Sabbasige bele palya | Dill leaves cooked with lentils

Dill leaves Palya reminds me of my school holidays when my mother used to be busy cooking lunch. There was this warm aroma of garlic and some thing thats a bit sweetish, a bit like fennel seeds and celery that spreads to the living room.

The aroma was from this humble dish that's made with dill leaves and soaked yellow pigeon peas (Toor Daal) with onion and garlic tempering. My mother never failed to tell us how healthy and nutritious is dill leaves and paired with toor daal for protein it's a perfect recipe for building immunity. It goes extremely well with Jawar roti and chapathis. Here is the recipe from my mother.

Ingredients:

Dill leaves: 2 packed cups
Chopped medium Onion : 2
Chopped Green Chillies: 4-5
Chopped Garlic : 2 tbsp
Oil: 2 Tbsp
Cumin Seeds: 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds: 1/2 tsp
Toor Dal : 1/4 cup
Salt to taste

Method: 
1. Soak toor dal in warm water for 1 hour, finely chop dill leaves and keep aside.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, when it splutters and cumin seeds and fry for 30 seconds.

3. Add chopped green chillies and garlic and fry until the garlic changes the color slightly.

4. Add onions and saute until translucent, add soaked dal and salt and cook until the dal is soft. It will not be mashed up but soft enough to bite.

5. Add chopped dill leaves and mix well, cover and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the leaves are well cooked. Turn off the flame and serve hot dill palya with chapathi or jawar roti. It also tastes great with rice and rasam.