Whole Green Moong Tadka

This dal is very popular with a community I used to visit very often. It is one of those dals which was made at home to lift our moods. Even though it looks and tastes no lesser than a heavy party dal, it is relatively much gentler on the stomach and also very nutritious. So, here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup whole green moong daal(washed and cleaned,no need to soak)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, sliced
4 tbsp ginger-garlic(fresh,pounded)
4-5 green chillies- sliced
1 tsp tomato paste(optional-gives good colour, even sauce or puree would work)
1/4th cup coriander leaves
1/2 tsp chili pd
1/2 tsp haldi
salt to taste

For the Tarka:2 tbsp ghee
a pinch hing
1 bay leaf,
1"cinnamon stick
2-3 cloves
2 whole red chillies
1 tsp jeera


Method:
1 In a pressure cooker, heat the ghee and make a tadka adding all the ingredients above in the order mentioned.

2 Then add the onions(cook for a while), green chillies,ginger-garlic(do not cook the garlic and ginger for long)..tomatoes(chopped)add the salt and haldi.

3 When the tomatoes are cooked add the tomato paste, chilli pd and the dal,stir for a few minutes. Add the coriander leaves and 4(approx) cups of water.

4 Give 2 whistles on high flame and cook on a low flame for 40 mins..allow the pressure to drop on its own.

This daal is supposed to be thickish but you may want to adjust the thickness and the seasoning.

Enjoy with rice or roti.