Hadn't I have stepped into one Mustafa Centre ever in life, I would not have known India & a part of it's neighbours eat so many varieties of lentils, beans! May be the Burrabazaar Area provision stores in Kolkata stock them all but since 1976, we live in the middle class Bengali neighbourhoods where there would be rajma, kabuli chana, kala chana; not hare chana or red lentil skin on! Each time I visit, I wish to buy a couple of those varieties of the lentils & beans; also the different varieties of gluten-free flours; say an expensive teff flour? Then, I hate to waste; when to cook so many varieties and for whom; that minimal eater? He irritates me, "tui amar guinea pig hobina, blog takey dar korate ektu technically help korli na, kono interest nei tor amai ektu social media te famous kortey". To all my complaints, he has one answer not to drag him much there. I think a little bit of mentions make the family happy; whatever they say! That I do & also cook bean curries that we prefer with different breads! Like our father & his mother; T wants lentil curries / dal occasionally, not everyday! All of them love "tok dal" / sour lentil curry! I must have dal if I am having a rice meal; my gluten-allergic son was heavily dependant on lentil curries at one point in time; also I did not much believe in the tinned food for him. Until last year, rice meal came with a dal for him too! Dal Curries matter in the family!
WHAT DO I DO ALL DAY? I THINK, PLAN, COOK & SAVOUR FOOD!
Since Diwali, I am just not under control! I do not know why I am eating so much of carb! Malpoa kills and in the past one week, I had perhaps 20-25 of them! Am I getting bored with nothing much to do all day? Am I missing the son way too much? I am very curious about how much he has changed after living alone far off for over a year. Would he still say, "mumma tokey merey dui tukro korey debo beshi katha bolbi to! Kicchu janish na, kicchu parish na!" Lets see what he does when we meet! In all these excitement, I am unable to plan how to treat him or what he would wish mumma to cook for him; if he has changed and would be chatting a lot with us! Let us see when we get to meet; I am definitely to feed him Bengali platters! Today, I had been happily busy cooking for a client! Sitting idle is not what I look forward to; I am wanting to earn at a time when many a factors are not congenial to my wish; the first barrier is an unconfident self! I am a confident cook but to train myself taking up various courses is again not my thing! Better I share a lentil soup recipe for you, I cook it good & it does not require much of a skill!
WHAT IS THIS PALONG ER DAL?
Palong Shaak is spinach green! Leafy Greens are a must cook in our family, in my kitchen too! I totally love; the rest eat! The son creates a lot of trouble eating leafy greens ever since he turned a teen; may be because I fed him a lot as a child! The daddy used to love the palong variety a lot! The child did not refuse the way the brother refused egg! Egg did not suit him; he puked and the mother kept forcing! A life without eggs is not an issue! My side of the family now eats egg but we are not so egg prone except for Bidisha!In the man's side, his sister dislikes egg! Spinach Dal is very common in the Indian Sub-continent, if not so much in our Bengal! We used to have "PALONG ER DAL"; not "Dal Palak" in the winters! I do not always cook it the famous Dal Palak way but from my mind! I do have a combined recipe of Dal Palak & dried Bombay Duck in the blog! I prefer complete freedom while cooking; not always willing to follow ditto a recipe! Here is how I did my version of spinach dal this time using the regular kitchen spices; it is protein rich, vegan & gluten-free!
Here are few similar recipes from the blog :
SHOJNEDATA TETUL DIYE MUSHURIR DAL
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