Dal Shorba - Yellow Lentil Soup

This is a very simple yellow lentil soup with moong/mung dal. Soft dal, a touch of tartness of lime juice, fresh coriander and fried cumin seed - delicious! It's a great comfort food and just the sunny colour of this soup alone will cheer you up and leave you feeling recharged. Dal is also very healthy for you as it is a perfect protein source.

We will need:

1/2 cup of yellow lentils -- moong/mung dal
4-5 cups of water
1 medium size onion chopped
2-3 garlic cloves chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
~1 in. ginger piece chopped
1-2 green chilies sliced (adjust according to taste)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1-2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp lime/lemon juice
salt to taste
oil for cooking
fresh coriander for garnishing

1. In a pot with a thick bottom, heat some oil and fry the onions until they are soft. Next, add the garlic and ginger and fry stirring for another couple of minutes. Finally, add turmeric powder and mix it in well.

2. Add moong dal and water. It might seems at first that there is too much water or too little dal, but the water will both evaporate and get absorbed by dal. You might need to add a little more water while cooking. Bring it to a boil, add green chilies and salt to taste, reduce the flame and let it simmer until dal becomes very soft (~45 minutes). Stir it once in a while as it might start burning at the bottom and check if there is enough water left.

4. When dal is done, heat some butter in a small pan - it should be very hot, but don't let it burn. Add cumin seeds and fry them till they bubble up. That will take only a moment. Add butter and fried cumin to the soup, sprinkle lime juice and mix it well.

5. Just before serving, garnish with fresh cut coriander.

Enjoy!

A tip: if you don't like spicy food, but still want some kick, slice a green chili in half and remove all the seeds. After the soup is done, remove the chili halves from the pot.