Tomatillo Dal

The other day, I bought a few tomatillos for making some salsa, but then decided to go with something closer to home- a dal.

I grew up on simply fabulous Indian food and this fruit was not something I had ever seen or even heard of before. It continued to remain unfamiliar to me even after I came here. I remember seeing tomatillos in the produce section of my grocery store here and always thinking of them as green, unripe tomatoes. Thanks to blogging, I know a lot more these days and am also less afraid to experiment.

This is how I “Indianized” the tomatillos.

Ingredients:
2 medium tomatillos, husks removed, washed well and cubed
4 shallots, chopped
¾ cup toor dal (cooked)

To grind to a paste:
3 Tbsp coconut
3-4 cloves garlic
½ tsp cumin seeds
6 green chillies

For seasoning:
1 Tbsp oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp urad dal/split pigeon peas
½ tsp chana dal/split chickpeas
½ tsp methi/fenugreek seeds
A pinch of asafoetida
4-5 curry leaves
Salt to taste.

Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add the ingredients for the seasoning.

Add the shallots and cook till translucent.

Add the cubed tomatillo pieces and cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the pieces turn soft.

Mix the ground paste along with the cooked mixture and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Now add the cooked dal along with the desired amounts of water (depending on the consistency desired). Bring to a boil and turn off the heat.

Serve hot with rice.

This turned out to be a very good, spicy and tangy dal. The tomatillos make a very nice addition and lend a very tart, almost lemony flavor to the dal.


Another tomatillo recipe on my blog:
Tomatillo Chutney