Beetroot Chana Masala

Ingredients

• chana dal (soaked for over 4 hours or longer until it becomes soft)

• beetroot, cut into medium-sized pcs

Spices for seasoning:

• 1 tsp sesame seeds

• 1 tspdal seasoning

• 1/2 tsp split chana dal

• 1/2 tsp split urad dal

• 3 tsp oil

• a few curry leaves

• 3-6 chillies (red or green)

Method

Heat the oil. After it’s sufficiently hot, throw the sesame seeds into it. They should start splitting in under 30 seconds. If they take longer, you’ve not heated the oil sufficiently.

Then add urad dal. Wait until it changes colour to light brown.

Then put chana dal and dal seasoning. Let it change to yellow/gold. If you over-fry, it will turn black. Then add chillies. See that it is sufficiently heated and loses colour. Lastly, add curry leaves. Don’t let them burn and turn black.

At this stage put the beetroot pieces and soaked chana dal into the cooking vessel in which the seasoning is ready. Close the vessel and let it cook. Turn the contents once every 2 minutes or so, so that the seasoning is evenly spread over. Add a bit of water if the beetroot is hard. But try to avoid water as it will lessen the original taste of the vegetable.

After the vegetable and chana are cooked sufficiently (you can check by cutting a piece of beetroot with a spoon. If it’s soft enough it will easily break. Try to crush the chana. It shouldn’t become paste nor should it be hard).

Put in a little bit of turmeric powder, stir it and turn the vegetable and chana well so that the turmeric spreads evenly over.

Lastly add some salt. Again stir the entire thing well, repeatedly. All this while keeping the fire on low flame. After adding salt, keep the vessel shut and then turn the flame to simmer or on low.

Transfer to a serving dish after about 5 minutes on low fire.