Suva Daal With Mixed Lentils

You’ll love this delicious Mixed Lentils and Suva Bhaji Daal with steamed rice or hot phulka roti. Easy to make, yet so comforting.

I love the layered flavour of this suva daal. The medley of lentils (yellow moong, red lentils and split bengal gram), and fresh dill leaves pair really well. The daal is also finished with a generous tempering of sliced garlic – adding even more warmth and complexity.

Daal is a staple for many Indians and it certainly is in our family too! My Mum often makes traditional daal recipes but we always love experimenting with different ingredients too! The idea for using dill here, probably leftover after making dill curry , stems from our garlic moong dal with carrot greens .

This daal comes together in no time at all. For a wholesome meal serve this daal with salad, rice and round and soft gujarati rotlis

More Daal recipes

1. Gujarati Tuver Daal

2. Dhaba style Daal Fry

3. Mash Ki Daal

4. Mixed Daal with Turnip Greens

Suva Daal

Ingredients

• 400 gram mixed lentils yellow moong, red lentils, split bengal gram
• 250 gram dill suva bhaji
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 2-3 green chilli slit
• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1 teaspon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin and coriander
• 1 small tomato chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
• pinch hing

Second tempering (optional)

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 dried red chilli
• 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• pinch red chilli powder

Instructions

• Thoroughly wash the lentils. Soak for half an hour if you can, otherwise use directly in the recipe.
• Add the soaked lentils, water, salt and turmeric powder in a pressure cooker.
• Cook for 3-5 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally.
• Lightly mash cooked daal with the back of the ladle.
• In a heavy bottom pan or kadai heat oil and add cumin seeds.
• Once they splutter, add hing and onion.
• Once onion started getting pink, add garlic and ginger.
• Sauté the mixture for a couple of minutes then add slit green chillies.
• Add chopped tomatoes and cook until reduced, then add the spice powders.
• Once you see oil is separating, add the boiled daal and check the consistency. If it’s too thick add a little water.
• Add salt and bring it to a boil, reduce heat and let it simmer for 10-12 minutes.
• Now add chopped dill leaves and cook further for a couple of minutes.
• Switch off the heat.

Second tempering

• Heat oil is a small pan then add dried red chilli and thinly chopped garlic. Sauté the garlic until lightly brown. Switch off the heat then add a pinch of red chilli powder. Immediately pour over the cooked daal.
• Squeeze over lemon juice and mix well. Serve hot.

Nutrition

PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Suva Daal

Ingredients

• 400 gram mixed lentils yellow moong, red lentils, split bengal gram
• 250 gram dill suva bhaji
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 2-3 green chilli slit
• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1 teaspon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin and coriander
• 1 small tomato chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
• pinch hing

Second tempering (optional)

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 dried red chilli
• 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• pinch red chilli powder

Instructions

• Thoroughly wash the lentils. Soak for half an hour if you can, otherwise use directly in the recipe.
• Add the soaked lentils, water, salt and turmeric powder in a pressure cooker.
• Cook for 3-5 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally.
• Lightly mash cooked daal with the back of the ladle.
• In a heavy bottom pan or kadai heat oil and add cumin seeds.
• Once they splutter, add hing and onion.
• Once onion started getting pink, add garlic and ginger.
• Sauté the mixture for a couple of minutes then add slit green chillies.
• Add chopped tomatoes and cook until reduced, then add the spice powders.
• Once you see oil is separating, add the boiled daal and check the consistency. If it’s too thick add a little water.
• Add salt and bring it to a boil, reduce heat and let it simmer for 10-12 minutes.
• Now add chopped dill leaves and cook further for a couple of minutes.
• Switch off the heat.

Second tempering

• Heat oil is a small pan then add dried red chilli and thinly chopped garlic. Sauté the garlic until lightly brown. Switch off the heat then add a pinch of red chilli powder. Immediately pour over the cooked daal.
• Squeeze over lemon juice and mix well. Serve hot.

Nutrition

PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.

I’m already into August having found myself with no summer plans. After a gruelling year at uni and the last long summer holiday of my life, there was only one thing for it – booking a girls trip away! I am a medical student in my clinical years meaning I now will not get the luxury of many weeks off but just a fortnight. With some hasty last minute decisions, I and my friends landed on Barcelona and got to work planning our 3 days there.

I hadn’t really considered Spain as a holiday destination much before even though it is an absolute tourist hotspot. I heard from a lot of friends that they had booked flights to Barcelona and now that I have been there, it is easy to understand why. Barcelona is the perfect cocktail of rustic old charm and young cosmopolitan vibes. With lashings of Sangria thrown in.

Day 1:

We flew in from London Luton to Barcelona – El prat on a 7 am flight. Neither of us was getting much beauty rest.

Upon landing at BCN airport, we bought 3-day (72hr) travel passes called Hola BCN. They could be used on unlimited on the metro, bus and other Barcelona public transport. The pass could also be used to get from the airport to the city via the metro. We took the L9 then changed over to the L5 to get to our accommodation 5 minutes from the Sagrada Familia .

