moong soup II

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 c whole moong beans, sorted and rinsed, soaked 6-8 hrs
• 2 med zucchini, peeled and chopped
• water
• 1 t salt

FOR THE CHAUNK:

• 5 T ghee
• 1 T ginger root
• 1 t coriander powder 
• 1/2 -3/4 t bl.pepper
• 1/4 t hing
• 1 t turmeric
• 1 t mustard seeds
• 1 t cumin seeds
• salt
• Fresh lemon slices

PREPARATION:

1. Heat the ghee to make a chaunk. Add the ginger and let it get brown and crispy. Then add the coriander powder, hing, black pepper and turmeric. 
2. Add the vegetables and salt and fry a few minutes, and then add the moong beans and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook until beans begin to burst from skins and soup thickens a bit. Add more water as needed. Lower heat and cook on simmer until veggies are tender.
3. Heat the ghee and make a chaunk with mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard about stops popping and cumin is nicely brown, add to the soup and stir in a little more salt. Altogether, the general rule is 1 t salt per cup of finished soup. 
4. Offer to Krishna with lemon slices and piping hot rice, fresh slices of bread 

Serves 6

VARIATIONS:
Experiment with various vegetables and spice combinations. Fresh root vegetables go well and hot chilies can be added along with fresh coriander leaves.

If you use tomatoes, add the tomatoes towards the end of the cooking when lowering the heat to simmer. Otherwise, tomatoes have a tendency to slow down the cooking of the dahl if added in the beginning.