Recipe for Brussels Sprouts Dal

In India, dal ( lentils) is cooked in many ways. When cooked for testing with rice, sometimes they are cooked plain, and sometimes they are combined with vegetables and spices. In Germany, where I live, access to some of the vegetables that traditionally pair well with lentils is sometimes not easy, in which case, I try out Indian recipes with locally available ingredients.

One such ingredient is Brussel Sprouts. Come winter; the supermarket shelves get loaded with winter vegetables- Brussels sprouts being one of them. One of these days, while shopping in a nearby supermarket, I decided to buy them and try a couple of recipes.

The first recipe I tried with these was Brussels Sprouts Dal. Here goes the recipe:

Ingredients needed for Brussels Sprouts Dal:

Split Green Gram with skin: 1/2 cup
Brussel Sprouts: Washed and chopped, about 8
Water: 2-3 cups
Turmeric Powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Salt: 1 1/2 teaspoons
Fresh Coriander leaves: finely chopped, for garnishing

Ingredients for spice mix:

Coconut: 1/8 of a big coconut ( 2 tablespoons of grated coconut)
Red Chillies: 2-3
Cumin Seeds: 1 tablespoon
Water: 1/2 cup

Ingredients for tempering:

Ghee: 1 tablespoon
Curry leaves: 6-7
Dry Red Chilies: 2
Asafoetida: 1/4 teaspoon
Cumin Seeds: 1 teaspoon

Method for making Brussel Sprouts Dal:

Wash the lentils. Chop the Brussels sprouts. Combine the two. Add water and cook in a pressure cooker till the lentils become soft.
Make a spice paste by combining coconut, cumin seeds and red chillies and water.
When the lentils are cooked, add turmeric powder and salt.
Add the spice paste and mix. Boil it for 2-3 minutes and take it off the heat.
Prepare a tempering by heating oil and adding all the tempering ingredients to it. Add this tempering to the cooked lentils.
Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve with rice.