Simple Vegetarian Dalcha Curry Recipe

It has been quite some time since I last cook Dalcha Curry. Dalcha curry goes along well with all types of roti (bread). This is a mildly spiced curry; therefore kids would normally take it. To speed up preparation time, I soaked the dhall beans for around 4 hours before cooking it. If you want to soak the beans overnight, then you better leave them in the fridge to prevent the beans from turning bad.
Some dhall curry recipe uses coconut milk but I opted not to use it here.

Ingredients
Dhall Beans, ½ cup, soak in water
Turmeric, 1 tablespoon, add to curry paste
Curry powder, 2 tablespoons, make into paste
Cumin, ½ teaspoon, add to curry paste
Fennel, ½ teaspoon, add to curry paste
Garlic, 3 cloves, chopped finely
Onions, 3 pcs, cut into slices
Cinnamon stick, 2 pcs
Star Anise, 3 pcs
Cloves, 5 pcs
Carrot, 1 pc, cut into bite size
Eggplant, 1 pc, cut into bite size
Tomato, 2 pcs, cut into bite size
Long beans, 3 pcs, cut into 1” length
Potato, 1 pc, cut into bite size
Tamarinds, 1 tablespoon, soak in water
Salt to taste
Dried chillies, 3 pcs (optional)

Heat up pot and put in some vegetable oil. Sauté onions and garlic until golden brown. Add in cinnamon stick, star anise and cloves. Stir fry for a short while. Put in the curry, fennel, turmeric and cumin paste. Pour some water into the pot; add the egg plant and dhall beans. Bring to a boil and turn the heat to low. Let it simmer for around 1 hour. Add carrot, tomato, long beans and potato. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for another 10 minutes. Pour in the tamarind juice and add salt to taste. Serve with roti chanai, rice, puri, chapati or plain bread.