DALI THOY

Dali thoy/"Tovve'' is daal preparation of G.S.B community which is prepared in almost all household.

You will find varying consistency of Dali thoy as you travel from karwar to cochin, but what is common is appetizing aroma of hing tempering. Some people fondly ask for DDT(Daat Daali Thoy) which is bit thick preparation, so don't get confused when eating at G.S.B  function when somebody mentions,  bring DDT..

Over the years people tried to replicate  this taste elsewhere in India but have just managed to match 70-80% of what it taste when eating in coastal belts. It is said to be combination of water, toor dal, hing, Coconut oil or ghee which gives this unique taste. In G.S.B community we have many teru (rathutsav) namely at Mangalore, kerala and Bantwal, where majority of people travel from as far as Dubai come only to relish the Daali Tovve served during meals served for the 4-5 days. One prepared in venkatarama temple, karkala in the month of karthik pounima known as karthik poonav is truly divine.

Taste is combination of Toor dal and tempering primarily, it is recommended to use hing paste rather than powder and mixture of coconut oil/ ghee for the tempering along with Byadgi red chillies.

People have developed taste for this dish and even start day by Idli- Tovve or Dosa-Tovve, then definitely for lunch or dinner. Due to limited ingredients it is really a comfort food.In G.S.B, nomeal is considered compete without this dish.

Ingredients are readily available items of every kitchen : 250grm of toor dal, 2-3 dried chillies,2 green chillies, 1/2 top hing powder or paste diluted in water, 10 curry leaves, 1tsp mustard seeds, 1tbsp ghee or coconut oil,  try blending and arriving at best teste of the family, Finely chopped ginger, try this especially during monsoon and when it is really pouring outside 

Preparation is fairly simple but has to be master in multiple attempts 

Pressure cook the toor dal with green chillies for up to 3 whistles. Pour the contents to a cooking vessel and on low flame boil the dal again with salt and keep aside. Prepare for tempering,  take ghee/coconut oil in a small tempering kadai, when it heats up add mustard seeds when they start to splutter add hing, red chillies and curry leaves. Make sure you don't overheat. Add the tempering to the boiled dal, close the vessel with a lid and let tempering settle down for few minutes. The aroma now starts kicking in and spread across the length of house..the stronger the tempering,  taste goes up exponentially.

This dish needs to mastered by trying combinations to suit your taste buds, the true recognition is when you run out of it even before other dishes

Do prepare and enjoy this authentic G.S.B recipe and share your family experience.