Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Daal ..... The Common Man's Meat !!


Is a 2 Billion dollar home flamboyant enough ? And that too for a family of four ! To add to that there are 3 helipads and and parking space for 160 cars. Not to forget 600 people working to maintain this much talked about billion dollar home. I am not sure how many Indians are taking pride in this India's first Billion dollar house making it to the Forbes Magazine. But surely not me ! I get grumpy and upset when people discuss about this abode of Mr Mukesh Ambani in which he takes so much self pride. Does one really need all these ? Was the current 22 floor house of Mr Ambani not enough for four people that he had to move to a 27 floor mansion ?
Could Mr Ambani not find a better way to spend this 2 Billion Dollars ? I can think of a hundred more effective ways to spend the money.

A small percentage of this amount would have made a big difference for a lot of people who do not even get a meal a day.A charitable hospital, better education for the poor and needy, vocational school and colleges to make more people self employed. .Or how about funding a world class cancer research institute. These are few things that come to my mind in a blink .... I am sure there are many noble ways to spend this 2 Billion.


I believe making it to the list of 'Richest People of the World' on Forbes is not a measuring tape for your riches. It is about how much you give back to the society. I know many people whom I interact with ....... they are not even 0.0001 % as rich as Mr Ambani. But they have dedicated their time and money (whatever little they have) in the service of mankind. One such organisation is Seva Samarpita Charitable Trust. It is run by few retired doctors and teachers.

To me they are the real heros. One's life is not remembered by how much riches he accumulated or where he lived or what car he drove. It is important to have values in life and believe in serving the less privileged ones.
The world remembers JRD Tata just not for the industrial empire he set up but for his philanthropy and simple living !!




So as a silent protest to this 2 Billion Dollar lavish home, I decided to post the recipe for 'Garlic Daal', Daal being the common man's 'Meat'.

Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.


Preparation Time 30 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
Toor Daal - 1 cup
Garlic - 4 cloves
Green Chili -1
Dry Red Chili - 1
Panch Phoran - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Chopped Coriander leaves - little
Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch
Salt per taste
Method of Preparation
1 Wash the daal and soak in in water for 15 minutes.
2 Pressure cook adding salt and turmeric.
3 In a kadhai, add some oil. When hot add minced Garlic and chopped green chilies. Also add the panch phoran and red dry chili to sputter. Pour the cooked daal carefully to this seasoned oil.
4 Simmer for a minute. Garnish with chopped Coriander.
Serving Tips
Serve warm with rice. Add a little ghee or butter on top of it for flavor.
Variation
You may prepare using any other daal, Moong or Masoor Daal.

29 comments:

Priya Suresh said...

I never say no to daal, my all time comforting food, daal looks absolutely hearty..

Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes

SavithaRaj's Spice Land said...

This is a very comforting and delicious food...and yes I second you with the view on Mr.Ambani spending so much of money on his house of four...and wish people do not take pride on wasting money like this!!!!!!

Satya said...

ahaa i want this daal now ..its lunch time here n i am feeling hungry ,i wish i could get some with hot rice ...mmmm..awesome
satrupa dear u know i wanted to be ur 100th follower ,for that i was waiting ..but sad i am late ..no probs i am ur 101 proud follower ...hurryyyyyyyyyy

Satya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

Torviewtoronto said...

delicious dish
lovely presentation

PreeOccupied said...

I wondered about the two billion home for the Ambanis too...I am not sure is such display of wealth is good for anyone, but I have another perspective, at least 600 more people got employed by Mr Ambani.

The photographs look stunning, especially the one with the garlic and the jute background.

Elaichii said...

I totally agree with you when people spend millions of dollars on house and other materialistic things when basic needs are not even close to be met! Let be ambani or the queen or any celebrities!

Dal looks good!

Suji said...

Well said Satrupa..The rich are always blind, they only see money...

Daal looks yummy and perfect...

Unknown said...

Anytime comfort meal...perfect combo for rice!

aipi said...

give me this any single day and i can have it without complaining :)..neat pics!

US Masala

vandana rajesh said...

Dal is an anytime comfort food...can have it everyday and still look forward to more:)

My Kitchen Antics said...

absolute absolute fav of mine

Treat and Trick said...

My favorite dish, never felt bored eating it daily, yours looks yum...

PreeOccupied said...

(You are tagged on my new post.)

Suja Manoj said...

Yummy and perfect dal..I never say no to dal..comfort food

foodzone said...

The common man's meat is my all time fav!

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

Amazingly worded rant! Loved it! You have a way with words!

Sushma Mallya said...

Healthy and comforting...

Unknown said...

What you said is so true, Satrupa..

Dal looks healthy and yummy..

Deepi's World said...

"Simple to be happy but its difficult to be simple"...JRD Tata is a great example but everyone have different temparament and so is their way of spending their money...its good that his house is providing employment for 600 people...but one thing is sure I can say Mr Ambani apne 2 billion kae ghar mae bait kae kabhi kabhi Daal jaroor khatae ho gae:))...which is such a integral part of Indian food...love daal and needless to say but I am saying it clicks are Amazing!!

Margaret Murphy Tripp said...

Your daal looks delicious, and I appreciated your thoughts. Money does not buy happiness, and 'tis a blessing to be simple.

NIDHYA said...

Dal looks simple and flavorful..never used panch phoran for seasoning..awesome write-up too..

Aaha Oho

veena said...

looks delicious and awesome clicks

Nandita SS said...

Great post satrupa. Very thought provoking. I loved the 2nd photograph of the garlic. Very well shot :)

Akila said...

dhall looks perfect....

Deeba PAB said...

A world with so much adversity... I'm with you. Glad you posted the common man's meat! I'd love to have a bowl of this any day! YUM!

Anju Rathore said...

Thought and discussion on 2 Billion dollar house is too big for my small mind :-)but your daal is no doubt simple yet tasty.

Satrupa said...

Thank you all for dropping my n sharing your thoughts !

Anonymous said...

Your Dal looks really very yummy....U can visit this blog too....
http://lajawabkhana.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

hi.I just love your posts.Your write-ups and the description of the recipes is really interesting and beautiful.I just learnt cooking few days back and have been trying to learn some more recipes.Thanks for sharing such wonderful recipes.

But I kind of think that mukesh ambani has a right to spend his money for his own luxury n comfort too.I mean he has earned the right to live in luxury by hard work.And why should we always take it for granted that the rich should spend their money on others.He pays his taxes and has his own charitable institutions too.So its kind of ok in my opinion if he built a palatial home for himself.They have earned it.Their wish how they spend it.

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