Musuro ko Dal

Nepal's everyday thin red lentil dal, simmered with turmeric and finished with a jhaneko of ghee, jimbu, cumin, and garlic, poured over rice

Origin: Kathmandu & the Nepal Himalaya

From the journey of Lentils.

Musuro ko dal is split red lentil dal, masoor, and it is the commonest dal in Nepal: quick to cook, light, and turned from coral to gold as it simmers. It is the dal most often poured over rice in dal bhat, the meal of rice and dal that most of the country eats twice a day, and Jyoti Pathak gives it as a standard everyday recipe in Food and Flavours from Nepal. Nepali dal is thinner than most Indian dal, made to be poured over rice and mixed by hand, and it takes its character from the tempering added at the end, the jhaneko. In much of the hills that tempering is cumin and garlic in ghee, and in the Himalayan north it is jimbu, the dried leaves of a wild Himalayan allium gathered in Mustang and Dolpo, which gives the dal an onion-and-garlic fragrance of its own and is one of the flavours that most clearly separates a Nepali dal from an Indian one. Nepal cooks several pulses in the same role. Black gram, maas or kalo dal, and split mung are also poured over rice, and households mix them, but for speed and everyday comfort musuro is the one most kitchens reach for.

Ingredients

Dal

  • 200 g split red lentils (musuro)
  • 1.2 litres water
  • 0.5 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 piece fresh ginger, 2 cm, grated
  • 1 tsp salt

Jhaneko

  • 2 tbsp ghee
  • 1 tsp jimbu, or 0.5 tsp cumin seeds
  • 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 whole dried red chillies
  • 0.25 tsp timur (Nepali Sichuan pepper), crushed (optional)

To Serve

  • 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Method

  1. Rinse the lentils until the water runs clear.
  2. Simmer the lentils in the water with the turmeric and ginger, skimming off the foam, for 20 minutes, until completely soft. Whisk to break them down, add the salt, and keep the dal thin.
  3. Heat the ghee in a small pan, add the jimbu or cumin, then the garlic and chillies, and fry until the garlic is golden. Add the timur, if using, for the last few seconds.
  4. Pour the jhaneko into the dal and cover at once for a minute to trap the aroma.
  5. Scatter with coriander and serve with plain rice, vegetable tarkari, and pickle.

Notes

Jimbu is sold dried in Nepali grocers. Cumin is the everyday substitute, but it gives a different dal. The dal thickens as it stands; loosen with boiling water before serving.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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