More than just Dal
Apoorva Sripathi's quick and easy sundals using green lentils and chickpeas, plus a refreshing roasted peach and rosewater lassi.
Good morning, and welcome to Vittles! Today, Apoorva Sripathi brings us two recipes for quick sundals - flavourful, fun snacks made from legumes, pulses and whatever seasons you have lying around. Plus a new take on sweet lassis - this one is made with in-season peaches.
Here are also some other quick, delicious South-Asian recipes:
Diya Mukherjee’s recipe for Hash brown chaat; A regional snack set from chef Thomas Zacharias; a Cape Town dish of pickled fish on hot cross buns, and three toastie recipes for when you want something between a meal and a snack.
More than just dal
Across South Asia, there are myriad uses for lentils and pulses beyond dal, khichdi, stews, and soups. My favourite is sundal, a South Indian dish. Sundal is both salad and stir-fry, in which cooked lentils or other legumes are dressed up with a crunchy tempering of spices and coconut in hot oil. It’s eaten at home and as street food (and is also prepared during festivals), and can be served either hot or at room temperature. I grew up eating sundal as an after-school snack, sometimes instead of crisps, but also sometimes with them, using the wide base of a chilli-dusted crisp to scoop up pale plump chickpeas and transport them to my mouth.
Across the UK and the Western world, lentils, and pulses have been maligned as unworthy or unglamorous. Yet now in the age of gains and Bold Bean Co supremacy, they have been elevated to the mainstream, as a healthy, natural source of protein and fibre. Yet, legumes are more than a collection of virtues. They are classic, understated ingredients that transform into dishes involving texture and savouriness that, crucially, can be whipped up quickly as a break from daily routine.
Here I’m sharing recipes for two of my favourite sundals, which are great as a quick working lunch or snacks to serve when you have friends over (both are also vegan). The first pairs green lentils with charred corn and is flavoured with tempered mustard seeds and fresh curry leaves. The other is a variation on the popular thenga maanga pattani sundal served with coconut and raw mango on beaches in Chennai, in which I use cooked chickpeas instead of the traditional dried peas. I’m also sharing a recipe for a roasted peach and rosewater lassi. Refreshing and delicately perfumed like a heaving midsummer night, this lassi pairs beautifully with sundals.
All three recipes can be easily adapted. In the lassi, you could substitute the peach with a sweet Alphonso or Kesar mango (depending on the season), or use tinned mango pulp instead. In both sundals, meanwhile, you can use dried or canned lentils, or swap them for a bean of your choice. Sometimes even a frozen bag of peas or sweet corn will do – the magic of the final tempering will tie everything together, transforming even the most mundane of dishes into something more distinguished. The lexicon of legumes is vast and delicious, so feel free to experiment with these recipes.
Charred Corn and Green Lentil Sundal
Serves 4–6 (as a snack)
Time 20 mins