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.

Epictetus

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.