Pitru Paksha & the recipe for the mother of all Dals

"The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intentions"

Today was the end of "Pitru Paksha" - according to Hindu beliefs, the souls of our three preceding generations reside in Pitru-Loka, which is considered to be a realm between heaven and earth. This realm is led by the god of death, Yama. It is believed that when a person from the next generation dies, the first generation is taken to heaven bringing them closer to God. Only the last three generations in Pitru-Loka are given shradha rites.

According to Hindu scriptures, during the Mahabharata, when Karna died his soul was taken to heaven where he was offered lots of gold and jewels. However, Karna was looking for food to eat and asked Indra, who is considered as the lord of heaven, the reason for serving gold as food. That's when Indra told Karna that he donated gold all his life, but never donated food to his ancestors during Shradh. Realising what Indra claimed, Karna answered that he never knew who his ancestors were, so he couldn't donate anything in their memory. However, Karna was given a chance to amend his mistake and was permitted to return to earth for 15 days, so that he could perform shradh rites and donate food and water in their memory. This 15-day period was then named as Pitru Paksha. It is believed that the more you feed the poor the more it will reach your ancestors and they bless you.

We celebrated Pitru Paksha in our own unique way by offering sandwiches to a few homeless people - don't know how they felt about the sandwiches...but  I felt amazing.

At home my mother made Dalma and offered it to the Gods and our ancestors and after a semi-fasting day I got to eat a HOT steaming bowl of Dalma...some kind of magic that was. Dalma is a dish that is  an quintessential Oriya dish made with lentils.

Dalma : the mother of dal

What you need?

• Roasted Moong Dal ( 1 cup) - wash and keep soaked in water for 20 minutes
• Medium Pieces of Cut Vegetables (2-3 cups) : Brinjal/EggPlant, Sweet Potato, Banana, Beans, Cauliflower, Carrot, 
• 2 Cut Tomatoes
• Masala - Panch Phoron (Mustard, Kala Jeera, Fennel, Cumin, Fenugreek) , Turmeric, Ginger, Green Chillies, Hing, Jeera, Red Chillies
• Ghee, Sugar/Salt

Dalma Recipe 

1. Dry Roast cumin seeds and red chilies and grind to a powder
2. Turn the Instant Pot to saute mode and add 1 tbsp of ghee, put hing, splutter the panch phoron, crushed ginger and green chillies (add bay leaf optional).
3. Add the cut vegetables and tomatoes. Then add turmeric, salt 
4. Add the soaked moong dal
5. Manual High Pressure 5-7 minutes (no release)
6. Garnish with the roasted jeera/chilly powder to taste and cilantro (optional).  Squeeze lemon juice and  enjoy with a bowl of quinoa or as I did by itself.

What did you do for Pitru Paksha today?