Slow-Cooked Kumaoni Dupuk or Bean Milk

Warm, comforting, subtle flavoured, with just a hint of smokiness from the jamboo, this is a dal that is good enough to serve to company, but simple enough to make for yourself for a quiet evening. Read more about Kumaoni cuisine here!

Recipe for Slow Cooked Kumaoni Dupuk or Bean Milk

Ingredients
3 cups of masoor dal
6 cups of water
Yarrow or gandraini
Salt
1.5 tbsp ghee
2 tsp jamboo (or jimbu, a Himalayan herb). *If you dont have jamboo on hand, you can use cumin instead.

Method
Soak the dal in water for 6 to 8 hours.
Drain and blitz to a coarse paste in a blender, or by hand on the sil batta/ grinding stone. Don't grind it too fine, the paste should retain a bit of texture.
In the meanwhile, soak the dry yarrow so it rehydrates.
Tear and add to the pot along with the paste, pour in twice the volume of water, and allow to cook for 40 minutes on a low flame.
Watch the pot carefully and keep stirring, as it can burn easily, even on low flame.
When the dal and water thicken and bubble, taste. If the raw flavour has gone, it is ready for seasoning.
Add salt to taste.
Heat ghee separately and when it begins smoking, add jamboo or cumin.
Use this as tadka, i.e., add to the dal just before serving.

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