I would love to try Reza Mahammads recipe for spiced dal but I dont know what to buy dal wise!
the ones in the recipe are
100g moong dal
200g channa dal
200g toovar dal

could anyone please enlighten me what to look for either in the way of other names or suitable substitutes

Hi Florrie, there a lot of online shops that you can use to get these dals. Here is one to try.

[link]

Notice that toovar is sometimes called toor and I have even seen it as tur.

The other thing is that three dal will cost you 3 x 75p = £2.25 but the p&p is an extra £3.75. Other online foodstores charge similar prices.

Do you live anywhere near a largish town/city? Most these days have asian foodstores.

Florrie have you got an Ethnic shop near to where you live because they have every kind of ingredient you can think of,and then some.They are great places to ask for advice on ingredients,recipes etc.What they haven't got I'm sure they'll beable to offer an alternative or get what you've asked for.

Good Luck.

Florrie

Try this link [link]
They seem to have everything you need. Their Toovar is called Toor.

One thing to watch out for is that although Asian shops sell cheaper products they are not always what they seem Cheap Chana Dal is often just yellow split peas but called Chana Dal. They are not the same, the flavour is vastly inferior - thi is why people often say that the dish "Chana Dal" is bland - they have used the wrong pea although they werent to know it! Similarly, cheap spices are often cut with rice flour or other fillers and cheap rices are often mixed with inferior varieties. The best way to avoid this is to buy a reputable Asian brand. The best known are Natco (bit more expensive but the quality makes it worth it), East End and TRS. I can vouch that Natco Chana Dal is the real thing.

Having said that Spice Boy, and I am in no way doubting what you say..... but it does seem strange to me that you only ever post on here about natco, are you actually natco? you only have to click on your user name to see that these are the only posts and threads you take part in.

Just a simple question.

Hi Rustie

"It was only a matter of time before his ruse was discovered..." No, I am not Natco. I run a design company and they used to be clients of mine - so I can vouch for their quality-and thats where I picked up a lot of my inside knowledge. I am afraid I am just interested in spices and Indian food, always have been, always will. You cant always judge a book by its cover either - click on your user name and the majority of your posts are about alcohol !

LOL!!! nice one Spice Boy, my not so little secret is out at last............. but you have my utmost admiration, how long did it take you to go through all 3835 of my posts to come up with that?

Florrie,

The great thing about this type of Dhal recipe, is that you can use really any combination of lentils that you have. Why not try yellow and red lentils that are used in soups and stews, these are readily available in all the supermarkets.

As everybody has point out there are many on-line place, or an Asian store if you have one near by. A word advice, check the date on the packet as old lentils take lot longer to cook and need a lot more soaking time.

Reshma :-)

Dunno Rustie, it kind of became clear after the second bottle.....