I was born and raised in Punjab, India, where I got my love for cooking from my mother who used to prepare food with love and care. I started my journey in Montreal, as a student. My love for nature brought me all the way to the Yukon, where I have been sharing the flavours of India through my cooking.
When I was little and would get sick, my mom would always make her channa dal soup. Doesn’t matter what kind of sickness, from mild sore throat to fever, that soup was always part of the cure. I still remember its smell and the striking taste of turmeric and cumin. One could feel it going down like a fine wine.
Now that I cook for a living, I think about that dal a lot. It reminds me of where I come from. It isn’t any fancy kind of dish that you would have to practise on. It is a beginner-friendly dish with simple ingredients. All the extra you need is some patience and a little extra care.
I make it sometimes at the restaurant—especially on cold and slow days with no rush. You can play around with the recipe by adding carrots, cauliflower or green peas. Channa dal soup makes me feel like sitting with my mom, wrapped in a blanket. It is a way back home.
Gurwinder Kaur, lovingly known as Guri, operates Desycan, an Indian restaurant in Whitehorse. Guri is the heart and soul of Desycan.
Channa Dal Soup
Ingredients
- ● 1 cup channa dal
- ● 5 cups water
- ● ½ Tbsp salt
- ● 1 small onion diced
- ● 1 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- ● 1 small green chilli
- ● 1 medium tomato chopped
- ● 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ● 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder or paprika
- ● 1/4 cup heavy cream
- ● Fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Pressure cook the dal with water, salt and turmeric, for three whistles.
- In a separate pan, heat the ghee and sauté the cumin seeds and onion until the onion turns pink. Add the ginger-garlic paste and green chili. Stir for one minute. Then, add the Kashmiri chili powder and chopped tomato.
- Once the tempering is ready, pour it into the cooked dal in the pressure cooker. Let the mixture cool down a bit. Then blend it using a hand blender, until smooth. Add fresh cilantro and stir it.
- Return the soup into the pan, stir in heavy cream and simmer on low heat for a few minutes. Serve the soup hot with a side of naan or sourdough bread.
