“What would you like for breakfast?” – Ami Ji (my mother in law) would ask me before I go to sleep each night “Masoor ki Daal, with Lehsan ka Tarka” is often my answer. Masoor daal (lentils) slowly cooked with onion, tomatoes, garlic and Ami Ji secret masala is utterly delicious. I had no idea what she put in. I could never replicate the taste. Perhaps because she slowly cooked the daal for hours, or perhaps because she cooks with so much love.
She starts by adding cold water into a pot of pre washed and pre soaked lentils then she would cook the daal for at least an hour or two, until the daal is soft and velvety, lucious and most green. Ami ji would scatter freshly chopped coriander and green chillies, emerald and jade green garnish adorning this humble dish. I promised myself that I would note the recipe from her during this trip to Pakistan, not wanting to lose the precious family recipe. Perhaps because I missed my own mother’s cooking, perhaps because I have previously missed the opportunity to document my mother favorite recipes, dishes from my own childhood. I want to be able to prepare the family’s recipe for my own ‘would be children’. I would say to my children “this is your Dadi Ami (paternal grand mother) secret recipe”. I want them to know their roots, know where the family came from, and love the culture the way I do. I would prepare a feast of Pakistani dishes each day, prepared with love just like Ami Ji.
Ami ji prepares meal daily for her family. She would be the first to get up and the last one to go to bed everyday. She spends most of her time in the kitchen. On my first day in Pakistan, I wondered if she will ever emerge out of the kitchen. Her kitchen is small. Muffled window at the end, covered with drapes of crimson coloured curtain. She would tie the curtain with a tasled rope, golden in color. From this window she would watch the passer by, keeping her connection with the outside world while being protected by the walls of the family home. When i get up in the morning, i would enter the kitchen and i would see Ami ji standing next to the stove, with a pot of doodh patti (milky tea) bubbling away. “clink …. clink…. clink …..” stir and stir she goes. Her wrist moves in a circling motion until the doodh patti had become syrupy, dark – almost reddish brown elixir.
Ami ji puts some freshly made ghee into a frying pan. She made the ghee herself at home using the fresh cream from the buffalo milk. She chops some garlic and let it fry in ghee until golden brown, almost bronze. filling the kitchen with perfume of fried garlic, a guaranteed potent wake up call even to the laziest bed head. She then add a big dollop of cooked dal, followed by another dollop. The frying pan would sizzles, promising a delicious plate of Masoor Daal in the end.
She would send my brother in law – Umer to buy some fresh Naan – straight from the local tandoor – a pilowy, soft and thick rounded flat bread. She would send along a tea towel to cover the naan. The baker would pack the naan into a nicely folded parcel, a bundle filled with warm breads for Umer to take home. We would wait hungrily.
When Umer arrives, Ami Ji would then divide the naan. Each person receive a tea towel each, with a fluffy, golden naan bread, dotted with sesame seeds inside. “it keeps the naan warm and moist” Ami ji would say. I tear a pice of naan, then scoop up some masoor daal with it. Soft, velvety daal infused with garlic oil with just right amount of spices perfectly enjoyed with a cup of doodh patti. With each bite, each mouthful, each sip, i tried to store each memory. Where else can one enjoy such simple luxury? Fresh buffalo milk delivered daily, bread freshly baked, still warm each time, lentils from our own land in the village, the garlic grown organically from our back yard in the village and most importantly, all the family member are here. It has been 4 years since my Husband’s last visit. All the brothers have grown taller, from boys to men they have become. We may never get to experience this ever again. Travel experience perhaps will never get better than this.
Recipe
Ami Ji Masoor Ki Daal with Lehsan Ka Tarka
Ingredients:
2 cups of Sabut Masoor Daal ( black lentis )
6 cups of water
5 cloves of garlic, crushed in mortar and pestle
2 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of red chily powder
1/2 teaspon of turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Method:
Boil all the ingredients together until the daal are soft, creamy, velvety thick
Pour the tarka and cook for further 20 minutes on a low flame
Then finally, add Lehsan Ka Tarka before serving
Tarka recipe
4 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 small onion, finely chopped
5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 knob of ginger, grated
2 shallot, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon of garam masala
2 roughly chopped green chillies
1 teaspoon red chily powder
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
Fry all ingredients on a low flame, adding water as necessary to prevent the spices from burning.
Cook on low heat after adding water for few minutes then pour the tarka on top of the daal.
Stir through
Lehsan Ka Tarka recipe
2 tablespoons of ghee
5 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
Fried garlic until golden brown
Garnish with green herbs like coriander or chopped green onion
