Ogarnay Huli | Seasoned Dal

Sometimes I surprise myself!! If you have been following this blog from April 1st, you would have known that a group of food bloggers are doing a Mega marathon named - Journey Through The Cuisines,where I am doing an A-Z recipe posts through the cuisine of Karnataka.

Today we are on day #15 and I am surprised that I have posted all through a-o!! Though I had the list ready and a few posts in the drafts, I was not sure I would pull through, but I have!! Yay!!

So, today's post is a family favorite, the one I learnt from mom. While telling me about this dish mom mentioned that both my paternal and maternal grandmothers would make this dish. It was an added bonus!!

Ogarnay is seasoned/ seasoning and huli is a dal gravy. It does not make use of onion, garlic , tomatoes or any other vegetables and not even sambar powder! Yes, you read it right! No tomatoes / sambar powder!!

This dish is so easy to make and is equally delicious. It comes in handy when you need a quick side for steamed rice or on days when there is not even a single tomato / single piece of vegetable in the fridge!!

I used:

Thogiri Bele / Toor dal- 1/2 cup
Hunise hannu / Tamarind- a small lemon sized ball
Uppu / Salt- to taste
Arisin Pudi / Turmeric powder - a pinch

Ogarnay / seasoning:

Sasve / mustard seeds- 1/2 teaspoons
Menthya / Fenugreek seeds- 1/8 teaspoon
Karibevu / Curry leaves- a few
Ona Menisinkaye / Red chilies- 3
Yennay / Oil- 1 tablespoon

Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup of hot water. When it is cool enough to handle, extract the juice and keep aside.

Wash the dal and pressure cook it with 1 1/2 cups of water. When the pressure releases, remove the vessel from the cooker and mash the dal well. You can use the traditional wooden churner / Maththu or a whisk.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard, fenugreek seeds,chilies curry leaves. When the mustard splutters, add the tamarind extract and salt. Bring to boil.When the tamarind extract reduces in volume, add the cooked dal along with the water used to cook it.

If the dal is too thick, add a little water.Put in turmeric powder.Mix well and let it come to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and transfer onto a serving dish.

Serve with steamed rice and some crispies.

Note:

The red chilies are the only things that imparts spiciness.So add a little more than you would normally add. Else the dal will be too bland.
The dal should be on the watery side but not too thin. When mixed with rice, it should look like what it is in the pic below.