Dal With Spring Onions/ Lentils And Green Shallots

          Spring Onions/ Green Shallots/ Vengaya Thaal, till some time back, I had used this vegetable only in Chinese dishes, I'll buy a bunch, use a little for a fried rice or noodles and the rest, most of the time, will end up in the trash can. But of late, I have started using it in other dishes, today's dal being one of them. The spring onions give such a nice flavor to this dal, very easy to make and makes a nice side dish for both rice and rotis..

Need To Have

• Lentils/ Dal - 1/2 cup ( a mix of tuvar dal, chana dal and moong dal )
• Spring Onions - 11/2 cup, chopped
• Tomato - 1, chopped
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 2 teaspoons
• Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

Tuvar Dal - Split Pigeon Peas
Chana Dal - Bengal Gram, Split Chickpeas
Moong Dal - Husked, Split Green Gram

Method

          Pressure cook the dal/ lentils with the turmeric powder and water. Heat some oil, add the cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds, when it starts sizzling, add the asafoetida, followed by the spring onions. Saute it well till you get a nice aroma.

          Now add the red chilly powder, coriander powder, tomatoes and salt, keep sauteing till the tomatoes turn mushy ( if it sticks to the pan, sprinkle some water ). Now add about a cup of water, bring it to a boil and let it simmer for sbout 5 minutes on reduced heat. Serve it, garnished with the green part of the spring onions.

Note
If you don't have a pressure cooker, soak the lentils for an hour and cook it in a regular pot.
You can also add some chopped garlic, but I wanted this dal to just have the unique flavor of the spring onions.