Memories Of A Special Soup
“Today I bring you a special soup from my childhood, Its name is “ Maa Ke Daal”. I use to love this soup a lot for many reasons, one being this was the only soup my grandmother use to make and every time she uses to make it, it felt as if am trying it for the first time. As it always made me fall in love with that soup”
The soup am talking about today is a family recipe of my grandmother, it quite unique on its own, as it looks and tastes very different from the classic recipe with goes by this same name. At home, we never use to call it by the original name as for us soup just mean this. As a kid with a lot of curiosity, I always use to ask my grandmother, how she makes a soup so delicious.
It was not just about the taste but was also quite filling and high in protein, if you have it, you won’t feel hungry for rest of the day “ As my grandmother use to say”
Recipe for the soup
Ingredients
1kg of black urad dal
100g of red kidney beans
100 g of butter
1.2kg of tomato puree
20gm of chopped garlic
25 gm of ginger garlic paste
Kashmir chili powder 25 gm
Salt according to taste
Fresh cream
Kasuri methi
Method:-
1.Soak the dal overnight
2.And cook the next day until they are cooked 80%
3.The next day
In a pot, heat the butter, saute chopped garlic, ginger garlic paste until the raw smell goes away.
4.Then add the Kashmiri red chili powder, tomato puree, and stir until the oil surfaces on the top about 20min.
5.Now add the boiled dal and cook until reduced by half nearly 4hrs by turning in at regular intervals
6.We used to finish off the order by adding ghee, butter, Kasuri-methi, fresh cream, and salt.
This recipe I learned later from my mom when I was 16yrs old. By that time my grandmother passed away and she gives this recipe to my mother. I wish I could learn it directly from her but unfortunately, I was too young then to even consider learning it then.
When it comes to sensory evolution, soup has a heavy thick, and creamy mouthfeel to it. Since it's made with lentils as it has a mild sticky mouthfeel to it too and garlic gives it that umami flavor to die for. The cream and butter adds richness and balance to the soup and cuts the sourness from the tomato.
I gave it to my friends to try and everybody just loved it. It's one of those soups whichever one will love and along with when you add the vegetarian aspects it's a must-try dish I believe.
Getting the taste of this soup exactly as my grandmother's was a bit of a challenge. It was a great success to see that lentils cooked really well they were soft and mushy. The only difference I would make is to reduce the amount of butter and cream, as today’s world is more about light and healthy foods.
The biggest experience I would like to take from this experience is learning even the smallest aspect of cooking and adding spices and the timings of each of them and the crucial role’s it plays in improving and enhancing the taste of the dish. I learned a lot from this particular recipe, as it teaches you the importance of old and time taking cuisine. And how patience brings the best out of a dish, which is something I will try to adapt and include in my future endeavors.