Kalai Dal Chingri Korai Shuti Diye - White Mung Beans with Shrimp & Peas

Kalai Dal Chingri Korai Shuti Diye
White Mung Beans with Shrimp & Peas

My husband's cousin was visiting us a couple of years ago and was eager to cook for us. I prepped all the ingredients for him and he happily went to work on this amazing lentil dish. Amazing because we love shrimp but had never tasted it in lentils. It's best to pre-cook the lentils and fry the shrimp, set them aside and add them back at the end of the process to avoid overcooking the shrimp.


Ingredients:

1 cup kalai dal (white mung), cooked in 4 cups water and salt to taste

8 oz. salad or baby shrimp, cleaned, deveined and tossed with salt and turmeric

1 cup frozen peas

For the tempering:

1 Tbsp. ghee

1 tsp. vegetable oil 

1/4 tsp. nigella seeds (kalonji/kalo jeera)

1 green chili, diced

1/2 tsp. cumin powder

1/2 tsp. coriander powder

1 or more whole green chilies

salt to taste

1/4 tsp. turmeric

green coriander/cilantro (chopped) 

Directions:

1. Heat oil, sauté shrimp for 2 minutes on both sides and set aside.
2. To the same pan add ghee along with tempering ingredients.
3. When seeds begin to sizzle, return shrimp to pan, add peas and cooked lentils.
4. Adjust salt to taste and cook for 4-5 minutes. 
5. Garnish with cilantro and whole green chilies.
6. Serve with steamed rice or Indian bread.