Dill leaves recipe (shepu bhaji)

Ingredients

• 250 grams dill leaves
• 1½ tablespoons oil or ghee
• ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds (optional)
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
• 1 to 2 green chilies slit or chopped
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 tablespoon chana dal (optional)(skinned bengal gram)
• 1 teaspoon urad dal (optional)(skinned black gram)
• ¼ to ½ cup moong dal (use as desired) (optional)
• ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)

Steps

Preparation

1. If using moong dal, rinse it well in a bowl and soak in warm water for at least 30 mins. Drain before use.
2. Put dill leaves and stems into a large pot of water and let stand for about 5 mins. Rinse well again, then drain in a colander.

How to make

1. Heat the oil after pouring it into a pan.
2. Fry mustard, cumin, chana dal and urad dal in it until the dals become golden.
3. Add garlic, chilli and curry leaves and stir-fry until the garlic smells fragrant.
4. Drain the moong dal and add it to the pan. Cover and cook over low heat until tender, sprinkling water in between if needed.
5. The moong dal should be well cooked but not mushy. Because it was presoaked, this takes only a few minutes.
6. While the lentils cook, chop the dill as you prefer. You can remove the stems if you do not like using them.
7. Once the lentils are tender and done, add salt and turmeric and evaporate excess moisture from the pan.
8. Stir-fry the dill in the pan until the leaves wilt and the stems become slightly tender.
9. Accompany the dill stir-fry with rice or roti.