Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 1/2 cup onion
• 1 green chili pepper
• 1 teaspoon ginger   
• 1 cup green lentils, cooked soft
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 tablepoon cilantro
• 4 cups white rice, cooked

Preparation

1. Chop onion an chili pepper. Grate ginger.
2. In a saucepan, heat vegetable oil. Add mustard seeds and cumin. When they splutter, add chopped onion, green chilies and ginger. Fry till the onion gets a light brown color.
3. Add cooked lentils; add 3/4 cup water, salt and mustard powder. Cook for 10 minutes till the lentil cooks to desired consistency.
4. Add lemon juice and sprinkle with finely chopped cilantro.
5. Serve hot with rotis/rice.

Helpful hints

• Roti is a flat Indian bread, also known as chapati.
• Wet grinders are very popular tools in the South Indian kitchen and are used to make paste out of soaked grains and lentils.
• Idli is a round, fluffy bread roughly eight centimetres in diameter. Idli is made from ground rice or rice flour mixed with ground urad dal, salt, methi (fenugreek seeds) and water. The mixture is allowed to ferment prior to being steamed in an idli steamer. They are traditional to Southern India and are most often eaten with sambar.
• Most often eaten at breakfast or as a snack, idli are usually served in pairs with chutney, sambar, or other accompaniments.