It wasn't just my mother's daal - I couldn't eat daal at any Bengali person's home, because it always tasted bland, boring, and beany. When I moved out on my own, daal quickly became the #1 thing to cook because it was easy and nutritious, and I found ways to make it edible. I used to get offended when I made elaborate dinners and my guests complemented my daal more than the other dishes that took a lot more time. But now I just take it as a compliment."

Here is one quick and easy version of the daal which even Bengalis might enjoy!

1 cup masoor dal
11/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon turmeric
11/2 tablespoon oil
3/4 teaspoon panch phoron
1 medium onion, very thinly sliced
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
a handful of chopped cilantro

Optional: 2 cloves crushed garlic, dried chillies, tamarind pulp dissolved in hot water

Wash the dal until water runs clear. (Or soak dal for a few hours or overnight. Discard the water before boiling)

Place dal, a half gallon of water, salt, and turmeric in a saucepan and bring to boil over low to medium heat. Stir every once in a while and lower heat if it starts to spill over. Keep adding water as needed. Boil until the dal has completely dissolved into the water.

In a large pan, heat the oil until very hot and then add panch phoron and dried chillies if using. Once the panch foron starts to pop, add the onions and the garlic if using. Stir around until the onions are very soft.

Add the boiled dal to the pan with the onions and stir. Add tomatoes, zucchini, and dissolved tamarind pulp (if using) to the dal. Keep boiling over medium heat until the vegetables are cooked, adding salt or water as needed. When vegetables are cooked, remove from heat and add the cilantro. 

Munia is a Bangladeshi dyke who works in preventing and surviving family violence and hate. She has also been a co-chair of Trikone. Eating and cooking are two of her passions and she believes the end product can be exquisite only when the act of cooking is imbued with love. 

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