Dalitoy

Dalitoy is a simple comforting dal dish and a staple dish of the Gowd Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) Konkani speaking community in India.  Make sure to use toor dal in the recipe, it is really crucial to the flavour. This dal recipe doesn't contain garlic or ginger, and no strong spices are used, meaning that you can really taste the dal. Just a simple temper of mustard seeds, curry leaves and dried red chillies are added. I sometimes like adding some cumin seeds for a slight aromatic flavour, but this is not traditional. It pairs really well with a plateful of rice and of course you can have it with a side dish like tendle talasani! 

Ingredients
For the dal
1/2 cup toor dal 
1 1/2 cups water 
1 tsp salt 
1 green chilli, finely diced 
Chopped fresh coriander

For the temper 
1 tsp mustard seeds 
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (optional)
Small handful curry leaves 
2 dried red chillies
Coconut oil 

Method

• Rinse the toor dal under cold running water, then transfer to a pressure cooker along with the 1 1/2 cups water, salt and green chilli. 
  
  
• Pressure cooker for 5 whistles until the toor dal is soft. Alternatively you can cook the toor dal on the hob. For this, use a large saucepan with 3 cups water instead. Cook on a medium heat for around 45 minutes until soft and mashable. 
  
  
• Once the dal is cooked, mash and mix well until smooth. Top up with another 1/2 cup water until a nice soupy consistency. Keep the dal on a medium heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. 
  
  
• Next, make the temper. Add a little coconut oil to a small pan. Let the oil heat up and add the mustard and cumin seeds (if using). Let them crackle and then add the dried chillies. Finally add the curry leaves and let them splutter. Pour the temper straight into the simmering dal and mix well. 
  
  
• Finally, stir in the chopped coriander and serve with fluffy rice.