Osaman

The regional cuisine of India is diverse and at times, even mutually exclusive. Osaman is not made in my MIL's Gujarati kitchen but it was an integral part of my grand aunt's Gujarati kitchen. We just love to slurp this healthy broth during the winter months.

Osaman
A Gujarati Daal Broth

Ingredients

1/2 cup toor daal pressure cooked with 2 cups water

1 tomato, chopped

salt to taste

1 small piece of raddish, peeled and cut into semi-circles - approx. 1/4 cup

1/2 tsp chili powder

4 kokums

1/2 tbsp jaggery (or per taste)

Tempering

1 tsp ghee/clarified butter

1/8 tsp fenugreek seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp asafoetida

4 cloves

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Garnish

1 tbsp cilantro/coriander leaves, minced

Method
1. Follow the instructions for Kathan Daal. Add more water to cooked daal to get 6 cups daal water. Pass the cooked daal through a sieve. Set aside the cooked daal for making kathan daal.

2. Heat ghee in a big saucepot. Add the ingredients for tempering.

3. As the cloves and cumin seeds sizzle, add daal water, tomatoes, and the remaining ingredients.

4. Bring to boil. Let it simmer for a few minutes. Serve piping hot with some ghee on top.

Note
1. My grand aunt didn't use pressure cooker for cooking daal. It used to take a long time, but she would keep adding more and more water to get daal water while it was cooking. I use pressure cooker and can't add too much water for cooking the daal. So I use more amount of water than usual and then add some more water to the cooked daal and mix & then pass through the sieve to get the daal water for osaman.