Sprouted Masoor Usal

This is a Marathi usal/ bhaaji with a little bit of my own touch. I sometimes don't like my coconut masala cooked as is traditional. Instead I like to add it just before removing the curry from the heat to keep the freshness of the coconut. This usal is wonderful as an evening snack or with chapati or rice. It can be glamorized to give you a  Sprouts Dahi Misal like this too.

Ingredients

1 cup whole Masoor

1 Onion chopped

1-2 teaspoon Goda Masala

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon oil

salt to

Sprouting Masoor

Wash the masoor thoroughly and soak in water for an hour. Then drain the water and keep in a jar or bowl. it will start sprouting by the next day. Keep it for another day to get longer sprouts.

Coconut Masala

1/4 cup of grated coconut

1 green chili

1 teaspoon oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

few curry leaves

1/2 lime juice

Prepare the coconut masala by grinding together coconut and green chili. Then heat oil and splutter mustard seeds and add asafoetida and curry leaves. fry till crisp. Put off heat and keep aside.

Heat oil in a vessel, fry chopped onions in it. Then add the sprouted and washed masoor to it. Top up with water enough to just cover the masoor sprouts. Add the Goda Masala, red chili powder, turmeric powder and cooked with cover on.

Salt the usal to perfection and add the coconut masala at this point. Boil vigorously once. Put off the heat to add the lime juice. Mix well. This gives a distinct flavor to the usal of fresh crisp curry leaves, coconut  and lime. 

We enjoyed it last night with soft thin chapatis.