Monday was Ganesh Chaturthi and as usual I made traditional modak or the sweet dumplings filled with coconut and jaggery as an offering or neividhyam to the Lord. I had about 2 tbsp of the filling left over and was wondering what I should do with it when I thought of incorporating it into a dal. I know Maharastrians do something similar with the filling of puran poli, so I took a leaf out of their book.

Fret not if you haven’t made modak the day you want to make this dal, all you need to do is just add coconut and jaggery to the dal and you get a lipsmacking tangy, yet sweet dal to eat with your rice and rotis.

Tangy and Sweet Chana Dal

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chana dal
• 1 small piece of tamarind, soaked in hot water for 20-30 minutes
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/8 tsp asafoetida
• 4-5 curry leaves
• 1 tsp crushed green chillies or geeen chilli paste
• 1-2 tbsp modak filling
• I tbsp grated coconut, roasted (if not using the stuffing)
• 1 tbsp grated jaggery (if not using the stuffing)
• Salt to taste
• Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

• Wash the chana dal and cook it either in the pressure cooker or on the stovetop till it is completely cooked and starts to lose its shape. Remove when cool and whisk it to a fine paste. Keep aside.
• Mix and strain the tamarind pulp and get the juice. Keep aside.
• Heat oil in a largish pan and when it starts to warm up, add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Then add the cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida and stir for a couple of seconds.
• Then add the green chilli paste and stir for a few seconds. Now add the whisked chana dal and stir well. Add the tamarind juice slowly and taste test for the level of sourness you want. Season with salt.
• Thin the dal with water to your preference and let it come to a boil. When the dal comes to a rolling boil, add the modak filling and stir well.
• If you don’t have the modak filling, just add 2 tbsp roasted coconut plus the jaggery and continue boiling the dal.
• Finely chop the coriander leaves and garnish the dal. Serve hot with any Indian bread or rice.