On hot days, tangy mango dal with rice is a favourite dish for many. But often the lentils will not cook through properly or stay hard, and the whole dish never quite comes together.

Behind this is usually one common mistake: adding the green mango to the dal at the very start. Adding a sour ingredient early can make the lentils harden and take longer to cook, so adding the mango at the right time is the key to this dish.

Here is how to make tasty mango dal.

• red lentils (masoor dal), 1 cup
• green mango, 1, cut into pieces
• chopped onion, 1
• green chillies, 2-3
• turmeric powder, half a teaspoon
• salt to taste
• oil, 2 tablespoons
• dried chillies, 2
• mustard seeds or panch phoron, half a teaspoon
• water as needed
• chopped garlic, 2-3 cloves

First wash the lentils well and set them to boil with water and turmeric. When the dal is almost cooked and soft, add the green mango pieces. This is the most important step: if the mango goes in before the dal is cooked, the lentils may stay hard.

Meanwhile heat oil in a pan and fry the chopped onion and garlic. Then add the dried chillies and mustard seeds or panch phoron to make the tempering, and pour it into the boiled dal.

Add salt and let it simmer for a while so the mango softens and its sourness blends into the dal. Then take it off the heat.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.