After dumping our luggage (always overpacked as girls) in our room, we were free to begin exploring the city! We were mere seconds away from the Hospital de Sant Pau i de la Santa Creu, a 15th-century building that used to serve as a hospital and now as a museum and cultural centre.

There was no chance I was going to Spain without sampling the menu, so it was time to get some Patatas Bravas! Just from being outside for an hour or so was enough to experience the laid back attitude in Barcelona. I was enticed by the tables and tables of people enjoying tapas with a drink filling the streets. It’s the kind of scene that is so hard to find back home in London.

Now our next stop I was very excited about. We were going to visit the world famous Sagrada Familia. We bought tickets to the Sagrada Familia online in advance to save us from the long queues – I didn’t want to take the risk of waiting around. If I thought the outside was spectacular, then I was in for a real treat once we made our way inside!

Colours danced through the stained glass windows and added to the allure of the interior. If I had my way, I could have sat here for hours, gazing at the intricate detail of the architecture. I was surprised to know that construction to the Sagrada Familia has been going on for over 100 years and is set to end in 2026. (An excuse to go visit again?) Even though it was packed with people, it still had a calming quality.

Even though we were pretty jet lagged, we pushed on and made our way into the town centre by bus. I think the bus was one of the best ways to get around, we got where we wanted to be quicker than by foot but could still see all of the sights!

We spent the rest of the evening walking along Las Ramblas , a vibrant promenade in the centre of Barcelona. I just couldn’t get enough of the beautiful buildings, I took picture after picture … it’s times like this where having loads of memory cards to hand helps! The evening sun shone through the trees and cast gorgeous lights and shadows over each unique building. I fell in love with the balconies and couldn’t help myself but stop and look – sorry to anyone behind me who had to put up with me stopping every couple of meters!

We ventured into La Boqueria market which was an experience all in itself! It couldn’t be more packed but it made the market all the better. We were overwhelmed with stalls selling fresh fruit, juices, meats. Wherever you looked was FOOD. So naturally, I had to buy something. I got myself an avocado and coconut juice to cool down and recharge from all of the walking. I also managed to get some pictures. Obviously.

We walked around the town and squares late into the evening and finally found a spot to grab some dinner.

Day 2:

I ate my first paella in Placa Reial – a picturesque square lined with eateries just off Las Ramblas. Edit – I just had to try making it at home and eventually tried this Vegetable Paella with Halloumi

We decided then to take the metro to Placa d’Espanya which was within easy reach from Las Ramblas. I didn’t know what to expect from this place but I was not at all disappointed. Far away from the centre, Espanya had a completely different feel. Just by walking up from the steps off the metro, we could see the Venetian Towers and the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC).

We stopped to get drinks at the station. One glance at the menu and I knew what I was going to get. Horchata ! One stop on the metro took us to the funicular for Montjuic where we could get on the Montjuic cable car to get panoramic views of Barcelona and the port. We took the cable car up one way and took a short leisurely walk back down again. Seeing Barcelona from a height really helped give perspective on what we were seeing down on the ground. The Sagrada Familia stood out firmly.

I had a really nice vegan dinner and then we had the evening free to head towards Barceloneta for the famous Barcelona nightlife! This was a girls trip after all and a chance to make use of my over flowing wardrobe back home!

Day 3:

Day 3 began with a bus journey to Park Guell, a public park designed by Gaudi. It was simply beautiful. The clear blue sky contrasted seamlessly with the bright colours in the park. It was a hot day and we were tiring from our trip but that didn’t stop us marvelling at the artistry at hand.

As we took the bus back to the centre, we passed Passeig de Gracia – Barcelona’s high-end shopping street. My mouth watered looking at the pristine succession of shops that I wished I had more time to visit. One day I will return with an intention to spend, spend, spend.

One of my friends suggested that we visit El Born for lunch. We left the hustle and bustle of tourist traffic behind and entered a calm oasis. Narrow winding streets, rows of tapas bars and men playing Spanish music in the squares all added to the charm of El Born. My eyes were constantly wandering into the shop windows as I looked for props to bring back as gifts – I am a blogger’s daughter after all!

With plenty of time until our late evening flight, we walked to the Arc de Triomf (where a jumping photo is a given) then relaxed in the park next to it. We couldn’t have asked for better weather as our trip began to draw to a close.

Next, we meandered our way to Barceloneta beach, ice creams in hand. Normally, when I see pictures of crowded beaches, it really puts me off! But walking along the promenade and simply soaking in the atmosphere was enough! Spending some time at the beach rounded this vacay off in style.

Sadly, it was time to make our way back to the Airport to head home. But our love of the city lives on in the memories that we made… and the hundreds of pictures that we took!

Ad é u Barcelona!

As I was adding the final pieces to this post, I heard the devastating news of the attacks in Barcelona on the 17th of August. I am shocked and saddened to hear that this has happened to such a beautiful city that is so full of life and energy. Barcelona is in our thoughts.