Curry recipes | Havyaka

Tove or Tovve | Dal

By Leena Hegde, Puttanamane

Ingredients A quick look Step by step Notes

Cozy and nourishing Tove made with split and skinned green gram aka yellow lentils (hesaru bele or moong dal) and warming spices is a comforting, hearty and delicious dish with a burst of flavours. This is a light, simple, and easy to make curry and is paired with plain rice, flatbread (rotti / roti).

In this recipe, I have added fenugreek (mente / methi) leaves to tove. This makes the tove more flavourful. But adding fenugreek leaves is optional.

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Cool off time

0 Total time

25 mins

Course

Curry

Diet

Vegan, Vegetarian

Difficulty level

Easy

Servings

2 cups

Ingredients

½ cup yellow lentils (Hesaru bele / moong dal)
1 cup fresh fenugreek leaves (Mente soppu / methi) – optional
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon coconut oil or any edible oil
1 green chillli (chopped)
½ dry red chilli (2 small pieces)
¼ teaspoon mustard seeds (Saasive / sarso)
½ teaspoon cumin seeds (Jeerige / jeera)
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 pinch asafoetida
6-8 curry leaves
Salt as required

Cookware / Utensils

Pan
Bowl(s)
Spoon
Tempering pan

Instructions

Soak fenugreek leaves in salt water for about 20-30 minutes.
Then rinse them and keep aside.
Rinse yellow lentils until clean.
Add water as required and cook the lentils on medium flame.
Once the lentils are almost cooked, add fenugreek leaves.
Cook them to a soft texture.
Add salt as required, and then add lemon juice.
Mix well and cook for a minute or two. Switch off the heat.
Take 1 teaspoon oil in a pan and heat the oil.
Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and a pinch of asafoetida.
Let the cumin and mustard seeds crackle.
Then add chopped green chilli, dry red chilli pieces, turmeric powder, and curry leaves.
Mix them with oil properly.
Switch off and add the tempering to the tove.
Mix well and serve with plain rice or flatbread (roti).

Step by step guide

How to make Tove

1. Soak fenugreek leaves in salt water for about 20-30 minutes. Then rinse them and keep aside.

2. Rinse yellow lentils until clean.

3. Add water as required and cook the lentils on medium flame.

4. Once the lentils are almost cooked, add fenugreek leaves. Cook them to a soft texture.

5. Add salt as required, and then add lemon juice. Mix well and cook for a minute or two. Switch off the heat.

6. Take 1 teaspoon oil in a pan and heat the oil. Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and a pinch of asafoetida. Let the cumin and mustard seeds crackle.

7. Then add chopped green chilli, dry red chilli pieces, turmeric powder, and curry leaves. Mix them with oil properly.

8. Switch off and add the tempering to the tove.

9. Mix well and serve with plain rice or flatbread (roti).

Notes

Instead of fenugreek leaves, you can add a few coriander leaves or spinach (palak) or even mint leaves (pudina). Adding different greens will add different flavours to tove.
Make sure to soak greens in salt water, especially store bought ones, before using them.
Optionally, you can also add chopped onion and / or tomato to tove.
Tove is a mildly spiced curry, but you can add green and dry red chilli as per your taste.