rolling pin. 

1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
    Note: fenugreek seeds are pretty strong, a little goes a long way.

1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 to 2.5 cups extra firm tofu or tempeh, cubed  OR 2 cups reconstituted Soy Curls
2 cups chopped  fresh tomatoes
2 cups chopped organic yukon gold potatoes, leave skins intact
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
enough non-salty vegetable broth to cover the entire ingredients (about 2 cups)

Directions

Put oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and chile, and saute for 3 minutes, or until the onions are softened. Add the coriander seeds, garam masala, paprika, turmeric, and salt and toast for 10 seconds and then add the tomato paste. Stir well and then add the cubed tofu or tempeh or soy curls, combined with all the spices thoroughly.  Add the tomatoes, potatoes, cilantro, and vegetable broth and mix well. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover with a lid and let cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked but not mushy. Serve the curry with white or brown rice.  Note: the curry is even better taste the next day when all the spices are absorbed to all the ingredients.

Stay tune for more Indian recipes!

Where is Punjab?

I own Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking Cookbook for a while but really never look at it much nor cook from it. Lately, I had discussions with Bryanna about several Indian cookbooks since I want to cook more Indian dishes. My husband’s favorite cuisine is Indian and as much as I cook other cuisines that’s the cuisine I cook the least. I took this cookbook out from my bookcase and perused it in the last few weeks as bedtime readings. I was interested in this particular one recipe: Punjab Five-Jewel Creamed Lentils (Panch Ratan Dal) because it seems so easy to make.

The author doesn’t really use 5 different lentils and beans but anyone can just add 1 more type of lentil or bean. The word ‘creamed’ can be misleading that this dish contains milk or yogurt but it doesn’t. She also uses the term ‘spice-perfumed butter’ but there is no butter or ghee in the recipe. So, it is completely VEGAN.

It was very easy. I made a few changes in the cooking method and used much less oil to accommodate my low-fat diet. I also made it easier by using my pressure cooker. I did it in a flash! Really! I started cooking at 6 pm and the dish was ready at 6:30 pm, the time my husband arrived home from work (he always comes at the perfect time for dinner).

We both LOVE this dish! It was very filling and satisfying. The spices were so mild that I thought this must be a North Indian dish. It almost taste like an American lentil or bean dish with a bite of cayenne but flavorful. South Indians would use more spices in their dish other than just cumin seeds. We were wondering where is Punjab? Like all techies will do, my husband fired up the laptop and googled it. It was a North Indian District! I guess just like where we are in the US, the Indian people in Northern states eat milder dishes than the people in the Southern states.

My changes are in italics:

PUNJAB FIVE-JEWEL CREAMED LENTILS (PANCH RATAN DAL)
Adapted from Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking
Serve 8

Panch ratan means "five jewels." The classic recipe calls for five varieties of lentils and beans to be combined and flavored with cayenne, cumin, and turmeric. The five seasonings and herbs that always flavor this dal are onion, garlic, ginger, chilies, and coriander. I have omitted the green chilies in this recipe as, together with cayenne, the dal tends to be quite hot. If you like a very hot taste, add 4 chopped green chilies to the recipe. Also, in place of yellow lentils and Indian yellow split peas, I use supermarket-variety yellow split peas, which taste like a cross between the two. Panch ratan dal is delicious and filling. It goes beautifully with brean and rice alike.

For cooking the lentils:1 cup yellow split peas (supermarket-variety)
1/2 cup split white gram beans (urad dal)
1/4 cup split yellow mung beans (moong dal)1/4 cup red lentils (masar dal) I used toor dal or pidgeon peas1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp coarse salt, or to taste I used 1.5 tsp6-8 tbsp light vegetable oil I used 2 tsp
2 medium-size onions, peeled and sliced thin
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp grated or crushed fresh ginger
3 medium-size tomatoes, sliced into 3/4-inch-thick wedges

For the spiced-perfumed butter:
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
2 whole green serrano chilies, chopped3-4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

1. Pick, clean, wash, and cook the lentils(dal), using a pressure cooker with 4 1/2 cup of water and the 1/2 tsp turmeric. Pressure cook for 5 minutes on high and then follow by the quick release method. See notes below for conventional method.
2. Add the salt to the lentils, keep the lentils on a very low simmer while you are preparing the following steps.
3. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring constantly, until they turn light brown(15-18 minutes). Add a bit of water to prevent the onions to stick to the pan.
4. Add the garlic and ginger, and continue cooking for 2 more minutes. Increase the heat to high, add the tomatoes, and fry, turning them carefully and shaking the pan, until they look slightly browned and cooked (about 5 minutes). Add a bit of water if it becomes dry and to prevent the tomatoes to stick to the pan.
5. Pour the entire content of the pan over the dal and gently stir to mix. Continue simmering the dal while you make the spice-perfumed butter.
6. Wipe clean the frying pan and place it on medium-high heat. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of the oil. When it is hot, add the cumin seeds. When the cumin turns dark brown (about 12 seconds), add the green chilies, cayenne and paprika. Immediately pour the entire contents of the pan over the dal, scraping the mixture out with a rubber spatula. Stir a few times, just to streak the dal with the spice-laced butter. Serve sprinkled with paprika and coriander

Notes: The dals can be purchased in any Indian market. To cook conventionally without the pressure cooker, it will take 25-40 minutes before the dals become soft.
Nutrition Facts(with my changes): Nutrition (per serving): 211.0 calories; 8% calories from fat; 2.1g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 447.1mg sodium; 581.5mg potassium; 36.7g carbohydrates; 9.6g fiber; 5.6g sugar; 27.2g net carbs; 13.2g protein; 3.6 points.