Habisa Dalma – For the holy Month Kartik

Today is Kartik Monday.Lots of Oriya women (not sure if men do it - I have seen grandma, mom and aunts celebrate this month) do not eat non vegetarian for the whole month. Usually they eat once during the day and one of the key item for the meal is Habisa Dalma.

Introduction:

• 1 cup Mung Dal
• 2 raw bananas – chopped into small pieces
• 2 Saru or Arbi – peeled and chopped into small pieces
• 1 table spoon ghee
• 1 tea spoon cumin seeds
• 2 red chillies
• 2 green chillies
• 2 inch ginger – grated
• 1 tea spoon of dry chilly &  cumin seeds roasted and powdered
• grated coconut
• 2-3 bay leaves
• Salt to taste
• (No Tumeric is added to this dal)
• Oau: 4/5 long pieces, soaked in water if dried

Method :

• Take a pan and heat it.
• Add the mung dal and dry roast it until it starts changing color (at very low heat, It takes about 10-12 min.)
• Remove from heat and soak the dal for 1 hr.
• Boil the dal in a vessel with only salt and water.
• When it is half cooked add 5/6 curry leaves and , saru, kadali and grated ginger except Oau ) to the half cooked dal and let it cook.
• When the vegetables are about 3/4th Cooked add the Aau to this.
• The consistency of the dal like dalma but not too thick.
• Once everything is cooked, adjust salt to taste.
• When vegetables are fully cooked prepare a tadka of cumin seeds dry chili , and pour the tadka to the above dalma
• Add roasted dry chilly &  cumin seeds power(Jeera Lanka Gunda  )to the dalma
• It is ready to serve with plain rice and ghee.