Muga Dalma

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Moong dal (muga dali)
1 tablespoon cumin seeds (jeera)
1 inch ginger - crushed (ada)
1 tablespoon Ghee (desi gheea)
2 tea spoon cumin powder (jeera gunda)
Chilly powder to taste (lanka gunda)
2 red chillies (sukhila lanka)
salt to taste
1 & 1/2 cups of cut vegetables such as:
pumpkin (kakharu)
yam (desi alu)
papaya (kancha amrutabhanda)
plantain (kancha kadali)
arum (saru)
radish (moola)

Method:

First dry fry the moong dal in a kadai/ pan for about 2 minutes, not more. Soak the semi fried moong dal in water and keep it aside. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker. Add cumin seeds and red chillies and let it splutter. Then add the crushed ginger and vegetables. Stir and fry it for a minute. Add the soaked moong dal, salt, cumin powder and chilli powder. Also add water as required. Now close the pressure cooker and let it cook for about 15 minutes. The muga dalma is ready. Serve this with steaming hot rice. This kind of dalma is also known as Habishya Dalma and is used by women performing 'Habisha Brata' in Orissa during the holy month of Kartik. (Use of vegetables like potato, tomato and brinjal is to be avoided if this dish is being prepared exclusvely for the purpose of habisha.)